The Problem With Cafe Racer Motorcycles

There are many different styles and types of motorcycles that have made it to the hearts of millions of riders. Cafe racers are one of them. Many riders may debate the practicality, usability, ride quality, and safety of cafe racer bikes.

However, these bikes are still popular enough to be the preferred choice of many custom bike builders. There are also certain top cafe racer models that are factory-made. This shows that even some motorcycle brands took advantage of the cafe racer culture and trend.

No matter what you ride, there are always some pros and cons of a certain style of motorbike. Talking about cafe racers, there are pros. However, on the other hand, there are also many cons. According to most motorcycling experts, the demerits of cafe racer motorbikes outweigh the benefits.

Cafe racers are very cool bikes, but behind the charming aesthetics, they hide problems. A true cafe racer fan may not agree, but these problems make cafe racers hard to ride. Today, we are here to discuss the problem with cafe racer motorcycles in detail in this article. Planning to build or buy a cafe racer bike? Read this before making any decision!

If you have ever ridden a cafe racer bike, you know it is quite painful to ride it for a long period. The ergonomics and the riding position can hurt your back, arms, wrists, and legs, too. As a rider, you are supposed to bend forward to grab the clip-on bars installed on cafe racers, resting your weight on your wrists.

The handlebars' position is quite low and sometimes tilted to the other side from the rider. Such a placement causes riders to lean aggressively forward. You have to rest your feet on footpegs that are installed in the rear. This causes your legs to curl tightly, which can be very painful on even a normal ride.

Such a riding position offered by a cafe racer bike causes a number of issues for riders. These include:

• Wrist pains start after 30 minutes or even before this duration.

• The back pain starts worsening during the ride, especially while riding in traffic.

• The strain on the neck also increases due to such a riding position.

• Shoulders also become sore due to the forward lean position.

The aggressive riding stance of cafe racers imposes a continuous strain on your hands and arms. The entire weight of your body is supported by your hands or palms. Your hands get red and sore after riding a cafe racer for a long time. The pain also makes it difficult for riders to hold on to bars the right way.

Cafe racers usually have minimal seats. A cafe racer either has a bench-style flat seat or a solo small seat with a tail cowl towards the rear. In both cases, the seat padding is poor. The majority of cafe racers’ seats are quite thin, making them highly comfortable. Such a cafe racer-style seat causes you to slide as well during the ride. In most cafe racers, where there is no back support in the form of the tail cowl, riders need to stay stuck on the bike with the help of their arms alone.

Those cafe racers with a rear hump are also not very comfortable. The tail cowl is of no use as it does not let riders rest their back. Instead, it shrinks the space for the seat even further.

Most cafe racers employ very basic suspension. The rear shocks you order online for your cafe racer build are cheap and do not do much to make rides smooth. These rigid-looking springs installed on your cafe racers may assist with the look of your bike, but they make riding very uncomfortable, especially on rough roads.

Each bump you face on your cafe racer while riding will directly reach your backbone through the bike. You will be beaten up by the ride and will be tired after even an hour of riding a cafe racer bike. Long rides seem quite impossible with these bikes.

A large number of cafe racers have pod filters in place of original air boxes. This appears to be clean but poses great challenges. Pod filters alter the airflow in the engine.

Most of the pod filters have a rubber boot that is used to block air jets. This degrades the air/fuel blend that enters the engine, and as a result, the bike runs poorly.

When you take off the stock air box, you lose the vacuum necessary to have the carbs operating the right way. The bike will just idle; it may fail to start. When you try to give it some gas, it dies. This is something that is hard to fix and may require a good amount of time and money.

According to most bike experts, pod filters installed on cafe racers do not often work any better than the stock air boxes. On the contrary, they usually complicate the tuning process, as well as running.

Building a cafe racer motorbike is not a cheap custom bike project. What may appear to be simple and basic may cost you more than what you initially planned for your budget.

Most of the cafe racer builds that are constructed cheaply with inexpensive parts will likely fail or may not perform satisfactorily. Also, even if you build the bike once, you will still have to keep spending money in the future to repair or buy the parts again.

Most of the cafe racer builds start with old bikes with existing problems. Even if you work on these issues while building the racer to get rid of them, they will still show up soon. Deep down, such a cafe racer build is still the old bike from the inside. There are issues that emerge over time. The most common issues include:

• Oil leaks from worn-out seals.

• Electrical problems due to old wiring.

• Mechanical problems with the engine are due to its age.

• Engine Cooling system failure.

These are some of the issues that are not only time-consuming but can cost you good money as well. What would seem like a minor mechanical issue with a cafe racer bike can turn out to be a big task that may take a lot of time to fix.

Riders riding cafe racers are exposed to safety issues as well due to these mechanical problems.

Cafe racers offer little to no protection in crashes compared to most other bike types. Due to the lack of safety features and their modified design, they are considered less safe when it comes to road safety. Everything that we have discussed above about the cafe racers has a role to play in making cafe racers less safe than other motorbike types. The reasons include:

• Being highly uncomfortable makes cafe racers unsafe, as riders will not be able to fully concentrate on the road ahead.

• Being built from an old bike and having tons of mechanical issues, cafe racers are more likely to fail during the ride.

• Due to being highly modified and altered from their stock forms, many issues arise with the handling, aerodynamics, balance, and stability of cafe racer bikes.

• Cafe racers have poor aerodynamics. Most parts are removed, leaving only a minimal structure that can destabilize the ride at any point, especially at high speeds.

• There is no room for luggage bags on cafe racers, in which you can carry the first aid.

• The extreme forward or learning riding position increases the chances of the rider being thrown over the handlebars in a front-end crash.

Cafe racers are very minimal bikes and have quite a low profile. Therefore, these bikes are more difficult to notice by car drivers. The tiny, low-glowing headlights and the scanty bodywork lessen your visibility on the road. Other bikers may also fail to notice you while riding until it is too late.

On a majority of cafe racer builds designed and built by custom bike builders, even the most basic safety rider aids are missing. To keep them minimal, most safety features are removed or are not deemed necessary. Some of the most basic safety elements that a road bike must have are:

• ABS braking system, which avoids wheel lockup during braking.

• Adequate lighting for riding the bike at night.

• Adequate reflectors on the bike to make it more visible.

• Bright turn signals and taillights to ensure safety while riding.

• Side mirrors.

When cafe racers and other custom bike builders build bikes while focusing more on the looks, rather than safety, they produce bikes that expose riders to dangers. Such a raw riding experience as offered by a cafe racer can prove to be a fatal one for riders.

Due to a lack of basic safety features, cafe racers are nowhere near safer for new riders. To those beginners who choose cafe racers to start with, this is not a wise decision. Beginners must opt for bikes that are:

• Easy to ride and control.

• Ensure good handling, balance, and stability.

• Reliable for daily use.

• Should not come up with new issues every day.

• Forgiving of mistakes that beginners are likely to make.

Cafe racer bikes provide none of these qualities. They are rather challenging; even expert riders find it difficult to handle and manage.

Those novice riders who choose cafe racers face issues such as:

• Uncomfortable riding postures result in fatigue.

• Mechanical problems that they are not able to identify and repair.

• Performance issues that impact safety a great deal.

• Regular maintenance and repair costs eat up their pockets.

Riding a motorbike is something that requires focus, practice, and skills. You will be unable to develop good riding skills if your bike is painful to ride, runs badly, or malfunctions. Rather than learning useful riding skills, new riders opting for cafe racers as their first bike often:

• Develop a bad riding posture to cope with pain.

• Do not go on long rides that develop riding experience and new skills.

• Spend most of their time dealing with bike issues rather than riding the bike.

• Likely to get frustrated and give up riding the motorcycle.

The cafe racers craze makes ‘wanna-be’ riders who never get to experience the real comfort, power, and reliability of a motorcycle.

New riders tend to be low-budget riders. They cannot afford other essentials when their cafe racer bikes require constant labor. These essentials include:

• Decent riding equipment for safety, such as a DOT-approved helmet, jacket, and biker boots.

• Training or riding lessons where bikers learn valuable riding skills.

• Motorbike maintenance to keep the bike in shape.

• Fixing the issues of the bike with repairs and upgrades.

This leads to a vicious cycle where new riders are riding with an unreliable and uncomfortable bike and don’t have the right gear and skills to ride safely.

Cafe racers have no storage space to mount or hang luggage bags safely. The stripped-down design of cafe racers removes:

• Luggage mounting positions for saddlebags or panniers.

• Top boxes and tail bags.

• Tank bags and tool pouches.

• Storage compartments are in other places on the bike.

Riders riding the cafe racers have no space to carry even the most simple essentials, including:

• A suitable weather gear, like a rain suit.

• Tools for roadside repairs.

• Personal items for daily use.

• Spare parts that may be required, like an extra helmet visor.

This renders cafe racers ineffective as far as real road riding is concerned. You cannot travel, go sightseeing, or go on day trips on cafe racers due to the lack of storage space and touring features.

Cafe racers are very difficult to use during bad weather due to their open and minimal design. The pod filters allow rainwater to enter the engine. Riding a cafe racer in cold weather is also a nightmare due to the absence of wind protection.

The perfect riding conditions for cafe racers are the only ones that cafe racer owners can ride in. This restricts the time and usage of the bike.

The cafe racer trend produces numerous half-complete custom bike projects that are never ridden. The custom cafe racer builders start building these bikes, which they fail to finish because of many reasons, including:

• Incompetence to do complicated custom work.

• Shortage of money or limited budget to buy expensive custom or aftermarket parts.

• Being faced with my other personal issues that require more attention and time.

• The process of building a custom cafe racer bike no longer intrigues them due to its time- and money-consuming nature.

These abandoned custom cafe racer projects not only waste money, but also space in your garage. Such projects also demotivates custom bike builders from starting a custom bike project again.

Motorcycles are supposed to provide freedom, fun, and be a good transportation. Cafe racer bikes tend to provide none of that. Instead, they become:

• A piece of art to sit in your garage that is seldom ridden.

• Money pits that continue to consume more and more money.

• Cafe racers become the cause of pain and frustration.

When it comes to cafe racers, the style has become more preferred over function and role. This truly lacked what you would expect from a true motorbike: the ability to take you to many different places while having fun.

If you prefer more practicality, usefulness, and everyday usability, there are standard or naked bikes that are ideal for roads and daily use. These bikes are agile and ensure perfect handling for all riders. If you are a novice rider looking for a better and more practical option, consider a small-capacity standard or naked bike.

Standard or naked bikes should be the first option that new riders should consider. These bikes offer:

• Upright and comfortable riding positions.

• Better visibility and control.

• Reliable performance for learning how to ride motorbikes.

• Room for storage and a passenger.

If you still want a cafe racer, rather than building one for yourself, it is better to go with a factory-made cafe racer. These factory-built racers may not fall under the definition of original or true cafe racer bikes. However, these bikes address most of the issues of custom-built cafe racers. These factory-made cafe racer-style bikes offer more than just the aesthetics. They offer:

• Comfort in terms of proper ergonomics.

• Modern braking system and suspension.

• Fuel injection systems that are dependable.

• Warranty coverage for peace of mind.

• Above all, in most cases, they are also cheaper than the custom-built cafe racers and are more effective.

Cafe racers are attractive, yet they have issues that make riding uncomfortable and less practical. Most custom-built cafe racer bikes come with poor comfort, mechanical problems, a lack of safety features, and high prices.

New riders tend to make mistakes, and cafe racers are not very forgiving. Beginners are likely to get demotivated and repelled by motorcycling. Get a bike that will make you successful, not the one that only looks good, but does not perform well.