Home Links Email Message Board Gallery Welcome to the British Cafe. This sight is devoted to the special motorcycle builder, his machine, and one's pursuit of the truest meaning of sport riding. Most believe that this refers to a type of motorcycle, which isn't incorrect, but it means much more.
Cafe racer describes the rider as well as the machine itself.
Cafe racers began in England sometime during the 50's and 60's when young riders wanted better performance out of their road going models. During this time the sport of road racing began drawing a great deal of attention from the public. Racing machines were not only powerful, but very stark in order to be lighter which meant better road holding potential. Sure there were fast bikes being produced, but very few with race bike capability. So riders began building faster and better handling motorcycles from spare parts of existing models.