NF cafe racer

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Jerome Kimberlin

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May 13, 2013, 8:16:12 PM5/13/13
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Mac Dennis

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May 13, 2013, 8:32:57 PM5/13/13
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Lots of people get upset at such a beast but as a friend of Aermacchi and Motobi I like it! Mac

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On May 13, 2013, at 20:16, Jerome Kimberlin <kimb...@comcast.net> wrote:

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Hubert Casanova

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May 14, 2013, 10:27:32 AM5/14/13
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interesting styling exercise , but nothing else.
a nuovo falcone redefines the meaning of slow,
Creating a cafe racer based on a nuovo falcone is pretty silly, unless you want to race against bicycles.
 
cheers,
Hubert
 
( who  has been running one as a daily transport for years...)
 
 
 
 
On Tue, May 14, 2013 at 2:16 AM, Jerome Kimberlin <kimb...@comcast.net> wrote:


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Alan Comfort

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May 14, 2013, 12:11:32 PM5/14/13
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In my view, ALL cafe racers are a styling exercise. If you want to go fast, just buy a modern sport bike and get on with it. Many fine classic bikes have been desecrated by the custom builder. On the other hand, there have been some rather elegant bikes made from what otherwise would have been "just another one of those". With regard to the NF that is currently under scrutiny, I will reserve comment on that.  In the end it must always be "to each his own" and Vive la difference!
Regards, Alan in Vancouver
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Danilo Gurovich

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May 14, 2013, 12:16:57 PM5/14/13
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I don't think it's about going fast, either.  I have two cafe bikes -- a 250cc Parilla and I'm building a 125cc Stornello.  They will be built under the "cafe" guidelines, but ultimate top speed or handling or reliability or...

I have an Aprilia Shiver that goes real fast, corners wonderfully and is as reliable as a refrigerator.

I prefer the small bikes, really.  I'm going fast enough around town, and I can park it anywhere.  Plus they look freeking cool.  Now I just need to get my Gambalungha-inspired Aermacchi 350 Sprint finished for another take on "cafe"...

Danilo


On 13-05-14 12:11 PM, Alan Comfort wrote:
In my view, ALL cafe racers are a styling exercise. If you want to go fast, just buy a modern sport bike and get on with it. Many fine classic bikes have been desecrated by the custom builder. On the other hand, there have been some rather elegant bikes made from what otherwise would have been "just another one of those". With regard to the NF that is currently under scrutiny, I will reserve comment on that.  In the end it must always be "to each his own" and Vive la difference!
Regards, Alan in Vancouver
On 2013-05-14, at 7:27 AM, Hubert Casanova wrote:

interesting styling exercise , but nothing else.
a nuovo falcone redefines the meaning of slow,
Creating a cafe racer based on a nuovo falcone is pretty silly, unless you want to race against bicycles.
 
cheers,
Hubert
 
( who  has been running one as a daily transport for years...)
 
 
 
 
On Tue, May 14, 2013 at 2:16 AM, Jerome Kimberlin <kimb...@comcast.net> wrote:


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Danilo Gurovich d...@gurovich.com Grosse Pointe Farms, MI

Michael Moore

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May 14, 2013, 1:02:46 PM5/14/13
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A cafe racer typically emulates a roadrace bike. That NF looks to
me like a custom-bike show entry that has some cafe racer styling
cues. The chopperesque front end geometry isn't something that a
person building a "real" cafe racer would tend to do, because it is
not the way someone would build a roadracer.

It has very nice construction qualities, but I wouldn't describe it as a
cafe racer.

Danilo, I look forward to seeing your Aermacchi, though if I built one
it would be inspired by the late 50s GP singles.

I too prefer smaller bikes. A 200/250 vintage roadracer goes more
than fast enough for me. I've no desire to race a 750 or something
with similar power/speed again.

cheers,
Michael

Hubert Casanova

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May 14, 2013, 1:00:41 PM5/14/13
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your stornello will  outperform the nuovo falcone.... 
but it is not about going fast, 
the whole point of a NF is that it will pull from 500 revs, 
it can happily plod around at 2000 revs all day 
it will also refuse to do anything in a hurry, 

it is like taking a steam roller to a drag strip. 
you might eventually reach the other end of the strip , but you missed the point of a drag strip doing so.... 

to be honest, i completely lost interest in modern bikes. 
i like the challenge of getting a decent speed out of a old bike.
buying a modern bike would ruin what i like most about motorcycles. 

hubert

Stephen Farthing

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May 14, 2013, 1:39:26 PM5/14/13
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Guys,

I think the term "cafe racer" came from the 1960s in England when bikers (AKA rockers) used to congregate in local coffee bars (AKA cafes) and it was cool to make your bike look like a racer. Mind you in those days it was pretty easy to get your British bike to look like one as many bikes on the track were not far different from the ones you could buy. One favourite was a Triton, a Triumph Twin in a Norton Featherbed frame. 

Back in those days you could either make one yourself or find a dealer to make one for you. At least one dealer in London was known to go round the streets in a van and steal bikes to make Tritons from. It was a fairly simple thing to give them new engine and frame numbers. I read about him in "Motorcycle Sport" a magazine which back in the 1970s and 80s was a great blend of history, engineering and bike reviews. Not seen it for many years now. 

I like small bikes also, I had a 250 Ducati in the 1970s which was fast and handled superbly but a pig to start. Until a few years ago I had a 350 MV "Testi" with the race faring which had open megas as standard. Every time I started it I was really concerned the engine would expire as it sounded like a continuous set of explosions in a bucket of bolts. They were known to be fragile engines and spares were made from unobtanium. Handling was amazing but the engine was prone to stalling in slow traffic and a restart meant putting it on the centre stand as the kick start was awkward. So in the end I parted with it. 

Started the old Falcone last week for the first time since october. One swing was all it took :-)

Regards, 

Steve




Danilo Gurovich

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May 14, 2013, 3:33:07 PM5/14/13
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"Danilo, I look forward to seeing your Aermacchi, though if I built one it would be inspired by the late 50s GP singles"

I went with the early 50s GP singles, simply because I don't know if there is a more beautiful bike than a gambalungha.  In silver/industrial colors it just looks magnificent.

Danilo
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