Thread: Bike Porn - Regardless of the motor, Show off your "two wheeled" beasties

That's a cool chopper @bunji .
Reminds me a little of the triumph trident t150 I hardtailed years ago .
The seat on the chopper of yours is what I intend to do on the VT . Going for the old skool look . With all the chrome and fat front tyre it's already half way there so figured may as well run with it...
Might look a little odd with cafe racer bars but after a lifetime of race bikes the 'sit up and beg' seating position just feels unnatural .



And these two immaculate classics rolled up at work the other day... awesome to see...




That's what sparked the sprung seat idea ....

Originally Posted by 25 /08 IMP

We just brought a pair of e bikes being that we are getting old.
Bloody awesome things man they have some power

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I ran into a guy on a track with one while hunting ,scared the shit out of me as it came around the bend & l was off day dream marching,he had blown his knees out when younger playing rugby & said he would not be able to hunt with out one now .

I have been thinking about one ever since for later on & would love to see a long time use review on one used for hunting .A lot of people do not realize bikes are popular for hunting access in the mountains in Oz & the US on closed vehicle tracks (for Bush fire prevention)during the summer months.The one he had was a real boxy/square looking thing ,l have not seen since .

You should do a post on how you like them after you have had time in the saddle , going to be some fun /challenging rides for you breaking them in

Originally Posted by bunji

I ran into a guy on a track with one while hunting ,scared the shit out of me as it came around the bend & l was off day dream marching,he had blown his knees out when younger playing rugby & said he would not be able to hunt with out one now .

I have been thinking about one ever since for later on & would love to see a long time use review on one used for hunting .A lot of people do not realize bikes are popular for hunting access in the mountains in Oz & the US on closed vehicle tracks (for Bush fire prevention)during the summer months.The one he had was a real boxy/square looking thing ,l have not seen since .

You should do a post on how you like them after you have had time in the saddle , going to be some fun /challenging rides for you breaking them in

So far done a few MB park tracks Rotorua etc real love it as it's been years since I've been on a bike we are doing 300km next year down south ocean to Alps. Would be awesome getting into some hunting blocks .


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@Ftx325 Beautiful bikes,l always said if l won the lottery l would get a Brough Superior have loved them since l was kid & had Lawrence of Arabia as a hero.Got to see & hear one run when Jay Leno brought one to that US Veterans ride at a meet & greet for them he owned a couple at the time.

Originally Posted by 25 /08 IMP

So far done a few MB park tracks Rotorua etc real love it as it's been years since I've been on a bike we are doing 300km next year down south ocean to Alps. Would be awesome getting into some hunting blocks .


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There are issues using a E MTB for hunting. I wrote quite a bit in the Forza dirt bike thread under the Outdoor transport heading. In essence they are fine riding with lightweight hunting kit for a day hunt, riding along forestry tracks sort of thing, but hit big hills, or gravel riverbeds, or lumpy going and they come up short and are hard work and the mythical 80km range evaporates before your eyes. Then you shoot something. What now?? 10-15kgs of meat on your back, along with rifle and day gear.

MTB's are not built as ruggedly as trail bikes. They are built to minimise weight. Period. Yes, with an 75kg rider, lycra onesy and two bananas and a drink bottle on them they can do some pretty cool things. But get a beefy Kiwi hunter with all his gear and rifle in and out of the bush is asking a bit too much from the current crop of EV bicycles.

Originally Posted by XR500

There are issues using a E MTB for hunting. I wrote quite a bit in the Forza dirt bike thread under the Outdoor transport heading. In essence they are fine riding with lightweight hunting kit for a day hunt, riding along forestry tracks sort of thing, but hit big hills, or gravel riverbeds, or lumpy going and they come up short and are hard work and the mythical 80km range evaporates before your eyes. Then you shoot something. What now?? 10-15kgs of meat on your back, along with rifle and day gear.

MTB's are not built as ruggedly as trail bikes. They are built to minimise weight. Period. Yes, with an 75kg rider, lycra onesy and two bananas and a drink bottle on them they can do some pretty cool things. But get a beefy Kiwi hunter with all his gear and rifle in and out of the bush is asking a bit too much from the current crop of EV bicycles.

Yip I agree I'll never be using mine for hunting but would be good for scouting out blocks or covering tracks quickly and quiet just with a rifle.

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@XR500 Thanks l have been wanting to have a read up on them used for hunting for a while ,l will search out that thread & have a read.

Threw the new cafe racer bars on the vt 750 . Definitely looks a lot less Harley like now... but I am finding the reach a bit excessive , so it looks like I am going to make my own handlebars so as to get them where I am comfortable with them .
Love the new mirrors though .

Originally Posted by Ftx325

Threw the new cafe racer bars on the vt 750 . Definitely looks a lot less Harley like now... but I am finding the reach a bit excessive , so it looks like I am going to make my own handlebars so as to get them where I am comfortable with them .
Love the new mirrors though .

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@Ftx not sure I like those bars....but I will not say anything other than as long as you like it that is all that matters....I have seen a number of XV1000 / XV1100 turned into bobbers and cafe's and it can be done. Once you start down that road.....Steering (rake will need to be steeper?) seat. weight, etc all comes in for a change....Great engines in the jap twins too. Watch out for the BT1100 though.....Yamahas version of a sports bike with the XV1100 motor in it...big, not a lot of power and looks good....Interesting to look at but I would not buy one...

I hear ya @timattalon but won't be going down that route . Besides fitting a bobber style sprung seat to hopefully lessen any jarring through my back on the crap roads here I don't intend to make any major changes . I am well aware it's no sports bike... But after a lifetime of racing bikes it just doesn't feel natural to me sitting upright and is no good for my back either .
So I will have a crack at making some old style salt racer bars which will be low but swoop back along beside the tank so reach is not so far . Should be a good compromise between upright and racer crouch and make the bike look more old school , along with the seat , which is the style I am going for .
I do miss my R1 ....

Originally Posted by Ftx325

Threw the new cafe racer bars on the vt 750 . Definitely looks a lot less Harley like now... but I am finding the reach a bit excessive , so it looks like I am going to make my own handlebars so as to get them where I am comfortable with them .
Love the new mirrors though .

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I like narrow flat bars but if those bars were on my bike I’d rotate them so they don’t ‘droop’ so much, you could try that and see if it helps with your reaching issue?

PS: I had similar bars on a previous Harley so your bike doesn’t look as ‘less Harley’ as you imagine!

Tried all that @Finnwolf . Started with drag bars but have to be on 4inch + risers to clear the tank so still 'sit up and beg' upright seating . The problem is the tank is so wide there's no room for the bars to come back or they hit the tank on lock . Those fitted at the moment just clear the tank but are waaay forward to do so and lifting,rotating them moves them even further forward so I have come to the conclusion the bars need to swoop out and around the tank and sweep back along the side to give room around the tank front for the switchblocks , rather than cut the corner on the diagonal like clipons or drag bars ....if that makes sense to you...

This sort of thing .... With a double bend rather than a straight line ...

My SR500 cafe-style, has screwed-on steering-stops so bars/switches clear tank. shit turning-lock though

Originally Posted by Ftx325

I hear ya @timattalon but won't be going down that route . Besides fitting a bobber style sprung seat to hopefully lessen any jarring through my back on the crap roads here I don't intend to make any major changes . I am well aware it's no sports bike... But after a lifetime of racing bikes it just doesn't feel natural to me sitting upright and is no good for my back either .
So I will have a crack at making some old style salt racer bars which will be low but swoop back along beside the tank so reach is not so far . Should be a good compromise between upright and racer crouch and make the bike look more old school , along with the seat , which is the style I am going for .
I do miss my R1 ....

@Ftx in that case you may enjoy what I looked at before I got my Katana....Sol Apollo....

https://www.solinvictus.com.au/pages/apollo-cafe-racer

If it looks familiar , it should. Its an Aussie / chinese copy of the GB400TT from Honda...Around $8k new...

Yep , that looks good . Just my style . Would really like a 1200 triumph thruxton with top fairing but can't afford one of those (thanks to the kids...) but love the classic cafe racer styling . Like an old Bonnie I built many years ago but without a fairing . One of those machines I wish I had kept .

Made a start on new bars for the VT by cutting up the original western bars and will make inserts so can fit them to some clip-ons I have kicking around the shed in my random bike stuff .(original bars 1" , clip-on clamps for 7/8 bars)
Should look something like this when done...


They should wrap around front of tank and will be 4 inches or so further back at the grip hopefully .
Should sit something like this...



Heaps of room for the switchblocks and more oldie looking shape . Saves me having to make shorter cables to suit the bars on there at the moment too . So hopefully they work out okay and being clip-ons will retain full adjustability .

Well that's the plan anyway.......