The café racer movement: freedom and individuality
In recent years, we’ve seen a resurgence of the café racer motorcycle style, which features a stripped down appearance and a predilection for performance. Similar motorcycles roared down the winding roads of England during the 1960s during the halcyon of the café racer movement. In order to examine this movement in full, we have to take a step back to England after the conclusion of World War 1.
Early origins
After 4 years of brutal conflict, WW1 ended in 1918 and England’s economy finally began to return to normality. As transportation technologies improved, motorcars and motorcycles were now a part of everyday life (instead of novelties) and the antiquated English road systems needed to evolve in order to fulfill these new traffic demands.
Transportation and road haulage industries began to boom, and with this, roadside stops and cafés cropped up to cater to the new horde of weary travelers. Several decades later, these same establishments would be used as recreational sites where motorcycle enthusiasts would frequent before racing each other to the next café.
While the new motorways in England had certainly evolved from the past, they are nothing like the modern motorways we see in the country today. They were still difficult to navigate, with plenty of tight turns and narrow passages which would give motorists headaches. The young men returning from the war now found themselves with a bit of extra cash, and were able to get hold of motorcycles which they used to ride up and down the country for recreational purposes. While recreational riding diminished after the advent of World War 2, it would come back in a more potent at the war’s conclusion.
Post-WW2 England & the Rockers subculture
During the 1950s, young men came back from the war and with some extra financial resources, rediscovered their love for riding. Combine this with a rise in youth culture, with rebellious heroes in leather jackets such as Marlon Brando inspiring many, and the café racer movement was born.
The café racer movement was inextricably linked with the rise of rock and roll music in the 1960s. Rocker culture was completely unfamiliar (and generally abhorrent) to older generations, which only made it more compelling for those looking to distance themselves from the uninteresting ways of their elders. Young Rockers with their leather jackets, slick hairstyles and customized motorcycles would meet at roadside cafés to socialize, listen to musicians like Elvis Presley and enjoy their freedom. The most famous café of this period is London’s Ace Café, which still exists to this day! Their website reads: “At Ace Cafe London we welcome all who share our passion, based upon the traditions of motorcycles, cars and rock n' roll.”
In environments such as these, bravado was widespread and impressing girls (and each other) was extremely important. One of the ways you could convey your masculinity was by passing the 100 miles per hour mark on your motorcycle, a feat known as the “ton”. Although this doesn’t sound like a lot by modern standards, 100 miles per hour was a lot in an era when most people were riding 350cc motorcycles! In order to achieve feats like this, motorcycles were customized for speed (and coolness) - comfort was largely ignored.
Bike specifications
Owning a customized café racer was a way to showcase one’s identity, hence no café racer was the same. However, there were common attributes which helped to define the café racer as a style. Typically, the motorcycles would feature an elongated fuel tank with dents to allow the rider to grip the tank with his knees - this was reminiscent of the Grand Prix racers of the 1960s. Clip-on bars, low hanging racing handlebars, large carburetors, fiberglass (or aluminum) gas tanks and swept back pipes were also commonplace. As an ergonomic consideration, rear-set footrests and foot controls were also typical, as were race style fairings.
Interestingly, some of the most popular motorcycles in this genre were hybrids of two separate types. For instance, the “Triton” utilized a Norton Featherbed frame and a Triumph Bonneville engine. This combination resulted in excellent performance characteristics, perfect for doing the “ton” and impressing the opposite sex!
For those with a more modest budget, the Triumph engine could be used with a BSA frame. This type of vehicle was known as the “Tribsa”. Alternatively, a Vincent engine with a Norton frame was known as a “Norvin”. Racing frames by other manufacturers such as Rickman and Seeley were also used to create unique café racer motorcycles.
Similar to the chopper movement in America, café racers were formed by taking factory motorcycles and removing the unnecessary, plus adding a few things in to make them look more unique! Unlike the American choppers which could be ridden on long, straight roads, the café racers were more suited for maximum handleability, in order to cope with the treacherous winding roads in England at the time.
Modern day
In the 1970s, Japanese manufacturers began to dominate the British manufacturers in the marketplace, and style demands changed. Leading European motorcycle manufacturers such as Benelli, BMW and Bultaco started producing factory variants of the café style which customers could purchase, essentially destroying the personalization aspect which was endemic to the subculture. As technologies evolved, the café racer modifications were no longer improving performances, they were simply making the rides less comfortable, hence they started to die out.
Unlike other youth motorcycle subcultures which were considered as hostile irritations, such as the Bosozoku gangs of Japan, the café racer movement is often looked back upon with a romantic lense. The iconic café racer represents an era when the youth of England sculpted their own identity and developed a sense of freedom, as they daringly raced each other across the nation, through winding roads and dangerous turns, all to rejoice at the next roadside stop!
Early origins
After 4 years of brutal conflict, WW1 ended in 1918 and England’s economy finally began to return to normality. As transportation technologies improved, motorcars and motorcycles were now a part of everyday life (instead of novelties) and the antiquated English road systems needed to evolve in order to fulfill these new traffic demands.
Transportation and road haulage industries began to boom, and with this, roadside stops and cafés cropped up to cater to the new horde of weary travelers. Several decades later, these same establishments would be used as recreational sites where motorcycle enthusiasts would frequent before racing each other to the next café.
While the new motorways in England had certainly evolved from the past, they are nothing like the modern motorways we see in the country today. They were still difficult to navigate, with plenty of tight turns and narrow passages which would give motorists headaches. The young men returning from the war now found themselves with a bit of extra cash, and were able to get hold of motorcycles which they used to ride up and down the country for recreational purposes. While recreational riding diminished after the advent of World War 2, it would come back in a more potent at the war’s conclusion.
Post-WW2 England & the Rockers subculture
During the 1950s, young men came back from the war and with some extra financial resources, rediscovered their love for riding. Combine this with a rise in youth culture, with rebellious heroes in leather jackets such as Marlon Brando inspiring many, and the café racer movement was born.
The café racer movement was inextricably linked with the rise of rock and roll music in the 1960s. Rocker culture was completely unfamiliar (and generally abhorrent) to older generations, which only made it more compelling for those looking to distance themselves from the uninteresting ways of their elders. Young Rockers with their leather jackets, slick hairstyles and customized motorcycles would meet at roadside cafés to socialize, listen to musicians like Elvis Presley and enjoy their freedom. The most famous café of this period is London’s Ace Café, which still exists to this day! Their website reads: “At Ace Cafe London we welcome all who share our passion, based upon the traditions of motorcycles, cars and rock n' roll.”
In environments such as these, bravado was widespread and impressing girls (and each other) was extremely important. One of the ways you could convey your masculinity was by passing the 100 miles per hour mark on your motorcycle, a feat known as the “ton”. Although this doesn’t sound like a lot by modern standards, 100 miles per hour was a lot in an era when most people were riding 350cc motorcycles! In order to achieve feats like this, motorcycles were customized for speed (and coolness) - comfort was largely ignored.
Bike specifications
Owning a customized café racer was a way to showcase one’s identity, hence no café racer was the same. However, there were common attributes which helped to define the café racer as a style. Typically, the motorcycles would feature an elongated fuel tank with dents to allow the rider to grip the tank with his knees - this was reminiscent of the Grand Prix racers of the 1960s. Clip-on bars, low hanging racing handlebars, large carburetors, fiberglass (or aluminum) gas tanks and swept back pipes were also commonplace. As an ergonomic consideration, rear-set footrests and foot controls were also typical, as were race style fairings.
Interestingly, some of the most popular motorcycles in this genre were hybrids of two separate types. For instance, the “Triton” utilized a Norton Featherbed frame and a Triumph Bonneville engine. This combination resulted in excellent performance characteristics, perfect for doing the “ton” and impressing the opposite sex!
For those with a more modest budget, the Triumph engine could be used with a BSA frame. This type of vehicle was known as the “Tribsa”. Alternatively, a Vincent engine with a Norton frame was known as a “Norvin”. Racing frames by other manufacturers such as Rickman and Seeley were also used to create unique café racer motorcycles.
Similar to the chopper movement in America, café racers were formed by taking factory motorcycles and removing the unnecessary, plus adding a few things in to make them look more unique! Unlike the American choppers which could be ridden on long, straight roads, the café racers were more suited for maximum handleability, in order to cope with the treacherous winding roads in England at the time.
Modern day
In the 1970s, Japanese manufacturers began to dominate the British manufacturers in the marketplace, and style demands changed. Leading European motorcycle manufacturers such as Benelli, BMW and Bultaco started producing factory variants of the café style which customers could purchase, essentially destroying the personalization aspect which was endemic to the subculture. As technologies evolved, the café racer modifications were no longer improving performances, they were simply making the rides less comfortable, hence they started to die out.
Unlike other youth motorcycle subcultures which were considered as hostile irritations, such as the Bosozoku gangs of Japan, the café racer movement is often looked back upon with a romantic lense. The iconic café racer represents an era when the youth of England sculpted their own identity and developed a sense of freedom, as they daringly raced each other across the nation, through winding roads and dangerous turns, all to rejoice at the next roadside stop!