Ace Cafe Racer

Posted on by admin

Menus

Ace Cafe Racer
Edge

Ace Cafe Racer in the driving report

Dynamite on two wheels

Three legends among themselves: The Ace Cafe in London turned 80, customizer Nick Gale built a motorcycle as a birthday present and Alan Cathcart tried it out. Does everything sound too dry? Then please: Raise the curtain on the 198 kg naked bike with 138 hp and 156 Nm from a 1650 cm³ V2!

D.he British motorcycle manufacturer Nick Gale is far too young to remember the Swinging Sixties. And not to the rockers, whose machines had famous names like Triton, Tribsa, Norvin and Dresda at the time. Their big meeting point was the London “Ace Cafe”, to which Gale is very connected today. After all, he drove past it every day to his place of work. The most famous biker cafe in the world will be 80 years old next year. Reason enough for Gale to build a very special motorcycle for it, his interpretation of a cafe racer, classically British, but contemporary and so completely different from the usual custom bikes. “I saw very little point in copying a style like Roland Sands’,” says Gale. “I wanted to do my own thing.” As one of Europe’s leading custom designers, best known for the acclaimed Memphis Belle in 2004, Gale was quick to hit the mark. The model was the Triton, the 60s archetype of the cafe racer. “I wanted to use a Manx Norton fuel tank and a hump seat,” says Nick. “And, what is very important, a classic, round headlight. I wanted to build something that from afar could be mistaken for a Triton. “

Buy complete article

Ace Cafe Racer

Ace Cafe Racer in the driving report
Dynamite on two wheels

–

€ 2.00

Buy now

As a drive he chose an air-cooled dry sump V2 with 1650 cm³ from the US engine manufacturer S&S. Compressed to 12: 1, with a Crane Hi-4 CDI ignition and a 47 mm S&S-Super-E carburettor with a winding air filter inlet, the engine delivers 138 hp on the rear wheel at 5200 rpm and an incredible 156 Nm of torque at just 4250 rpm. To tame this powerhouse, Gale used a Super Wideline Replica Twin-Shock Norton Featherbed Chassis from P & D Custom Bikes, which is made from fine Reynolds 531 chrome molybdenum steel tubing. The result is a beefy machine on which the wonderful Ohlins struts and the upside-down fork, also from Sweden, fit perfectly. The specially made Harris Performance triple fork bridges cleverly hide the hydraulic units of the brake and clutch. Together with the invisible cables laid in the frame tubes, the result is an extremely clean look.

The weight distribution of 51 to 49 percent looks extremely successful, and 120 millimeters of travel at the front and rear create good comfort. The 24.5 liter aluminum tank was perfectly tailored to the Cafe Racer by sheet metal maker John Williams in The Tank Shop in Scotland. “The width of the frame made it possible for us to place the tank very low, if it had been narrower, we would have had to go up, which in terms of looks would not have matched the motorcycle at all.” Williams also made the seat by hand from sheet aluminum chipped, then bead-blasted like the tank. The taillights have been recessed – another example of the minimalist mindset that characterizes the construction of the Cafe Racer. With only 198 kilograms, she rides like a bicycle.

The Little Miss Dynamite pulls out of the speed cellar like crazy. Past construction site signs, along North Circular Road past the “Ace Cafe”, the Racer is a show bike that you can even really accelerate with. The Ace Cafe Racer only feels a bit clunky and bulky in slow passages. But you can tell that it was made with care and not just for the show.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *