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Top test Voxan Cafe Racer

What you want

The booming V-Twin as a magnificent eye-catcher between the wheels, curves and shapes in the purest nostalgia? the show at the street cafe, perfectly staged. But slowly friends, the Voxan Cafe Racer from France can also do very different things.

Of course we could indulge ourselves endlessly and probably unsuccessfully about the origin of the »Cafe Racer«. But which English twin, regardless of whether it was named a coffee hit in the wild sixties or even before the war, is actually completely irrelevant here. Even if the Cafe Racer from Voxan drives this title painted silver on black for a walk? This French is far too good to stroll from coffeehouse to coffeehouse.
Simply tilt the Voxan onto the side stand, which is just under an inch too short, and let the reddish evening sun shine the striking 72-degree V-Twin, which is completely exposed from the bridge frame, when the matt stainless steel manifolds well out of the engine, around the silver engine housing loop. Squat on the grass, lean back, and if it doesn’t bring a satisfied grin on your face now, do what you have to do and get yourself a purring four-cylinder. But if this V2 chunk doesn’t tear your heart apart, keep your hands off a fat twin.
Before things get sentimental, let’s just pound off. Simply because the injector comes out of the quark without complaints or quirks. Nothing slaps, nothing jerks, no fiddling with the choke, best manners right from the start. The sound is great too. Tea music for the film, so to speak. Unadulterated twin staccato, no annoying whistling concerts of superfluous gears, reduced to sucking in and exhausting, but regulated in volume so that it does not attract critical attention from any of the green guild.
If you want to hear, you also have to feel: the twin documents every piston stroke across the entire engine speed range with clear vibrations. Not annoying, just typical two-cylinder. Completely natural, with no balance shafts or rubber bearings, the Voxan Cafe Racer hums forwards. And only God in France knows why this 72-degree Vau pushes out of idle speed without rumbling, whipping and jerking, i.e. where, for example, the Aprilia V engine acts quite uncouth despite balance shafts. Obviously, a successful balance of masses, a neat flywheel and an impeccably adjusted engine management. In any case, the whole thing works extremely well and makes the Voxan engine developed by Renault in-house tuner Sodemo more than likeable. Because it is so well-trained and drastically simplifies annoying big city curves and funny Alpine sweeping. Only the noticeably long first gear requires a bit of getting used to and the confidence that the engine will not suddenly stop working below 1500 rpm.
Crisp, short gearshifts allow precise, quick gear changes during a brisk country road dance, only when snuffling around at low speeds is a slight hooking in the gearshift system noticeable. Mild load changes during the accelerator-to-accelerator-to-command are noticeable, but only disturbing in the form that the Paioli fork, which has been set too softly, disappears due to the high braking torque of the 1000 engine and messes up the line selection.
As cultivated and reliable as the Voxan engine is, the Voxan, which was tested in the French 98 hp variant, lags behind the current competition when it comes to revving and pulling power. As soon as the open power variant, rumored to be around 120 hp, is available, it will be retested ?? promised. Such little things can hardly reduce the entertainment value of the cafe racer, as real motorcycle life usually takes place below three-digit horsepower figures. Especially when you shimmy through the mountainous landscape in pleasurable turns and arcs.
Bent low over the handlebars, with high-mounted pegs and a narrow seat, the Cafe Racer tends more towards the super athlete. Which is not a disadvantage when sharpening jagged bends. Already in the third corner it becomes clear that the Voxan prefers the committed ride. In a tightly upright "Schorsch-Maier posture", the Voxan is rather stiff and unwilling, only when the rider takes command by shifting his weight in a gentle hanging-off does the load whistle quickly and diagonally around the corners. Now, at the latest, there is also the desire for a tighter spring / damper adjustment of the fork and the horizontally mounted White Power shock absorber, because the large spring movements eat up part of the handiness when changing lean angles.
It’s a shame, because the smart composite chassis made of two 60 millimeter thick steel tubes and a flanged steering head and swing arm mounting is ready for bigger things. For example, on powerful inclines, in which the noble aluminum silencers only scratch white stripes in the asphalt shortly before departure. Or to a grandiose low-flying attack in fast, wide arcs, in which the relatively large wheelbase of 1455 millimeters in conjunction with a steering geometry that is clearly designed for stability guarantee confident cornering with accurate steering precision.
When it comes to tight turns, the Voxan, on the other hand, requires a firm hand, if you give in, you go further than you would like. And if you are inclined to tamper with the sufficiently effective and controllable Brembo brake, you should take into account the installation moment of the Michelin Pilot Sport. All in all, by no means dramatic and after a few hundred corners equalized by the routine. Apart from a slight tendency to hit the handlebars on beet field-like country roads and occasionally wobbly reactions with pronounced longitudinal grooves, the Voxan proves an immaculate driving stability up to a top speed of 235 km / h.
Crouched behind the spartan half fairing in the classic Godier-Genoud-Kawasaki design, people of medium stature get along well with the wind protection, larger people are more affected by the shredded wind at top speed. But is the motorway the correct playground for the cafe racer? Clear rejection, the country road is his territory, and when taking a break, the nice Frenchman cuts a fine figure in front of the street cafe. Because the knobbly round design ensures ahhh and ohhh, the sometimes exquisite workmanship and ingenious details are even looked at by the expert with a respectful nod of the head and the preppy waitress also has eyes and ears for it at the latest when the sonorous shot.
AT.About the waitress. The emergency seat under the screwed hump should only be used in this way. Uncomfortable and with poor grip on a brisk journey, the construction only passes as a Casanova roll. When looking in the round rear-view mirror, you also come across the limits of functionality: the view to the rear is rather modest. There is also something to complain about about the adjustable footrests, because they don’t work because the brake lever and exhaust collide when you adjust them. Well, that’s it with the nagging at the new entry on the German market. All that remains for the fresh Frenchman is to wish that the German importer Roth put together a serious dealership so that friends of crisp twins can shoot off as quickly as possible and with good care.

Top test Voxan Cafe Racer

What you want

Was there anything else?

0 Many high-quality and expensive milled parts0 Delicate and fine weld seams on the brushed stainless steel elbows0 Smooth, easy-care surface of the five-spoke cast wheels0 Brake and clutch levers with range adjustment0 Plastic tank covered by side panels Minus0 Cumbersome oil check and refilling of the sump angle lubrication 0, as a result, the sump angle is too short and high seat height make maneuvering more difficult 0 No compression adjustment on the shock absorber 0 The shock absorber hits bumps when fully loaded 0 Disturbing edges on the tank in the area of ​​the thighs Chassis settings Fork: rebound 8 clicks on, compression 1 click on spring strut: rebound 7. Position of tires Front Michelin Pilot Sport, rear Pilot Sport »M« air pressure in the test 2.5 / 2.9 bar

MOTORCYCLE readings

Braking measurements Braking distance from 100 km / h 39.8 m Average deceleration 9.7 m / s2 Comments: Slightly furry pressure point requires approaching the blocking limit. The front tire occasionally tends to stamp. Handling course I (tight curves) Best lap time 28.9 sec Vmax at the measuring point 53.6 km / h Comments: Good steering precision and a lot of ground clearance enable round, fast lines, the machine only has to use force at the slow turning point be forced onto the tight arc. The long spring movements, especially of the fork, when the load changes, are also annoying. Handling route II. (Wide arcs) Best lap time 21.0 sec Vmax at the measuring point 98.6 km / h Comments: Here, too, the soft coordination of spring and compression stage damping proves to be a hindrance and reduces handling. Circular path 0 46 meters, best lap time 10.4 sec Vmax at measuring point 53.6 km / h Comments: Silencers and footrests limit the freedom of lean angle very late, good stability when driving at a constant rate, the fork only dips heavily when the load changes. Significant righting moment when braking in an inclined position

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