Harley Cafe A L'americain
HARLEY CAFE A L'AMERICAIN
The Sportster With “Sport’
Jake Grubb
Two young motorcyclists are sitting at a small round table under a low canvas awning, one sipping a cappuccino, the other a heavy burgundy. It is early Spring, just after the rains. "Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrroooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaeee eeeeeek." A large, gleaming motorcycle cruises down the main thoroughfare; its rider whips it into a right turn around the corner nearest the cafe and lopes to a squeeky stop. The rider carefully parks his cycle next to the two bikes already in place and dismounts.
First man: Francois: Second man: Francois:
Francois! Salut - Ca va?
Pas mal..Ca va bien.
Et ta fille?
Toujours la meme, tres sensuelle; tres exigeante; tres capoicieuse.
Hey Francois! How’s it going? Reasonable...pretty good.
How’s your girlfriend?
Same as always. Very sensual, very demanding, very temperamental.
Second man: Mais devien impossible, kein? Francois: Elle n’est qu’une dame unique-
ment, mais une dame liberee de nouveau!
But getting on your nerves, eh? Not only is she a woman; she is newly liberated!
First and
Second man: (Both snicker sympathetically)
First man: Et ta moto?
Francois: Ahhhhh....merveilleuse; sauf le
frein - qui ne fonctionne pas tres bien; et les pneus qui sont uses.
Mais peu importe! Je l’aime et elle m’aime.
All three: Robust laughter and applause.
Francois orders a glass of pinot noir and a cheery discussion begins among the three, concerning domestic and personal nuances and current social attractions of interest; among them the upcoming French Gran Prix.
And your motorcycle?
Ahhhhh....marvelous. Except for the brakes. They malfunction. ...And the tires; they are worn. But it is no matter. I love her, she loves me!
A common social meeting place of French motorcyclists is the cafe. This has been prevalent since the beginning of motorcycling in France during the late 1800s. “Meet you at the cafe” is a term common to all French culture, more so even than “meet you at the coffee shop” or “see you at Klancy’s bar” might be to Americans. A cafe in France is a get-together spot for lovers, businessmen, singles on the prowl, married women on shopping dates—anyone with a whim to sit and mix informal conversation with simple food and drink. For motorcyclists, the cafe is often a pleasant way station along a well traveled touring route.
European Gran Prix road racing has for many years affected the “look” of the French cyclist due to its popularity as a national sport. Just as a successful French racing personality is a source of pride to the national image, a man who styles his motorcycle after a Gran Prix bike, and rides it accordingly, exudes a certain virility and confidence. The probable illegality of his riding speeds and nimble way of avoiding stern faced gendarmes are, well, all part of the mystique.
Cyclists of this type are common throughout France and are often seen
grouped in cafes, thus the Yankee reference to “cafe racer” when we see a street bike that looks like a road racer. A cafe bike is a sign of its possesser; what brand it is, how it is set up for handling, the way it is painted-these all come from the personality and taste preferences of the man who owns and rides the machine. European or American, every cafe racer is a custom cycle and like snazzy clothing, is very fashion oriented.
The cafe racer Harley on these pages is an elegant example of modern California motorcycle fashionry. Not at all French, it carries an unbiased appeal for the gut level performance minded road bike rider of any vintage. Be you a Welshman, an Irishman, a Frenchman, a Shawnee Indian or a full-blooded Russian, you would not likely deny that this unusual American street racer performs with spirit and leaves other motorists with a lasting impression of its stateliness. When seen on the highway guys gawk, women steal secret glances and kids make bets on how fast it goes in the quarter mile. “It’s not that those things really matter,” mentions cobuilder Bill Bartell with a crooked smile, “but the bike is a super machine and it really does draw attention.”
Owned by Harley-Davidson West of Marina Del Rey, Calif., it was designed and built by proprietor Rick Talbot and service manager Bartell. Once you start barraging the two men with questions about the machine, Bill slides in quietly: “Ah, well, it wasn’t originally supposed to be a street bike. We started out with plans to make a custom Harley dirt tracker.”
Rick and Bill both had a hankering for a new cafe racer, nevertheless, and as discussion of a project bike progressed, each man uncovered the other’s preoccupation with streamlined street cruising. The final rationale for going with a “cafe” was that it would be a test of whether or not the rumored “new popularity” of this type of custom was for real. If customers ignored the finished cycle, then Rick would mark cafes off as commercial downers.
Customers went bananas. Talbot had several hefty offers for the motorcycle even before it was finished. He is now heavily into the production and sale of cafe specialties!
The Harley is built on an oil tanktype chassis. Built by Harry Hindle of desert bike renown, the frame is a nickle plated double cradle with two main downtubes, gusseted with horizontal crossbars at 12 to 18-in. intervals. The frame is very light, very good looking and very efficient. Rick and Bill designed it, Bill using geometry from his road racing experience and Rick generally being concerned with achieving a low center of gravity while still having to build up and over the lOOOcc Harley engine. The finished mock-up, as delivered to Hindle for building, was of entirely experimental dimensions, but based on a lot of educated experience. All tubing is 4130 chrome moly. The wheelbase is somewhat shorter than that of a stock Sportster, 58^ in. Ground clearance is a fairly low 6V2 in., while the seat height is slightly higher than you would expect, based on the shortened Sportster downtubes, cut down 1 in. Oil travels through every tube of the frame except the swinging arm at a total volume of five full quarts. The standard oil tank only holds three quarts. Bill mentions that after riding the bike for a solid hour, the tubes are never even as much as lukewarm. This is partly due to a vast total area of circulation and also to the nifty Lockhart oil cooler, mounted above and in front of the engine.
The front end is basically Sportster with a few careful modifications. Ceriani triple-clamps replace the wider Harley units and the brake system features a Hurst-Airheart master cylinder and calipers. The standard Harley cast aluminum forks work well and suspension is substantial. “We could have knocked an additional 15 lb. off the front end by going to all Ceriani components,” Bill explains, “but that would only be necessary for road racing.”
The rear end runs Koni adjustable shock absorbers. Bill keeps them in the one up position which yields a somewhat stiff but comfortable ride. Back brake is an extravagant Barnes disc unit. There is no problem with stopping this Harley. Overall gearing is accomplished with a 21-tooth primary sprocket, 50-tooth rear; just a hair taller than stock Harley Sportster street gearing. The “spin off” rear sprocket offers the option of quick and trouble-free gearing changes. Tires front and rear are hefty 4.10 Dunlop K8Is—plenty of side tread for the flamboyant performer. Both rims are 18-in. aluminum Borranis.
Internally, the engine is entirely stock. A 1973 lOOOcc electric start Harley Twin, Rick and Bill point out that it moves their cafe Harley with something like the ease of a McCulloch
“chain saw” two-stroke moving a tricycle. Total weight of the cafe is 368 lb. as opposed to 548 for the standard lOOOcc street equipped Sportster. Carburetion is modified in the form of a Lake Injector, which flows more air and enables the Harley to develop a better top end. Bill mentions, however, that low end and mid-range performance are “not quite as smooth” as they were with the stock carburetor. Ignition and electrics are standard except for the use of a Honda K3 12V battery, which is smaller and more compact than the Harley-Davidson equivalent.
The exhaust system is based on a pre-calculated length for getting the best performance from a lOOOcc V-Twin that develops its maximum horsepower at 5000 rpm. While the length of each pipe is 40j/2 in., the configuration was developed on the basis of keeping the pipes away from the ground and yet still creating something that would look good. The result is a super sanitary arrangement. It hugs the cycle closely, is well away from the ground and comes nowhere near clothing or bare skiM Criticism of its efficiency is yet to heard.
Fiberglass is the material used for the seat, gas tank, fairing and front fender. All are accessory items available at Harley-Davidson West. The seat and tank are patterned after the familiar Harley XR. Each of the four components is a cafe specialty and is offered with bracketing for all of the common major brands of large displacement road going motorcycles. Paintwork on the Harley, done at M/C Custom Painting in Whittier, Calif., is a colorful blend of rich oranges and magentas. All nuts and bolts are of aircraft quality and all special bracketing for the seat, tank, and other fittings is done with aircraft aluminum. The Harley tachometer and FX speedometer are mounted neatly onto the Ceriani fork crown with no modification necessary. á
Riding the Talbot Harley is an expe^ rience. It corners smooth enough to make your tail wag and accelerates strong enough to pucker your bellybutton. Or as Bill puts it: “Hold on tight when you turn the throttle, but other than that just be natural. It’ll be good to you.” The V-Twin provides a throaty, powerful acceleration that is clean and gets smoother as you go through the gears. Seating is comfortable (as cafes go), but the saddle is a little high. Though Harleys may not be celebrated for their refinement, this one is very much a “together” machine. Brakes are flawless; effective but not grabby. There is no noticeable fade. All instrumentation, including electric starter button, turn indicator and light switches, horn button and operation levers are immediately accessible and easy to learn. Tha tachometer and speedometer are clearljf visible. Transmission, of course, works well, but reminds you of shifting the traditional British “crash box.” Getting through the gears is a very mechanical, deliberate operation.
Stability is something else. It is the most surprising attribute of the motorcycle. The bike never seems to flex, twitch, skip, shudder—nothing, no matter what kind of stress it is under. And it is this way through just about any type of daily road condition, especially in corners! Rick and Bill swear by its frame design and overall distribution of weight. They are emphatic that it is anathema to the common Harley handling troubles and say this has held true through a wide variety of track and road tests. They are, understandably, proud of their successful creation.
Anybody for a cafe Harley-Davidson? With a certain amount of ambition,1 a lot of skill, a dollar here and a dollar there...voila. Rjfl
