The Café Racer Phenomenon

Riding motorcycles from 1975, Alastair has tested classic Vincents and 190mph Suzuki Hayabusas. He has toured New Zealand, Oregon, California and most of Europe by motorcycle and followed the Paris-Dakar rally as a journalist in 2001. His favourite motorcycle in 30 years of biking was his Honda 400/4 as “it was the first bike I ever did the magic ton on and got my knee down whilst riding. Fabulous 70s classic.” With over 2500 features published on motorcycles, cars and scooters worldwide, Alastair has written for the Manchester Evening News, Bike, T.W.O. Classic Bike Guide, MSL, Classic Mechanics, NZ Motorcycle Trader, Dealernews USA, and edited online magazine insidebikes.com from 2000-07. His books include Scooterama and The Cafe Racer Phenomenon.

Foreword by Dave Degens, Mark Wilsmore 1 The Rockers' Ride - look back at early days, the cafe scene in London and UK, rock n roll, quiffs etc. First Cafe Racer bikes built by amateurs and Dave Degens, then Dunstall, Seeley, Kirby et al. 2 Putting on the style - How the cafe racer developed and grew through the 60s, the links with race-proven Brit bikes, chassis builders tweaks to basic concept, the improved suspension, braking of late 60s/early 70s. The arrival of Japanese engines en masse early 70s, huge shake-up of Cafe Racer cottage industry in the UK. 3 Factory Rides and Bolt-On Goodies. The craze catches on in the 70s, factory bikes like Ducati 750/900 SS, Guzzi Le Mans define the styling of the era, Bimota, Moto Martin, Harris and others push the envelope in design and performance, whilst others start selling 'bolt-on' kits for 250-1000cc production bikes. 4 The Specialists - In-depth look at some of the most influential chassis fabricators of the Cafe Racer phenomenon; Dave Degens/Dresda, Norman Hyde, Harris, Rickman, Bimota, Fritz Egli. 5 The Revival - Brief look at the Cafe Racer fading in 80s and 90s, then revived by factory models like Triumph's Speed Triple 900, Honda GB500TT, Voxan, plus Ace Cafe revived late 90s, custom builders like Mecatwin, Numero Tre begin to inspire enthusiasts around the world. 6. Cafe Racer Directory - a listing of specialist Cafe Racer bike builders, parts suppliers, clubs, insurers etc. plus websites, magazines dedicated to the cult. Good advertiser potential here.