Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

owner expec t to use it as a sporting vehicle. Its lack of responsiveness leaves less margin of safety in evasive maneuvers to avoid an accident and lessens the tendency of the rider to ride it competitively. With this in mind, J look at riding a chopper the same as J view riding in traffic without a helmet. J won't do it myself, but J cannot in all conscience deprive others of the right to do so, just because J disagree with them. To do that opens the legislative can of worms wide for all of us - at a time when all motorcyclists need to pull together to save the whole sport. However, there is a posItlVe alternative to the chopper, for the guys who still take to motorcycles for performance, for responsiveness, and for the sheer satisfaction of the matched man/machine at speed. If the chopper cult goes directly against performance standards in a machine, the Street Roadster offers an alternative in the creation of a personali~ed custom motorcycle. The Street Roadster alternative school of design already exists. I t's been around for a long time and it is enjoying a resurgence of popularity in this country after five or more years in the doldrums. Of course I'm talking about the so-<:a1led "cafe roadracers," and the whole European-oriented hals und beinbruch culture that goes with them. Time was, you'd see all sorts of intelectual types scratching pavement on classic European singles or twins with low bars, fairings, and rear-set foot controls, especially in New England and Northern California, where the sports car thing first took hold in this country, plowing fertile cultural ground for the later introduction of the Street Roadster. All this was before the current infatuation with motocross and popular disenchantment with fast road riding. Now, both N.ew England and California seem to be re·discovering the Street Roadster; so the producers of good off-the-shelf equip men t are beginning to emerge in the industry. Amongst all the chopper-goodie shops, they're a little hard to find, but they're there. What's it take to make s Street Roadster or, if you will, cafe road racer? And what about fetishes? You know, chopper people have their fetishes, like the Maltese cross, and Roadsters aTen't all that differen·t. Like, first, you gotta have the European crouch. The European crouch is the symbol that separates the serious scratcher from the straigh t·up road rider. Take a look at Fig. 2 for a minute. Just as the chopper riding position relates to another vehicle, so does the road racer's crouch. In this case, the parallel is to the Continental-style racing bicycle. Thus the thing tends to come full-circle; for the crouch is not unknown to the new-earth, anti-machine subculture, which has taken to jockeying the expensive 10-speeds as an alternative to the automobile. So the circle closes, and the more things change, the more they are the same. To get the Roadster postion and make it comfortable requires no small amount of detail work, head-scratching, and downright creativity on the part of the owner. Done wrong, it can just be bloody uncomfortable. Done right, it is the most natural responsive way to ride a motorcycle (or any other 2-wheeled vehicle). Right away it's obvious; just fitting a set of low bars is not enough. Leaning forward to grasp the bars while the feet are on the "stock" footrests puts excess curvature in the spine, cQnstricts the abdominal organs, and cuts circulation to the legs. .So, to relieve the pressure and straighten the spine, you pull the feet and legs back. Hence the rearset footpegs and controls. The hooker is most contemporary bikes sold on the American market are set up fo-r straight-up touring. There are few, if any, hard points on the frame that will accept rearset footpegs, and usurping the passenge.r footrests is not always the . correct answer, either. It boils down to a unique set-up for each make and model of motorcycle and, often, uniq ue to suit each rider. Here are some poin ts to ponder as you approach your own stocker with the idea of customizing toward Street Roadster in mind: Find and identify all possible places you could put the footpegs. Sit on the motorcyc1e at rest and see where your feet feel the most comfortable when you are crouched forward. Do your . relocate£! feet' foul .the"·stockPexh'aus't. system? If·so, consider a change in the routing and .character of your exhaust to gain both engine performance and added cornering clearance. How best to work the footshift? Will reversing the stock pedal and pojpting it backwards do it? (Caution: This reverses the shift pattern, forcing you to learn your bike all over again). If only a remo1:e link will do to get from your relocated footpeg to the selector shaft, ~here do you get the best straight shot at it? Aim for a simple, direct, and uncluttered linkage - and the shorter it is, the better. How about the rear brake? Can you pivot the brake pedal on the footrest itself? Cable-operated brakes offer the easiest conversion~ If yours is rod-operated, you'may have to fabricate a new brake rod. Again, you're trying for a straigh t shot with the new linkage, and trying to avoid fouling some other part of the motorcycle with it. Check for clearance around the exhaust system and for comfortable operation with the foot in the normal riding position. U's imperative that you check the revised can trois by actually sitting the motorcycle in a crouch before you do anything irreversible. Prop the machine on a cen ter stand so you can shift your body around on it, making sure the hand and foot controls will feel natural and comfortable under most riding conditions. It sounds like a lot of hassle, but in terms of comfort and riqeabil1ty, the extra effort is worth it. While we're on the subject of comfort in a crouch, let's talk about tanks. As a customizer, you may be thinking of trying an original design tank in fiberglass. The com temporary literature is full of instructions on how to lay up original custom design gas tanks, so why not take the bull by the horns? Get yourself a large foam block and start carving. Speaking strictly in the real of Street Roadster design, you're trying to do several things: a) Lower the C.G. of all that sloshing fuel while still fitting the tank over the frame of your bike. b) Create an upper pro file that will . (when padded) lend support to - your chin and chest when you're all "tucked -in" at speed. c) Create can tours that will allow you to tuck your knees and elbows in, as well. d) Possess adequate fuel capacity for the needs of your patricular machine. e) Look good. Naturally, some of these are conflicting requirements; which somewpat explains why many classic road racing tanks look bulbous and downrigh t weird. Anyway, the sky's the limit for. innovation, since no two riders sit their machines quite the same. While you're' at it, consider various schemes of chest and/or cheek padding along the top of the tank. Also figures that changing the seat may also help lower the body C.G. and add to your comfort in a crouch. There no end to the combination of modifications for comfort and looks. No Street Roadster is a real road racer without some kind of extremely powerful front brake. It's one of the biker fetishes we spoke about. If you've got.a 4-1eading shoe drum or double-disc setup on the front end, you are with it. {Even if you don't know how to use it properly) . On the older model classic lightweight singles, an intricately drilled, double-leading-shoe unit with a huge airscoop is class,. especially if you did the perforating yourself. So we see that chopper builders are not the only ones who sport obvious fetishes on their bikes. Some Street Roadsters racers really go ape when fitting a front brake. Naturally, if the total fork/brake/wheel installation is done in a workmanlike manner, is well thought out, and is well matched to the mo torcycJe, the end result is a tremendous increase in controllable stopping power. Wheels and tires? Most com temporary road bikes come fitted with the proper size rims and the proper size tires. Yet many factory-fitted tires leave much to be desired in road-holding. Also, the stock steel rims are often excessively heavy. So righ t away, you've got the option of fitting alloy rims and better tires. There are two major brands of alloy rims that you can get in this country: Akront and Borrani. The Akronts are stressed for road riding o,\ly, and are quite light. On the horizon, there's an awakening interest in cast alloy wheels. You also may be tempted to fit pure road racing tires. 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