the NEED for SWEDE #2

Gotta love the L_O_N_G forked wsede style.  I'd sure love to see a load more of bikes like these in the mags, not the same old formula bobbers. You need some bottle to spin one o' these round the lanes!

OOPS!

Time indeed for some cee-bee love. Having had one of these great motors, I'm pining for another. They rock. You can still get these babies cheap if you don't mind a tatty later one. Chop or cafe? Decisions, decisions...but for me it's always gotta be the SOHC.

YOU MIGHT A' SEEN THIS

If yer a regular reader, you'll know I'm bikeless at the moment. And will be for up to a year (bastard).

It was not always so! This cb750 SOHC choppa was my 1st foray into bike (re)building, on the road way back in '97. Sold it about 7 years ago by which time it had 'proper skinted' me.

Strangely, tho' I had it fully rebored and rebuilt,put on drag pipes, new carb kit and all kinds off stuff, the best it ever ran was with 4 into 1 pipe, stock carbs, points and breadbox filter.

Just thought I'd post some kind of indication I don't only nick photos off the net and stick 'em up here.

Adios!

SHINY GUZZI

Kinda says it all, no?

Drop dead gorgeous Guzzi cafe. Unusual (for a cafe, at least) monoshock looks just fine.

hard as nails

F-off fast and no mistake.

Superb gixxer. Lovin' the swingarm, underseat cans, and general ridiculous level of bling.

No skateboards, silly cars or posers here, but Streetfighters are OK at VIDAMOTO.

moody

Moody XL cafe with a distinct bratstyle flava- excellent.

HAPPY EASTER EVERYBODY

CX-tacy

Cee extacy? Like ecstacy? Geddit?

You'll be glad to see my puns get no better.

But what about these crackin' cafes? And built from one of the humblest 'big' bikes around, the despatcher's favourite, Honda's butt-ugly CX500 aka the 'plasic maggot' or just 'maggot'.

So, low bread is NO excuse!

Enjoy and have a great Easter. Peace out.

crazy duo

Variations on a theme- more from the legendary CRAZY ORANGE.

Lookin' at this pair of beauties is definitely pushin' my sportster buttons. So, custom cafe roadster, or micro-tanked cartoon chop?

It's well worth clicking these pics and checking the detail that goes into these babies. Don't let the stock frames deceive you into thinking these are anything but FULL ON custom motorcycles. Every aspect has been worked on to make 'em just so.

Keep on keepin' on.

Not a sad day today

Well, a bit, cos home finances are dictating that the proceeds of sale from my beloved sporty (with my much more beloved daughter, above ) are gonna have to wait before they get spent.

I'm not the sort of bloke who gives it large about what's going on in my life, suffice to say this ain't the right time for a new project. 9-12 months and I will be trawling the small ads with intent once again!

In the meantime, VIDAMOTO will continue bringing you the best in cafes, chops and classics from the world over.

Keep the shiney side up! Peace.

ZIM ZIMMER

'Zim zimmer, 'oo got de key for me bimmer?'

So went the refrain from an early 90s urban 'choon' about yer average gangsta rapper/ drug dealers' car of choice. And a very long way from these beauties...

2 very different interpretations of BMW's airhead boxer twin. I have a thing about white bikes (not police!!!) and love the fit and finish on the cafe- and dig that modern end can style, wicked- and as for the bobber-esque one, well that's cool too.

Here at VIDAMOTO we got a LOT of sugar for beemers.

back to tha old skool

Jeez, I bet yer all sick of 'old skool' right? Well, I am only referring to old skool VIDAMOTO- as in this is the kind of stuff I was bringin' you lot a year or so back.

And here's something that was always a favourite source. CRAZYORANGE MC of Japan are a real trailblazing builder, and I was well into their stuff. So I figured it's time to broaden the horizons again, get some non-cafe stuff out there, and see if anyone likes it.

Or if I remain like a madman howling into the night!

say ''GOOT-ZZEE'

Like green kwakas, red guzzis ARE faster. Neat late-model cafe; I'm lovin' that red frame and gold sliders. Wicked.

A to da D

Attention to detail - build quality - finish.

Superb cb750 from joker machine.

okay okay

Always a great motor choice, the hinckley bonneville is an ideal basis for a neat traditional chop.

Note that classy chops are ALWAYS in style - they never 'went out' or 'came in'.

Twin motor, spokes, rigid and low bars...hmmm good

Not yer average despatcher's ride

You wouldn't catch this bike couriering bits of papers between City ad agencies, that's for sure. I saw this on ebay going for a lot more than you'd normally pay for a cx, but then again it's a whole lot nicer.

Just shows what you can do on a tight budget. Can't buy soul.

Dragon tattoo

Not what I had in my mind when I read the book!!!

(she's supposed to be kinda freaky and ride a kawa 125...)

AWoL swede rat

When I was a lad, there was a bike mag called AWoL, as in alternative way of life. It was pretty cool, actually it was bloody brilliant, and somehow managed to combine anarchist-squatter politics with outlaw MC coverage; most of all, though, it was about down-to-earth bikers and their rides.

This superdream 250 was built by Mark, one of the editorial team, and is a cracking bike. I wonder where it is now?

Mag-wise, thank God we still have 100% Biker. I don't bother with the rest.

YOU GOTTA CHECK THIS!!!

Outrageous honda-tanked shovel cafe- definitely not to everyone's taste, I'm not sure it's even to mine, but a helluva ride nonethelesss!

Brit Customs...

Wow, British Customs must have racked their brains tryin' yo name their company- who cares when they turn out stuff as neat as this Hinckley cafe (thruxton).

Red Max

Red Max Speed shop are fast building a rep for turning out top-notch cafes, trackers and other neat stuff. Hard to believe this ace sporty was a pretty ordinary late-model ride til they worked some cafe magic on it. Doing a convincing job on that stock HD frame is not easy, but they've pulled it off a treat.

The need for Swede

Wa-hey! The puns don't get any better, do they?

Whatever, are you, like me, sick of the 'bobber craze'?

Yes, it was all ok when billet HDs were everywhere, a hark back to simpler times and cheaper bikes was a good thing. But now they're everywhere you go.

I say to you- polishing is OK!
You CAN have a front mudguard!
You don't HAVE to run Avon Speedmasters!
You don't HAVE to have a sprung bates seat!
And last of all...FLAKE IS NO LONGER OBLIGATORY.

I feel much better now. Time for a Swedish revival.

'JUST IN CASE'

Just in case, that is, you thought I'd completely lost my mind. I still dig Harleys, Triumphs, chops, streetfighters, ratbikes, whatever- and I'll be bringing you a whole host of class rides in the near future. Here's a 'old and new' HD pair to set you off. Think I'll stick to a black lid tho', thanks!

park yer arse

As in 'take a seat'...and I'd certainly take one of these. Anyone used this company's stuff before? They're not exactly cheap- these run about £130 or so,upholstered- but that isn't exactly extortionate either, if they're as nice as they look.

Hmm, they also do bolt-on subframes for BMW airhead twins (R80/65/100/90); can you say 'easy project for mechanically inept fool'? When yer drunk?

kevil and perry

Her we go vida-lovers...livin' la vida loco and then some. I have discovered a new perversion...1st was ageing honda 750/4s, then sportsters became my fix...now it's all about airhead beemers.

This one was built by Kevils speed shop, just down the road from me in Devon; google 'em, he does some great stuff with these old boxer twins. This baby looks like it should be tooling around So Cal, not an 80s autobahn.

There'll be plenty more like this- and maybe even my own...watch this space!

Same shirt, diff'rent day

Guess who's been playing on the blogger template design page? whaddya reckon? makes a change from black 'n' flames...tho' that's not always a good thing. More pics coming soon.

HELLO WORLD !!!!!

Crikey- it's been a while, huh?

I have been a busy bee to say the least.

I think it's time to share a little cafe goodness with you all, friends. I've kinda missed the blog thing to tell the truth. See ya round?

Oh yeah, I did forget all my login stuff, and even how to load pix. It's all come floodin' back!

The sporty's sadly gone- to a good owner at least. More next time...

Lastly- cafes are definitely flava o' the month at vida. Especially airhead beemers. Oh yes. One will be mine. My local Halfords are quaking in their boots already.