The Café Racer Phenomenon by Alistair Walker |
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 As part of well known motoring publisher Veloce’s ‘Those were the days’ series comes a new book by motorcycle journalist Alastair Walker on Café Racers, covering the whole subject from the 1950’s to the present day.Once seen as part of the rebellious spirit of the '50s which migrated into the sixties and became part of the news headlines thanks to ‘Mods and Rockers’ skirmishes, it is now enjoying something of a revival. The bikes were built to take part in the various totally unofficial dices that used to take place on roads like London's North Circular, as riders sought something faster and better handling than a standard factory machine. Even when many of the cafes, including the world famous Ace on the North Circular Road closed, the fascination with specials continued for a while utilising Japanese engines in specially built frames. Even the Japanese factories created their own versions of standard road machines styled to look like the fully faired racing bikes and specials of the past. The cafes and the culture were responsible for many career changes. Many a racer started on such bikes at cafes like ex-works Norton rider Dave Croxford who started his career at the Ace. This 96 page soft-back features tells the story which is as much a social history as it is of the genre, using personal memories of those who were part of the scene and previously unpublished period photos. In addition there is information of the machines, the builders and equipment suppliers. The book brings things up to date with information on bikes that are being built to go with the revival in the scene, which has seen many of the original cafes once again opening their doors. It ends with a huge, global Café Racer community directory that will be of great use to anybody looking to rebuild or even create a new Café Racer. As Walker observes, even today the Café Racer machine captures the very essence of motorcycling, with its stripped-to-the-bone styling and a timeless blend of cat-quick chassis, matched to a barn-storming engine, but a although a modern sports bike is all of those things, it is not a Café Racer! The book does not pretend to be a comprehensive work on the subject, but will give a good grounding on the subject and form the basis for future research for those who want to know more about any particular bike. But, if you were there at the time it is a must have addition to the library and if you were not, it may make you wish you were! Either way it is a good read and well worth the £14.99 cover price. ISBN 978-1-845842-64-2 Available now from bookshops or direct from www.veloce.co.uk. Review by Ian Kerr
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