David spent so much time on the bike, the garden didn’t quite get the attention it needed
Let’s face it, if your head works anything like mine, then you probably have recurring daydreams about opening your own custom bike shop. Why not throw in the towel on all this corporate 9-5 malarky and do something really honest? Working with your hands. No real deadlines. Take a day off or work late into the night as you see fit. Sure, some guys take the plunge and follow their dreams, but few do it with such sublime perfection as David from Adhoc Cafe Racers. While the rest of us who chuck in our day jobs end up in some cold, dingy rental factory in the seedy part of town wondering just what the hell we were thinking, he’s working on classic Italian metal from his idyllic shop in the mountains near Barcelona. And he’s hanging out with fashion designers to boot. Damn Europeans – why do they always get to have all the fun?
Aquí está David. “I started thinking about cafe racers a couple of years ago, but I got serious last year after previously restoring some classic motorcycles. The first cafe racer was this Moto Morini and I wanted to continue the classic lines. The base model was the horrible, horrible K2 model. I decided to just use the engine and chassis, and everything else would be adapted and created ‘ad hoc’…”
“As a base, the k2 doesn’t give you much to go on, so I began by removing the chassis supports and all superfluous and unnecessary bits. The sub frame is shortened, and the chassis is chromed. The engine paint was also stripped.”
“Adapting the spoked wheels was quite an ordeal as it was not at all easy to find a dual disc front hub. Finally we found one that worked off a Honda Transalp. The rear hub is from a Morini Coguaro. The tank is Europlast, the seat also, although the latter had to be cut to widen it and move it back.”
And the “Tank of the Year” award goes to…
“The instrument panel carries only the tachometer. The fenders are from an old Puch and have been cut and polished. The light comes from a Honda custom and the mirror is an adaptation of several different units.”
“I chose a megaphone exhaust with a slight elevation. The electrical installation has been simplified and the bike is now kick-start only. I also built a small tray on the battery for my gloves. For the paint I chose solid colors – a stone gray, and a cream. All up, it’s a light, fun bike to ride and I’m very happy with it.”
David (left) with mate and fashion designer Gori de Palma
Dave’s planning his next bike on a Honda Nighthawk 750 base. Rest assured you’ll see it here first. In the mean time why not check out more Bueno moto de España at the Adhoc Facebook Page.
(Photos from grassy nature boy Sebas Romero)