Café racers are almost as old as motorcycling itself. The motorcycle type was created in times when relatively few sporty motorcycles were built. A standard motorcycle was converted into a more sporty version. It often got faster, louder and prettier. There are countless reasons to personalize a motorcycle. The name of the bikes already tells you why. -racers-, they became sportier and most often faster. -Café-, their owners liked to show their café racers to the public so cafés were visited frequently. The horizontal line in the design of café racers is something which catches the eye, as are the axles of the wheels which are the outer points.
Let’s get down to business. Calling a motorcycle ‘a high bike’ is, of course, a subjective topic. But to make it all a bit easier we drew a line at 31.5 inches. All bikes below 31.5 inches are classified as ‘motorcycles with a low seat height’. Above 31.5 inches we classify the bikes as ‘motorcycles with a high seat height’. We’ve done this with a perspective from riders who are around 5′ 6″ tall.