Well, this was a lot more work than I thought it was going to be when I started, but it was a lot of fun, and I learned so much by watching what others were doing. I'm looking forward to this next year, for sure.
The Bishop starte life as a Felt Surf City that I picked up on sale a few years back. Being from Norcal, and living an hour and change from Santa Cruz, it was awkward to have a bike that celebrated Huntington Beach as "Surf City", so stripping this badboy down was an easy decision. But, when you have a big aluminum tank, like this frame does, the only thought I had was "Cafe Racer".
Sourcing parts was a pain at times, because I started late, but eventually they all came in and The Bishop came together.
Without further adieu, here she is.
Polishing the tank was a bear - lots of sanding, buffing and patience. On any given evening, I could be found out in the garage or in the back yard, polishing The Bishop. One Saturday, I spent so much time polishing The Bishop that I could barely hold a golf club the next day. I used an electric drill with a series of buffing pads and buffing compounds to get the right look.
The headlight and tail light have both gone through the LED retrofit process. The headlight is a cheap plastic part that I found on eBay, but it worked out perfectly with the side mounts. The triple tree forks were chrome and polished aluminum, but I wanted some black to contrast up there, so I painted the crowns a flat black to match the frame. The tires are the 24x3 Thick Bricks, mounted to some cheap Weinmann rims.
I took the idea for the double stems from Bean and his epic Bareknuckle Brawler - its a perfect Cafe Racer look. The speedo is functional, and completes the look of the cockpit.
This is a Cafe Racer bike, so the banana seat was a must. I made the sissy bars out of some steel tubing and some springs I got at the hardware store. I stiffened them up with a brace, that is also serving as a mount for my rear light. I re-laced the 24" rim to a Nexus hub, and threw a Shifty ....... on the chain stay.
I have took her to the Shiny Side Up show in San Jose, and she got a lot of looks there - surprisingly, not a lot of cafe racer style bikes at the show, and none with a polished tank.
I also took her out on a little barcycle ride to a local tap room that was pouring my friend's beer (Altamont Beer Works), and lots of people were talking about it in the parking lot. The cup holder is a must for any barcycling ride.
This was a lot of fun to build, and I am already plotting and scheming about a bike to enter next year. In the mean time, I will have a lot of good times with The Bishop, I know that.
The Bishop starte life as a Felt Surf City that I picked up on sale a few years back. Being from Norcal, and living an hour and change from Santa Cruz, it was awkward to have a bike that celebrated Huntington Beach as "Surf City", so stripping this badboy down was an easy decision. But, when you have a big aluminum tank, like this frame does, the only thought I had was "Cafe Racer".
Sourcing parts was a pain at times, because I started late, but eventually they all came in and The Bishop came together.
Without further adieu, here she is.
Polishing the tank was a bear - lots of sanding, buffing and patience. On any given evening, I could be found out in the garage or in the back yard, polishing The Bishop. One Saturday, I spent so much time polishing The Bishop that I could barely hold a golf club the next day. I used an electric drill with a series of buffing pads and buffing compounds to get the right look.
The headlight and tail light have both gone through the LED retrofit process. The headlight is a cheap plastic part that I found on eBay, but it worked out perfectly with the side mounts. The triple tree forks were chrome and polished aluminum, but I wanted some black to contrast up there, so I painted the crowns a flat black to match the frame. The tires are the 24x3 Thick Bricks, mounted to some cheap Weinmann rims.
I took the idea for the double stems from Bean and his epic Bareknuckle Brawler - its a perfect Cafe Racer look. The speedo is functional, and completes the look of the cockpit.
This is a Cafe Racer bike, so the banana seat was a must. I made the sissy bars out of some steel tubing and some springs I got at the hardware store. I stiffened them up with a brace, that is also serving as a mount for my rear light. I re-laced the 24" rim to a Nexus hub, and threw a Shifty ....... on the chain stay.
I have took her to the Shiny Side Up show in San Jose, and she got a lot of looks there - surprisingly, not a lot of cafe racer style bikes at the show, and none with a polished tank.
I also took her out on a little barcycle ride to a local tap room that was pouring my friend's beer (Altamont Beer Works), and lots of people were talking about it in the parking lot. The cup holder is a must for any barcycling ride.
This was a lot of fun to build, and I am already plotting and scheming about a bike to enter next year. In the mean time, I will have a lot of good times with The Bishop, I know that.