Motorcycles 鈥?Cafe Racers? What bikes are good for a novice? Conversion?

I'm just getting into riding and want to get a first bike. Small one. Lightweight and easy to ride.

I like cruisers but I REALLY like the cafe racer style. What bikes that are small displacement / low seat height that can be converted or already 'there' to be a cafe racer? I even like the styling of old Honda's but not sure if a vintage bike would be a good starter bike since they have older technology and handling...

any advice?

Motorcycles 鈥?Cafe Racers? What bikes are good for a novice? Conversion?antivirus downloads

Some of the older Japaneese parallel twins make good looking cafe racers. Older Honda CB350 - CB650 and Yamaha 650s are popular for cafe racers. They're still easy to find, handle good and are easy to modify. I'll provide some links.

http://www.caferace.com/cafepix.html

Motorcycles 鈥?Cafe Racers? What bikes are good for a novice? Conversion?cafe racer

i don't know about cafe racers but these are some good starter bikes

Kawasaki Ninja 500R

Kawasaki Ninja 650R

Honda 599

Suzuki SV650

Suzuki SV650S

Aprilia Shiver

Kawasaki Versys

Yamaha FZ6

Suzuki GS500

Suzuki Katana

To me, the Aprilia Shiver seems to be more like what you are thinking of.
It's tought to get that vintage cafe racer look out of a modern bike. You could always look at Triumph. Last I checked, they still made bikes that looked like they were from the 60s. I'd get a small, used one for your first bike but that might be hard to find. Not a lot of people ride triumphs but you might get lucky. See if there is a Triumph dealership around you.
If you want a cafe racer used, look into the better names- BMW, Ducatti, etc The ones that won races.
Kawasaki 250 ninja (EX250).