There are plenty of arguments for why you should build a cafe racer of your own rather than have it built by a professional workshop. The biggest reason is, of course, the cost. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of reasons why people don’t do it themselves. Lacking the skill to do it is perhaps the biggest factor, but it turns out there’s a cost-effective solution to that problem. All you need is an internet connection and the will to learn.
Meet your new lecturer
is the brainchild of Aussie mechanical engineer Matt McLeod. Matt’s been riding motorcycles since his teens and has all the skills to do the job right. He’s also a qualified trainer with years of experience conducting both one on one and group training classes.
Matt has a wealth of knowledge that he’s keen to share. I have worked on several projects with him including when I was building a cafe racer of my own. He also used to run courses at a communal workshop I ran and he’s a published contributor to the Bike Exif ‘How to guides’. Matt’s knowledge of workshop equipment and techniques is second to none which makes him my go-to guy whenever I have a question or I’m planning a new project. He’s also a qualified Tig welder and continues to expand his own skill set whenever the opportunity arises.
What you’ll learn
When you set out to build a cafe racer you will require a certain set of skills. Matt has a heap of free resources on his covering a range of topics, skills, tools, and techniques such as: :
- Planning a custom motorcycle build
- Custom exhaust creation
- How to fit a frame hoop
- How to remove a steering stem
- DIY custom paintwork
In addition, Matt recently created a private membership community where he works closely with DIY builders to help them complete their custom motorcycle projects. The community consists of exclusive training videos and forums where Matt – and other members – answer detailed technical questions and provide encouragement to keep builders on track.
Matt’s flagship “Metalworking 1” course is now available to members of the community. This 4-hour video course covers the materials and tools for fabricating useful workshop accessories. Specially designed exercises help to build skills and confidence so you can tackle basic metalworking tasks on your project bike.
One of the hardest parts of getting the build “right” is with a bikes styling. Getting the lines right can mean the difference between a hit and a miss. To address this, one of Matt’s members – a qualified product design engineer – has also created a series of training videos covering the design process and design drawing.
Matt also has his second and more advanced metalworking course launching soon. Once you’re a member of the community, you get all the training courses and forum access for a fixed monthly subscription. Even if courses are added, existing members only pay at the rate their membership commenced.
You can check out the trailer for the “Metalwork 1” course below…
Special offer
If you want to build a cafe racer now is the time. Return of the Cafe Racers has teamed up with Krank Engineering to offer our readers 30 days free access. All you need to do is sign up on the using the button below. There are no fees or credit card details required, simply sign up and start learning!
Loryn from Ridewell, with the XL250 she built with help from Krank Engineering.
