Justin’s had his finger on the pulse of what’s happening economically and has been turning out a series of really delightful and affordable bobbers for today’s budget minded buyers, but he wanted to try his hand at something new. Luckily for him, brother Jarrod was the spark that made this cool café a reality. “He’s got more of a racing background than I do and that really helps with just some of the exposure that he’s had to different race bike designs. I prefer taking my leisure rides on the Old School bobbers. A little wind in the face is great, but I don’t need to go 160mph,” said Justin. “This started out with the intent of building something for me and I’ve played around with so many bobbers I just wanted to mix it up a little bit, something that was real mechanical and all metal that didn’t require paint or colors. So, I said, ‘Screw it, I’ll make a café racer and if I hate the bike, I’ll sell it.’ “

Picking up a ’79 Ironhead Sportster to work around, Justin said, “It was a full-blown, bloated Sportster with a banana seat and a sissy bar, the whole nine-yards. I stripped it all down and started with a clean slate.” His focal point for the build was the gas tank and he wasn’t sure what he wanted until he found a mid-sixties tank off a Benelli Mojave on eBay. “I was stoked because it was in perfect shape so I just roughed it up with Scotch-Brite to give it a grainy texture.” Somehow the Italian tank plopped on the frame like it was made for it, but not so with the seat/tail section which had to be fabricated to match. “The seat I built out of 20-gauge sheetmetal. I drew it up on paper and wanted something that didn’t look too bulbous, just something a little more muscular,” said Justin. “I finished it the same way as the tank and clear-coated both. I had Manny Hurtado of Bell Auto Upholstery in Phoenix do the tuck-and-roll, Old School stitch on the seat in weathered leather like it had been around for a while.”

The Ironhead’s stock mags just wouldn’t do for a proper café look so Justin sourced up a set of OEM laced wheels to “give it a little bit of the Old School look.” The stock triple disc setup was retained as this was a budget build along with the stock XL forks. That doesn’t mean that everything didn’t have to be rebuilt along the way, though. Out back, a longer set of Harley 13.5” shocks raised the rear end for more ground clearance and travel while loading the front end for a bit quicker steering. “It handles really good, feels balanced in the turns, and brakes really well,” said Justin.

Fortunately the 1000cc Ironhead heart of this iron beast was found to be in great shape. “I put new gaskets and seals in it and swapped out the OEM carb with a similar one I had on the shelf and we were good to go,” said Justin. “I’m almost obsessive/compulsive about neatness and this engine was filthy when I got it so I had to get in every nook and cranny and finish it like the tank, an Orbit Machine blingy appearance.” Justin’s take on a MotoGP exhaust turned out to be one of his favorite pieces on the bike. “After seeing some of the race stuff my brother showed me in magazines, I wanted to do kind of a dual exhaust with a little of the MotoGP style,” he said. “The way it exits just behind your ass, it’s in stereo and as it rips out behind you and sounds so cool. That thing’s fast as hell, it’s crazy and a lot of fun.”

When the build was done, it didn’t stay in Justin’s hands for long as it was sold on craigslist in only 11 hours for a budget-friendly $7,200 to fund new shop equipment. Not to worry, though, as Justin is psyched up on the whole café thing and is in the process of building another. Like the Frito-Lay ads used to say, “Bet you can’t eat just one.”