What I really wanted to know was how a life-long café racer, ex-WERA road racer, and drag strip jockey, got involved with the Rat’s Hole, known for its outrageous V-twin customs, in the first place. “I first got involved with the Rat’s Hole in ’95. They had a class for café racers and I won it five times in the café class and that’s when they inducted me in as a permanent judge,” said Ken. “The problem with the café class then was it was worded so vaguely all you had to do was put an old café racer fairing on anything to be in it. There were choppers out there that put a little fairing on ‘em and they got into the café class so I could never win the class and I was building serious café bikes.”

Rat’s Hole has really been publicizing its café class this year as anyone who has any real interest in motorcycles can’t help but know that café bikes are pretty damn hot right now. And, no big surprise, Ken’s been behind change with a new set of Rat’s Hole guidelines as to what a café racer is. and he said, “It’s a very good class now, the kind I wish we had years ago. We constructed and massaged it a little bit in the last year and we’ve had some very nice bikes show up for it. We’ve had a pretty good showing at Sturgis and at the Biketoberfest Rat’s Hole.”

Now I needed to know how somebody with a distinct passion like Ken could objectively judge all classes of bikes. “Our judging system is set up in a way that if you’re honest about how you score everything, even if you you don’t like a bike, if it’s deserving, you’re gonna win. That’s one of the beautiful things about Rat’s Hole or most of the other shows I’ve been involved with,” said Ken. “Most of the others, it’s personal opinion. There’s no personal opinion involved with Rat’s Hole. All it boils down to is workmanship. You look at each individual component on a bike, the styling, and the true craftsmanship to put the thing together. The thing is, if you’re an honest judge, even if you don’t particularly like the bike or the way the thing looks, the craftsmanship is what wins it.”

As far as Ken’s personal involvement with building, riding, and manufacturing parts for café racers at KG Cycles (www.KGCycles.com), Ken said with a hearty laugh, ”I was into café racers from the very beginning. That was the thing back in the ‘70s. That was state of the art race bikes. Basically what I’m doing today is building the bikes that I dreamt of 40 years ago and couldn’t afford. I try to build more traditional stuff. I don’t put a lot of modern technology into the bikes, I really stay purist. The big thing about café racers to me is I’ve always had fun with them.”

KG Cycles has stayed under the radar for decades except to those in the know looking for high quality pieces at more than reasonable pieces. “I’m not very well known, I’ve stayed kinda small. Actually, it’s me by myself. I manufacture the fairings, gas tanks, seats, fenders, and all that kinda stuff. I do it the old fashioned way, it’s all hand-laid up,” said Ken. “The goal I’ve always had with the company is to try to make stuff affordable. Too many people try to make too many products the best there possibly is and that’s okay. It also makes it more expensive which puts it out of the price range of many people.” Now hold on there a bit Ken, as I’ve seen your stuff and it’s extremely well made, nothing run of the mill by any means. And, it’s beautifully styled too so don’t take his honesty about producing high-quality, high-style, but affordable parts as some sort of second choice. It’s damn fine stuff and should be at the top of your café short list. Check out his website thoroughly if you don’t believe me.

There’s also a hidden kicker of a café bike in the photo gallery that Barnett’s will be doing a more in-depth article on when camera guy Jack Cofano gets back from Daytona. Take a look and see if you can find Ken’s latest CB750 project and here’s a hint — Bodywork featuring a combination of carbon fiber and dyed-red Kevlar. With that clue in mind, we’ll have to let Ken get back to his judging and Jack to his shooting. Stay tuned for a really neat take on composite bodywork in a tasty package.