My cheap shoe theory also applies to motorcycles. Yeah we all love our Harley-Davidsons or whatever somewhat antiquated, but still loved air-cooled V-twin we’ve got hanging around. But just like shoes, it sure can be fun to put on something totally different just for the hell of it. That could be one of the reasons that café-style bikes are currently going through their once-a-decade-it-seems resurrection. Most of us started out on some sort of metric motorcycle even though it seems no one currently on a Harley will ever admit it. If you started riding as a kid it was a rare one who could afford the entry price of a new or even a used Harley. Frankly, even if you did, you’d never get the attention of a so-called salesman as you were just some stupid kid to them. Personally I experienced the you’re-not-worthy-of-my-time feeling as I disgustedly left my local MotorCo dealer with enough of a wad of cash in my pocket to ride away on a new Sporty I wanted. Maybe they just didn’t like hippie types or maybe it was my shoes. Either way, it was off to a non-Harley dealer where they gladly took every cent I had and made me feel good doing it even though I really wanted a Sporty bad.

Well enough of my personal blathering, all I’m attempting (badly) to get at is that many people are having a lot of fun picking up an old metric bike from their youth and getting involved in building a bike that’s a new/old pair of shoes that can have its place in a stable of beloved 45-degree V-twins. Café bikes are the current style of choice and there’s many a good reason for it. They’re actually fun to ride, custom-cool to look at, and relatively easy to work on, plus they don’t cost a fortune to build. Having fun is what motorcycling is all about and having something different doesn’t mean you gotta make some huge personal lifestyle choice. You might not want to mechanically screw around with your Harley, but a beat-up metric just might be the perfect way to get your hands dirty in a good way.

A perfect example of this is the way-cool 1972 Honda CB750 café built by long-time Rat’s Hole judge Ken Glenn of Saint Cloud, Florida. Ken’s no stranger to the café scene as he’s been quietly and successfully running a business, KG Cycles (www.KGCycles.com), catering to café conversions for more decades than he’d probably rather admit. One look at his CB demonstrates his evolution of taste and style that could and should be a template for newbies to look long and hard at before they start whacking away at some old hulk.

Capturing your eye on that first look is the striking combo of the dyed-red Kevlar and carbon fiber bodywork Ken laid up. “The initial idea was just to build another café racer, but it was also a study in the use of a new exotic carbon fiber/Kevlar hybrid material. The bike was done not just to show to the bike community, but to submit to fiberglass and composite trade publications as well,” he said. “It took longer to make the body parts than it did to do the rest of the bike. Working with Kevlar is a definite pain in the posterior. Kevlar stops a bullet in a vest, try cutting it with a pair of scissors. Drilling, grinding or sanding are an equal challenge.”

Working the weave until you have a perfectly finished exposed product is what sets Ken’s work apart from so many others who dabble in composites. “When the light hits the parts, they just glow,” said Ken. “No photos do it justice, not even Jack’s.” Normally those would be fighting words for the sometimes cantankerous Mr. Cofano, but he’s the first to agree when I asked him if that was true, “Yeah, you gotta see it up close. It’s really beautiful in person.”

As far as the rest of the bike goes, Ken did all the work except for the seat upholstery. The engine had good compression and seemed pretty tight according to Ken so not a lot was required mechanically other than a nice refinish in black and some updates like a 4-into-I exhaust and replacing the huge stock plastic airbox with a sexy set of velocity stacks. This not only opened up the frame area behind the engine, but more four-cylinder yowl and howl is always a cool café thing. Giving even more airspace to the under-seat area is Ken’s replacement of the stock oil tank for a custom unit mounted in the tail section with hard lines to the small front-mounted oil cooler that’s connected to Ken’s custom-made spin-on oil filter setup. The spin-on conversion probably has to something to do with all the rounded stock finned–housing bolts Ken’s surely had to deal with over the years.

Ken also cured another terminal problem CB750s had was swapping out the ever-loosening spoked stock wheels for a stainless spoked and rimmed set he laced up. Another improvement on what was the CB’s innovative disc brake breakthrough was adding a second disc along with drilling them out and getting rid of the tired old rubber brake lines with a set of Russell Performance braided lines. Obviously stopping power is as important as going power to this café aficionado. Ken did keep the stock drum in back, though, but it’s now controlled by a tasty set of rearsets he fabbed up. You also might notice a gauge mounted near the de rigueur clip-ons that monitors his own setup of connected air-assisted forks. “Right now I’m just riding it to and from shows. It handles pretty good for the old beast that it is,” said Ken with a laugh.

When asked what the public’s response to his CB was Ken said, “The bike was very well received at Daytona Bikeweek. It won first place at the Boardwalk Show and was the only metric bike in the Harley-Davidson Show. Willy G. saw it and liked it.” I guess Willy G. has a lot of shoes too.

So with all the public acceptance and even an affirmation from none other than Willy G., this CB is headed for the highway, but not the usual way. “It was built to be sold and it will be going up on eBay in the next few weeks,” said Ken. If you’re interested in this unique piece for yourself you just might be able to really super snipe this bike before it hits the worldwide auction block by emailing Ken at ken@kgcycles.com with an offer he can’t refuse. Or, you’ll just have to take your chance online at getting a one-of-a-kind bike that’ll still be a timeless piece through the next four or five café resurrections.