But it's too late I went with blue collar. Before I had my mind made up I looked at his site as I would have loved a cafe racer.

You wouldn't have to worry about wearing out the seat padding,because there isn't any.

I may be out of my mind (OOMFM), but I put down a $100 deposit to get my position on the Ryca kit production line. I intend to transform my Sportster wannabe into what I see as a cool cafe racer (http://www.rycamotors.com). But it's not based on a Triumph or BSA or Norton, so maybe it's not as cool as I imagine. Nonetheless it will be 320 lbs with whatever horsepower/torque a modified Savage can muster and with more sporting frame geometry. Plus, as mick points out, I'll be able to get some weight off my behind and onto the footpegs and handlebars, as God intended. I'm looking forward to the project and the completed bike.

Mick, with the full kit you send in your gas tank, rear wheel hub, and sidestand bracket. As part of the kit you get a 19" (same size as the front) rear wheel mounted wth a standard tire (not the Firestone relic shown on the photo model bike. The Firestones look good, but I would not ride on them).

Per their Web site the frame geometry is changed by the following method:

Bring up the rear of the bike by installing your new shocks and wheel, then lower the front end to get the bike in the proper cafe racer stance. You can easily shorten the front forks without removing any seals, while keeping the stock springs (the springs are not cut):

Lowering the front:
After removing the front forks, drain the fork oil and remove the damper rod from the fork tube. There is a special tool available from Suzuki to remove the damper rod, but you can also make your own tool.
Add the supplied spacer below the damper rod.
Shorten the upper fork spacer just enough to get the fork cap back on. The less you cut, the stiffer the front suspension will be.
Re-install the forks and add fork oil (ATF will work also).

Now the bike has been tilted forward and the rake angle has been reduced, resulting in better handling and quicker steering.


The Full Kit consists of the following two sets of parts:
Custom parts made at Ryca ($1795 for the custom parts)

Low Profile Fuel Tank
Tank Indicator Panel
Tank Mount
Seat Assembly (with tail light and license plate mount)
Side Panels
Rearset Bracket Assembly
Battery Box
Belt Guard
Speedometer / Tachometer Mounting Brackets
Side Stand Relocation Mount
Decompression Lever Linkage


Aftermarket parts ($1200 for the aftermarket parts)

Rear wheel assembly and tire, laced and balanced
Rearsets and hardware
Shocks
Clip-ons
Reverse cone muffler
Tachometer
Speedometer (with longer cable)
Grips
Cone filter

All modifications can be done with the usual hand tools and a Dremel with a cut-off wheel. The frame cuts are minor and will not affect integrity.

This project is all that I'm willing to take on now with my modest wrenching and zero building skills. I'll document the transformation and keep you informed.