oh yeah that's a good idea.

So if I build a box using cardboard, now I have a template and take to a local sheet metal workshop?

It doesn't seem like too difficult to fabricate.

Bending metal is much easier with a work bench brake. You can get them at Horbor Freight.

The Origami Master !

Timpo wrote on 10/06/17 at 13:15:55:


I do use cardboard to mock up parts - not the corrugated kind....the kind that they call "poster board".  I save the cardboard from the back of paper tablets or packing (or the signs the Antifa folks drop when they run away).

Building a bike and not having a welder is a huge handicap.  You can screw/bolt/rivet/epoxy things together - but it is more difficult and the end product may not be as visually acceptable.

Do you currently own a Savage?  If not, you may be money ahead if you watch for a RYCA Cafe' bike to come up for sale that the owner hasn't finished (or hasn't finished well) - and buy a Savage that already has the parts needed for the conversion.  I bought my RYCA parts in 2012 and some of the parts were not as expensive then - and I felt that some of their parts were worth buying rather than fabricating (kick stand mount, rear set mount, seat parts, body side panels).  I found footpegs, clip-ons, tail light, turn signals, mirrors and other parts at better prices, and I adapted a fuel tank from another bike and built the other parts I needed.

Making your own parts is not easy - if you haven't done it before and gained some experience in making things from scratch.  It can be very time consuming to make a pattern, convert it to metal, and get it to fit and look proper.  Even for experienced folks it can be very time consuming and keep you in the garage rather than on the highway.  I can remember when I was working on mine one spring - it was a pit painful to hear the bikes going down the road while I was hiding in my garage making and fitting parts instead of being able to go riding.

Dave,

No I do not currently own Savage.
The reason why I joined in this forum was because the Ryca CS-1 really intrigued me.
I have been riding sportbikes, but recently I've been interested in getting a cafe racer. I like they way they look and like the idea of simple and fun.

I was originally looking at Yamaha SR400 and turning it into a cafe racer, but it was a bit too heavy. (yes, I know, the SR400 isn't THAT heavy at all, but it is compare to other cafe bikes)

The TU250x was on my mind as well, but I found out that the Ryca CS-1 weighs about the same as TU250x so I was like why not just look into the Ryca CS-1.
The TU250x can look pretty awesome though
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imzsyBgfT7c&t=569s

I like the Triumph Street Cup, but expensive and heavy.

I was looking at the Cleveland Misfit, but it's just a re-badged CPI XR250 so I was like nah, their asking price is too expensive for what it is.
http://www.cpi-motor.com.tw/eng/xr.htm

I have never ridden a little Kawasaki, but would like to. A guy was telling me about a fellow he knew in Odessa, six foot or so, not small,, who rode the 250 and really had fun with it. Rode it for years.
Suggest you get something to ride.
Have fun, think about what you want as a cafe, maybe you can find one someone started on. You can work on getting tooled up and schooled up on bending, welding, brazing, and be able to ride
And build.
How old are you?

Have you sat on a savage?