W650 Cafe racer - the sound of the Ton!

For those who don't know, cafe racers were responsible for the appearance of a new measurement unit in the 50's for speed - the TON = 100 mph (aprox 162 km/h). The TON the is the result of the illegal street racing practices of the Ace Cafe rockers from London in the late 50's.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• Cafe racer
• Ton
• w650
• Norton
• Kawasaki
• rockabilly

[HeavyHitter5150]

With some air in that front tire I bet it would do at least 115 mph!

[rcFlyrodeo]

@HeavyHitter5150

I was very lucky by that filming cause I noticed the tire pressure problem later in the garage, it could have been worse

[rcFlyrodeo]

the seat is made of a regular W650 seat. I took off everything and left just the metal frame of it.

then I glued several layers of foam on it and shaped it, then covered it with leather. I'm not sure if w650 and w800 seats are compatible

[nortonshit]

According to a Cycle World magazine W650 test, this engine produces 44.7 hp at 7,050 rpm and 37.5 ft. lbs. of torque at 5,100 rpm at the rear wheel.

Performance figures from the same Cycle World test revealed a 1/4 mile time of 14.33 seconds at 92.54 mpm, and a 0-60 time of 5.6 seconds. The bike's top speed was 101 mph, and it averaged 41 miles per gallon of fuel. Weight with fuel and oil is 460 lbs..

[rcFlyrodeo]

@nortonshit

101mph - correct for the factory bike which has a lousy straight stability at high speed has no clipons, steering damper, progressive spring forks, carbtuning - like mine. Mine does 120, no problem, and on the corners is much superior than an oldie - don't forget the disk brake,

[nortonshit]

Putting a Norton logo on this Kawasaki makes the bike and the rider both look sad no matter what the intention was......

[rcFlyrodeo]

@nortonshit

What really sad is we can't set up a drag race on the streets to measure my bikes superiority in power & handling compared to yer old missfiring Norton - cause we live on opposite sides of the globe

[breldendrorff]

The stock bike will do over a ton no problem, Dynojetting will get 120.

The Norton looked just fine in the sixties.

A Norton Badge on a Kawasaki looks as ludicrous as a Kawasaki badge would look on a Norton.

[TheRicokilla]

I love that seat! What do they call it? Do they have it for W800?

[nortonshit]

My 500cc Norton's factory dyno sheet from 1963 shows it making 50bhp, and it weighs at least 100lbs less than the W650 ready to go. With later engine mods it's horsepower is close to 60bhp now. Bike finished 6th in Canadian Grand Prix behind Hailwood, Agostini and Duff. Typical top speed for 500cc Norton racing bikes is 120-130mph....

[Rollerfahrer666]

very good bike I like this retro classic style