Photo: Nicolas Petit
We have to be honest: a café-racer derived from a Honda CRF450 is probably the last thing we expected to see. And if the very idea of designing such a machine sounds a bit wacky, how about we told you that someone is actually building such bikes? The unofficial name of the bike is maybe a bit disturbing, but since it comes from the very guy who designed it, it will have to do: Café-Racer-Funnily-Further-Free-Fetish-Fest.
It’s definitely not that often when Nicolas Petit comes up with such a name for one of his creations, but we can definitely try to understand the rather confusing creation brief Panda Moto’s Jean-Luc Dupont handed him.
Now, we must admit the result is controversial, to say the least. To say that this contraption is weird is an understatement, also. Still, despite the hefty dose of initial skepticism, we feel like we could really enjoy a lap or two around a circuit in the saddle of this bike.
Unlike the CRF450, the café-racered version seems fairly low for a reassuring feel even with shorter riders. And if we’re talking about racing, you know that the smaller guys will be faster, anyway…
Panda Moto is actually building 10 such CRF450-based retro racers, and you’d better get in touch with them if this bike looks appealing to you. Nicolas Petit says that other donor bikes are being considered, so we can expect other funky machines changed in ways we hardly believed possible.
Unfortunately there’s not too much info on what parts Jean-Luc Dupont used, though Petit’s sketch hints on retaining the rear monoshock and the forks. The rear linkage is definitely different, as the bike was significantly lowered. Also, the off-road bars gave way to racing ones and altered even more the riding position for better aerodynamics.
What do you think about the Café-Racer-Funnily-Further-Free-Fetish-Fest?
More than a decade of off-road and supermoto excellence
The CRF450 is a successful platform which needs no introduction. It can be seen around on enduro trails, on the dirt tracks, jumping from one mound to another in supercross or equipped with sporty suspensions and sticky tires burning rubber around the supermoto tarmac circuits. So Dupont asked Petit about how and if he did see the CRF450 becoming a retro racer, too.Now, we must admit the result is controversial, to say the least. To say that this contraption is weird is an understatement, also. Still, despite the hefty dose of initial skepticism, we feel like we could really enjoy a lap or two around a circuit in the saddle of this bike.
Unlike the CRF450, the café-racered version seems fairly low for a reassuring feel even with shorter riders. And if we’re talking about racing, you know that the smaller guys will be faster, anyway…
Panda Moto is actually building 10 such CRF450-based retro racers, and you’d better get in touch with them if this bike looks appealing to you. Nicolas Petit says that other donor bikes are being considered, so we can expect other funky machines changed in ways we hardly believed possible.
Unfortunately there’s not too much info on what parts Jean-Luc Dupont used, though Petit’s sketch hints on retaining the rear monoshock and the forks. The rear linkage is definitely different, as the bike was significantly lowered. Also, the off-road bars gave way to racing ones and altered even more the riding position for better aerodynamics.
What do you think about the Café-Racer-Funnily-Further-Free-Fetish-Fest?
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