Old Empire Lightning

Old Empire Motorcycles sent us photos and info on their latest build, the Lightning. We don't feature a lot of cafe racers on this website, despite the fact all the staff have built, have owned or still own cafe racers, because so many others do, but Old Empire are good friends and this is a tidy bike.  This is what they say...

Built around a 1979 Yamaha SR500, our first thought was how to create something different, yet not too radical as budget was limited. After looking at the framework underneath the usual toot we figured a monoshock would fit perfectly in the end of the top tube (and oil tank) so we went about building a subframe onto the original swingarm suitable to mount a custom Hagon monoshock based on a Kawasaki SXR400 spec shock.

The tank although looking like it was unmodified has been retunneled and moved to sit lower and further forward to keep the lines of the bike true. The original rear section was promptly cut off and replaced with a far nicer flowing unit suitably braced with a second top tube that the rear of the tank now sits on. Custom LED rear lights house in the tail section complete the look.

Photos: Ian Jubb