The Cafe Racer’s history
The Cafe Racer’s history started in the mountains when Frank, Aevon’s CEO, went meditating among llamas in Peru.
We could have carried on with this story but we thought you wouldn’t believe us. So we decided to tell you another version.
Le Cafe Racer is born from a desire, a fantasy : we wanted to design and conceive a hell of a bike, a bike that you crave, a perfect bike, THE bike. With a real attraction to the motorsport universe but also to all mechanical and aesthetical themes deriving from it, Frank had the ambition to create a jewel mixing all of these elements. Add to this his passion for customization to improve the characteristics of a bike whatever the number of its wheels : Le Cafe Racer is the ideal machine, an incredible source of inspiration.
That’s when the adventure starts : the first idea was to conceive a strong beam frame in which we could put the battery. The concept was nice, easy to build but it left a bitter taste of “It’s good but something is missing”. Frank decided to call a designer : Antoine. Quickly, many freehand versions appeared. At the beginning, we admit it was far from perfect. But with time we refined the frame and decided to externalize the battery to make it easy to set up and maintain.
We drew a simple and efficient Cafe Racer, a little like a standard motorbike : good-looking, sensible, conventional. You can imagine that this result was far from satisfying for us. We wanted a bike people can’t keep from staring at.
Because alone we go faster but together we go further (not bad right ?), relatives became part of the adventure. Family and colleagues gave lots of ideas, good and bad ones, that all helped to build the project and correct some imperfections.
The first prototype of the bike
After several trips back and forth, we were finally ready (for real)!
Le Cafe Racer being the ultimate bike, we needed the best material. And to get quality aluminium we went directly at the root : to Giant‘s factory in Shanghai. We met local engineers with our bike sketches and they totally adhered to the project.
Everything went very fast after that. A month later we got a delivery of aerospace quality 6061 T6 aluminium tubes. Then we set up a little welding workshop with all the material necessary to build the prototype : a 500kg steel plate, cutting, drilling, and bending machines, an aluminium TIG welder…
Philippe, our designer and welder, Is also an expert in steel work (he is an expert in of things our Philippe) : he bent, cut, welded and built some pieces and struts from aluminium pieces to finish the adjustments.
After 2 months of hard work, alterations, mistakes and plan adjustments, our first prototype came into being. We added 2 wheels, handlebars and pedals… We had OUR bike !
Materials’ and design’s origins
Le Cafe Racer is a unique bike
Why? Because many other bikes use the same frame and change only the motorcycle accessories. The design of the Cafe Racer is unique.
Not only is it unique, it’s also E-ready. Everything is planned to make it easy to set up a motor and battery. There are hatches in the frame and threaded inserts to fix the cables. Because of the geometry of the frame, it accepts any type of motor (middle or wheel motor) and all powers (250w or 1000w). We won’t lie : Le Cafe Racer is meant to be electric, ideally with a fast and powerful motor.
What’s more, the frame can be entirely customized. The paint, the fork accessories, the swing arm, the pedals, the saddle, the shock absorbers, the electric system, the battery… In short, it’s completely possible to make this bike your own!
Le Cafe Racer can be accessorized : you can add a surfboard holder, a motorbike headlight with blinkers, a hitch to attach a bike trailer, an extra battery holder but most of all something essential : a beer pack holder + a whisky bottle with a glass. This list can be completed..
When can we set up a meeting ?
The killer team
This bike is also a way for us to communicate, to show what we love, to bring together
what we like, to develop a community with whom we could share our improvement ideas.
Our wish is to meet our community so we can discuss our shared passion
and why not make ‘custom battles’ with an (almost) official jury!
Frank
CEO, professional pilot, speedy bike rider
Éric
Engineer, Gyro Gearloose, crazy optmizer, wild paraglider, fast recumbent biker
Philippe
Designer, welder, artist, works with steel by telepathy, peaceful bike rider
Félix
Sales and marketing department, hipster, hedonis