Hellbent for Java on a Yamaha YDS2

Somewhere above Ojai, California, soon after the route changed from state highway to country lane to ranch road, the vibration in the 1964 Yamaha YDS2 began.

By John L. Stein
Updated on June 8, 2022
article image
by Seth DeDoes
Revived after 25 years, the Yamaha rolled right into its new cafe racer role.

Somewhere above Ojai, California, soon after the route changed from state highway to country lane to ranch road, the vibration in the 1964 Yamaha YDS2 began.

Halfway between a frame judder and a handlebar shake, it grew stronger with time and speed, suggesting that whatever mysterious problem had emerged was worsening … and fast. I didn’t know what was wrong, and since the bike had been parked for 25 years, anything was possible. Now miles from town and with no cell service, after getting myself into this mess, I did know I’d have to get myself out.

Blame it on The Ace Cafe. Like Marcus Dairy in Connecticut or the Rock Store in Malibu, in the Swinging Sixties in England, The Ace Cafe was the place for sporting motorcyclists. Located just 10 miles from London, it was ground zero for the period “Rockers” — guys with “pukka” bikes like Gold Stars, Velos, Tritons, Triumphs, Nortons, and likely a few Japanese pretenders. Suitably for the leather-jacket crowd, their defining features included low clubman or clip-on handlebars and a “bum stop” seat, both inspired by grand prix racers of the day. The low bars helped tuck riders out of the wind, and the seatbacks held them in place under acceleration. As such, function and form combined to create the original “cafe racer,” which decades later evolved into the sportbike segment, and thence modern superbikes.

England is a long way from So-Cal, and the 1960s are far removed from 2022. So while I couldn’t visit the real Ace Cafe, which was shuttered in 1969, I thought recently, maybe I could find my own. I craved a new place to go on my old bikes, a place to relax with coffee or food, a place to hang out with friends. And in the nation’s most populous state, it had to be off the beaten track.

Hopping into history

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