I cut the subframe to make the seat shorter but still a two seater. I had a custom saddle made out of water buffalo leather which is very weather resistant and replaced the smaller gas tank with a larger one from another model. But before we talked about the other customizations, lets go back to what a R75/5 is and why I chose this model for my custom build. The R75/5 is the last of the air cooled R series to have a kick start, but it also has a push button electric start, so the best of both. It's also the last model to have the speedo/tacho inside the headlight bucket which makes it look like it's older cousins the R50, R60, and R69. It's the definitely the last of the "retro" models in the R series. After the R75/5 models start to look more modern. So to create the best cafe racer / custom bike I could, I wanted to start with a model that had vintage character but also modern features such as the electric start. 

Back to the customization. Of course I removed the rear fender, and to complement the shorten subframe, I put custom shocks, I removed the air box and had a custom aluminum setup fabricated to hold the battery where the air box used to be, creating a very "empty/minimalist" look under the subframe. Without an air box, each carburetors were given their own air filter and choke cables. To continue in the minimalist look, the front fender was replaced by a short aluminum fender and the exhaust cross tube was removed and the holes welded and pipes wrapped. The wheels were respoked with stainless spokes and trued by a local pro (tires have less than 500 miles on them). The speedometer was restored by Palo Alto Speedometers and set to 10,000 miles just because I didn't want to start at zero. 

 I've ridden very few miles since the build. I've always enjoyed the process more than the riding, and serious health issues have prevented me from riding or working on the bike for the last 2 years. I just recharged the battery and it started right up. These bikes are easy to fix and usually quite reliable. At the time of the build I wanted very short pipes which are still on the bike now, but they are quite loud. That didn't bother me back then but I certainly would want quieter pipes now. That will be up to you to replace those if they are not to your liking.  They do sound cool, but your neighbor won't like it much when you warm up the bike in the morning.  It was not a problem for me as I rode very rarely.

The bike is a great deal under $10k in this condition. Located in los Angeles near the Farmer's market/The Grove