Donate a cafe racer, finished or half built, and hear the real number

Where donated cafe builds come from

Builders whose project stalled. A 1970s donor bike gets stripped with real intentions, and then a move, a job, a kid or a broken part ends the momentum. Boxes of original parts usually come with it.

Builders who finished, rode it for a season and discovered that clip-ons and rear-sets are uncomfortable. Those bikes are finished, running and genuinely saleable.

Estates and garage clear-outs where somebody else's project has to be dealt with by people who did not start it.

Send the boxes too

It rides on a trailer or in a truck bed. It does not need to run, be registered or be assembled.

The important part for this category: send the boxes. Every original part you took off is worth something, often a lot, and a project with its original tank, seat, side covers, exhaust and airbox is worth substantially more than the same project without them. Tell us how many boxes there are and we will bring room for them.

Tell us whether the engine turns over, whether the wheels roll and whether the bike is on a stand or on its own tires, because that changes how it is loaded.

What decides what a cafe build brings

• Finished or not. The biggest split by far. A running, titled, finished build sells to a rider. An unfinished project sells to another builder, for much less.
• The donor bike. A desirable air-cooled four or twin underneath is worth real money even in pieces. An obscure donor is worth considerably less.
• Original parts included. This is the detail people get wrong. Original bodywork and exhaust can be worth more than the custom parts fitted, because the next owner may want to put it back.
• Quality of the work done. A hacked-up subframe and cut wiring harness actively lower the value below what the donor bike alone would bring. Tidy work does the opposite.
• Title status. Whether it is in hand, and whether the VIN matches. Same question as any custom.

Makes we accept

Donor bike choice is most of the identity here.

• Common donors: Honda CB350, CB450, CB550, CB750 and CX500, Yamaha XS650, XS750 and SR500, Kawasaki KZ400, KZ650 and KZ750, Suzuki GS450, GS550 and GS750, BMW R-series airheads, Moto Guzzi V-twins.
• Modern retro donors: Triumph Bonneville and Thruxton, Royal Enfield Continental GT and Interceptor, Ducati Scrambler, Yamaha XSR700 and SR400, Honda CB1100.
• Parts suppliers buyers recognize: Dime City Cycles, Cognito Moto, Motogadget, Benjie's, Omega Racer, Tarozzi rear-sets.

Not seeing yours? The list above is a search aid, not a restriction. We accept any make or model in this category, named here or not, including orphan brands and builders long out of business. What decides a donation is the condition and the paperwork, never the badge, so put yours on the form even if it is not listed.

Manufacturer names appear here so you can find your own bike. No manufacturer sponsors, endorses or is affiliated with this program.

The paperwork, and what you can deduct

A street motorcycle is a titled vehicle and the title has to transfer. If it is lost, most states have a duplicate process and the state title rules page walks through yours. If there is a loan against it we need the lien release. The VIN is on the steering neck and usually on the engine case as well. On a cafe build the same caution applies as on any custom: if the frame was modified or replaced and the title no longer matches, tell us before anything is scheduled and we will check your state.

Giving Center sells the bike and your deduction is the gross sale proceeds on Form 1098-C. A finished, running, titled cafe racer often lands between $500 and $5,000, where Form 8283 Section A applies. A well-executed build on a desirable donor can clear $5,000, where the IRS requires a qualified appraisal at your expense.

An unfinished project with a cut harness and a hacked subframe frequently sells under $500, where the deduction is the lesser of fair market value or $500 and we send a written acknowledgment instead of a 1098-C. That is the honest expectation for a stalled project, and it is still a free pickup that clears your garage and returns something to the cause.