The Original

BSA Goldstar Clubman.  Starting point.  Of course, this is a totally different bike (pre-unit), has a lot of unnecessary extras, such as all the additional bits and pieces, such as the garb bar, rear fender stuff, etc., that I'm going to slim down on my bike.

However, this tank is BSA appropriate for a cafe bike.  It's an original style, with the knee indents and is historically accurate.  However, I find it slightly bulbous and bulky, so if I have a tank custom built, I'll definitely work on "sleeking it up".

For example, here's what I consider to be the most beautiful cafe bike I've ever seen:

 

It's called the Bonita Applebum, and the builder started with a Honda CB350, and honestly had less experience than I do when it comes to bike building.  The tank and seat set is standard stock from Benji's Cafe Racer, and it's called "The Dolphin".  What makes it amazing is the sleek, straight line on the bottom of the tank, through the seat and the frame.  That's a design detail that I'm adamant about recreating.  The knee indents are similar to the Goldstar, and there's a fabulously beautiful simplicity of line work in the overall tank and seat combo.

Unfortunately, the BSA frame has a significantly more drastic angle on the center up-tube, on which the tank sits, so the tank will have to incorporate are much more strategic channel, as well as the difficulty in mounting, since the BSA tank mounts through a hole in the center.

All in all, it's a challenge, but could in the end lead to a much more amazing design.