Anatomy of a Cafe Racer: A Honda CB750 Undertaking

Finally

2011-02-17T13:05:00.000-08:00

Well for some odd reason, it was 74 degrees outside today, so I decided to take the bike outside and snap a couple of pictures. The show this weekend was awesome, except for the fact that I crutch around the place (my pits hurt)...... There were lots of cool cars, trucks and bikes. Tons of harleys were there. Tony, Rickie and I had some of the 10 odd step children there. People really seemed to like them though. It's been over 2 years in the making, but it's finally done. I'm sure there will be some tuning and problems that I run into come spring time, but I'll keep you posted. Until then, enjoy.

Ready to Race.... almost

2011-01-31T12:51:00.000-08:00

I was able to put the number decals on the tail section today. I'm still on crutches, so I couldn't position the bike for better pictures. I've been ordering parts off of ebay and am itching to get them installed. Hopefully I'll be able to do some real work next week. Until next time....

Sneak Preview

2011-01-15T19:08:00.001-08:00

After long neglect to the ole 81, I'm back at it. I got the tins painted and pinstriped. The bike is ready to fire after a couple of wiring issues are sorted out. Here is a sucky picture of the almost completed bike!

Paint- 2011 Mercedes McLaren SLR Silver. It is the closest thing that I could find to polished aluminum. The tail section is gloss black with white number plates. I'm pleased with the way the paint turned out. I sprayed lots of light coats to give it a deep metallic look. I did the stripes myself, and misplaced the Honda wings, they will be in the center of the tank.

Fabrication- A big thanks to Anchor Motorcycles (Tony) for doing all of my welding on the tail section, rear-sets, etc.

Finish up- There are just a few things to finish up on the bike. I'm considering putting mesh on the headlight for a vintage road race look. I'll also be covering up the muffler welds with a cover of some sort. I'm sure a few other small things will annoy me.

Tony asked me to display my bike with a couple of his at the World of Wheels car and motorcycle show in February. So come take a look!

I just had ankle surgery this week and will have some time to post pics, so expect more in the next few weeks! Thanks for being so patient with me this past year. I've had a lot of projects aside from the bike consume my life, but it's good to finally see that light!

Pete

Carbs and Pipes Oh my.....

2009-11-19T21:14:00.000-08:00

I have mocked up the carbs and head pipe. It was the first time either have been on the bike. The carbs look awesome. The manifolds fit perfectly and the carbs stick out the side at an angle. They look great. I'm really amped about the head pipe. I love the look of the crossover pipes! They are something you don't see often on a cafe bike (Usually people run a MAC 4-1 or similar). These have a pipes that "cross over" and have an equalizer tube that is just behind the oil pan. I have yet to pick out mufflers for them though. I'm going to look for some small ones that are not too noticeable. I also got some fork "gaitors" off ebay. They look pretty good. I have yet to attach them to the lower fork cases. The bike is looking meaner and meaner by the minute. I'm still at a loss when I think about paint. I can't make up my mind.

Engine En

2009-11-12T21:33:00.000-08:00

I have waited a long time to post this update. The engine is finally in. Man was that thing heavy! Tony and I put it in tonight with the help of a floor jack, but it sure was a tight fit. I think I'll be icing my back tonight! From here on out, I have a lot of odds and ends to tie up before I try and start it. I got my cyclex carbs in last week. Ken is extremely helpful up there in Wisconsin. They look great and I can't wait to put them on! Here are some updated pics.

Tony has taught me tons the past few months.

Thanks Tony! (He's opening his own shop soon- Anchor Cycles)

A shot of the engine installed

A work in progress, and finally a place to work on it other than my back porch!

One small step

2009-10-19T22:18:00.000-07:00

Well she's about buttoned up! the engine would be completely buttoned up, but I forgot to buy an oil filter! It's been about 4 months in the building, wait..... 4 months!?! Well, we have been taking our time with this beast. It also didn't help that Diana and I bought our first house and have been fixing it up for the past few months. Tony and I finished adjusting the valve shims today and were finally able to see the fruits of our labor. Here are some stats on the engine:

-Wiseco 890cc pistons
-Cylinders resleeved to accommodate larger pistons
-CB900 cams
-CB900 oil pan, sending unit and oil cooler
-Valve job
-Heavy duty clutch springs
-Cycle Ex dual carb system
probably forgot some other stuff, it's late...

On Thursday, we plan to do some welding on the frame and install the engine. Then, it's back to my house for the finishing touches (which may take 3 more years). Let's hope not though!
Here are some pics of the engine.

Almost done!

Tony wrenching

Tony's newest project: CB750 bobber

There she is...... Better pics to come....

Been Awhile!

2009-06-23T20:25:00.000-07:00

Here's the deal. I've been super busy with work and a couple of other things during the past month! I've been a huge slacker! I've recently had a little bit of time to start work on the engine. My friend Tony and I have been working on assembling the engine in the past couple of weeks. I have a crazy schedule so our free time seems to only match up once every week or so. I have also been doing some painting on my engine. I'm pleased with the result of the 2 tone color. The paint/powder coating on the engine was in great condition but I wanted to add a little something to it. I've been using VHT brand gloss black to accent some parts. More pics of the engine build are to come, but here are a couple of painting pics.

Tail section mock up

2009-05-11T21:49:00.000-07:00

Well, I posted to my blog this afternoon before my tail section arrived in the mail. I mounted it up tonight. Here are some pics. The tail section will be welded onto the stock frame where it was cut. Like the tank, I'm extremely pleased with the quality of materials used. Thanks again to Benjie at http://www.benjiescaferacer.com/ for these awesome parts! They look really great...... and the seat is actually fairly comfortable.

It's here!

2009-05-11T14:45:00.000-07:00

Note I said it..... I got the tank in the mail last week. I've been busy with family stuff all weekend, but had a little time to work on the bike today. I mounted up the tank to see how it looks. I'm very pleased with it. I'm still waiting on the tail section and battery tray. I had to do little cutting on where the stock tank mounted to make the new one work. I was very interested to feel how heavy this fiberglass tank was. It is heavy! probably nearly as heavy as the stock tank! The tank seems to be extremely high quality fiberglass work. If you will notice, it has a really cool modern gas cap flush mounted on top! It's a very nice touch that Benjie added to go along with my very clean industrial look. Now, my headlight is still chrome. I will either be sanding it down to a dull satin finish or powder coating it black (it clashes right now). I like how low it sits though!

I also mocked up the rearsets I got off of ebay. I think they are some CBR1000 rearsets. They seem to fit very nicely. I'm going to go ahead and mount them where the passenger pegs were located. It puts me in an "extreme" racing position, but I like the feel of it. I did some grinding on them to give the pegs that machined look that will be found in various places on the bike. Hopefully the project will be picking back up in the next couple of weeks and I'll be posting more frequently. Until next time!

Sneak Preview

2009-04-17T22:36:00.000-07:00

I received some great news this morning. Benjie has completed my tank, seat and battery box. They will ship out next week. I'm still struggling with choosing a color, so if you have any novel ideas, please share (really, I need some ideas)!

Here they are:

Lucking Out

2009-04-07T14:00:00.000-07:00

Definition:

The force that seems to operate for good or ill in a person's life, as in shaping circumstances, events, or opportunities

During a weekly trip to True Auto Paint (Now also known as Turkey Creek Cycles), I was sharing my plan of getting a mini speedometer with my friends there. Tony let me know that he had one from a project that he had awhile back. Turns out, it's one of those fancy digital ones. "Real nice Clark"

I have been scouring ebay for sometime now for a mini speedo and all of them are cheesy, junky, or way too expensive. Thanks to Tony being an awesome guy, he let me grab it for a front end that I gave him awhile back. (I still owe him big time)

Anyways, I've been working today on fabricating a plate for the speedo to fit on my handlebar clamp. It turned out better than I expected. I decided to leave it aluminum looking. It was really shiny, but I sanded it down to a more rough, machined look (Should have let Dave do some turning on it!).

Tank and Seat Update:

"Pete, Just finished the fiberglass work and metal bracketry. The battery box is all done as well. I'll send it to the painter tomorrow to get everything smoothed and primer prep ready for paint. Sorry took awhile. Had some difficulty making the dye for the metal press that makes the mounting for the new gas cap. It was harder that i thought but we got it to work. We're gonna try to finish everything this week."

-Benjie

Here are some pics of the speedo build:

Started out with a small sheet of 1/16" aluminum

Cut a 2" hole in it

Cut out the aluminum plate with my dremel

Cut out brackets in the fuse/clamp that were in the way

Screwed the plate to the clamp with machine screws

Looks very minimalistic

It's has a lower profile than the fuse holder that went there!

Still need to get that stainless hose.

Updated pic of the bike....

Slowed to a crawl.............

2009-03-19T10:07:00.000-07:00

I finally got my master cylinder from MikesXS.com. It is sweet. I ordered the master cylinder with a "sloped" reservoir. It fits the angle of my clip-ons perfectly! I'm very pleased with it. I've got a couple pictures of it below. I also have a couple of pictures of where my speedometer will be mounted.

Here is a picture of my handlebar clamp. Notice it is meant to hold something (used to be where some fuses went). I'm going to fabricate an aluminum plate and mount a mini speedometer where the fuses used to go. The fuses will be relocated to my tail section. Also on my bike, I have pnuematic assisted shocks (notice the little air line between the fork caps). I'm going to replace this line with a stainless one when I build my stainless brake lines. Should be pretty cool!

Tank and Seat Update! They are ordered. Benjie from BCR.com is building them, and they should be completed sometime next month! I've been going around and around with colors. I'm down to 2. Either metallic silver or some sort of copper/orange color.

Gettin' There

2009-03-03T21:35:00.000-08:00

Hello All:

The front caliper is now complete. I took it apart, stripped the paint, sanded it down and bit and then repainted it. The piston inside was in pretty nice condition so I just sanded it with some

2000 grit paper and called it good! Here are a couple pics of the completed caliper.

I have also started removing extraneous tabs and brackets from the frame to reduce weight and make the bike more aesthetically pleasing. It's kind of a shame, to me, cutting and sanding on such nicely powder coated parts........ but it will be worth it (hopefully). Here are some pictures of where the airbox/electonics are supposed to be. I will be running pod filters and an aftermarket carbueration system. I will also be hiding all electronics under my tail section, so this part of the frame will look almost exactly like you see it here (with some paint of course).

Before:

After:

Upadated Tank Picture

2009-02-23T09:04:00.000-08:00

Here is an updated picture that Benjie sent me. It looks awesome!

BCR

2009-02-22T09:50:00.000-08:00

Benjie's Cafe Racer:

http://www.benjiescaferacer.com/

If you havn't checked out Benjie's site, it's well worth a look. He is a custom motorcycle fabricator that specializes in vintage cafe bikes (50's,60's,70's,80's). His team has put together some amazing bikes. He custom builds seats and tanks that have a very clean, ergonomic look. All of his parts are hand made metal or fiberglass parts. I've contacted him and will hopefully be ordering a tank and seat combo from him in the next couple of weeks. He sent me a picture of another customer's DOHC CB750 tank and seat in progress to give me an idea of what my tank and seat will look like.

It is called a "Coi" tank. the seat will be made of metal and the tank of fiberglass. One of the nice things about this combo is that the battery tray and all electricals will be hidden under the tail section. That will give my bike that clean, bare bones, roadracing look that I'm going for.

It is such a relief to see a motorcycle builder that has absolutely no bias on what he makes. He makes parts for all sorts of bikes- Honda's, Harley's, Yamaha's. Benjie has done a wonderful job of giving us people that don't have much metal-smithing ability the chance to own a tank and seat that are unique and scream CAFE RACER.

Odds and Ends

2009-02-20T21:11:00.000-08:00

I'm ashamed to say that I have done very little since my last entry. The last few weeks have found me relatively busy doing other things. I have been doing some "little" things though.

To me, the details are very important. Not just with a motorcycle, but with every facet of life. Most things in life can be broken down into smaller things that make up those things. Think about it.

A painting isn't a painting. It is a collection of brushstrokes of varying shades and colors performed by a person that has an ability to apply these in just the right form to create something beautiful.

A Wal-Mart isn't a Wal-Mart. It is Cement Bricks, Metal, Heating and Air ducts, lights, plumbing, shelving, asphalt, shopping carts, cash registers etc. It is also people who know how to work the registers (sometimes :)) People who greet you, people who can change your tires, develop your photos, stock shelves with products that were bought by other people in offices around the world who bargain with big companies that sell those products. A silly example, but one that proves a point-that if the details are not attended to, or thought unimportant, there can not be a successful result.

Ok Ok, back to the bike. Here are a few pics of painting the "Honda" logo on my clutch cover. It turned out pretty good. It looks great from about 2 or 3 feet away. I got so used to looking at it from 8 inches away that I thought it looked terrible when I peeled away the masking tape. (Diana quickly let me know that it looked fine and I would be a crazy perfectionist to paint it black again and start over). I fought back my crazy perfectionist demons and let it be. I painted it with dupont High Temp silver engine paint.

This last picture is of my front caliper that I will be rebuilding and painting silver.

I have ordered brake pads and will be ordering a master cylinder from http://www.mikesxs.com/ within the next week or so.

She's up....

2009-02-05T22:17:00.000-08:00

I got my wheels and tires today! They look great. I know that they aren't what most people find appealing, but I think they're awesome. The rear tire is slightly wider than the front. Both are Avon Distanzia Hypermotard tires. The tread looks very aggressive. My polishing paid off, and the hubs both look great. The only thing that isn't quite show quality is the rear Norton Commando rim. It is in very good condition, but it has about a 3" long spot where the chrome has peeled away. No problemo though, because this bike is going to be a rider (no trailer queen, show and shine, chromed out Busa here).

My goal for January was to complete the front suspension, I accomplished that. I wanted to have the brake system completed also, but that will have to wait for more "fundage". The front brake system will require:

-New master cylinder

-Braided Stainless brake line

-Rebuild front caliper

Febuary's goals also include

-Rear brake shoes

-New sprockets/chain

-Racing Rearsets

p.s. the headlight looks "O...K..." I guess. It is a little "chopper-ish" but I think it will look more "vintage" once the bike comes a long a bit more.

More Forking......

2009-01-26T18:24:00.000-08:00

I got my powder coated parts back, Including my upper and lower triple tree. They look awesome..... LPF did the work and I am very satisfied. They did it for a very reasonable price as well. Here's their site: http://www.lpfkc.com/

I've put new steering stem bearings in as well as cleaned every part that goes in the steering stem. It went together pretty easily. The powder coating makes things a little tighter than if it were bare metal, so a BFH (Big ummm........ "Fun" Hammer) is necessary for these jobs. After the triple tree went together, it was time to put the clip-on handlebars on. These clip-ons are great. They are very light weight. It was somewhat of a pain tracking down Clip-Ons that would fit 37mm forks. I found some compatible ones that fit 90's Kawasaki Ninja 500's. Here they are. Things are coming along nicely. I'm still waiting on the wipers for my forks as well as the wheels/tires. We'll keep you posted.....

That's shocking..... (In a Will Ferrell voice)

2009-01-26T18:14:00.000-08:00

I finally got some new shocks. I've been looking a long time for some shocks with the cool looking "piggy-back" reservoir. Unfortunately, they cost an arm and a leg..... Or I could buy some crappy old ones that need rebuilt- but that would also cost an arm and a leg. So, I found these black ones on Ebay. They are made by Forsa, and are nearly 15 inches long. that is good because I'm trying to level this bike out to make it look like a road racer.......... Here they are

Fork You!

2009-01-22T12:48:00.000-08:00

The front end is coming along great! I have the fork tubes and cases together finally! I am now just waiting on 2 more bushings and the fork wipers to finish them up. Hopefully all of the parts that were sent to the powder coaters will be done soon. As soon as I can get those, the front end will almost be done!

I ordered an old school looking headlight this week off of ebay. It is a 5 3/4" light that has some cool ribs on the back. I went with a smaller light to keep in stride with the minimalistic theme. The headlight is a bottom mount headlight, so some fabrication will be needed to bolt this up to my front end.

Today I dropped off the polished hub and spokes at Cyclops. I ordered tires today, and am looking forward to seeing these tires on my spoked rims!

Here are some pics of the progress of the front forks.

Wheels

2009-01-13T14:31:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned before, I am using both a 19" front and rear wheel. The Honda CB750 came with a 19" wire wheel on front. To increase the diameter of the back wheel, I will be using a Rim from a Norton Commando and lacing it up to the stock Honda hub. Jim at Cyclops here in Merriam is lacing them up. He does great work and I would highly recommend him to anyone. After he took the wheels apart, he gave me my Honda hub and the Norton spokes to polish.

Polishing 101:

If it has paint on it, STRIP IT!!!!!! I use aircraft stripper for the clear coat on my hub

Sand from more abrasive to least abrasive!

I sanded the hub with 1000 grit paper first, then 1500 grit, finally 2000 grit. This smoothes down the metal to make it shinier.

Use a good polish and be sure that it is for the metal you are working with!!! There are different polishing compounds for chrome, metal, aluminum, plastic, etc. Be sure to read your polish and get the correct compound, or it could damage the metal.

***Polishing is a simple way to really enhance the look of any metal you have. It's super easy and very inexpensive. So, go give it a shot sometime!

Posted are some before and after pics of my hub.

Tires

2009-01-13T14:21:00.000-08:00

I'm going for a uniform look for my front and back wheels/tires. I don't like the chopper/harley look of the 16" rear and 21" front wheels (to each his own of course). My set up of 19" front and rear wheels/tires will be different to say the least. There are only 3 tires made for a rear 19" wheel. 3! This is because the 19" rear wheel was only used on a limited number of motorcycles (late sixties, early 70's british bikes). There may be other older motorcycles that used the 19" rear wheel as well. ANYWAYS.......... If I want a tire with good performance, I am going to have to use a modern 19" front tire, and mount it in reverse on the back. My tire and wheel guy (who is extremely knowlegdable about anything that rolls) has suggested the AVON DISTANZIA. This is actually a hypermotard tire. It is made for both on and off road. This is very cool because vintage Nortons and Triumphs had very aggressive tread (almost knobbies!) Here is a pick of an AVON Distanzia.

Doh!

2009-01-09T10:50:00.000-08:00

First error in judgement-Many more to come.........

Doh...

In putting together my CB900 front end, I forgot to check if the CB900 "C" forks that I had would work with the CB900 "F" lower cases that have already been powder coated. You guessed it, they won't.

The bushings purchased for a CB900F that attach to the forks and the cases are way to big for the CB900 (See pic). I ordered the bushings that go on a CB900"C" today. Hopefully these will work with my pretty black cases, if not, Ebay may have some CB900 forks. We'll see. Until next time, enjoy our wild america...........

Design Inspirations-

2009-01-08T21:42:00.000-08:00

I would give my left arm to ride any of these bikes...... If I could give it after I rode them.....

2009-01-08T21:40:00.000-08:00

A very nice DOHC CB750

2009-01-08T21:39:00.000-08:00

My bike- If it were to remain stock

More Updates

2009-01-08T14:46:00.000-08:00

So far, I've neglected to let you in on the plans for my project bike. I'm starting with a bone stock 1981 CB750K. This is a Dual Overhead Cam model of the CB750's commonly used for cafe racer builds. The advantages for building a DOHC bike are the electonic ignition, slightly more power and maybe less rusty. The disadvantages are that manufacturers make very few aftermarket parts for these bikes.

So far, the frame and engine have been powder coated. The frame is a glossy black, while the engine is flat silver with gloss black engine covers/head.

The engine has a big bore kit on it with high-performance CB900 pistons and Cams

My friend Tony Stuckwisch is building the engine. He does great work and has some absolutely awesome bikes.

I purchased a Norton Commando 19" rear wheel. My plan is to lace this rim up to my stock rear hub to give the bike even more of a road racer look.

My motivation for this Cafe Racer is a vintage road racing style of bike. Big wheels, low profile, streamlined and very minimalistic.

Stay Tuned!

2009-01-07T21:41:00.001-08:00

First up: Front suspension.
For the front suspension, I am using a 1982 CB900F front end. The CB900F has a little bit larger front forks (37mm as apposed to 35mm). They are slightly beefier looking, which I like. Now, the Stock 1981 Honda CB750K came with spoke wheels. The CB900 did not. This is where it will get tricky. I am going to have to modify the front axle to fit these spoke wheels. I also will have to fit the CB900 calipers to the front rotor. It sounds tricky. Hopefully it won't be that bad.... Wait, did I just say "hopefully", that's a sure cursing session at a later time and date.

Work done:
-Separated the forks, found out all of my seals, wipers, bushings are rusted junk.
-Ordered new stuff from bike bandit.
-Sent the triple trees to be powder-coated black
-Removed old bearings from steering neck

To do:
-Install wheel bearings
-Have front rotor cross-drilled
-Put together forks with new parts
-Polish front wheel
-Fit front wheel to axle/caliper

Let it Begin

2009-01-06T16:36:00.000-08:00

Ok everyone, and by everyone, I mean me. It's time to get this project started. I've got a checklist going on on the right side of the screen over there. I want to have this bike complete and in riding shape for the vintage bike show this June here in Kansas City. I've got a lot of work ahead of me to complete this task. I've been ordering some parts here and there for the past couple of weeks. Here are some pics of what the bike looks like now.

2008-12-19T16:59:00.000-08:00

In the dog house. My recent habitat. After acquiring about 15 boxes of parts from an antique shop containing what looks to be a hodge-podge of early 80's Honda motorcycle parts, I told my wife Diana I had bought a motorcycle. When she came home to investigate this new 2-wheeled wonder, you can imagine her reaction to a garage full of wheels, engine parts, gas tanks, seats, fenders and the like. In the dog's dog house would perhaps be a more fitting phrase.