My 74 350F Cafe (RE) Build Begins*On the Road the build Nears its End*

veloracermike

Coast to Coast
So some of you may recognize this bike:
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Well It's mine now I picked it up today. Sadly it's not quite the bike in those pictures. The bike was located about 3h south of me so after sending pics and much talking over the phone and via email we negotiated a price and I headed down this morning. The whole time we were talking he kept telling my how I wouldn't be disappointed, well we go into the garage and he pulls off the cover and man was this bike a mess. I'll post pics tomorrow but it's been neglected. I took it for a test ride and the carbs are not jetted right, had to run the choke half on the entire time or the bike just wouldn't wind up. The tank has a leak which has caused some paint to lift on the frame in that area. The batter isn't 'attached' in any way it's just sitting on the tray. That's jus the first things that I could pick up.

On the plus side the clutch feels solid, when choked properly the bike really pulls hard, the gear box is solid and it has new(er) tires. So after taking it out for about 30 min I came back and just told him I couldn't offer him what we negotiated. He asked me what I could I really hit him with a lowball, he countered at 200 below our original offer and I came back with 100 above my lowball. He said no and I said okay and headed for the truck. Then the guys wife comes out and asks him where I'm going and he says I'm not buying the bike. She says you sell him that bike NOW. So he takes my offer.

So I'm tearing the bike down and cleaning it up, going with a stock tank and a Roc City Interceptor seat. I've got pretty good list of things I'll pulling off and replacing. I had hoped to ride the thing for a few bit while the tank and seat were at the paint shop but now I'm just going to jump right in and start the "Rebuild"....lots more to come.
 
Re: My 350F Cafe "Rebuild" Begins

Haha! Looks like we know who really was selling that bike! haha, glad you came out ahead on the price there! I'm curious to see its condish, was that a picture he took of it when it was like that?

Looking forward to seeing what you do with it..
 
Re: My 350F Cafe "Rebuild" Begins

I got caught up in cleaning the bike and forgot to take picks of it dirty. I spent two hours with a pressure washer on this thing and it's far from clean.

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Battery, just sitting there. Going to have to figure out a solution for mounting the battery..open to suggestions
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No baffles. I need some this bike is stupid loud. Can anyone identify these pipes or someplace I can get some baffles?
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Lots of corrosion on the forks, will be pulling these and buffing that out. Also will be replacing the 'ears' with some billet units.
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Here you can see the mess the wiring and the brake hose is.
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So after washing the bike I tried to fire it up and got nothing. Checked for spark and nada. I'm pretty good with mechanicals but electric is not one of my strong points. I pull the #4 spark plug wire to pull the plug and the boot falls to the floor. I push it back in and pull the plug they it's black as coal. Double check for spark. Nope. So now I'm trying to find my way through this rats nest of wiring with my test light. I unplug and re plug and notice I have no tail light or brake light. I start pulling those wires and unplug one set and the light comes on...brake light too. On whim I hit the starter and it fires right up. Let the bike warm up and this time I open the choke all the way the thing just spins right up. I have no idea what I did but it worked. I'm thinking there might have been a short in the tail light and/or the #4 plug wire wasn't making a good connection. Regardless I'm taking this bike to someone who knows wiring and having them wire it and remove all the useless wires.

So here is whats on the menu:
New tank and seat/bobbed front fender/paint
New tail light
Black ceramic coating on the headers
New controls (front brake and clutch)
New electrical buttons and re-wire.
Front brake hoses
Shorter clutch/throttle cables.

New bar end mirrors
New rear sets set up
 
Re: My 350F Cafe "Rebuild" Begins

So, I have to ask. What are you going to do with that tank and seat?
 
Re: My 350F Cafe "Rebuild" Begins

JustinLonghorn said:
So, I have to ask. What are you going to do with that tank and seat?

I contacted the seller about the leak and he's going to buy them back from me. If the tank didn't have a leak I'd sell on the forum but I don't feel comfortable selling something like that when it's got an issue.
 
Re: My 350F Cafe "Rebuild" Begins

Too bad she wasn't all she apeared to be....Heck of a good Base for a killer project.
 
Re: My 350F Cafe "Rebuild" Begins

Just my personal $.02, but why don't you fix that tank and use it and the seat? To me that is a way more killer combo than a stock 350f tank and a cafe seat. Not trying to step on any toes, 'cause I really like the 350f tanks, but honestly man, that has that rc166 look that to me is the personification of a Japanese cafe. Long and lean. The 350f tank is obviously a nod the the brit knee dent tanks, but man, I love what you have going in there......
 
Re: My 350F Cafe "Rebuild" Begins

Kanticoy said:
Just my personal $.02, but why don't you fix that tank and use it and the seat? To me that is a way more killer combo than a stock 350f tank and a cafe seat. Not trying to step on any toes, 'cause I really like the 350f tanks, but honestly man, that has that rc166 look that to me is the personification of a Japanese cafe. Long and lean. The 350f tank is obviously a nod the the brit knee dent tanks, but man, I love what you have going in there......

There is a part of me that feels the same. When I first saw the bike my initial impression was man that's hawt! I think if I were to do that I'd go with an alloy tank. I could sell this and ad in the price of the paint and cost for my stock tank and seat it would be close to the alloy tank from DCC. It's still an option. I will say that with this setup the position is really really aggressive.
 
Re: My 350F Cafe "Rebuild" Begins

Oh yeah, its definitely aggressive. It's racer inspired! Part if that is caused by using the passenger peg mounts for the rearsets though....that's effective, but not ideal for all of us. I don't mean to kink your plans brother....I am just a huge fan of repli racers when done with sohc4's......they're kind of like equating the British twin's ultimate incarnation as the triton....just to me the baddest of the bad.
 
Re: My 350F Cafe "Rebuild" Begins

Problem solved, sell those to Justin, buy a rock city!
 
Re: My 350F Cafe "Rebuild" Begins

Kanticoy said:
Oh yeah, its definitely aggressive. It's racer inspired! Part if that is caused by using the passenger peg mounts for the rearsets though....that's effective, but not ideal for all of us. I don't mean to kink your plans brother....I am just a huge fan of repli racers when done with sohc4's......they're kind of like equating the British twin's ultimate incarnation as the triton....just to me the baddest of the bad.

I race bicycles so being in an aggressive tuck is something I'm used to. You've got me thinking though, I did buy a really clean 400F tank off of eBay, if I sell that, sell the current tank, that would just about pay for the alloy tank.....hmmm
 
Re: My 350F Cafe "Rebuild" Begins

Goddamn you Kanitcoy I had my bike all built in my head and now I'm totally rethinking it! The alloy RocCity tank with that seat would look bad ass...and the RC tank is 3'' shorter so the position would be slightly less aggressive.

If I got this route I'm keep'n the seat but I'll sell the tank for 400+shipping.
 
Re: My 350F Cafe "Rebuild" Begins

veloracermike said:
please tell me your joking didnt you say that tank leaks how much was that tank new to be worth 400 leaking i ve bought nice 350f for that much money christ
 
Re: My 350F Cafe "Rebuild" Begins

The tanks are 500 new with out sealant, cap or petcock. The fix is going to cost well under 100 bucks probably closer to 50.
 
Re: My 350F Cafe "Rebuild" Begins

Just dropped my pipes off at the media blasters getting them prepped for paint. I'm about 80% there on keeping the CR look, but with the alloy tank.
 
Re: My 350F Cafe "Rebuild" Begins

Seriously man, I'm not one to parrot... But I'm going to. For christs sake, KEEP THAT TANK.

If you sell it you will regret it. I promise.
 
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