Chris' Cafe build (02.11.08) Winter Update

Re: Chris' Cafe build (07.24.07)

Chris,
How much would you say you have into the paint job on that, financially. If you don't mind divulging that sort of info? My Nighthawk needs to be repainted this winter and I need an idea of how much I need to set back.

Beardking

Re: Chris' Cafe build (07.24.07)

It's difficult to say. I think I would expect pay between $75 and $100/hour for professional paint work. Then figure in $250 for materials.

Like I said, I have around 25 hours or so in the shop. I've never priced a paint job, though, so I don't know. You're asking for a difficult estimate. That's why I say one should powdercoat as much as possible because it is cheaper and an acceptable finish. It's strong too!

--Chris

Re: Chris' Cafe build (07.24.07)

gents if you want that high gloss look but with the ease of powder coating and don't want to pay a pro $75-100 hr then have a look at baked enamel. It's normally done by powder coaters, give a very high gloss with the added benerfit of being fuel, acid resistant not to mention can take up to 300f, so is good for around engines and has good chip restisance etc. The cost is above the cost of powder coating but is defently worth it. The enamal is not the same as normal enamel and can be sprayed then baked if you have an oven big enouth (not the bosses cake cooker) :-\

Rod from OZ

Re: Chris' Cafe build (08.12.07)

I started the final assembly. So far, everything is going smoothly. I Ordered a new chain and located some carbs and a headlight. I'm almost to the point of wiring her up, then kicking her over. Feel free to offere some critiques. As always, better explainations on my website.













Does this look too low? Too high?



This outta stiffent things up!



I'm traveling next week and won't be able to work on the bike much.

--Thanks, Chris

Re: Chris' Cafe build (08.12.07)

Chris, did you mount the cois upside down for any reason? They are supposed to be tucked inside the recess of the tank to hide them.

Re: Chris' Cafe build (08.12.07)

Nope; I made a mistake. I'll remount those...

Re: Chris' Cafe build (08.12.07)

Looking great! I'm really interested in how your batteries work out. Can you provide the actual dimensions/model of the batteries you're using? I need to mount mine in a similar fashion to how you're doing it.

So the alloy tray is riveted right to the frame?

Re: Chris' Cafe build (08.12.07)

TinTin:

The battery tray is mounted directly to the frame. I mounted it such that it will add stiffness to the overall structure. I'm going to di it behind the wheel as well. This will stiffen the rear section further and keep dirt and stuff out of the carbs. It won't look very cool though

Batteries are 95mm x 60mm x 23 mm each and weigh under a lbs. I have 2 but ordered another. I pay $10 each for them, but my company is a master distributor. I think they list at $20 each.

--Chris

Re: Chris' Cafe build (08.12.07)

Have you tested them out yet? I need to get my batteries ordered so I can confirm the final size/shape of my under-seat tray.

Re: Chris' Cafe build (08.12.07)

No, I haven't. But if three batteries (2.4aH) don't work, I'll buy 4 (3.2aH). It just has to run the headlight while stopped...

I also have a small (5aH) battery I can hide as well.

--Chris

Re: Chris' Cafe build (08.12.07)

I finally began the wiring process. I still am not 100% certain if the battereise will work on not. Hopefully, my carbs will come in soon and I can fire her up. In the mean time, have a read through my website. Here are the pics.

Reflective tape to protect the paint.


Reflective tape lit by the camera's flash


Old, stripped wiring loom; reused


Wiring progress thus far--about 80% done.


--Cheers, chris

Re: Chris' Cafe build (08.23.07)

More progress. I got a lot done over the weekend. The wiring may look messy, but it will look great when I cut off the zip ties and wrap the loom. I just did it this way to keep organized. We have a 4-day weekend coming up. All that's left between me and a ride is my carbs arriving from Canada--which the should. I'm excited.

Those hanging green wires are for the lightweight horn I bought, which arrives on Wed or Thurs.
















Hopefully, my next post is of me starting my bike for the first time.

--Chris

Re: Chris' Cafe build (08.23.07)

Looking swank Chris. I can't wait till mine is at the point to do wiring. What kickstart lever is that? Doesn't look like the current one I have, and I'm assuming you did so because the factory piece wouldn't clear the rearset, which I will run into as well...

Steve

Re: Chris' Cafe build (08.23.07)

Hi Steve:

It's from a CB360.

--Thanks, Chris

Re: Chris' Cafe build (08.23.07)

Keep us up to date on the electrical - I'm very curious to know how the batteries work out for you.

Re: Chris' Cafe build (09.03.07) FIRST RIDE!

My buddy Sam came over and we tried starting the bike. It took an hour or so of constant kicking, but we finally got the hand of it. His chop doesn’t have a kicker, so both of us were flying blind on this one.

I’m all assembled and went for the first ride. Having never really ridden a bike before, it was a bit scary. To compound this, everyone turned their sprinkler on last night, so I was nervous going into turns on 20+ year old tires.

The bike did well. She sounds good and feels like she has a lot of balls. At speed, she is REALLY buzzy—this surprised me. My hands were numb from the vibration. Next time, I’ll wear some gloves.

Now, for the bad news…The first is that the kickstand interferes with the shifter. I can get my toe under there, but something is going to have to change. But the worst thing is that the little batteries might not stick around—not in their current form. I’m going to give them a few more tries to see if maybe we drained them by trying to kick the bike over for so long. It might also be that the charging system is wired improperly and isn’t working. Who knows? Hopefully, they work.

Worse case: I put a small battery in its place.

I wish there were pictures to show for the weekend, but there aren't. A few weeks ago, I bought some carbs from DRj. I wanted them for the weekend, but accepted the fact that I would not have them. The arrived on Sat looking clean as could be. Still, I gave them a good soack and a quick rebuild. I also picked up my shortened cables on Fri. That said, there was no reason I could not go for a spin this weekend.

Look how tidy the wiring came out!


Sam and I kicked and kicked this thing for an hour or so (I hope that's what drained the battery!). It's frustrating, but she finally woke up.



Finished product from the rear side. I think it came out nicely.


And from the side. There is still stuff to do like give the tank a buff and apply some graphics, but for the most part, she's done. Hopefully, I figure out this battery issue and it works out fine.

Re: Chris' Cafe build (09.03.07) FIRST RIDE!

Hey Chris, glad to hear things are starting to work out. The 350 needs to be awaken after that long snooze and takes a bit of effort. Kickstarting the bike doesn't drain the battery as long as the headlight isn't on. The bike looks fantastic.

Re: Chris' Cafe build (09.03.07) FIRST RIDE!

Thanks DrJ. The headlight was not installed, but the tail light was on. Plus, I don't think those batteries were fully charged. I am concerned about the headlight because it is hard wired on. I may install a switch so I can turn it off until I ride off. At what RPMs does the charging system kick on?

--Thanks, Chris

Re: Chris' Cafe build (09.03.07) FIRST RIDE!

Did I just read that you've never ridden ANYTHING before?!? And THIS is what you came up with for your first bike?

DAMN I'm impressed!!

Re: Chris' Cafe build (09.03.07) FIRST RIDE!

Nope, this is my first ride past maybe 50 yards. When I took off, my legs were very rigid sideways as I bounced off each shoes a couple times. I almost hit my wife's car, then my car, then the neighbor's fence before I finally relaxed.