1973 CB750 Cafe - 1st Build -

Well after reading and dreaming for a few years, I decided to throw caution to the wind and buy a bike for a cafe project. I pickup up a 1973 just a few days before Christmas that ran perfectly. It had a few things done to it over the years so it was a good candidate for a cafe. The motor had recently been gone through and with 25k miles on the clock, I am hoping the engine/trans will be good for a while. Here's what it looked like when I brought it home.



And by the end of Christmas night, it was looking like this...







Finally, I finished with tearing things off. It was nice to finally get moving forward. Devin at Cognito Moto has helped me a lot along the way with not only the GSXR conversion stuff with with all sorts of random questions I've had. This was me feeling it out with the seat finally mocked up.



This is how it sits today with the Dime City Ribbed Seat and shocks, custom rear shock mounts, 2008 GSXR front end and CB550 swing arm. There's a ton of other odds and ends that have been done that I didn't document very well. I'll try to keep up with this build as I move along. The plan is to get it put together and running, then tear it down for engine cleaning and painting as well as more powder coating including the frame.

Nice I like that a lot. Started with a great donor bike too. I even like the color I wouldn't change it at all just get it together and ride the crap out of it

I added a cool little touch last night. I wanted something neat to put the neutral and turn lights in. This had tooled leather was part of a wallet my uncle that was in prison had made for me when I was in high school. Prison art is always cool!! I think it came out pretty good.

Just a small update... I got some bar end turn signals mounted in the frame for rear signals. They look perfect. I just sent the hubs and rims to Buchanan Spoke to get laced and trued. I also have a new wire harness on the way from Sparck Moto. Once those things get in, it's time for some riding before it gets torn down again for frame powder coating and tank paint.





Also, that pan under the seat will be powder coated so that rust isn't staying...

Ha, that's exactly what I planned on doing for my rear turn signals. I'm shocked that more people don't do that. Those are the ones from DCC right? They look freaking perfect there.

I actually got these from the eBay. I had to wrap some cardboard around them in order to get them tight in the frame but they seem to be in there pretty good now.

It's finally a roller!!! I had Buchanan Spoke lace up the rims and mount the tires. Not cheap, but when everything shows up ready to go, it's pretty exciting. I agonized over the rim and tire selection on this bike for a long time and I am very happy with the look of them. I think they will perform well too. Still trying to wire everything up, but no one wants to see pictures of ugly wiring harnesses. So here's how it sits on its own 2 feet!

What size rim and tires did you go with?

What a sweet looking bike you've got there!
where did you bought those bar end blinkers?

Bookmarked! What rims/tires are those?

Have you thought about adding the stock decals to the tank? It needs something to break up the blue a bit IMO.

What size rim and tires did you go with?
-The front rim is a 17"x3.5" wrapped with a Pirelli Route 66 in a 120/90r17. The rear rim is a 17"x4.5" wrapped in a Pirelli Sport Demon 140/80r17. The rims and tires were a BIG deal to me and I'm very happy with the way they turned out! I got the rims from Devin at Cognito Moto. He's a great guy and has been such a help with this build.

What a sweet looking bike you've got there!
where did you bought those bar end blinkers?
-The bar end blinkers are from eBay. Not the cheap ones, I think about $50 or so but definitely worth it. I'm so glad I went that route too.

Have you thought about adding the stock decals to the tank? It needs something to break up the blue a bit IMO.
-As for the tank, that's the way I bought it. I HATE flames with a passion so it will be painted soon. Still undecided on colors but I'm thinking a coffee brown and cream with the stock Honda logo. I'm colorblind though so I'm having a hard time seeing what it will look like and making sure others like it too.

What do you have planned for the tailight and plate holder?

That bike is bad ass. A lot of the purists rag on the new fork swaps, but it looks so good on the right set-up. Good stuff dude!

Any plans to brace the rear of the frame, between the shocks?

very nice looking man, what headlight did you use on this? I like the size and style. and why the cb550 rear swing arm? what is the benefit over stock? just asking not criticizing, I'm curioius

I did not add any bracing in between the shocks but the plate is still under there just a few inches up. I think it will be just fine. As for the headlight, I was using a 5 3/4" from Cognito Moto but just changed to a 7" I got of eBay yesterday. I needed somewhere to hide the wiring and the larger headlight looks good too. As for the CB550 swingarm, I used it because it is tubular instead of pressed. The look matched the rest of the bike better. Plus, they're super cheap on eBay so it was worth it. I'll have some updated pics soon. I am hoping to get it running for a shake-down before disassembling it again for paint and powder coat.

Hey man, thanks for the response! Keep up the good work on it, looking forward to more pics

Here are a few more pics... I have a few little wiring things to finish up, put the chain on and the throttle cables and I should be able to take it for a test ride this week. I got the tail section put together, a 7" headlight with the wiring tucked in it, a different headlight bezel that has built in turn signals, and all the lighting functional. After a few weeks of shake down riding, it will get totally torn down for paint and powder coat. I'll let the pics do the talking.

Very nice work! Gotta admit I really like the existing color combination, that shade of blue and tan is a good fit, even gives the gold shocks a bit of balance.