First ever cafe build progress report

biker_reject

Over 1,000 Posts
I really hadn't planned on doing a build diary, so I'm a bit short on the detailed pics. These were all shot with my phone cam.
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Mine4-08.jpg

An ugly thing with lots of potential! I drove 300 miles to get this bike. 10k on the clock and runs like a Swiss watch.

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Stripped of the ugliness... Its inner beauty becoming apparent
cafeseat1.jpg

Mock up of seat...
frame1.jpg

Ebay score on the CB900 shocks! Note the mock up of subframe. This was to ensure the seat pan would have ample support and I think it also serves to stiffen the frame. I also (with the help of a friend) welded tabs for the new side covers (not shown unfortunately).

CBtank1.jpg

Got tired of stripping the many layers of paint... so I set it back on the bike to admire it
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Mock up of tach position...
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Worked on this one afternoon. The neighbors were wondering what the hell I was banging on!
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Got the frame back from powdercoating...

Engineout.jpg

This thing is a beast to muscle around! One of the things I love about the CB750 is the huge bulging engine. It's absolutely bad-ass!

fender1.jpg

Scored some fork boots. I bought a set of dust seals and used contact cement to join them to the boots. Made for a nice finished look. I want to shorten up the fender, bob it in the rear, and make it a hugger. I made one wheel out of three bad ones! Learned how to lace a wheel via youtube though it took me about 4-5 tries. Got to have the patience of a bass fisherman. Wait, I am a bass fisherman!


polished1.jpg

polish4.jpg

Polished my ASS off on this thing. The case covers were heavily pitted/oxidized. I had to psyche myself up to drill out the sprocket cover, but I was pleased with the result.
polished3.jpg

The carbs likewise took a long time to clean out and polish.

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More laborious polishing!
rearset4.jpg

Mock up of proposed levers. Quickie template broke!
subframerearsets.jpg

Shift and brake levers mostly done. There's almost $100.00 worth of SS hex head screws and NOS valve cover bolts on this thing!
Sidecovers.jpg

Cut these out with electric metal sheers, not exactly a finesse tool! Smoothed them out on the bench grinder
Undertray.jpg

Under tray template

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trailerqueen2.jpg

trailerqueen3.jpg

Took the big CB to a shop to get a quote on paint and perhaps some mods to the seat pan... $2200.00 US!!! I stood there like an idiot. I don't deal well with sticker shock. That was so over my threshold of pain! At any rate, the bike got to go on the road for a couple of days! Trailer queen!
 
MN_TX650 said:
$2200 TO PAINT A SEAT AND TANK!?!

Crazy, eh? And I know one of the shop owners! Yeah, he was cutting me a break with $40.00 an hour discount. Guess I'll be buying some bondo, scrapers and filler primer, huh? :D
 
well they are out of their F'n MINDS!!! i know completely custom air bursh artists that woud not charge NEAR that! not even CLOSE!!!! i had a bagger custom painted with blue real flames, black pearl base coat, inner fairing and a patch work on one of the bags... that is a total of 2 hard bags, rear fender, side covers, tank, dash, fairing, inner fairing, front fender, and the patch work and that ran me 2100
had 4 coats of clear on it as well all done in house of color
they are out of their minds!
 
VERY nice build, Funny thing is your tank now looks sorta like an 82 seca tank like mine, LOL I dig it a lot. I noticed you cut out the ears where the stock side panels mounted onto. I did the same on my SECA.

Your engine looks awsome. Well the whole thing looks awsome.

Keep up the good work.
 
second gens always looked kinda fugly to me.. this however is opening my eyes.. seriously the things people successfully cafe on this forum are crazy!
 
Thanks! The only thing I'm worried about is the problems I could encounter using pod filters. My mechanic friend says it is just a matter of proper jetting. Some posts on other forums insist these CV carbs absolutely can't be tuned without the stock airbox. I admit aesthetics take precedent with this build and I would hate to see that ugly thing placed back on the bike.
 
that is a two way street. The guy that dyno's my builds for me is going to help me tune my CB350... he said that with some lolly pops, and longer pipes, setting the lolly pops early in the tube after the bend they will tune in no problem (with V stacks) so that is what i am doing, got some long fish tails for mine. dont know though, he says it is not going to be a problem but i know that the one my buddy had in college we tried jet after jet and never got it to run SPOT ON wiht his pods and stock pipes... but it looked WAY better so we left it, just got a bit of back fire every now and then down shifting... i just wish i could remember what jets we ended up leaving in there!
 
I have a 4 into 1 header and planned on fitting a resonator tip, again for looks (flame on, dudes). The can is not a free flow design, more a "silent megaphone" exhaust pipe. When I test fitted it, a couple of dudes passing by the house asked if it was a drag bike. Not the look I was going for! Think a shorty pipe will really f-up tuning???
 
i do. not sure more about it but you never know till you try. i wonder if you where to make some brass or PVC elbows off the carbs and then put filters on the ends of that if it would offer enough resistance for the pull of the motor to help tuning. but i do not know. i wish someone would make a 2-1 manifold so that we could just run 1 carb and call it a day!
 
Any update on this project? I am building a 79 cb750 cafe style piece as well and am really inspired by what you have going. Update on the pod filter issue would be great as well as a source for the fork boots and head light mounting tabs. Great work I can't wait to see finished photos!

n
 
Very nice work man. I say by all means paint that thing yourself. you could buy an entire painting setup for less than that guy quoted you on price....and that's including a makeshift dropcloth booth! It's intimidating at first maybe, but once you start painting yourself you'll be glad you did. Wonderful work so far!
 
You know, I have often though about learning how to paint! I even envisioned a paint booth like the one you mentioned! I just never had the space to do it. Hell, I gonna give it a try this coming spring.
 
Unfortunately, I haven't had any time to work on my cafe project. I did work up the courage to bob the fender but haven't remounted it yet. I fitted a CBR shift linkage (still need a clevis on the pedal end). I have also struggled with getting a decent front brake master. I've bought three and only one has a freely moving piston. But, I don't know how to get it out to replace the boot/gasket. Since my post, I had been working on getting a house ready to sell, getting a new house ready to move into, taking care of our toddler, and getting things ready for a new baby. She was born last Wed! She's in NICU due to inhaling meconium but is doing great. We have finally moved into the new house but there are still a butt load of boxes to unpack and store. Fun! So, all I've done with my bikes is stare at them, and roll them around the garage so they don't get in the way or knocked over. I hope to get it running before the year is out (yeah, riiigttt!). Man, I envy the other members who can build a bike in a ridiculously short time! Hopefully, I will have learned enough from this build and DTT to work smarter and finish a bike in half the time.
 
This is about all I've accomplished this winter. It was so damn cold in the garage, and with two little bitty children, it was hard to get on a roll with this projectl

cbtank3.jpg


cbtank1-1.jpg


cbtank2.jpg


Spring cleaning in my humble "shop". :-D
workin1.jpg
 
biker_reject said:
Spring cleaning in my humble "shop". :-D
workin1.jpg

Ah ha! I thought these builds of yours were overlapping. You must be a busy boy with everything going on. Good luck with the family/bikes.

ian
 
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