1981 Honda CB250N Cafe Racer Project

inmotionphotog

inmotionphotog

Ignore Swivel, he licks windows for a living.
After spending the last couple of years working upon my long term XS650 hard tail project, I finally pulled my finger out of my ass did a motorcycle competency course and obtained my learner riding licence during December 2012.

This led to an immediate problem for me as I now finally learned how to ride a motorcycle yet didn't have a running bike I could jump straight on to. With my girlfriend also gaining her licence as well, I decided upon getting my hands on a small capacity run around bike that I can build my skills upon whilst my XS was in construction, yet would be suitable for her in the near future.

After scanning ebay I managed to find a registered 1981 CB250N at the right price, however it was located some distance away from me. With only one hour of riding experience on public roads, I took the plunge and flew 300km to pick it up and ride back to Sydney site unseen.

Of course the itch to turn it from an ugly fucker was too strong, so I decided that I'd build a cafe project within a strict 2 week timeline. As this bike is going to be my girlfriend's sometime soon, she is lending a significant helping hand in getting the bike constructed. I'm also getting some significant help from my brother as well to ensure it gets done in time.

BTW, here's a link to my current XS650 build http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?topic=37677.0


Pics of the bike as advertised


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The start and finish of my 300km journey. My lack of experience combined with being restricted to 80km per hour upon winding back roads led to quite the adventure!


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Monday 21st Jan 2013 was the beginning of the tear down and here is how it looked first thing in the morning.


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Super quick tear down.


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My grinding off the old rear seat hoops.


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Progress shots during the first day showing the Kawasaki KH100 tank that I'll be using.


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Nicci getting down and dirty during the initial tear down.


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Wednesday Jan 23rd 2013 saw me devising a new front tank mount as well as attaching a new shorty rear fender and working out the tail light location. The rear wheel and swing-arm are already painted in satin black.


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Friday 25th Jan 2013 I managed to get the seat pan prepared. Nicci also prepared the shorty front fender for paint.


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I'll keep you guys updated with progress throughout the next week or so.

Cheers.

Steve.

http://inmotionphotogxs650.blogspot.com.au/
 
another thread of goodness.

i modded one of these a while back...
it was a blast...
2 weeks from now?
 
Thanks for the feedback gents!

James, yep, it'll be done in no time.

As much as I'd love it to be ready by this Sunday's Rock-N-Roll markets, I suspect this time next week is more realistic.


Cheers.

Steve.

http://inmotionphotogxs650.blogspot.com.au/
 
Tuesday 29th Jan 2013 - Was a busy day, with quite a few steps forward being made.

The gas tank was completely brazed and leak tested, the front fork seals replaced, the seat pan prepped for paint and most of the front end being stripped and prepped for paint too.

As shown in the shot, we're well on our way to laying some satin black on the chassis very soon.



image by inmotionphotography, on Flickr


Cheers

Steve

http://inmotionphotogxs650.blogspot.com.au/
 
Tell Nicci to get some gloves on whilst grinding or she is going to have hagard hands like me!

Stoked on this.. I dig quick builds to get yourself rollin on something cooler then stock
 
Wednesday 30th Jan 2013 - Nicci and I managed to get the tank and most of the chassis to the stage where they could be prepared for prime and paint.

Looking less like a bike, however, we've made big strides forward in getting this completed by next week.



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Cheers

Steve

http://inmotionphotogxs650.blogspot.com.au/
 
Thursday 31st Jan 2013 - Nicci had the opportunity to add and shape the closed cell foam to suit her. As this will end up being her bike in the near future, it was important that she felt comfortable and confident that she could reach the ground easily when stationary.

Overall I'm really happy with the lines of the tank and seat, especially considering the design of the frame.

I also managed to throw in a tank seal kit today.



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Cheers

Steve

http://inmotionphotogxs650.blogspot.com.au/
 
Enjoying this build, I'm doing a CB400n, almost identical bike.

Did you get this from the south coast? I thought I saw it on ebay a month or so ago.

Where did you pick up the foam for the seat?
 
chicano said:
Enjoying this build, I'm doing a CB400n, almost identical bike.

Did you get this from the south coast? I thought I saw it on ebay a month or so ago.

Where did you pick up the foam for the seat?
Click to expand...

Thanks mate.

Yes, it is more than likely the same bike from Batemans Bay which I bought around New Years.

The foam was available from Clark Rubber.

Best of luck with your build.


Cheers

Steve

http://inmotionphotogxs650.blogspot.com.au/
 
Friday 1st Feb 2013 - I finally managed to get the padded seat pan over to the local upholsterer to work his magic. Fingers crossed it'll be ready by early next week.

I intend to use a stash tube under the seat to house tools, phone, etc whilst on the road. I've installed some 100mm plastic poo pipe as a temporary measure, however, we want to end up replacing it for a copper tube.

The frame received a hit with the grinder to remove a couple of unneeded tags, as well as being sanded back for priming and painting.

The tank is also getting some attention with bondo to sort out some of the dings that it's copped over the years.

I'm hoping to lay some primer on these and other parts, however, due to the incessant rain here in Sydney it might prove a bit too difficult. It seems that it might be a 2.5 week build at this rate.



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Cheers

Steve

http://inmotionphotogxs650.blogspot.com.au/
 
Monday 4th Feb 2013 - The upholstered seat came back, and oh boy am I happy with the results!

I've also managed to shoot some satin black on the frame as well.

I couldn't help myself, so I threw the seat onto the frame and made vroom vroom noises.


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Cheers

Steve

http://inmotionphotogxs650.blogspot.com.au/
 
Who did the seat, looking at getting one done for my CX (unless my dear old Mum does it) and it looks like they did a nice job.

Cheers
Steve
 
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