Woody's 1972 CL350 Brat-tracker Project Bike - Finished for now - Aug 20, 2010

I know wrapped pipes have almost become too common place for comfort, but really feel it would help set off the wicked vintage vibe the tanks has...jsut a thought. I love the pefect chrome pipes, but the classic offwhite wrap might really pull it together.
 
valvesprung said:
I know wrapped pipes have almost become too common place for comfort, but really feel it would help set off the wicked vintage vibe the tanks has...jsut a thought. I love the pefect chrome pipes, but the classic offwhite wrap might really pull it together.

Those pipes are too nice to wrap!

Are you using superbike bars? IMO they look a little tame, you should try a vintage motocross handlebar set:
i43276.jpg

800674_lg.jpg


I see a Honda CB with knobby tires and these handlebars on my commute to work, and have to gaze at it every time! That cross bar looks aggressive also ;)

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/2/9/192/4971/ITEM/Fly-Racing-Aero-Flex-Handlebar.aspx?SiteID=CSE_Gbase_4971&WT.mc_ID=80003&zmam=88421133&zmas=1&zmac=45&zmap=4971

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190426786521&crlp=1_263602_263622&ff4=263602_263622&viewitem=&guid=e8de45f41290a06c1d964116fed30ed3&rvr_id=127561154273&ua=WVS%3F&itemid=190426786521
 
That is a fair point about the perfect pipes...although I disagree on the bars, the current ones are perfect IMO
 
The pipes are way to nice to wrap... they might be the nicest pair of pipes I've ever seen in person... and I have had 3 other sets of scrambler pipes from my first project. Not saying it wouldn't look cool... just not really an option to me.

Believe me about the bars... I looked at A LOT of options. Remember, my inspiration was old dirt-trackers, and bratstyles, not vintage dirtbikes and this had the "scrambler" bars on it from stock... and I don't care for the look. Dirt track bars are too wide, and too tall IMO for street riding on a small bike like a 350. I do like the pullback that dirt-track bars have though. Superbike bars are too short, too narrow, and not enough pullback. I like the slightly downward swept grip angle of a lot of brats and bobbers. These are the "European Touring" bars from bikemaster. They are kinda wide, but not too much. They have about 4.5"-5" of pullback, and a 3" rise. The biggest selling point is that if you put the "rise" part of the bar perfectly vertical then you'll notice the pullback is at a perfect 90degree angle... that means that when I made the "rise" part of the bar match the angle of the fork, then the grips sweep down a bit, which is the exact look I was going for. The "Euro cafe" and "superbike" have upsweep and backsweep so when you match the fork angle they pullback level along the horizon.

This is the kind of shit I obsess about when building these little bikes.

You can kinda see what I mean in this picture.

- Woody

4666638669_68c527bd85_b.jpg
 
Woody, it simply works. Your orig build inspired my cafe build and this is a build where I may not have picked everything the same, but the final product gels all the pieces together. It's different and really impressive. I'm already looking fwd to your next build where I can steal some ideas. Keep 'em coming!

btw, i like how the stenciling(?) ties your builds together and also really dig the screens on the side covers

- Brad
 
Oh geeze... next build. I will say this, I'm getting faster about it. This bike took less then 3months from the time I unloaded it off the trailer, to the "photoshoot".

Thanks for the compliments Brad. I think my next build will be to finish my first project... the CB450 I purchased almost 4 years ago. Yeesh... its gonna be a bunch of work. It's the first of my builds that will be down to the frame and EVERYTHING is getting done... actually, the frame is almost done. Probably an evening of beers and welding and it would be ready to go to powdercoat.

I also have a couple of other builds in my head. This won't be my last, that's for sure.

- Woody

bww_mn said:
Woody, it simply works. Your orig build inspired my cafe build and this is a build where I may not have picked everything the same, but the final product gels all the pieces together. It's different and really impressive. I'm already looking fwd to your next build where I can steal some ideas. Keep 'em coming!

- Brad
 
woody1981 said:
The pipes are way to nice to wrap... they might be the nicest pair of pipes I've ever seen in person... and I have had 3 other sets of scrambler pipes from my first project. Not saying it wouldn't look cool... just not really an option to me.

Believe me about the bars... I looked at A LOT of options. Remember, my inspiration was old dirt-trackers, and bratstyles, not vintage dirtbikes and this had the "scrambler" bars on it from stock... and I don't care for the look. Dirt track bars are too wide, and too tall IMO for street riding on a small bike like a 350. I do like the pullback that dirt-track bars have though. Superbike bars are too short, too narrow, and not enough pullback. I like the slightly downward swept grip angle of a lot of brats and bobbers. These are the "European Touring" bars from bikemaster. They are kinda wide, but not too much. They have about 4.5"-5" of pullback, and a 3" rise. The biggest selling point is that if you put the "rise" part of the bar perfectly vertical then you'll notice the pullback is at a perfect 90degree angle... that means that when I made the "rise" part of the bar match the angle of the fork, then the grips sweep down a bit, which is the exact look I was going for. The "Euro cafe" and "superbike" have upsweep and backsweep so when you match the fork angle they pullback level along the horizon.

This is the kind of shit I obsess about when building these little bikes.

You can kinda see what I mean in this picture.

- Woody

4666638669_68c527bd85_b.jpg

Good argument, mate. I understand your standing, I've obsessed over similar things and people may disagree with you, but it comes down to what you want. I thought you had superbike bars, but that other picture shows much more pullback. Nice. I can't believe it took you only three months! I can see the point for wrapping the pipes, like a white wrap that would dirty up nice to go with the vintage appeal of your paint job. Still, those pipes look great as is.

I wanna take a photo of that CB I pass to work, it looks SICK, maybe post it in a new thread and serve to inspire someone out there.
 
Cool man. I wasn't trying to argue my point necessarily... just trying to explain how I rationalized my choice.

The funny thing about the paintwork is I had already decided that I wanted the faux distress before I started cleaning the bike and polishing the chrome and realizing how clean the bike really was. I think there is a very good chance that maybe in the spring or whenever I decide to put on the other tank and sidecovers on that I might wind up liking them better. We'll just have to wait and see.

- Woody
 
Brad,

I agree... I told the painter to keep the stripe styles similar for exactly that reason. He's done that style on one of my bicycles too!

The screens were an added bonus. I had taken him two sets of side covers cause one had better emblems on them, but the covers were kinda jacked up and poorly repaired from a PO. I wanted the side covers to just be black, so they kinda blended in. Since he had two sets, he did my satin black set the way I asked, then he added the mesh into these since the louvers were beyond saving and made this set to match the tank.

i think he said its some mesh from some ceiling lights :)

- Woody

bww_mn said:
btw, i like how the stenciling(?) ties your builds together and also really dig the screens on the side covers

- Brad
 
I have a question on the exhaust. Are those exhaust tips? Whaere did you get them. When i do my CL350 i want to keep the side cover w/o the big mufflers
 
First post here, just became a member but I've been lurking around here for some time. I have a question for you Woody. Are those tires on the original rims and if so do they seem sturdy on the corners; it seems like they would want to roll a bit if they were the stock rims. I think you did a great job. Thanks for sharing your creation.
 
Honestly, if you are looking for a bike to really "ride" I would stay away from the Firestones. They are not a performance tire... the Avon AM26's on my other bike are much more performance friendly.

That being said, I knew that going in I was going for style over performance and so I went with the firestones and the fat ones at that. If I were to do it over I would probably go with the 3.5" front instead of the 4" front. The 4" rear is fine.

I just putt this bike around town, no hard riding. But even around town I notice some squirm in the front end... I cant say if it is purely the tires though since there is no fender or brace on the forks. With a 3.5" tire on there I'm sure the fender would still clear and I would have a better sense of the performance.

I don't know if that helps much... maybe it will.

- Woody

Jethro said:
First post here, just became a member but I've been lurking around here for some time. I have a question for you Woody. Are those tires on the original rims and if so do they seem sturdy on the corners; it seems like they would want to roll a bit if they were the stock rims. I think you did a great job. Thanks for sharing your creation.
 
That one came from Dime City. Those dudes are awesome, buy everything from them you can. Here is the link.

Thanks for the props. Can't wait to get her out again. Road the red one for a couple hours yesterday. Was nice!!!

- Woody

http://www.dimecitycycles.com/vintage-cafe-racer-caferacer-bobber-brat-chopper-streetfighter-motorcycle-parts-classic-chrome-round-taillight-light-62-21514.html


papa wheelie said:
Hi Woody,


Was wondering where you got your tail light from?


Thanks.


- Amazing build!


- Woody

Posted from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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