1972 CB175 - Half Cafe

jakeZ70

Been Around the Block
After being mostly a voyeur on DTT, I've finally decided to post my project. I've been a fan of Japanese motorcycles since I was a kid and have become a fan of the style of cafe bikes. I don't have lots of experience as far as body and engine work, but I know the basics. This knowledge and community here seems pretty strong, so I'll appreciate any help I can get along the way.


Last year I picked up a 71 Honda CB175. My first bike in about ten years. After one accident twenty years ago and a couple of close calls I thought I had sworn them off. Yeah right. I had planned on turning the 175 into a cafe project, but it was in such good shape I couldn't bear to cut it up. A couple of months later the same exact bike goes up on Craig's List for 200 bucks. It's pretty rusty, but it runs and the side covers are intact. Sold!


I've been working on this project since last August, though I took the winter off for skiing. Too damn cold to do any serious work during the winter anyway. Still a decent amount of polishing and painting to to but it's finally rolling :D


I also picked up a CB77 speedo and a CB200 tank. Both are pretty rough, but are cleaning up pretty well.
 

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A few more pics.


I'm looking for a center stand shaft and a brake pedal for the 72 CB175. Cash or trade. I have a couple of CB360 heads and a bunch of carb parts. I believe that a center stand shaft from a CB350 will also fit.
 

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Looking for the stock rear brake lever? I believe I have one laying around from the 175ss I built. I'll dig through the garage today and check. If I find it, just whatever shipping is from Denver.
 
At first glance on the homepage I thought that gauge cluster was one of those old diver bells that go on your head! HAHA!......I'm crazy.....sigh
 
TheOneTrueGreg said:
Looking for the stock rear brake lever? I believe I have one laying around from the 175ss I built. I'll dig through the garage today and check. If I find it, just whatever shipping is from Denver.
Wow. Thanks. That would be great. Let me know if you find it.
ronnie said:
At first glance on the homepage I thought that gauge cluster was one of those old diver bells that go on your head! HAHA!......I'm crazy.....sigh
Haha. Yeah. Actually it kind of does.
ffjmoore said:
What is that gauge out of?
It's from a CB77 Superhawk. Not sure of the year though. Got a really good deal on ebay. They go for 2-3 bills just for the speedo NOS. I'm finishing getting it together today. It was one of the harder things I've worked on so far. I think it was half full of water for some period of time.
 
Looks like a good start on a great little bike.

Have you test fitted that tank to the frame? I put the same tank on a 68 CL175, and the mounting screws for the chrome trim strips scratched the frame. Matter of fact, it was such a tight fit that I had to remove those screws just to get the tank off the bike.

But then again, the 68 had the sloper frame. So you would probably be good.
 
Nice pair of 175s. I have had a string of CB77 Superhawks and much prefer the later style gauges like those on the 175.
 
Not too much to update. I was laid off from my job recently, so most of my time and energy has been going into looking for a new job and freelance work. I have made some progress though, and would really like to finish it up before the snow flies. The electrical is the only thing that has me a little worried. I took a boat load of pictures and labeled everything, so hopefully it will go well.


I finally finished the speedometer. I think it came out pretty decent. Better than it was anyway. The rear fender is chopped and has its first coat of paint. The clear coat is stripped off of the side covers and I'm starting the polishing. Ruined the gaskets, so I had to order those.


I really wanted to paint the cylinder head black, but I just can't seem to get it clean enough. Between the grease and what looks like some kind of oxidation I think the paint would end up flaking off in a short period of time, so, I think I'm just going to stick with polishing a couple of parts and just clean up the rest the best I can.


I never noticed the 174cc detail before. Pretty cool.


As far as the paint goes, I'm having a little trouble with the clear coat. The front fender started "crackling" about a year after it was completed. I was able to sand and buff it out, though I would like to know what caused it. I am only using rattle cans. Rustoleum automotive paint, so I'm not expecting fantastic results, but I wasn't expecting it to do what it did. I am sanding between all of the coats of primer, paint and clear with 1000 grit wet paper. Is the 1000 too high? Should I go lower, or is it something else?
 

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jakeZ70 said:
Not too much to update. I was laid off from my job recently, so most of my time and energy has been going into looking for a new job and freelance work. I have made some progress though, and would really like to finish it up before the snow flies. The electrical is the only thing that has me a little worried. I took a boat load of pictures and labeled everything, so hopefully it will go well.


I finally finished the speedometer. I think it came out pretty decent. Better than it was anyway. The rear fender is chopped and has its first coat of paint. The clear coat is stripped off of the side covers and I'm starting the polishing. Ruined the gaskets, so I had to order those.


I really wanted to paint the cylinder head black, but I just can't seem to get it clean enough. Between the grease and what looks like some kind of oxidation I think the paint would end up flaking off in a short period of time, so, I think I'm just going to stick with polishing a couple of parts and just clean up the rest the best I can.


I never noticed the 174cc detail before. Pretty cool.


As far as the paint goes, I'm having a little trouble with the clear coat. The front fender started "crackling" about a year after it was completed. I was able to sand and buff it out, though I would like to know what caused it. I am only using rattle cans. Rustoleum automotive paint, so I'm not expecting fantastic results, but I wasn't expecting it to do what it did. I am sanding between all of the coats of primer, paint and clear with 1000 grit wet paper. Is the 1000 too high? Should I go lower, or is it something else?

As far as painting the motor, if you have access to a compressor, soda blasting is dirt cheap and works great, and is a good tool to have around.
 
Finally finished all of the polishing I'm going to do.

Chopped the rear fender and about half way through the paint.

I cleaned up the engine the best I could. Any recommendations on a cleaner for the case? I've tried just about everything. The big stuff is gone but it would be nice to get the last bit of skank off of it. The little corners are a bitch to get to. So something that you can spray on and rinse off without harming the gaskets would be key. TheOneTrueGreg mentioned soda blasting, but I really don't want to break the entire engine down. And to be honest, I really don't have the extra cash. I can live with it as is. This is going to be a daily rider and to be honest, you'll probably never be able to see it by the time I have everything put back together.

Just waiting for my gasket set and that damned center stand shaft so I can stand this thing up on its own.

The speedo and bucket came out pretty good. Just need to hit Radio Shack and pick up some LEDs and colored lights for the bucket.
 

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ffjmoore said:
How far did you go into the speedo. Did you open it up?
Yup. I broke it down completely. With the exception of the speedometer and tachometer components. The springs are just way too delicate. I cleaned everything up. Re-painted the needles, cage, screws. Cleaned up the glass. Made new gaskets. The paint on the face was basically dust, so I sanded it off, created a new face graphic and had it printed on vinyl. Ten bucks at Kinkos. Supposedly fade resistant. One tip I got was to use two spoons as levers to remove the needles. Works great. Removing the chrome ring that holds everything together... That was a complete pain. Getting it back on was even worse. I tested it with a drill while it was apart and it looks like it's still working. Fingers crossed.

If anyone needs a gauge face graphic for a CB77 Superhawk, you can download it here for free. I created myself. It's very close to the original, but it's not perfect. What do you want for free huh? Please do not print and re-sell on ebay. http://www.one-idea.com/cb175/cb77_speedo.zip
Enjoy.
 
I have taken gauges apart before and the chrome ring is always the hard part. Thats why i asked, to see if you knew of any tricks on getting the ring off and back on in a usable condition with this style of gauge. Did you cut it or pry up the edges?
 
ffjmoore said:
I have taken gauges apart before and the chrome ring is always the hard part. Thats why i asked, to see if you knew of any tricks on getting the ring off and back on in a usable condition with this style of gauge. Did you cut it or pry up the edges?
I pried up the edges. I actually used a paint can opener. It's short, and the tip is narrow with a sharp edge. It worked pretty well. I had to go around a couple of times, but it stayed in decent shape. I used a socket driver to bend it back down. The screwdriver type. Again it took a couple of passes to flatten it out.
The one thing that I'm kind of stuck on is there is supposed to be a foam gasket between the speedo and the headlight bucket. It had pretty much disintegrated on this particular one, so I'm going to have to improvise something. Not sure what yet.
 
I bet its the same as the CB160. If you want to buy one they have used ones on ebay.
 
Rear fender is finished. I think it came out pretty decent for a rattle can job.
The wire harness is almost fully installed, and I finally got some replacement parts goodness from Japan. This week-end will be good.
Should have some major updates soon.
 

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Been making some steady progress through the spring. Wheels are on. The engine is in. The wiring is just about all sorted out. Just need to pick up a tail light, and that should finish it off. The speedo is in. Hopefully it will work. Headers are cleaned up (again), painted, and ready to be installed.
 

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