The Tortoise: cb350 -Now with metal flake

Re: My cb350 project

Woke up to some good news today, BCR finished my tank, seat and headlight fairing. Hopefully it'll ship out next week, once it arrives i can get the rear hoop welded on and send the frame for powdercoat.




Also, my '05 Gsxr Wheels showed up...minus an axle and tires....slightly annoying. But life goes on i suppose.



As for the rear swingarm, i'm not sure yet, i think i'll just run the factory rear rim and arm until the season is over and then either fabricate an arm or modify a gsxr or SV arm. The thing that worry's me is how far the front sprocket will need to be spaced out, and from what i've learned from BCR (they had to space out the front cover and lengthen the clutch rod) it may be more labour intensive then i want to get into right now.

Re: My cb350 project

my 3.5 inch rear lined up perfectly! Even had the right spacers left over from the original wheel! We have to weld 2 small brackets to make the rear brakes work and we are laughing! I'll post pics as soon as poss.
Looking good btw

Re: My cb350 project

Not much accomplished, I took a tumble off my trackbike and have been nursing that the past 2 weeks. Always wear a bike helmet children...

pics:




I'm really impressed with the fit and the finish of the products. Only slight fitment issues arose during install, and that was nothing a grinder and sanding wheel didn't fix. The tank and seat are WAY more beefy than i ever anticipated, I'm extremely happy with them and would recommend Benjie to anybody who has the extra cash to spare to consider his stuff. The piece of mind is well worth it.


Off to my buddy the powdercoater next week.

Re: My cb350 project

i must have missed this one. nice work on your front end. i was thinking of doing the same thing for my 175. my brother was saying the same thing about the steering head. either press out the original or machine to fit the new. he said it wouldnt be too difficult. im worried about the front wheel. id like to keep the spokes and drum up front. what problems do you forsee with using an original wheel?
that prototyper is amazing. would you please get this together so i can make some decisions about my bike. that would be a huge help. youve got a few weeks. thanks. but really this is going to be cool. the BCR tanks and tail are nice

Re: My cb350 project

Looks great! Is that the Dolphin Tank with Shorty Tail combo set? How much did it cost 'ya?

Re: My cb350 project

dcmspikes said:

i must have missed this one. nice work on your front end. i was thinking of doing the same thing for my 175. my brother was saying the same thing about the steering head. either press out the original or machine to fit the new. he said it wouldnt be too difficult. im worried about the front wheel. id like to keep the spokes and drum up front. what problems do you forsee with using an original wheel?
that prototyper is amazing. would you please get this together so i can make some decisions about my bike. that would be a huge help. youve got a few weeks. thanks. but really this is going to be cool. the BCR tanks and tail are nice

Click to expand...

You might run into a clearence issue with the stock speedo drive, the easiest way to fit the stock wheel would be to build a new axle, that way you can ensure it will fit without issue.

Black Motor Covenant said:

Looks great! Is that the Dolphin Tank with Shorty Tail combo set? How much did it cost 'ya?

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It's actually the "El Poquito" tank and seat combo. Cost was what's listed on there website, something like $800usd. Turn around time was about 4 weeks.


In other news, the seat is at my upholstery and everything is out for powdercoat. The project is winding down, but my excitement to ride it is building.

Re: My cb350 project

if you would rather go with a spoked front wheel i read some where that HD has a wheel on 1 of there bike that is close enough to the gsxr front end to shim. duel disk brake and all.
looks sweet!

Re: My cb350 project

griff 73 said:

if you would rather go with a spoked front wheel i read some where that HD has a wheel on 1 of there bike that is close enough to the gsxr front end to shim. duel disk brake and all.
looks sweet!

Click to expand...

i was originally going to go with a custom set of wheels from east coast wheels, but funds have dried up, so that'll have to wait until the end of the season.
http://store.eastcoastwheels.com/completewheels.html

I'm sure you could tell them exactly what you want and they could build it for you.

Re: My cb350 project

The seat is done! A friend picked it up for me last night. I used Diamond Trim in Aurora if anyone is interested.





Hopefully the powdercoat will be back this week and i can get it on the bike.

Re: My cb350 project

Uniac said:

The seat is done! A friend picked it up for me last night. I used Diamond Trim in Aurora if anyone is interested.

Click to expand...

Would that be Aurora Colorado?

Re: My cb350 project

looking good man keep them coming! you still have that tank? how much you looking for?

Re: My cb350 project

JRK5892 said:

looking good man keep them coming! you still have that tank? how much you looking for?

Click to expand...

Sorry, all the original parts except the headers were picked up by a local member months ago.

Re: My cb350 project

This is such a badass build! I don't know how I missed it. Well done!

--Chris

Re: My cb350 project

great looking seat. Didn't expect the brown. Nice touch.

Re: My cb350 project

Updates, updates, updates.

Powdercoat came back on Saturday. Got right into assembly, a few hitches but it turned out alright.

2 things to note: (i should really document this front end swap better) When I pressed the steering stem bearings into place properly, the lower race sits in the head tube 1/4", this created a problem, as the bearing wouldn't seat against the race. The race was popped back out, a quick spacer made to lower the race and presto, perfect fit.

#2. Make sure when doing this swap to ensure all your parts are from the same make and model. I ended up with a '00 brake Master Cyl and '05 brakes. This was another pain because the new brake lines i ordered had the incorrect double banjo bolt for the Master Cyl (supplied was m10x1.25, required m10x1.0). This was sorted by a trip to the bike shop.

Also, get yourself some por15. This stuff is amazing. Edit. Don't! Get Eastwood systems epoxy product instead!

Also, through some stupidity of mine, i have brand new Duro 18x3.5 and 17x3.5 tube style 308's for sale. As well as the BCR number fairing. I prefer the look of the bike without it. hit me up if you're interested.



Not much left, motor is mostly clean, another day or 2 on it left. Still need to fab the exhaust, and wire it up.

Well that's enough typing. Pic's below (not pictured, actual swing arm to be used, having bushing pressed in to it):




Excuse this picture, only one i had that showed a nice shot of the front.

Re: My cb350 project

gah, this bike is AWESOME!
i wish i had the money for some BCR parts.... its dreamy :-*

Re: My cb350 project

wow. awesome!

Re: My cb350 project

so nice front end looks sweet you going with a sports bike rear end swing arm wheel? would look gr8 with a single shock set up whats your plans for paint

Re: My cb350 project

manchestermichael said:

so nice front end looks sweet you going with a sports bike rear end swing arm wheel? would look gr8 with a single shock set up whats your plans for paint

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Thanks for the complements.

As for the rear, I had intended to use the GSXR factory rear rim I have and make/modify a swing arm to fit. However, after being advised with the amount of effor Benjie had to do for fitting his slightly wider rear rim, I'm holding off until the season is over and i have the time to model everything to see what issues might arise.

I'm unsure of my choice between Dual or Single shock design, I suppose it'll really depend on the final mass of the bike, If it's close enough to a sport bike with a single shock, thats the route i'll probably go.

For paint i was Leaning towards British Racing Green, or white. But then i found a gallon of this nice met blue in the garage that was originally intended for a car build. So free is free. If i end up hating it i'll change it.

(paint next to original leather options)

Re: My cb350 project

I finally had some time to sit and scrub the motor clean....then painted it. To much work this time around to polish the whole thing, it took 2 full days of degreasing and scrubbing to get the dirt out of all the little crevices. Next time i'll rip it down to nothing and either bead blast it or hot tank it. It turned out nice enough for now anyway.

Came home today from work and slapped the motor into the frame and mocked up the front fender.

Pics:






Next on the list is clean the rear wheel and paint it black to "match" the front. Also need to order 2 stainless j-bends for the exhaust and get my hands on some stainless sheet. I think i may try building a muffler from scratch.

Here's a link for anyone who's intrested.
http://www.theflyingbanana.com/mufflers.htm

Cheers,
Matt