1974 Honda CB200-First timer

My name is Kevin you guys have an amazing forum here (been reading for months and months) Ill see if ummm i can make my own Cafe style bike

Here it goes:

This is my first bike. 1974 CB200 with 3800ish miles. Its way to nice in my eyes to tear up and cut up, and being a student in college paying for myself, money is tight...so this project will be a low buck porject and all mods must be able to be undone so i can return it to stock.

This is how it was when i got it:


It was sitting in a shed for around 25 years so the chrome was oxidized, the whole bike was covered in dust and crap and the aluminum was pitted and dull. Lucked out though as no animals made their homes in it.



Started tear down just mainly to clean it up more but i got carried away.

then to this..



Cleaned it up a bit. Brillo pads on the chrome, degreaser, wax, the works.

to this


Kept stripping it down, and as of 11:00 ON january 29, 2010 this is how it stands:


I also got new tires, tubes and all that and they are currently being installed, so i hope to have them by end of next week.



My inspiration came from this bike, and i hate to say i wanna "copy" it cause that kinda defeats the purpose, but i really dig how it looks. Its so simple but super clean...it works.



So i guess now im looking for:
-drag bars
-an extra front fender (so i can chop it up )
-an extra seat pan so i can build a seat for myself.

Any input or suggestions? Tips/tricks?
Im open to em and i love to learn more so...

Thanks

Heck yeah! Knew you wouldn't resist tearing that sucker up.

The only tip I can think of right now is if you pull the motor out 1) strip everything off the frame 2)lay down some blankets/pillows/dirty laundry/ or something else very soft 3) gently lay down the frame and undo the motor mounts

Good luck - I'll be watching this one!

I'll admit im a bit of noob when it come to bike specific stuff- i know cars like the back of my hand tho.

Bear with me.

I measured my handle bars and i got a set of stock 7/8th bars that are apx 27.25 inches wide (tip to tip)

i kinda like these bars:
25-0051 Handlebar - Chrome Drag Bar
http://www.mikesxs.net/products-58.html#products

and the price is right.

My question is tho, will it work with my bike? Like i said, kinda new to the detail bits.

Thanks so much for your help.

Also been eyeing a stainless steel bowl in the kitchen to use for my cafe seat...

The bars will work but you will have to modify switches.
Originally wiring runs through bars. You can drill new bars and run wiring internally (which looks cleaner) or 'Mickey Mouse' it and file slots into switches.
BTW, you dont have to use bars at width supplied, check where your hands want to be and cut them down if necessary,
I would probably go abot 25~26" on a 200 (although I have 'trimmed' bars to 22" on CD175)

i do not want to "mickey mouse" it so i'd end up drilling into them for a clean look. All the other stuff will just mount to the new bar though?

Thanks

Sweet looking bike to start with. I wish mine looked that nice when I got it! This should be good.

Hey man I missed this til now. Great find! I am also doing a 200 right now and I bought those same bars for mine. I am planning on running a little fairing on it so I will probably run the wires outside the bars as it won't really be seen. I'm going to be building a fiberglass seat for mine. once its done if you like it I can bang one out of my mold for you for cheap. stay tuned.

diesel450 said:

Hey man I missed this til now. Great find! I am also doing a 200 right now and I bought those same bars for mine. I am planning on running a little fairing on it so I will probably run the wires outside the bars as it won't really be seen. I'm going to be building a fiberglass seat for mine. once its done if you like it I can bang one out of my mold for you for cheap. stay tuned.

Click to expand...

I may be hittin' ya up for one for the 250...

I need to start working on that. I've been dicking around for two weeks.

sounds good about the glass seat, but i wanna retain the factory hinge and the lock on the side....

dunno how that will work.

looks like im stuck makeing a custom seat of an original seat pan at the very least.

CarKid1989 said:

sounds good about the glass seat, but i wanna retain the factory hinge and the lock on the side....

dunno how that will work.

looks like im stuck makeing a custom seat of an original seat pan at the very least.

Click to expand...

That'll work. My seat pan is a bit of a mess but the foam is good. Your seat looks too good to cut up. I can send you my seat pan and foam for free, just pay shipping and you can shave the foam down to the shape you wish.

Also if you need any basic upholstery work done I can help there too.

I love these 2hundeys. One suggestion I would make... Work out the mechanicals, and make sure she runs good, or you'll have a super nice conversation piece sitting in your garage. Since it's cosmetically in acceptable shape, I'd be gettin that beast running pronto.

just my two cents.

loudest143 said:

I love these 2hundeys. One suggestion I would make... Work out the mechanicals, and make sure she runs good, or you'll have a super nice conversation piece sitting in your garage. Since it's cosmetically in acceptable shape, I'd be gettin that beast running pronto.

just my two cents.

Click to expand...

+1

I think its perfect the way it is, reminds me of this:

Dude, this is not his bike. This is a bike like his bike.

CarKid1989 said:

sounds good about the glass seat, but i wanna retain the factory hinge and the lock on the side....

dunno how that will work.

looks like im stuck makeing a custom seat of an original seat pan at the very least.

Click to expand...

Hey Bro, I have an already modified seat off of a 200. I made it for my 200 build, but have since scrapped the project. I can send you some pics if you are interested..

Cheers,
Kevin

Some pics of the CB200 seat would be great.

Also, diesel450 what condition is your seatpan in?

The bike on the stand in my garage is already mechanically A1. made sure of that before tearing into ti Thats a lesson i learned from cars- make sure you havea good platform and that stock works before going hog wild

CarKid1989 said:

Some pics of the CB200 seat would be great.

Also, diesel450 what condition is your seatpan in?

The bike on the stand in my garage is already mechanically A1. made sure of that before tearing into ti Thats a lesson i learned from cars- make sure you havea good platform and that stock works before going hog wild

Click to expand...

Here ya go....


PM me if you are interested... I also have a bunch of other parts if you end up needing them..

nice seat, but i like the fiberglass/ metal back rest hump thing...

just got back from my uncles shop...

sand blasted some brackets. i have the powder coating equipment at home, but i need gloss black powder.