Blood Sweat Tears and Grease > Cafe Racers

My CB360 barn find

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DoTheJon:
so i have always liked cafe racers and i really wanted to find something would make a good cafe bike. i came across this cb360 in a barn and i knew it was perfect. it was dirty, filled with hornets nests and nasty old gas. but it kicked over and it was all there minus the clutch lever. so i got a buddy to help me put it in the back of a truck and bring it home.
here it is sitting in the barn


got it home

started pounding in some knee dents

flat blacked my tank untill i could finish the body work and paint it how i want

pulled off a bunch off seat, fenders, other stuff..

got my clipons

round 1 on my seat, but i decided i wanted to shorten the frame so i will scrap this one and make a new one soon

finished choping and grinding on my frame getting the seat length where i wanted it, it was scary to cut such big peices off my frame since i have never done this before but i am happy with the way it is turning out

DoTheJon:
I am still having a really hard time picking out colors, mostly because my wife says she will kill me if i try and paint anything black, i want it to look classy and vintage, but i really cant decide on what colors are going to help me get the look i want. i have seen a lot of bikes i really like, but i dont want to just copy somebody elses ideas, i want it to be original. so far, all i know i want is a head light visor... i guess i will just see how it plays out. im going for round 2 on the seat today, i will get some pictures up when its taken shape.

Sonreir:
I think "classy" and "vintage (at least in the context of the 1970s)" is going to be mutually exclusive.  ;D

jmemmert:
I would make sure it ran good before I went any further...

teazer:
You need at least a front fender or replace it with a fork brace and the front part of the rear fender to keep rocks and water out of teh carbs and off the engine.

Just for the record, all production race bikes and most vintage racers have a rear fender.  We don't run on the street - only on a nice clean track and even with both fenders we end up with a lot of dirt on the top of the crankcase just below the carbs.

Seriously, very few racers go out without a fender at each end.

Flat black is so nineties IMHO. We have done a couple of bikes in Satin Black with contrasting stripes ,but I don't think I'd do the "stealth fighter" look again. Cafe racers were always colorful - red or silver frames in some cases, red was a typical tank color - sometimes blue.  High Gloss black with gold pinstripes can look good on the right bike, but the bike has to be immaculate to pull that off.

How about red frame and pearl white tins with a tasteful stripe, or good old fashioned black frame and red tank. Use color to make it stand out.

And cover that ugly middle bit up. That is not a pretty frame. You could use the stock side covers and paint them low gloss black so they are not the center of attention and your eye will automatically be drawn to the seat-tank combo which is what makes a bike.

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