So what's my story...? Hmmm... Well...I needed a hobby! I had just bought a '72 CB500 cafe style...and I loved it. After a few months, I started scoping out the internet for bikes I liked and found the CB750 to be the best option for me to start with.
So I bought this...and if you've read my build thread you know that it wasn't supposed to be a huge project. I thought I was buying a completed bike but figured I could make some light changes just to break myself into doing some mods.
But as I started removing parts that I didn't like...I started realizing I didn't like A LOT of the bike. And one by one, parts started falling off the bike till I had torn the whole damn thing down to a pile of parts I did want. But it was far from enough parts to make a completed bike.
So I started imagining all the aspects of a bike I would really love. I wanted minimal. I wanted classic. I wanted raw. And I wanted it low...
There are a few aspects of the bike that I am proud of...feel that I really solved a challenge when it presented itself...or came up with a nifty mod to make it cooler in some way.
1. I wanted it lower. But I didn't like the way guys drop the fork tubes into the triple tree. And in the back, I certainly didn't want to use blocks. So I found 1978 Cb550f forks that have identical caliper mounts and are 2" shorter than stock cb750F forks. And then I found a thread describing a relatively easy way to mount up a DOHC CB750 Swing arm that is 2" longer...dropping the bike roughly 2" in the back. And the tubular swing arm from the DOHC, IMHO, is a better aesthetic match to the frame than the squared off stock swing arm. Problem solved...a lower, longer bike...which I really wanted.
2. I wanted minimal switches and gauges. I wanted the triple tree empty. I scoured the internet for a headlight just the right proportions to both go with the lines of the bike AND house all my electrical and gauge. CEV headlight off some european moped was the answer. While it did come with a speedo hole...I had to drill out the rest to fit the headlight switch, kill switch and idiot lights. The one thing I think is super cool is where I put the start button...installed into the triple tree center nut. Its so stealthy there...no one has been able to find where to start it yet...till I point it out. Then there are the mini turn sigs that are installed in the rear as caps to the frame rails and finish the back nicely.
3. Remove that ugly ass oil tank. Well...I know there are lots of after market or custom oil tanks out there...but I really didn't like any of them. Those round or octagonal barrels under the seat just didn't flow with the lines of the bike. Till one day I was rummaging around at The Garage Company and found some old piece off a 1964 Ducati...and my oil tank dreams began to take shape. Its painted black on the bike...and the pics don't do it justice...but it just works so well with the rest of the bike that I'm really proud of it.
4. The gas tank and tail section combo. Now you may not know it...but I went thru 3 tank and tail sections before I settled on this set up. The others were off the shelf FEEBAY purchases...that just didn't really pop. I was almost ready to buy a Benjie tank and tail till...I saw the Black Bomber tank. Those aggressive lines...the hump back shape...the chrome panels and knee grips. Man it just really got me thinking. Well...it took me over a year to piece together a mint condition Bomber tank. The knee grips are impossible to find. And I bought the left and right side...6 months apart from each other.
And then I was determined to find a tail section that followed the same lines. After months of searching...and no luck...this tail section was a junkyard find...and began life as a 1950's Johnson outboard motor. It had the same raised striped down the middle...so I cut it up, had a fab guy weld it together...and presto! The tail section is truly my favorite part of the bike.
5. Wheels, Tires and Brakes: So I wanted Coke 2" White Walls...maybe it was the gangsta coming out in me.
But I needed 18" hoops front and back due to sizing limitations of Coker Tires. So I found a set of Harley hoops both 18x2.5, had them re-angled, new Buchanan spokes and laced them up to the stock hubs. Personally, I think the white walls set this bike apart...but I COMPLETELY agree they aren't typically good set on a cafe style bike. But in this case, I feel like I pulled it off.
The dual disc brakes with cross drilled rotors give its a more sporty look, I think.
6. 4 into 2 exhaust: I love the look of these pipes. 'Nuff said...
7. Polish Aluminum velocity stacks:
So those are the highlights and in my opinion the best parts of the bike. I hope you guys like it...but in all honesty...I was just making a bike that I loved. There were countless times where I wanted to sell it off or throw it in a river....or just burn it. But after finally seeing it thru, I am extremely proud of finishing it. And boy does it draw attention...
Credits:
Gas Tank, Oil Tank, Tail Section fabrication: La Ca Fe´ Motorcycles
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000884782328Upholstery: Markel Auto Upholstery
Paint: Beverly La Brea Auto Body
Wiring Harness: My brother, Jason AND PABST BLUE RIBBON...without which this bike might not have ever come to life.
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