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Ok so I spent several hours cutting on the seat pan and riveting upholstery.
I think I have the seat sized up pretty well to the tank.
The tank is in it's final resting position but I don't have it fastened well in the back. I think I'm liking the seat / tank combo but I've been looking at this thing so damn long I have a hard time seeing it objectively.
Any opinions on how the seat fits with the tank? Keep it or try going in another direction?
Also - I'm about to the point that I can start doing prep work to the tank and fairing. I originally wanted an all black color scheme (maybe flat black on gloss black with the tank) but I'm also thinking maybe gunmetal grey for the tank and black for the fairing. Any opinions on color scheme?
The tank and fairing have been cleared... the fairing turned out looking like black liquid glass
Although I did find a small run on the fairing.
The tank though has quite a bit of orange peel in the clear (as you can see in my reflection) so I guess I'm going to have to work on that a bit and I would appreciate any tips that I can get.
I was planning on wet sanding to 2000 - then buffing and polishing. I have read that shrinkage can occur for up to 90 days.
How long should I wait to buff and polish the tank?
Any recommendations or tips for this stage in the process? Product suggestions etc?
* Edit - The clear coat that I used was Spraymax 2k clear.
I found the clip ons on eBay... 33mm I believe.
The grips come from Dime City - I saw them on their "Brass Cafe" and liked the look of them... here is a link:
http://www.dimecitycycles.com/vintage-cafe-racer-caferacer-bobber-brat-chopper-custom-motorcycle-handlebar-parts-nickel-billet-race-grips-bar-ends-1110-begrips.html
Put everything back together, put enough gas in it to get it to the gas station so I could fill it up and check it for leaks.
Full tank - the petcock is dry and functioning as normal. Have to get down to the parts store so I can get some adhesive for the badges.
Here is a pic of it all back together:
I also raised the front end up about an inch... it takes it slightly out of the stance I wanted but I feel better about the clearance now in front.
I liked the original right up until I saw the last picture. The 500 tank does look much better.
Kinda looks like it is pinching your upholstery though?
The bike looks great!
I don't suppose you have a link to where you bought that headlight fairing? I am chasing one for my CB250.
I liked the original right up until I saw the last picture. The 500 tank does look much better.
Kinda looks like it is pinching your upholstery though?
The bike looks great!
I don't suppose you have a link to where you bought that headlight fairing? I am chasing one for my CB250.
Thanks Anthiron! Yes, the front of the seat is getting pinched a little as the tank is sitting on the seat - I still have some brainstorming to do as far as the rear tank mount goes... as of now it is being held in the back by a strap around the frame.
I found the fairing on ebay... here is a link to the same fairing that I have:
Can you weld a fixed nut to a bar on the top tube to fasten the tank to? Then you could let the seat fold up over the end of the tank to cover any gaps much like it did on the original tank? So the seat sat on the tank rather than the tank sitting on the seat? Make sense?
Can you weld a fixed nut to a bar on the top tube to fasten the tank to? Then you could let the seat fold up over the end of the tank to cover any gaps much like it did on the original tank? So the seat sat on the tank rather than the tank sitting on the seat? Make sense?
I agree what others have said about shortening the seat. Also, on your upholstery if you do some relief cuts you can get rid of all that puckering around the hump.
I agree what others have said about shortening the seat. Also, on your upholstery if you do some relief cuts you can get rid of all that puckering around the hump.
Yeah this seat has definitely caused me more headaches than any other part of the bike by a longshot. I'm still not completely convinced that I'm going with this seat - I may still try going with a flat fiberglass seat.
Haven't done much to the bike lately but I thought I would post up a couple of pics from my oil seal job this weekend.
I have been having a problem with oil weeping out of the oil seal on the shifter. Not that much of a problem but it would leak onto the exhaust collector and smoke a bit... the seal was only 4 bucks and the case gasket was about $10 so why not do the easy fix.
It was cleaner than I thought it would be under the case. My sprocket looks like it is in pretty good shape though it could use a good cleaning - the chain needs cleaning but I think i'm just going to replace the chain and both sprockets next spring.
The seal replacement was straight forward - although I couldn't get the old seal out with the pick I was using. I screwed a small wood screw into the seal and pulled it out with some pliers.
The new seal seems to be keeping the oil in. I still have the case off as I'm debating either polishing it up or maybe giving it the flat black treatment just to see how it looks.
Looks great!!, your bike is a huge inspiration for my build (no post yet)
I would think to do a polish. You have lots black, so the polish I think would be a good balance. However, having some black paint were it is recessed would look good too!!
examples:
(below) or one that is inverse (polished letters, but black everything else)
I know... it's been in various stages of assembly so I haven't really had a chance to ride it this year. That's why I haven't gotten around to cleaning the chain :-[
Looks great!!, your bike is a huge inspiration for my build (no post yet)
I would think to do a polish. You have lots black, so the polish I think would be a good balance. However, having some black paint were it is recessed would look good too!!
First of all, thanks for the kind words - it's really appreciated!
I love the last picture you posted.
I'm going to go with flat black cases first (with the HONDA lettering polished) and if it ends up looking like too much black, I'll strip it back down and polish it up.
Out of curiosity, did you try fitting the CL/CB350 tank before or after modifying the tank posts? Looks like it went on perfectly. Been looking up tank options for my CM400.
Out of curiosity, did you try fitting the CL/CB350 tank before or after modifying the tank posts? Looks like it went on perfectly. Been looking up tank options for my CM400.
You MUST cut the posts before putting any other tank on. I can't imagine any other tank fitting over those long posts... *maybe* a CB400 tank but I doubt it. The tunnel of the 350 tank is wider than the cb500t tank but still requires cutting the posts down.
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