XaqFixx
Get Fixxed!
This will be my first cafe racer, I hope to make it a the first of many. I want to fix, ride, sell and repeat with bigger and bigger bike before getting something British.
This first one is a '72 CB175 with 7k miles on it. It was my dad's college bike, sometime in '75 or '76 he parked it in the barn and joined the Air Force.
Last summer, I had mentioned another motorcycle project, a '72 Harley M65S Leggero, I was working on for my wife and he offered me his to work on. This is what it looked like when I went and visited it the first time:
That was back in July, I wasn't able to go pick it up until December 2010.
My boss, her wife, and I all piled in her big freakin truck, drove to the mountains and spent the afternoon shooting. We then loaded the bike in the back, stopped for a quick visit with my Nana and headed home. The next morning after a quick bath the bike was looking better:
Still looking pretty rough, but better than expected, the sissybar had to go. I discovered that unlike on the Harley (seen in the background) I could not remove the seat or tank, or much anything else without a key. Called my dad but he hadn't seen it in 35 years so I had to track one down before I could really get started. After doing some reading, and talking to a friend with a 72 CL175 (that I will be picking up next month) I ordered a few things while I waited.
I picked up a carb rebuild kit, oil gasket kit, new fuel line, stainless steel allen head replacement bolt kit for the engine and one for the carbs, new plugs, points, and condenser and a few other odds and ends, along with an impact screwdriver set.
Once everything arrived, I got started working on her when I can between working full time, going back to school, brewing and other random projects. This is how she looks right now:
Her carbs are sitting in my workroom along with the new parts. I had some problems disconnecting them from the throttle cable but the folks here on DTT are trying patiently to talk me through it.
I don't want to make her shiny; I will be using liberal amounts of satin black paint. When I can I will order a new seat and bars but getting her running is more important than getting her pretty. Once I get the CL175 and get it running (ran until my buddy parked it 2 years ago, will just need minor stuff), I will focus on performance and cosmetics on this one.
I want to have a ridable bike this spring and a slightly less ugly one this summer.
This first one is a '72 CB175 with 7k miles on it. It was my dad's college bike, sometime in '75 or '76 he parked it in the barn and joined the Air Force.
Last summer, I had mentioned another motorcycle project, a '72 Harley M65S Leggero, I was working on for my wife and he offered me his to work on. This is what it looked like when I went and visited it the first time:
That was back in July, I wasn't able to go pick it up until December 2010.
My boss, her wife, and I all piled in her big freakin truck, drove to the mountains and spent the afternoon shooting. We then loaded the bike in the back, stopped for a quick visit with my Nana and headed home. The next morning after a quick bath the bike was looking better:
Still looking pretty rough, but better than expected, the sissybar had to go. I discovered that unlike on the Harley (seen in the background) I could not remove the seat or tank, or much anything else without a key. Called my dad but he hadn't seen it in 35 years so I had to track one down before I could really get started. After doing some reading, and talking to a friend with a 72 CL175 (that I will be picking up next month) I ordered a few things while I waited.
I picked up a carb rebuild kit, oil gasket kit, new fuel line, stainless steel allen head replacement bolt kit for the engine and one for the carbs, new plugs, points, and condenser and a few other odds and ends, along with an impact screwdriver set.
Once everything arrived, I got started working on her when I can between working full time, going back to school, brewing and other random projects. This is how she looks right now:
Her carbs are sitting in my workroom along with the new parts. I had some problems disconnecting them from the throttle cable but the folks here on DTT are trying patiently to talk me through it.
I don't want to make her shiny; I will be using liberal amounts of satin black paint. When I can I will order a new seat and bars but getting her running is more important than getting her pretty. Once I get the CL175 and get it running (ran until my buddy parked it 2 years ago, will just need minor stuff), I will focus on performance and cosmetics on this one.
I want to have a ridable bike this spring and a slightly less ugly one this summer.
