College Kid Cafe Racer Build

Sorry to hear read about the engine, Alex. I got my first bike, a similar CM400, myself a few months ago, but mine was in great working shape. I'm on the cafe route as well, but I'm not planning on going "cafe cool." Just a couple little tweaks to an already functioning bike. I'll keep up with your thread!
 
Hey man, I myself am also a college student.
I bought my first bike (a kz200) and dumped tons of money into.
It was the typical "each thing went out at a time" scenario.
There were a lot of times where I wanted to quit, especially after I had to replace the clutch, then the top end, then the entire electrical system.. but you just gotta press on. Vintage bikes are just a money pit and a gamble. My say on it is, just keep your eyes open. Check Craigslist every day, and keep your eye out for an engine. That is what I do with my project, I have a specific list of things I search on craigslist everyday.
Eventually, it'll pop up. Until then I say work on other parts of the bike. Café it out in the mean time while you wait on the motor, hell it's almost winter anyways, you wouldn't be riding it anyways.

keep your head up, your bound for some good luck now.
 
Damn you guys are inspirational. I am planning on rebuilding the motor, as I can't find any engines(yet), but I can find parts. I will keep looking for an engine, and I'm going home this weekend to work on the bike, so there will be an update with pics!:)
The PO called last night, and continued to lie to me, claiming that I somehow knew the engine was seized(I obviously didn't or I wouldn't have bought the bike for that price). The rest of the conversation was just peachy, if you know what I mean.
If anyone near my area has parts or a replacement engine for sale, feel free to PM me about it.
Thanks for the encouragement, guys!
 
You may just want to part it out and try to recoup some of your money and when you're just starting buy a bike that runs, my kz550 I paid $450 for and rode it around the block, may have surprises in the future but it ran, you can probably buy a whole bike for the cost of a motor and then if it's not in a bike you won't know whats up with that motor and what shape it's in. If you don't have the Benjis you have to wait, those engine parts could cost you a lot and you still won't have a complete bike for a long time. Never buy a bike that doesn't run for more than a couple hundred. they are only worth $500 if they do run.
 
Part it out and get some thing worthwhile. Honestly. It sound like you are going to put a lot of time , thought, resource and money into a bike project ..... It really is a lemon of a unit.
There's stuff like the CB 350 engine which can be engineered to ridiculous levels of refinement.
That particular engine / crank configuration (CM) just doesn't lend its self to being much more than it already is: an understressed very reliable long lasting bowl of soup. You can blue print it and take it out to a 450 bowl of soup. The CB350 configuration can be made to howl like a crazy bitch on heat. Of all the bikes to chose from, there are about a thousand which could give your efforts more reward.
 
Seized is one thing, broken rod is a completely different scenario. He knew it and didn't disclose it makes him a POS, unfortunately those kind of sellers are out there and there's not much you can to about it, Caveat Emptor (let the buyer beware). I would be pulling out my "Art Of Revenge" book and start planning. Start with Craigs List ads with is info saying you work nights and will only answer the phone between midnight and 8 am. List some yard sales, good stuff goes really early and let him deal with 5am buyers showing up. Or take the high road and let it go and hope you learn from it.
 
alex2445 said:
Wow, maybe I shouldn't be on this forum....Lol jk! I'm actually going to apologize to you guys, for not giving you guys enough information right off the bat. I was about to go to a class, and didn't have a whole lot of time to give you the whole rundown. So, believe it or not, I am a bit more qualified to do this build here's why:
-I went to a career center my junior and senior years of high school for powersports small engine technology
-my junior year we went to the state FFA contest for outdoor power equipment and won 4th in state...my senior year we went again, and won 1st, and I won 1st out of the whole state.
-between my junior and senior year, I worked in a small engine repair shop and did basic maintenance and basic to advanced troubleshooting.
-I read engine theory for fun(although not lately)
-in my career center, I got best student in my lab for my junior and senior year.
-my senior projects were a paper over increasing engine performance(that I wrote first, then found citations for), and a suzuki dirt bike project(that I unfortunately ran out of time for in lab)
-I can stick weld(although it's been a while) and I can mig weld very well, I've even built shelving for a lady along with other various projects for myself.
-I have a 56" toolbox filled about halfway with tools(I know this has nothing to do with experience, but at least I have resources)
-I work for my university's research and development lab, currently working on multiple projects.
-I have read countless builds on this forum, and have enjoyed every minute of it
Now, here are some things that I don't have experience with, that you guys caught me off guard with.
-Yes this is my first motorcycle, so I have not ridden motorcycles before. I have only ridden dirt bikes, which I do realize is a different story.
-yes now that I look at that CB750 I do realize that it's more artistic than functional
-no I did not know that the comstar wheels can crack, I will certainly do more research into this.
So that's that, and if anyone wants to read my senior report on increasing motorcycle performance to kind of rate me, I'd be happy to email it to you, or post it on a forum.

Now, as for the bike. I do realize it's not the best bike to start with, but it was $450 and I thought it was an alright deal. I expected the owner to be older, but he was only a high school senior, so that's why the bike is a little bit mechanically under the weather. When I asked about the clutch, I was trying to diagnose the problem, I haven't had a whole lot of time to look at it. I know how clutches work, also. My plan is to get it running first, and gradually cafe-racer it, not just tear it all down, build it up and ride when I haven't an idea what i'm doing.
So again, I'm sorry for not providing a whole lot of information about me and my plan for this bike.
Click to expand...


After reading this, you should have known better. Don't tell any of your alumni about this purchase.
 
how would I have known? it rolled, but only because he backed the clutch bolts off to let it roll. I couldn't open up the motor to see all the damage that was done. I couldn't see under the crankcase cover to see that he had backed the bolts off, had it not rolled I at least wouldn't have paid what I had paid for it. Is it alright to ask to remove the crankcase covers when looking at a bike that's not running, even though that would drain any oil that it had in it? Is there some sort of trick to know if a "rolling" bike is seized up without opening it up or being the one that seized it up?
 
alex2445 said:
how would I have known? it rolled, but only because he backed the clutch bolts off to let it roll. I couldn't open up the motor to see all the damage that was done. I couldn't see under the crankcase cover to see that he had backed the bolts off, had it not rolled I at least wouldn't have paid what I had paid for it. Is it alright to ask to remove the crankcase covers when looking at a bike that's not running, even though that would drain any oil that it had in it? Is there some sort of trick to know if a "rolling" bike is seized up without opening it up or being the one that seized it up?
Click to expand...
Put it in neutral and try and kick it over. If it's seized you won't be able to move the kick start. if it isn't seized but has a broken rod you'll hear noises you wouldn't want to hear. If 'm a potential buyer with money in hand and he won't ket me do a full inspection including removing a cover or 2 then I'm walking or renegotiating the price.
 
I also would bet that the PO didn't back the rod bolts out either.....

Actually I have changed my mind....
You should keep the hawk.
Love the hawk.
Stay with the hawk.
 
For a while I was casually looking for a VF1000R/F

Great bikes

For now I am happy with a my garage full of broken Nortons (three)
 
Alright, back on track. I've done some things since I've last posted. Including:
-putting the cases back together
-gotten some parts
-began rebuilding the carbs
-polishing some aluminum

Soon these will be done:
-rebuilt carbs
-stator installed
-clutch rebuilt
-top end rebuilt

After that I'll install the engine to the bike and make it run. I'm finally getting some time to work on this, and I've gotten new inspiration from my fraternity brother who also has a cm400t(actually running). I'll post pics sometime this weekend. I hope to have the bike done by the end of july so that I've got some time to ride it this year.
 
since this topic is so old, I've moved it to a new topic, "College kid cafe racer part 2(?)" go ahead and find it. thanks guys
 
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