Drummerboy
New Member
hey there!
1st post, 1st bike (aside from a couple of dirtbikes when i was a kid), and first build.
little backstory... i lost my father to a bike accident in '06, and about a year later i started thinking about eventually buying and riding something in his memory.
we both had dirtbikes when i was small, and when i was around 10 years old, he bought a black 1978 cb750k. big windscreen and saddle bags and all that, and he took me around on it almost daily.
fast forward a few years, he takes his CB off the road to restore it, and i eventually start tinkering on my first car, a 1994 civic hatchback.
lots of time goes by, and he lost interest in the old bike. he sold and traded some parts, and after a while there wasn't really much left to work with. i end up making a mid-11 second street car out of my hatchback, so then he wanted a new toy, and ended up with a 1999 kawasaki ninja in red and black.
we had plans to get me a similar bike to go riding together, but unfortunately never made it that far.
so, earlier this year, i decided the time was right to finally buy a bike and build it into something he would like. i was initially looking for a modern bike similar to his ninja, but the more i looked, the more i got into the idea of building an old honda like the one he used to take me for rides on. then after learning more about the cafe style, it became very clear that this was the way to go. the classic platform, but with modern touches and a race inspired feel. a mix of his two bikes.
about six weeks ago, i found a bike that was pretty local to me, and i was really happy that it was a '77. however, it was buried in a barn, it hadn't been registered or inspected since '05, and contrary to the seller's story, it didn't run. luckily, i have good friends, and one of which is a bike builder and classic honda enthusiast. before i took it home, we dug it out and did what we could to be fairly confident that it COULD run, and it was at least a complete bike to start with. it also came with almost 2 more bikes worth of parts, so i took a gamble, and the next morning i took it home.
most of the parts were junk and some were for an 81ish dohc supersport from what i can figure, so i condensed the pile from my whole sidewalk down to 1 rubbermaid bin, and the rest went straight to the scrap yard. not pictured is another frame and engine/trans.
the same day, i got right to it. i couldn't stand the awful blue it was painted so it had to go immediately. the carbs were a mess too, so they went to my buddies for a tear down and inspection.
just a quick rattle can job to get the overall picture started, and that was the end of day 1.
we started getting a good little parts list going, and i started making orders. the carb kits came in and while i was waiting to go pick up my rebuilt carbs, i gave the bike a quick cleaning.
i put them on, dropped in the new battery, drained out the old gas, and was finally ready to try to start this thing for the first time.
it pretty much fired right up! i didn't really expect it to, so i cut it off and grabbed my camera. so technically, this is the 2nd startup
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xY6naHUxDZA
one of the floats was accidentally set really high, so it was dumping fuel out of the overflow, but that was a quick fix. it was pretty rough, but i still took it up the street and back to make sure it would move and shift, and thankfully it did. huge relief.
my neighbors had lots of questions after watching me ride it around like this.
i had some more free time this week, and more parts arrived, so i've been messing with the carbs, and got my clip ons and new cables installed.
this is a pretty good shot of the exhaust too. it came installed, and it must be pretty old. anyone recognize this?
there is also a 4 into 2 dual exhaust that came in the pile, but that's where it's going to stay.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijqGc76ydrU
little clip of where it is now. the tach needle is hanging high unless you give it a good whack, and cylinder 1 seems to have a grounding issue. it seems like it's firing, but it'll give you a good zap you if you touch the plug boot.
i had a spare coil in the pile and that seemed to make it run slightly better. i just received my new one and some wires and boots too so that's on the list of things to do next.
i also have to figure out what to do with the brake line from the master cylinder. it's got some cracks and is routed pretty funky now with the lowered bars. it's also gotten very spongy and inconsistent since i moved everything around. i figure i should be able to find a shorter line from another bike maybe?
all in all i'm really happy with everything so far, and i can't wait to be able to take it farther than around the block. with any luck i'll have the lighting and at least a temporary seat done this weekend. the summer is just about over, so this year's goal is to get it running good and safe on the road, then over the winter i'll strip it down and make it really pretty.
thanks for looking, and any questions, comments, or criticisms are welcomed!
brian
1st post, 1st bike (aside from a couple of dirtbikes when i was a kid), and first build.
little backstory... i lost my father to a bike accident in '06, and about a year later i started thinking about eventually buying and riding something in his memory.
we both had dirtbikes when i was small, and when i was around 10 years old, he bought a black 1978 cb750k. big windscreen and saddle bags and all that, and he took me around on it almost daily.
fast forward a few years, he takes his CB off the road to restore it, and i eventually start tinkering on my first car, a 1994 civic hatchback.
lots of time goes by, and he lost interest in the old bike. he sold and traded some parts, and after a while there wasn't really much left to work with. i end up making a mid-11 second street car out of my hatchback, so then he wanted a new toy, and ended up with a 1999 kawasaki ninja in red and black.
we had plans to get me a similar bike to go riding together, but unfortunately never made it that far.
so, earlier this year, i decided the time was right to finally buy a bike and build it into something he would like. i was initially looking for a modern bike similar to his ninja, but the more i looked, the more i got into the idea of building an old honda like the one he used to take me for rides on. then after learning more about the cafe style, it became very clear that this was the way to go. the classic platform, but with modern touches and a race inspired feel. a mix of his two bikes.
about six weeks ago, i found a bike that was pretty local to me, and i was really happy that it was a '77. however, it was buried in a barn, it hadn't been registered or inspected since '05, and contrary to the seller's story, it didn't run. luckily, i have good friends, and one of which is a bike builder and classic honda enthusiast. before i took it home, we dug it out and did what we could to be fairly confident that it COULD run, and it was at least a complete bike to start with. it also came with almost 2 more bikes worth of parts, so i took a gamble, and the next morning i took it home.
most of the parts were junk and some were for an 81ish dohc supersport from what i can figure, so i condensed the pile from my whole sidewalk down to 1 rubbermaid bin, and the rest went straight to the scrap yard. not pictured is another frame and engine/trans.
the same day, i got right to it. i couldn't stand the awful blue it was painted so it had to go immediately. the carbs were a mess too, so they went to my buddies for a tear down and inspection.
just a quick rattle can job to get the overall picture started, and that was the end of day 1.
we started getting a good little parts list going, and i started making orders. the carb kits came in and while i was waiting to go pick up my rebuilt carbs, i gave the bike a quick cleaning.
i put them on, dropped in the new battery, drained out the old gas, and was finally ready to try to start this thing for the first time.
it pretty much fired right up! i didn't really expect it to, so i cut it off and grabbed my camera. so technically, this is the 2nd startup
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xY6naHUxDZA
one of the floats was accidentally set really high, so it was dumping fuel out of the overflow, but that was a quick fix. it was pretty rough, but i still took it up the street and back to make sure it would move and shift, and thankfully it did. huge relief.
my neighbors had lots of questions after watching me ride it around like this.
i had some more free time this week, and more parts arrived, so i've been messing with the carbs, and got my clip ons and new cables installed.
this is a pretty good shot of the exhaust too. it came installed, and it must be pretty old. anyone recognize this?
there is also a 4 into 2 dual exhaust that came in the pile, but that's where it's going to stay.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijqGc76ydrU
little clip of where it is now. the tach needle is hanging high unless you give it a good whack, and cylinder 1 seems to have a grounding issue. it seems like it's firing, but it'll give you a good zap you if you touch the plug boot.
i had a spare coil in the pile and that seemed to make it run slightly better. i just received my new one and some wires and boots too so that's on the list of things to do next.
i also have to figure out what to do with the brake line from the master cylinder. it's got some cracks and is routed pretty funky now with the lowered bars. it's also gotten very spongy and inconsistent since i moved everything around. i figure i should be able to find a shorter line from another bike maybe?
all in all i'm really happy with everything so far, and i can't wait to be able to take it farther than around the block. with any luck i'll have the lighting and at least a temporary seat done this weekend. the summer is just about over, so this year's goal is to get it running good and safe on the road, then over the winter i'll strip it down and make it really pretty.
thanks for looking, and any questions, comments, or criticisms are welcomed!
brian
