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Hey guys, I'm new to the board, but I've been browsing around reading tips and ideas, which this site seems to have plenty of!
I'll cut right to the chase. I bought this bike about 1.5 Years ago along with a complete parts bike for $500. They both were not running, but I did get it to start and kinda of run (poorly) when I brought it home. I put the spare engine in the frame after I cleaned everything up, but I plan to rebuild the matching motor with the frame soon. I plan on keeping it close to stock, I put on some royal enfield clubmans since they were cheap, however I may make my own clip-ons in the future. I've got most of the wiring all back together, except for the turn signals which I an still working on. I'm going to use the original tank and keep the side panels which will match the tank in color. For color I am going to go with a copper/burnt orange type of deal, sort of like the 2 colors that were offered back in '74, brown or orange. For the seat I bought a lookalike cover on bay fairly cheap, and some foam from the local fabric store. I'm going to actually try to remold the seat so its a bit lower than stock, for a sleeker look, which I think will look great.
I've taken the shocks off last night so they are soaking in my vinegar bin to get the rust off. Hopefully they have been in there long enough where I can clean them up and paint them tonight since it stopped raining (finally!). I'm going to try to preserve the chrome, and paint the springs black, so they should look close to new again. Good news is that the shock absorbers still seem pretty well functional still! After all that time that has passed!
The first two pictures are from the previous owner that he took of the bike when I first got it. not too too bad, almost succumbed to death by rust, but I've giving it a second life.
This is what it looked like when I first started stripping the frame.
My chain tensioner, do you guys think this is still usable? I cant find one in decent shape at a reasonable price (besides NOS if I could find/afford one)
And a little extra, my girl the other bike I built. She doesn't complain much when I'm spending a majority of my time on my bikes, so I'm lucky!
Aaaaargh, I was gonna say looks very complete should just need a good cleaning, until I saw the rust. That's not good. I love those motors and the fact that there's so many on this board. I can't wait to get a 450. Cute girl!!!
Great job so far Whitefox. I actually just signed up here because I stumbled across your thread doing some research for my latest restoration project. I'm working on a cb450 cafe build as well. I'll get some of my stuff up on here soon.
Anyway, to my point. How do you disassemble those rear shocks? I had the same idea (black springs) but can't figure out how to disassemble them.
Well I put my bike up on the center stand, disconnected the lower half from the swingarm, then pulled down on the chrome cover to compress the spring. (Make sure the spring collar is set on the softest setting.) Then just pull out the "keepers" from the top. They are the half moon circular aluminum pieces at the top. Once they are both out the spring will slide off. Takes a little work, but it's doable by hand, and it's helpful to have a second pair of hands.
you got a hot girl and a hot harley. your one lucky dude.
get more pics of that HD on the show and shine!
since your in the motor already get yourself a new tensioner. when the stock tensioners fail youll end up getting a crack in the case from the chain flopping about. not good.
Surface rust, no problem. Grind it back to clean metal and smooth out. Obviously the really rusty parts will be beyond restoration or unusable- chain, shocks look pretty beat too.I've restored bikes that were way way worse.
Oh, and you are indeed a lucky man to have a hot woman that allows you to pursue your passion.
These bikes make excellent cafes. Obviously the rear fender has got to go.
Finally got around to painting my tank and side panels. I spent most of the day prepping the tank with my brother in order to paint it tonight. Tomorrow i want to put another thin coat on it and the possibly clear coat it. I haven't decided if i want to clear it jusssst yet. If I do some sort of design, then i want it to be protected under the clear. We'll see.
It's been a while since my last post, but I've still been making some progress on the bike. When I have free time I'll dedicate it to the bike.
I just ordered a bunch of parts from the Dime City crew and started to put together my now rebuilt front end. I'm getting ready to put a sportier tire on the front rim, and cleaning up the speedo drive and cable. I hope to have it rolling by tonight.
I ordered just one ignition point, I didn't think there was two until I took it apart. It seems they are both different from each other so I'll need to make sure I get the correct one. Anyways, here's the pics.
I'll post up some more pictures as I go, well I'll try.
So last night I took the front caliper off again and tried to see why the wheel wouldn't spin when the caliper was assembled. Since I had to file down the pad that goes into the caliper bore because it was much to tight, I was under the assumption that the pad may not be made to spec since it's aftermarket. I filed down a bit from the back of the pad, but that didn't help, the wheel still wouldn't spin. So I took the pad off and started removing some material from the pad's surface. I did a little, put it back on and while it helped a little, it still wasn't enough. I sanded more material off and finally got the result I was looking for. I can spin the wheel now, though there is some slight resistance, I think it'll be fine till they set in.
The rest of my brake system is a master cylinder from a new Honda Sportbike, the lever is a little bent, but it's useable for now till I get a new one. Not sure how the grip will feel as I'm not sure if the bore size is comparable to the original MC, which is toast hence the reason for my upgrade. I think it'll work. It rained today so I couldn't roll the bike onto the porch to bleed the system. Soon.
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