finnerandr
New Member
Hey guys, been a lurker here for quite some time. Have been involved with riding dual sport bikes for a while now and after my last big off and the resulting concussion, I decided to stick to the pavement for the time being. Have always wanted to build a cafe bike, and now I have my chance. This past weekend I traveled 3 hours to pick up (2) 1971 CB350 Twins. One has a title and is supposedly running, although partially disassembled, but complete. The other is a parts bike that has had most of the parts already stripped except for the motor(supposedly a good motor), wheels, and brakes. Both engines are free and seem to have good compression. Got the whole ball of wax plus an extra tank, an extra seat, and a pair of clubman handlebars for $400. This will be my first project, and will post as I go in the project category. Before I start work, I still need to get the garage set up. I got a new position at work recently and no longer need my tools so I have to move all of that stuff back home.
The plans for the bike so far include powdercoating the frame, wheels, spokes, etc to get the "blacked out" look. Will also paint the engine black, but will polish some of the covers. Wrapped exhaust with polished shorty mufflers. Not sure about clubmans, might go with clipons instead. Also, will fabricate some rearsets, pound some knee dents into the tank, and make my own seat out of fiberglass(thinking of a duckbill style for the seat, depends on how the lines from the tank "flow" into the seat. Chop the front fender, remove the rear. Possibly convert the front from drum to disk brakes depending on how difficult that will be. The airbox is already gone, so will run some K&N pods. Thinking about removing the electric start as well. Ive got a million other little ideas already written on paper, but its too much to post in here.
Once Im done with that bike, a buddy of mine wants to see if the spare motor is any good, and if it is, he is trying to convince me to drop it into a go kart! Sounds like a fun little project. Most go karts come with about a 5hp motor, so throwing in a 35hp motorcycle engine should be quite a little thrill ride. Can you say "wheelie bars"?
Am hoping to get started on the bike by next weekend. There is no rush as I bought it as a winter project. So hopefully will have it all done come next years riding season. If there is anyone here from the Wichita area, please feel free to say hello. Always looking for other people to wrench and ride with.
The plans for the bike so far include powdercoating the frame, wheels, spokes, etc to get the "blacked out" look. Will also paint the engine black, but will polish some of the covers. Wrapped exhaust with polished shorty mufflers. Not sure about clubmans, might go with clipons instead. Also, will fabricate some rearsets, pound some knee dents into the tank, and make my own seat out of fiberglass(thinking of a duckbill style for the seat, depends on how the lines from the tank "flow" into the seat. Chop the front fender, remove the rear. Possibly convert the front from drum to disk brakes depending on how difficult that will be. The airbox is already gone, so will run some K&N pods. Thinking about removing the electric start as well. Ive got a million other little ideas already written on paper, but its too much to post in here.
Once Im done with that bike, a buddy of mine wants to see if the spare motor is any good, and if it is, he is trying to convince me to drop it into a go kart! Sounds like a fun little project. Most go karts come with about a 5hp motor, so throwing in a 35hp motorcycle engine should be quite a little thrill ride. Can you say "wheelie bars"?
Am hoping to get started on the bike by next weekend. There is no rush as I bought it as a winter project. So hopefully will have it all done come next years riding season. If there is anyone here from the Wichita area, please feel free to say hello. Always looking for other people to wrench and ride with.
