New to Motorcycles in Indy

[Novafrk]

Hello all,

How are you? I have recently acquired a 73 CB350. I am in the middle of restoring/modifying it to get her road worthy. Here are a couple of links to show where she was and where she is.

Was: http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk43/Novafrk/CB350G%20rebuild/100_2522-1.jpg

Is: http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk43/Novafrk/CB350G%20rebuild/100_2723.jpg

I bought the bike not running for 80 dollars. Boy have I learned my lesson... Not being one to say quit I will have her on the road in another couple of weeks. The bike had a bent frame, stuck engine, the forks were so rusted under the cover as to be unusable... The only saving grace is it only has 9k miles on it, well that and it's mine... ? ??? I did manage to ride it for a day while discovering that the frame was bent and it liked to make left hand turns a lot. Everything seems to work mechanically speaking. It shifted well, pulled hard and idled decent. I think the fuel petcock was to blame for some fuel delivery issues but that's all fixed now.

So I'll be asking questions and updating everyone on my progress. Please throw any 350 twin advice my way, I'm all ears.

Respectfully,

Novafrk

 

[brewtown16]

im loving the blue on white! you should think about getting a lucas taillight and bobbing some off the rear fender

 

[Novafrk]

im loving the blue on white! you should think about getting a lucas taillight and bobbing some off the rear fender

It's actually a metallic silver... pictures just don't capture it. Any advice on bobbing the fender? I'm leary of tearing it up before I get it back on the road. A lucas tail light... got a picture? I do not like the stock Honda light, I'm looking for all suggestions on that item.

Novafrk

 

[Novafrk]

Thanks Brewtown BTW... I think it's coming along nicely... any suggestions on a front fender? Do I need to run one? Does the fender affect any flex in the forks?

Nova

 

[hopterfixer]

If you don't run the fender, at least bolt the fender mount in. Oh, hello from Fort Wayne.

 

[Novafrk]

Thanks. I felt it needed something, always nice to hear someone else agree. Is that your bike in your avatar? Very sweet looking! Can't wait to get mine on the road.

 

[hopterfixer]

Yep, that's my ride. I like where you are headed with yours, keep posting photos.

 

[coolatula]

It's actually a metallic silver... pictures just don't capture it. Any advice on bobbing the fender? I'm leary of tearing it up before I get it back on the road. A lucas tail light... got a picture? I do not like the stock Honda light, I'm looking for all suggestions on that item.

Novafrk

Welcome to the board! ;D
I am a Hoosier as well..Gosport,In.

Here's how I bob a fender if I think it's too long.
Take the fender completely off so you can work on it correctly.
I bob it from the rear(if it mounts just under the seat) that way the curled lip/tip is still intact. That saves you from having to refinish it. Nothing looks worse than cutting it from the front and leaving a sharp ass edge sticking out there just waiting to cut someone. Also if your lazy and cut it from the front most fenders get wider as they go back so it makes your already smaller vintage size rear tire look even smaller.

Now,if you have one that has a heavy braced(doubled material)/stamped mounting point as most do and you want to keep that you can still bob the fender. Make your cut just in front of the brace,shorten the fender(still from the rear part you just cut off so you leave the nice factory lip) and depending how it's made the cut off piece should fit either over or under the braced part.
I try to put it where it looks best as far as hiding the cut which is usually over the brace like a cap. Doing it this way and fitting the two pieces one over the other may in itself be enough of a "bob" that there is no need to cut any more off the fender you just cut off.

Make sure you overlap them enough where you can get a good bead of weld on both upper and lower seems. You can then clean them up,prep,apply filler,primer and paint the seems(must protect from corrosion/flash rusting) and or whole fender if its not chrome or you don't want the fender to be chrome any longer.

The amount you bob one depends on the bike,your tastes,the fender,the wheel/tire diameter and or width etc. Sometimes we think "I'm going to do this this way and that that way" and the bike has other ideas and looks at you as if to say "Hey,stupid why are you trying to make me look like ass!"

The problem is and we've all seen them is some builder just don't listen to their bikes and are hard headed. As a result they build something that is unsafe,fugly(real slang word look it up ) and just outright offensive to the senses.

 

[Novafrk]

Yep, that's my ride. I like where you are headed with yours, keep posting photos.

Yep that is a sweet looking bike. Thanks! I'm going to have drag pipes with slash cut mufflers. I was going to polish the covers but I think I'm just going to have them sand blasted. Not sure what to do with the engine cases... strip them and etch them with a good al wheel cleaner I think. I love raw cast al.

 

[Novafrk]

Coolatula,

Love the Hodaka... that is sweet. Thanks for the info... I may have to ask for a hands on demonstration from you though. I'm keeping my eye out for another fender... I think it would look good painted to match my tank, and bobbed some. I had a buddy that used to live in Gosport btw. Nice to meet you.

 

[coolatula]

Coolatula,

Love the Hodaka... that is sweet. Thanks for the info... I may have to ask for a hands on demonstration from you though. I'm keeping my eye out for another fender... I think it would look good painted to match my tank, and bobbed some. I had a buddy that used to live in Gosport btw. Nice to meet you.

Good deal,you should come down here sometime when we both have a open day. Bring your bike and what tools you have and we'll work on it. I mostly have just hand tools at the moment,but they usually get the job done. If I know in advance your going to be here I can get my buds mig. I'm out of practice though,but I can at least run a stitch.

I have a small garage I work on stuff in,but right now it's a mess beyond belief right now. I'm in the process of getting it sealed up so I can heat it in order to use it this winter and getting it organized better.

I have plans to get a lot more shop equipment such as a large 60-80 ga.l two-stage air compressor & tools,strip/dip tank,bead blaster(have a small pressure blaster),arc and mig welder,buffer,HVLP paint set-up,band saw etc.

I want to start buying up a lot more parts bikes. I use those funds to buy more equipment and or more parts bikes. I've done that on a very small scale,but want to start doing it a lot more when I have my shop the way I want it.

Thanks for the kind words on the ever so slow,will I ever get it done Hodaka project. I have it torn down right now getting ready to smooth up the welds,add filler,prime and then paint the frame. All the aluminum will be raw brushed look or bead blasted. The chrome tank will stay as is,just polished better. No lights will be put back on it,just number plates. All bolts are to be safety wired. Clip-on will replace the clubmans as well as I prefer to feel of clip-ons because that is what I'm used to.

I don't have pics/updates up yet,but I'm adding a bobbed fender to the back of my seat pan on the Hodaka. With the short bum stop that's on it it just looked like something was missing. I didn't want a long contouring fender to mess up the rear lines of the bike,so I'm mounting a short/chopped one on that should give the tail/back of the bike a more finished look.

The frame will be coated with a thin,rubberized,truck bed coating I found in spray can form at Auto-zone. I was going to go with a black wrinkle finish ,but it was hit or miss on whether it wrinkled or not on a test piece I did,so I said screw that and found the liner stuff. I haven't tested it yet ,but I hope it gives a more uniform finish and is relatively maintenance free which is what I'm going for.

As I stated in my project post I going for the "Rode hard put away wet" look for this bike. I want it to look like a vintage race bike that someone found walled up in a room thirty-five years after it was raced and then put away for safe keeping.
It's not a show bike or a "real" vintage race bike with race history,but I want it to at least LOOK and perform like it should.

 

[Novafrk]

No new pictures yet but I have the engine mostly reassembled. I ended up honing the cylinders and putting new rings in it. One cylinder had some corrosion in it and had gummed up one piston. Upon dis-assembly I discovered that one set of rings were installed with the gap on top of each other. I'm pretty sure that was contributing to the low compression <90 psi> that I was getting on that cylinder. <same cylinder had the corrosion / sticky rings>

I also installed the bore tech cam chain tensioner. Appears to be a quality piece with only one minor issue. I had to squish the rivets a little as they were dragging on the inside of the chain tunnel. Today I have to install the rocker arms & adjust them... the advance plate / points etc. I'm taking the covers off today in order to assess the clutch and internals... as much as I can. I'm also installing stiffer clutch springs... I'm a pretty big <read fat> guy so I figure it can't hurt. Then it's all back together for a degrease, paint strip, acid etch cleaning... then back in the bike!

Front brake, reinstall wiring harness, figure out where to mount the front turn signals, foot pegs, attach the rear brake pedal linkage, sling the chain, install the throttle / clutch cable, install the carbs, adjust everything, put the tank on run the fuel lines... OK I've got a lot more to do than I thought... going out to the garage. Peace.

Novafrk

 

[Novafrk]

I'll come down for sure. Once I've got it back together and I feel comfortable driving it 50 miles. I'm sure you understand that. I'll keep an eye out for parts bikes. I know it's been done a million times but I want to do a triumph based bobber. Unless I can find a different mfg that has a 500+ cc twin that looks right and is fairly easy to get parts for. Being new to bikes I'm not up on all the different mfg options. Have a good one.

Novafrk

 

[coolatula]

I'll come down for sure. Once I've got it back together and I feel comfortable driving it 50 miles. I'm sure you understand that. I'll keep an eye out for parts bikes. I know it's been done a million times but I want to do a triumph based bobber. Unless I can find a different mfg that has a 500+ cc twin that looks right and is fairly easy to get parts for. Being new to bikes I'm not up on all the different mfg options. Have a good one.

Novafrk

Sounds good!
Unless you really want a vintage Triumph I'd go with Yamaha XS 650/TX 650. There are TONS of parts and a huge following for them.
Both are not made anymore of course,but many parts are still being made. The Yamahas were in production for quite a while and they sold tons of them. Plus they are a LOT cheaper than a Triumph to buy as a project.
This is a must view XS site:
http://www.650motorcycles.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaha_XS_650
http://www.mikesxs.com/

I've never had a triumph,but for a old one I personally would prefer to keep one as a Scrambler or a street tracker. They do make neat bobbers,but to me they are kinda like the Honda CB750 choppers/bobbers and although you see a real nice one out there for every nice one there are ten crappy looking ones. I just prefer the look of a V-twin in choppers or bobbers.
Singles,horizontal and parallel twins to me make better looking Cafe,road racers & trackers(although I've seen a few nice V-twin cafe/trackers).

I think if I bought a Triumph I'd go for one of the newer models. They have quite a strong fan base and by all accounts are truly reliable and modern,but with a lot of the look of the older,less reliable/durable older siblings. I REALLY want to get up to Indy Triumph and check out the new Scrambler and Thuxtons!

For Honda parts you can get used stuff from a place called Budda's in Wilber,IN.. He's a big vintage Honda nut and has quite a few parts bikes of all sizes . His prices aren't bad either,especially if he has just the part you need. It's off of Wilber road which can be accessed off of S.R. 67 South Just north of Martinsville,In.. You follow Wilber road all the way down to the tiny town(not much of it left) of Wilber. It's a 4-way I think and you turn left(another S.R. but can't remember which one. Budda's Cycle is on the right just down the road about a 1/8 mile(behind a old,not lived in single level house). You have to watch or you'll miss it and drive past it. If you think you may have trouble finding it I could show you where it is and after that you won't have any problems getting there.