Hey guys, brand new to the forum and I had a couple questions, but first let me introduce myself.
I'm 20 years old and this is my fourth motorcycle in two years. I started with a sport bike like every other 18 year old kid and then built two bobbers. I became obsessed with cafe racers. I was tired of the stock bike community and the rocket community and want edit to branch out. As soon as I grot into the modified motorcycle community with my bobbers I noticed that people were much more friendly. Then I heard the cafe racer community was even better. This made me want one even more.
So about halfway through my bobber build and I refused to finish my poor nighthawk. Instead I got it running well and shipped it down to Madison in exchange for a cb350. I loved the look of the honda twin and I figured that It would be an easy transition to a cafe racer. I also knew that they were reliable and had a huge following as well as abundant parts. I'm mechanically inclined and used to work as a mechanic and a manager of an auto parts store when I was 18-19 before I went back to school. I am certified in OPE, and have build and sold over 20 cars since I turned 18. So mechanically I am very sound. However....I have never been very good at wiring. This is where I need your guy's help among other things.
I am not used to systems that are this old but I have heard that they are much easier to work on. The last motorcycle I had was an 82, so I skipped down ten years but love the appeal of the bike and for some reason, the little 350 pounds and is fairly comparable to my 750 nighthawk that I had.
Now for my actual question For those of you who skipped over the bio, I expect no questions about how mechanically or electronically inclined I am. .
First question. I was thinking about turning my motorcycle into a kick start only. I've been reading these forums and realize there is already a place for that but I want to know the answers to my questions not try to relate information to that was for someone else to my life. Not to sound to pushy. . Ok so kick start only, can I do it without a battery? Does this include slimming down the wiring harness? Has anyone else slimmed down the wiring harness so it basically only controls the lights and turn signals? If so does anyone have any pictures or steps to do this?
Second question, I have the stock pipes on it right now, however one is rusted through the head shield and baffle. The other one is in perfect condition and performs like it should. The left header gets hotter than the right because the right is slightly misfiring due to the back pressure issue. What pipes are you guys running for cafe racers? Please Keep in mind that I would like to do a budget build because I am paying for college out of pocket. Or would it make more sense to buy just a right side stock pipe off of eBay?
Third and final question to the novel that I just wrote. I would like to do a brat style seat that will let me carry another passenger. I am 5'5" and done weigh very much, and the bike hauls me around without a problem, and would be able to carry me and a 100# girl no problem. Does anyone have any advice for making a seat? I've seen people make them out of wood which I may try, considering I think I have to extend the stock seat frame about 2" to comfortably fit two people on it. Which isn't an issue.
Any thoughts or pictures would be appreciated. Thank you very much
I'm 20 years old and this is my fourth motorcycle in two years. I started with a sport bike like every other 18 year old kid and then built two bobbers. I became obsessed with cafe racers. I was tired of the stock bike community and the rocket community and want edit to branch out. As soon as I grot into the modified motorcycle community with my bobbers I noticed that people were much more friendly. Then I heard the cafe racer community was even better. This made me want one even more.
So about halfway through my bobber build and I refused to finish my poor nighthawk. Instead I got it running well and shipped it down to Madison in exchange for a cb350. I loved the look of the honda twin and I figured that It would be an easy transition to a cafe racer. I also knew that they were reliable and had a huge following as well as abundant parts. I'm mechanically inclined and used to work as a mechanic and a manager of an auto parts store when I was 18-19 before I went back to school. I am certified in OPE, and have build and sold over 20 cars since I turned 18. So mechanically I am very sound. However....I have never been very good at wiring. This is where I need your guy's help among other things.
I am not used to systems that are this old but I have heard that they are much easier to work on. The last motorcycle I had was an 82, so I skipped down ten years but love the appeal of the bike and for some reason, the little 350 pounds and is fairly comparable to my 750 nighthawk that I had.
Now for my actual question For those of you who skipped over the bio, I expect no questions about how mechanically or electronically inclined I am. .
First question. I was thinking about turning my motorcycle into a kick start only. I've been reading these forums and realize there is already a place for that but I want to know the answers to my questions not try to relate information to that was for someone else to my life. Not to sound to pushy. . Ok so kick start only, can I do it without a battery? Does this include slimming down the wiring harness? Has anyone else slimmed down the wiring harness so it basically only controls the lights and turn signals? If so does anyone have any pictures or steps to do this?
Second question, I have the stock pipes on it right now, however one is rusted through the head shield and baffle. The other one is in perfect condition and performs like it should. The left header gets hotter than the right because the right is slightly misfiring due to the back pressure issue. What pipes are you guys running for cafe racers? Please Keep in mind that I would like to do a budget build because I am paying for college out of pocket. Or would it make more sense to buy just a right side stock pipe off of eBay?
Third and final question to the novel that I just wrote. I would like to do a brat style seat that will let me carry another passenger. I am 5'5" and done weigh very much, and the bike hauls me around without a problem, and would be able to carry me and a 100# girl no problem. Does anyone have any advice for making a seat? I've seen people make them out of wood which I may try, considering I think I have to extend the stock seat frame about 2" to comfortably fit two people on it. Which isn't an issue.
Any thoughts or pictures would be appreciated. Thank you very much