Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature currently requires accessing the site using the built-in Safari browser.
We noticed you are blocking ads. DO THE TON only works with community supporters. Most are active members of the site with small businesses. Please consider disabling your ad blocking tool and checking out the businesses that help keep our site up and free.
Figured it's finally time to post a thread on all the work i've done to this little bike over the past year.
Going into this project I had little to no experience with engines and wiring. All I knew is that the best way to start was to dive in and get my hands dirty. You can read all you want about bikes but the real education comes from hands on experience with them. I'm hoping that this thread might inspire anyone thinking about taking on a project like this to do the same, as well as motivate those who have started such projects to see it through to the end.
Also I need to shout out to some some of the guys on here who've helped me immensely along the way: Sonreir, PJ, Mydlife, Trek. Couldn't have done it without your guidance.
Enough of that , Here's the $300 Craigslist find that started it all.
It was a non runner. Tyres dry rotted, Tank looked to be out of a bad 80's movie, forks pitted, wiring was a mess, coils burnt out, leaked oil... no title. But the motor turned over, and the gears shifted nicely. It was perfect ;D.
First thing I did was shave all the unwanted tabs off of the frame. The previous owner was running the thing without any air filters whatsoever, so then began the engine work.
Cylinders and case halves were painted black. Then everything was reassembled with new oil seals, valve stem seals, cam chain guide/tensioner, bore-tech cam chain, gaskets, and stainless steel allen head bolts.
Fresh ball hone from Flying Tiger motorcycles. New piston rings were used with the three- piece oiler ring rather than the single ring that was standard on these bikes.
Then began the suspension work. The tops of the fork stanchions were pitted but the travel area was in relatively good shape. The travel area was treated with the old tin foil and polishing compound trick while the rust was sanded and painted. Fork lowers were polished.
The bottom bolts were a nightmare to remove. A blow torch, some drilling, and tactical hammering was employed to remove them. Everything was reassembled with new copper crush washers, fork seals, and boots. Those pesky bottom bolts I had to measure and order from a place in MA called metric screw and tool. Really awesome customer service btw.
Sent the frame off for sand blasting and powder coating. I would have just painted it myself but this would last longer and at $115 it was really worth all that time saved.
The triple lowers were painted black, and the uppers polished. I ended up shaving off the gauge mounting tabs later. Trees were installed with All Balls tapered bearings, of course.
Bronze bushings for the swing arm were installed. Like a novice, I stupidly hammered them in which resulted in the pivot tube not fitting at all! A few hours with a drill and a brake cylinder hone and it couldn't have achieved a better fit.
By the way, if anyone knows where to find a grease zerk for the swing arm, please let me know. I also still need one for the sprocket cover.
Now that I had the frame back, I was ready to get this thing on wheels. New 18" Avon Roadriders were ordered. 110/90 in the back 100/90 front When I went to have them mounted and balanced, I was given the news that my front wheel was actually 19" . Turns out the forks and the wheel were from a CL350. Who knew. Luckily the guy had a 19" Avon in stock, however it was the stock size 90/90.
Wheels were wire wheeled, taped and painted black with appliance epoxy.
Putting her together was a breeze. Carbs cleaned and rebuit with kits from Hondacb360.com. New manifold gaskets and UNI filters installed. There was a small tear in one diaphragm that I repaired with a bit of Gorilla glue. Hasn't caused any problems. If it does, I have a set of carbs off a 350 I can cannibalize.
Pipes were next. I didn't have the heat shield so i figured wrapping them was the next best thing. I wrapped em wet from back to front and tied the ends off with stainless wire ties. Turned great in my opinion.
Package from Dime City. I was originally planning on making a seat until I saw this one. Had to have it. Also ordered a 6 1/2" non-sealed headlight to fit the yamaha bucket that the PO had on the bike.
Onto the tank. Rather than stripping the tank down, I just sanded it real well. Most threads I've read seem to favor stripping the paint, but I wanted to experiment a bit. I bondo'd a couple dents and primed.
Then I sanded some more and sprayed a base coat of white. I then tried my hand at pinstriping
Then a few coats of gloss black were applied. I did the same to the headlight bucket. I found Duplicolor products to be most durable and easiest to work with.
More wetsanding and a final spray of base coat. Then I went on with a Spray Max 2k Clear. Here are the results.
Let it cure and hit it with a variable speed buffer. Used Meguiar's Ultimate Compound and followed with the Ultimate Polish. Polished up the gas cap and fitted a new thumb latch.
Custom wiring harness built. R/R from Sparck moto, Ballistic battery, and starter solenoid installed in the tray. Signal flasher tucked into headlight bucket. Battery tender connectors installed for easy tendering. Universal coils with cloth plug wires and rajah clips installed later. All new cables installed except I bought a used CL125(?) front brake cable with the inline drum brake switch since i'm using racing levers. Universal plunger brake switch mounted on the rear set. Horn and kill switch. Also added and axle mounted license plate bracket and made an additional bracket to fit a light for the plate. This baby is street legal.
Also if anybody was wondering how I got around the no title issue, Motorecyclenow.com
There you have it. She runs great. A bit of sputtering out of the right cylinder at idle but I'm waiting for the weather to clear so I can do a proper carb sync. Just remember to run a 35/35 watt headlight on these 360s or else they don't charge. I learned that the hard way :.
Only thing i'm considering now is a pair of Tarrozzi risers or some other riser clip ons as I feel these have me too far forward. I feel like the Tarrozzi's will interfere with the pinch bolts on the triple so I haven't bit the bullet on them yet. Anybody have experience with these or any suggestions?
There are several ways to install the tarozzis. To make em fit and be comfortable.
You can't see it in these pics but I had to use the 2" rise, cause my forks are tapered and having up as high as they will go, just brings bars flush w triple tree.
Thanks for the pics, trek. That's extremely helpful.
Looks like I need at least 1 1/4" of clearance with them angled out quite a bit. Maybe I'll give them a shot. Either that or look for some 7/8 bars with a slight bend to fit my existing clamps.
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
, Here's the $300 Craigslist find that started it all.
