1971 CB175: PROJECT FELIX

[rafanomenon]

Black and white and gray = Felix the Cat?! Until I can think of something more clever, that's what it'll be.

My 750F took a little back-seat so I could get this thing running and looking good to whip around before the short summers in Seattle come to an end. I bought it for $400. Clear title. Electrical working. Soon found out the motor (low-end) was toast. Found a new motor with 7K for $50. Shipped from Wisconsin (thanks Gary!)

My eventual goal is to race this thing. After going on a local Tiddler ride (350cc or less), I realized how fun these smaller bikes can be to whip around town. I plan on getting rid of the starter, making cam upgrades, increasing the compression, etc. For now, all my time will be spent cleaning parts and making it look good.

New Tires. Mismatched. Oh well. I'm getting skinny tires eventually. I got a guy at my local shop who hooked me up with these, so no complaints.

Switched out for a scrambler pipe:

Disassembly:

 

[rafanomenon]

Christmas in June! Got new 35mm pod filters and Motobits Rearsets. Thanks to Brent for making a kick-ass product that's super easy to install

Frame stripped. Wiring Harness. Front-end disassembled.

This was a bitch: (got all 36 bearings wooo!!)

 

[rafanomenon]

New engine shipped. Awesome crating job.

Then I got to work on prepping the frame. Lightened the load a bit by removing the rear fender.

Ahh what the heck. Let's chop the muffler off:

Frame ready for prep and paint:

Masked and prepped the engine for paint:

Polished chrome pipes:

 

[rafanomenon]

Painted engine:

Sanded/Painted engine mounts and cleaned up bolts:

Dropped in motor, reassembled pipes, started on the rearsets...

 

[chrisf]

Wow! Well done!

--Chris

 

[rafanomenon]

Front end disassembly and clean up:

 

[supercafe]

hey man,

great build. looking really awesome, what colour are you going with?
they are really fun, i just built a cd 175 cafe. had to rebuild the eng due to a cam chain shap.
i love my little bike and it is really fun in the corners. i up graded my tank to a early cd tank, looks awesome and give you
more fuel, 8 liters to 12 liters makes a big differance. are you going to install baffles. i have ran the bike straight and it is
very loud, and sounds very awesome. but after alittle it is just plain loud... and will eventually burn valves..
to each there own...
any way, looking great and post some more on the progress.
later.

 

[CresentSon]

I was wondering what happened to ya... nice looking project, should be fun.

 

[rafanomenon]

Thanks for the kind words, fellas.

Yeah... The 750 had to take a little break. This little 175 is fun to work on!

Supercare: I do plan on running the pipes wide open, or maybe drill in a few thumbscrews on the inside to create some back pressure. Other than the eventual valve burning and sluggish engine response in the lower RPM's, are there any other downsides to doing this? After all, loud pipes saves lives I plan on keeping the stock paint pattern, but might switch it up with a black/gray, then clearcoat.

The engine that came with the bike was completely toast. I left out those pictures to save the heartache. The stator/starter clutch was grinded down, and the kickstart pinion was also flexed to the max. Let's just say I got really good at bump-starting So, instead of spending a shit ton on parts to get this beater fixed, I did a national Craigslist search and found a guy selling his motor with 9000 miles on it for $100 + shipping.

I got the front end put back on, headlight bucket painted, and started rewiring the electrical harness. I'll post pics soon.

By this weekend, this thing should be put back together and running... I'm also waiting on a seat and bellypan from Glass From the Past. After that, this one will be a wrap.. for now.

 

[rafanomenon]

Got the rear wheel cleaned up and back on the bike. I forgot to put the chain on before the swingarm, so I got sidelined for about 10 minutes before everything got put together. rookie mistake :

Chopped the ends of the clubmans and got everything else on.. Including the silver headlight bucket.

Started the rearset linkage:

Electrical YAAYYYYYYY

 

[Deviant1]

That's looking good. Very nicely done so far.

 

[diesel450]

Very cool! What did you paint the frame with? I keep going back and forth, spend the $$ on Powder or save the $$ and paint it ???

 

[rafanomenon]

Very cool! What did you paint the frame with? I keep going back and forth, spend the $$ on Powder or save the $$ and paint it ???

I used the Duplicolor brand high-temp engine enamel in semi-gloss. Two coats of primer for most applications, and 2 coats of the black. You have a 4-5 hour window to respray with enamel-based paints, then you have to wait about a week for the paint to cure. Pretty cool stuff. I would have definitely preferred powdercoating all the tiny bits, but time and money want me to get this thing on the road

 

[goodfornothing]

I used the Duplicolor brand high-temp engine enamel in semi-gloss. Two coats of primer for most applications, and 2 coats of the black. You have a 4-5 hour window to respray with enamel-based paints, then you have to wait about a week for the paint to cure. Pretty cool stuff. I would have definitely preferred powdercoating all the tiny bits, but time and money want me to get this thing on the road

That paint is so soft. I used it as well on my frame, but I bought a 2 part clear in an aerosol can to shoot over it to give it that extra protection. I don't want to go back to strip down the whole bike to give it touch ups or anything.

 

[boingk]

With the open pipes, I'd be concerned about a few things. Number one is the back pressure, number two and three being noise and police attention. Seriously, I don't know how the cops are 'over there' with you guys, but they don't particularly like loud pipes here. I've been warned on my RS, and I'm running a muffler! Competition muffler, perhaps, but its a lot better than nothing. Once they've pulled you over for one thing they'll probably give the bike a once-over as well, and it'll be with a very Fascist attitude.

As for the noise, you'll get over it eventually if you plan on riding it on the road. Big noises + prolonged time also = hearing loss, which would really suck.

Anyway, you've got a very nice build there. I really like the whole 'ground up' approach you're using, keep up the good stuff!

- boingk

 

[Swagger]

If i remember correctly, there are aftermarket muffler tips for VW Bugs that fit the ends of your pipes and should cut the buzz a bit and still allow good flow and much less weight..

Looks like a great start!

 

[rafanomenon]

If i remember correctly, there are aftermarket muffler tips for VW Bugs that fit the ends of your pipes and should cut the buzz a bit and still allow good flow and much less weight..

Looks like a great start!

Thanks man!

I'm second guessing myself on running it open. I've also heard these old Honda twins act funky when rejetted with pods and open pipes. Do you know what I should look for when searching for muffler tips? Pipe diameter and welding, I think, is all I need to know I guess... I'm looking for something similar to this:

 

[Swagger]

It's not that Honda twins don't like pod filters....just CV carbs that they come with stock that are bitchy about it.
They rely on back-pressure and vacuum offset to opperate the diaphragm which controls flow and fuel metering.

With a set of Mikuni VM carbs or similar cable slide carbs you'll be dialed!

 

[Staggerlee]

Thanks man!

I'm second guessing myself on running it open. I've also heard these old Honda twins act funky when rejetted with pods and open pipes. Do you know what I should look for when searching for muffler tips? Pipe diameter and welding, I think, is all I need to know I guess... I'm looking for something similar to this:

I ran open pipes on my CL175 for about 3 days; not only was it annoyingly loud and ran kinda poopy but it blew nasty exhaust shit all over my left pant leg.

VW tailpipes are a perfect fit; they are the exact OD as the CL pipes and they sound decent to boot. There are a few aircooled VW shops in the Seattle area that should be able to set you up; just tell 'em you need a pair of bug peashooters.

Here's how my CL looks with the peashooters:

I think the tips that Charlie is running on #52 are generic JC Whitney two-stroke baffles.

 

[rafanomenon]

AHHHH such a sick bike StaggerLee. I usually am partial to red frames, but way to pull it off. I was planning on wrapping my pipes with black as well, but after a bit of chrome polish and elbow grease they cleaned up quite nicely.

I keep forgetting about JC Whitney! I might get the 13" turnout mufflers, and pod/rejet to those. They'll keep the noise down, and shouldn't compromise performance in the low/mid range. Plus they just look cool 8)

Thanks for the tips... Next round of funding comes in on the 15th. I've got a seat and belly pan coming in, and this project should be a wrap shortly after that. Can't wait...