1979 CB750F Tracker (maybe?)

[jordandogtown]

Saturday was cold and rainy so that meant plenty of shop time. I made an optimistic to-do list and was actually able to get all but 2 items checked off over the weekend, but only documented a few.

First up was finishing the end of the subrame rails. Since the rear of the seat will cover it, I didn't see any need for a hoop. I also wanted to leave a little trap door type of access so I won't have to remove the seat as often. I played around with all kinds of doors/hinges/plates/etc and finally told myself to "keep it simple, stupid". Armed with only an angle grinder and hand file I worked a couple circle-ish plugs and welded them in. The trap door effect comes by way of the license plate. It fits perfect between the rails and under the rear cowl. I'll add an LED strip light in there somewhere. I drilled and tapped the plugs, so removing the plate will be quick and simple, giving me a spot to access electronics or store my paperwork. If I get any heat from the Fuzz, I'll come up with some extensions, but I don't expect any... knock on wood

(The plate sits just higher than the bottom of the seat, but the angle makes it appear to hang below)

 

[jordandogtown]

Speaking of the seat, I finally felt committed enough to drill and attach the base assembly I tacked together. It only took about an hour of climbing around the shop and squinting with one eye to get everything lined up juuuust right.

"If it looks straight, it is straight" - Jimmy DiResta

I threaded some bolts through the base, and used some paint to locate them on the underside of the pan. With everything attached, I tacked the base to the subframe then pulled the pan and welded it on.

With the seat finally in position, I could finish my crude rear set adapters. Although this motorcycle is inherently uncomfortable, I did want to salvage a little bit of comfort with the lower controls. The easiest solution would have been welding some brackets onto the rear of the frame, but that just felt too far back for me. Instead, I used the swingarm pivot bolt for the upper rear set mount, and cut a plate between that and the lower engine bolt for the bottom mount. I left the plate fairly wide in the middle so I could swing the rear sets around the top mount to adjust. I don't suspect I'll do this after having everything in place, but it's nice to know I have the option. They may not be pretty, but I haven't been able to find any CNC machines in my price range (less than $100 ;D).

 

[jordandogtown]

Last but not least, wrestling this hunk out of the frame (or vice versa?)

I stripped everything down to only frame and engine, laid it on it's side, removed the last few bolts, and wiggled the frame off the top. It wasn't too difficult with a hoist, but I can't imagine how stressed I'm going to be when I have to do everything in reverse with a nice pristine new paint job :-\

 

[NoRiders]

Some good progress there fella.

One thing....where willyour rear light sit? Inside and under the rear seat unit by the licence plate by the looks.....will it be seen from the side?

A requirement of the UK MOT (Roads ministry test) as I plan on much the same set up...except I'll use the licence plate as a mudguard and place the lights just inside the cowl.

I'll fix the seat housing but make the cushioned seat part removeable to access the oil tank/battery/electrics housed in the old battery box area.

I'm also using rearset foot rests/levers, from a ZZR600, and looking to mount them in a similar way too.

Carry on....

 

[jordandogtown]

Hey thanks for stopping by. I've been really digging your build

My very loosely laid out plan is to use a strip break light on the bottom of the license plate. It would be flush with the bottom of the cowl and I think would provide plenty of downward light as well. Hopefully the right LED will light up the whole inside of the cowl as well as the top of the tire/swingarm. But like the rest of the build, if that doesn't work out I'll just keep on improvisin'.

 

[jordandogtown]

Spring has been pretty busy around the house, so progress has been minimal but steady. As much as I love all things two wheeled - I really don't want this project to feel like a "job". Once things start to get hectic and stressful I try to take a step back for a few days so I won't get burnt out and stick the whole heap in a closet somewhere. The only deadlines I have are self-induced so what's the worst that can happen if things get delayed a couple weeks?

Quick update on my life/distractions over the last 30 days:

I took my first trip to a city bigger than Lexington for a bachelor party/weekend. The groom-to-be recently landed a gig at the White House and had us all out for a weekend of baseball, gambling, and general debauchery. It was a good time but I was definitely ready to get back to the farm.

The next week was spent celebrating out 5th wedding anniversary. I spent about 2 days of shop time building a compost bin for the Mrs. - Pretty cool gal that wants a giant box of rotting plants instead of a diamond something another. We're big into homesteading/gardening (her growing, me mostly eating) so this will be a nice addition.

Lastly, we spent a few days getting the pool ready for the year. I've been in it less than 5 times since we've been here but everyone else loves it so it gets filled up and pumped around every year despite my best Scrooge McDuck impressions.

 

[jordandogtown]

Through the chaos I did manage to check some smaller boxes. I pulled the motor(engine?) and finished the final welding on the frame, minus the CBR's kickstand mount. I'll need to get it back on it's wheels first as the PO managed to rip off the entire mount and I have no reference point.

I rigged up a temporary stand/dolly to make things a little easier. The motor ran pretty well and didn't have any unusual sounds or leaks so I'm leaving it as is internally. Once disaster strikes I'll use that as an excuse to pull the motor and do the whole big bore race bike upgrade. Anyone have some cheap/diy ideas for plugging up the intake and exhaust ports before I get the water hose out?

 

[jordandogtown]

I also managed to sell a bit more of the take off parts than expected and decided to splurge a little. I already have the carbs and battery upgraded, figured I might as well go with a digital ignition too. On top of the obvious performance upgrade, the Dyna has some pretty rad features built in, and I'll have the peace of mind that everything leading into the motor is new and up to par.

And to make everything talk to one another - a stripped down custom built harness from the man himself. Everything is top quality and the price is an easy trade for my hours of headache and blown fuses with the original harness. I told Matt all my crazy ideas (and changed them a time or two) and just like that, the exact harness I needed was in my mailbox. 10/10

 

[Jimbonaut]

Welcome back Jordan - nice looking digs you got there. Me and my wife were rueing our lack of outdoor space over the weekend - first time we've really seen the sun this year.

When you do decide to tear in to that engine then check my thread out over in Restorations. It's the duffers how-to guide. Actually, less of a guide and more a what-you-maybe-shouldn't-do-but-shit-it kinda-works-anyway thing. Right now I'm balls-deep. Check out cb1100f.net if you haven't already - dedicated forum to the CB f series. It's a goldmine.

You going all pressure washer on the lump? Don't take my word for it (or much else) but masking up the ports with decent strong tape and plastic sheeting should do the job I'd've thought, maybe stuff the ports first with some paper towels as well. S-100 is brilliant at cleaning all the grease, oil and general muck out of between all the fins and cylinders - just spray it on, leave it for 20 mins and hose it off. Great stuff. I did it over the weekend - the closer you get the wetter you'll be. Fact - you can take that to the bank

 

[adventurco]

For the ports

 

[jordandogtown]

Two solid options, thanks guys. I've got some good ol' shop rags and duct tape on the carb boots that seems to be pretty protective. I'll definitely look into the rubber plugs for the exhaust side as it seems a bit trickier to tape up.

I'll be pretty gentle either way, just a regular garden hose and whichever toothbrush I can get away with using on it. There's not a ton of grease or grime on the motor so it really just needs a good once-over before paint. I'll probably end up going mostly black so I can "hide some crimes" and save the really nice disassemble-stripe-blast-powdercoat job for V.2/3/4/5.... etc

 

[pidjones]

We have a good size garden down here in Tennessee. I till it up in Spring and eat what is harvested. Everything in-between is hers.

 

[cb250nproject]

Looking good, when you say you’re putting a CBR side stand on is that because it’s shorter ? Also are you running a lithium battery with that new system or just standard ?


Sent from my iPhone using DO THE TON

 

[jordandogtown]

We have a good size garden down here in Tennessee. I till it up in Spring and eat what is harvested. Everything in-between is hers.

Same here. I tell her I'm just the supervisor - getting all the benefits with none of the work :

 

[jordandogtown]

Looking good, when you say you’re putting a CBR side stand on is that because it’s shorter ? Also are you running a lithium battery with that new system or just standard ?


Sent from my iPhone using DO THE TON

Somehow the entire kickstand mount was sheered off the frame at the welds (I'm going to chalk it up to poor welds and coincidence rather than a PO being a sumo wrestler). Since I had to start from scratch anyway, I found someone on eBay parting out a CBR and had them throw in the kick stand with some other parts I needed for the conversion. It turns out the length of the kickstand is perfect with the 17s so I definitely lucked out there.

As for the electrical, I had already picked up a Shorai lithium battery and Ricks R/R and planned on just leaving it there. Then you know how rabbit holes work....

 

[jordandogtown]

With warmer weather here to stay, I was finally able to start painting some smaller bits. I borrowed a blasting cabinet for an afternoon and bead blasted the rear wheel parts and whatever else I could fit in there. It was my first time using glass beads instead of sand and I really dug the finish - almost enough to leave it as is. I cleaned everything off and laid down 3-4 coats (until the can ran out) of Rustoleum black appliance epoxy. I then topped that with a few coats of clear and honestly it's doesn't look half bad. Really impressed considering it cost ~$10 and the last spray painted wheels I had held up really well.

Finished off with new bearings, seals, and a monster 47T rear sprocket (give me torque over the ton any day)

With that done, I outsourced the very first (and hopefully only) part of the project, mounting the tires. I can get a tire on with spoons but it sure ain't pretty, and I figured my spray paint needed any help it could get. An old hand and a mounting machine made quick work of the job. I pounded the bottom steering bearing on the stem and just like that, I have most of a motorcycle.

I could not be happier with how everything's working out. This is the exact image I've had in my head all along. A dozen different genres slapped onto one motorcycle but this is it. Now time to weld up a kickstand mount, then strip/sand/paint and put everything back together.

 

[Jimbonaut]

Yeah Jordan, thing looks like it's doing 100mph just sitting there. Looking great

 

[pidjones]

Moving RIGHT along! Yeah, I use my local Honda service department with its hot new tire machine to mount all but the rear on my GL1800 (owner won't let them do car tires). So, Walmart does that. Take a bunch of pictures so you remember where it all goes back!

 

[NoRiders]

Any one interested in another low quality Paint hack job?

With NoRiders' mention of modding the original side covers I couldn't help but experiment a little. I took some stock photos and played around for a few minutes. Nothing is ever final, but I like where the idea is heading

I have got to stop thinking about paint and start welding... :-[

Ah...an idea of mine that may actually be used?...excellent

That rendering just about works...I can see it now and it looks great.

...and yes, that whole bike style is really coming together.

The dropped tank mount does make it more aggressive.....and I'm just thinking the same on the Suzonda.....now it's rolling I took it outside to take a long, long look at it.

 

[jordandogtown]

Long time no post. I've been slowly chipping away in the background, just less motivated to photograph and upload everything. The past month has been crazy busy as we've focused on some home renovations, travelling, farming, and a dozen other smaller distractions. No complaining though, it's been a great summer so far even if my motorcycling has been put on the back burner.

We last left off with most of a roller. The last thing to do was refine the kickstand and steering stop. I toiled away with a dozen different ideas for mounting the kickstand and couldn't find much help online. I eventually decided the simplest solution was best, and welded a plate directly to the frame rail. I cut it to match the mount taken from the CBR, dialed in the travel and angle, welded the spring post on the backside, and she was all done.

The steering stop was much easier. I slowly filed away at each side until the fork tubes were about 1/8" away from the tank. The turning radius actually isn't too bad, but it will take some clever maneuvering when walking it around. Both the steering stop and the kickstand were ground down and cleaned up before paint.

And the first time seeing daylight in about 6 months: