Better bike for a cafe project?

[bennecc]

What's up everyone? I'm a relatively new rider who's looking for a good bike for a cafe conversion. I have no experience riding an old bike. I also do not have any experience working on bikes, but I'm handy with a wrench in other applications. So anyhow, I've been keeping my eyes open for a project on craigslist. As of now, here's what I've found:

'72 Honda CB750
'78 Honda CB550
'79 KZ650
'80 KZ550
'81 Honda CB750
'81 Suzuki GS750
'78 Yamaha XS650

Assuming for a moment that all of the bikes are the same condition and the right price, which would you recommend? I don't know much about these old machines especially regarding ease of maintenance and availability of parts. I'd like a bike that handles and brakes relatively well. I'm also a little concerned about getting on an old 750 given my limited experience has been on newer bikes no bigger than a 600. I'm open to any other bike suggestions as well, those are just the ones I've come across so far.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[Tim]

Re: Best bike for a cafe project?

I don't know much about the KZ's of that era. From that list my personal pick would be the '78 CB550. Nice size bike for a beginner and plenty of power to keep you happy for years. I owned both a CB500 and 550 and like them both.

That being said, there are a lot of advantages to twins like the Yamaha XS650 (which I also own) and the Honda 350/360/450 twins. Easy to work on, 1/2 the cost when it comes to valve jobs, carb rebuilding and machining cylinders and the sound is great. Also easier to tune 2 carbs than 4.

Oh, and one of these old 750's will feel like a slow pig compared to any modern 600 you've ridden.

 

[jason teamshralp]

Re: Best bike for a cafe project?

If I had to pick I'd pick the CB550, I have the same year and model and all you would need to do is put clubman's on, new seat/tail, and thats about it. The frame from the tank back is pretty flat and is almost the same size as the 750's. That means you can buy a pre-made rear cowl for a 750 and put it right on.

The 78 is where honda made a shift in the 550's. I'm not sure of all the changes but I know it's got different carbs, tank (cap under hood), and some engine internals.

This bike running good will do a 100mpg with a 200lbs. rider, but it's not recommended, and handles good and feels lighter then a 750. If your a shorter guy it will fit nice, I'm 5'8" but will fit bigger guys too. Fun bike.

 

[bennecc]

Thanks gents for the advice! I am partial to the cb550 myself as well. However, the xs650 is being offered at half the price and is much more conveniently located.....which makes me wonder, is there any great difference in the performance of the two bikes? From what I can tell, there seems to be plenty of parts and online resources for either bike, but nobody seems to be saying much about actually driving the dang things. Thanks!

 

[jason teamshralp]

I'd buy an XS650 at a deal in a second. You could do a cafe, bobber, chopper, or restore and it would all be good. I'm talking about the twins. I think no matter what you get you'll have fun.

 

[swan]

Depending on your size, go with the CB550. Not too big and not too small, just right.

 

[anarki650]

The kz650 will likely be the fastest of the bunch. When mine was stock it'd walk all over my buddies cb750 that had bigger carbs and various other "bolt on" performance mods...

That being said, if you don't want the fastest bike don't let that sway you. Lots of great choices in that line up, asking which one is better is like asking "What's hottest, blondes, brunettes, or red heads?" You'll get a different answer from everyone you ask.

I love my kz650. Gobs of power, reasonably good handling and braking (not going to get stellar performance in this regard out of a 30 year old bike no matter how you slice it), and just an all around riot to ride. On the downside doing a valve adjustment on it is a huge pain in the ass because they are shim under bucket valves and you have to pull the cams to shim the valves. Only good thing about that is the valve adjustment only needs to be done about every 10K miles (or so I've been told, I've got about 5K on mine since I got it and still no signs of valves needing adjusted).

With the CB models some things to consider: the 750 requires the engine to be removed in order to do a head gasket (no clearance to pull the head with the engine in the bike). The 550 you're good to go doing that particular job on the bike.

With the XS you have a wonderful resource for parts, www.mikesxs.com, TONS of new stuff available for the XS from there. None of the other bikes have such a resource (although you can use a lot of the XS parts on other makes too).

Really depends on what you want out of your ride. At this point in my life I'd love to get a CB550, awesome mid-sized bike IMO, but for my hardcore riding my kz650 is where it's at for me.

 

[retro.joe]

I would personally go with the XS650. I'm a firm believer in less is more when it comes to cylinders and carbs. The engine is well proven (based on a BSA and I'm partial to the Brits) and fits the true cafe mold well.

Given your concern over having never ridden anything over a 600, I would say avoid the 750 but not because of power. The 750 is physically a big, heavy bike (not that you can't knee turn one of these) and it might not be what you expect. The XS650 is tall (like a Triumph/BSA) and slim, much more like a sport bike.

But that's just me. Pick what you like and fits your vision. I would be more concerned about the bike being in decent shape, because a fixer-upper quickly loses its appeal in price when you have to have cylinders bored and frames straightened.

 

[retro.joe]

I did not say the XS650 was a copy of a BSA. It is based upon the BSA 650 engine (same bore and stroke, vertical pistons) but it does have chain driven cam. It's a blend of British and Japanese engine design. The Japanese were already producing a more or less exact copy of the A7 engine, which Kawasaki later took over, redesigned and put in their early W series bikes (around 1960 I believe).

Let's not jump down anyone's throat.

 

[pawn]

I've got 1977 CB550F and several XS650's. (77,78,79, 82)
550 is much faster, smoother, MUCH wider than XS.
Don't know how anyone could ever get 100mpg unless it was in the back of a truck idling ?
more like 100 miles per tank?
PJ

the "g" is next to the "h" on the keyboard, so I'm pretty certain the 100mph was what was meant to be typed. :-\

 

[slushie07]

I think the 78 and below years are the best bikes for cafe conversions. Probably the cb750, or 550 would be the best