CB250 RS - Project "Phoenix"

[paddyshepherd]

So following the rust repairs to the frame I decided to get the whole lot blasted next before I went any further. I decided to get the tank done at the same time as I was certain there was quite a lot of body filler in there.

Thankfully no further major concerns with the frame. A few areas to dress up and some minor repairs, sure, but nothing showstopping.

As for the tank, well, I was right. This definitely won't be getting used. I can't believe how straight that thing looked considering how bad it actually is! Which is probably a good thing, because the shop have used such an aggressive blast that I wouldn't like to try and prep this for paint (less of an issue on the frame since it'll be getting powdercoated, but I'll still give it a go over).

Another trial assembly to get some more visualisation done. I'm very much a visual person so I tend to repeat this step over and over to make sure I'm still on track with the look I want, even if very little has changed since the last time. I think that headlight may be too big, yet.
As a side note - the bike looks like it's bowing slightly in the middle. This is because I normally use a prop to lift the back of the tank and I forgot to put that in. When the rear mount is made for the tank this will be taken into account and will get rid of that slightly bowed look.

I've also started preliminary working of my new wiring loom, by stripping the switchgear I'll be using ready to re-wire it. Since I'm using a motogadget M-unit, everything is switched to earth. So I needed to trace the wires and make the switched side my earth wire. I've used domestic earth wire sheath to identify these wires for now. The inside of the Honda switch housing I'm using is pretty rough, but seems to work fine, so I may do my best to tidy it up then leave as is. I was going to completely remove the original wires, but re-soldering in such a tight space would be awkward at best, so I'm just going to join them as they leave the switch housing.

 

[paddyshepherd]

Holy thread revival batman.
I'm back on here, and I'm ready to actually make something of this project.
Life got busy after lockdown back in 2020. There's been campervan builds, breakups, new relationships, new jobs, lots of travelling, home renovations; you name it. The poor wee Honda has sat pretty much untouched for most of that time, and I'm now 7 years deep into this project with no end in sight, until now.

I'm working away from home a lot at the moment, currently based several hours drive away for the next few months. So I found myself looking around on marketplace for a cheap bike to play around on while I'm down here. I wanted something old, something kickstart, something simple, something cool. I looked around for a while and ultimately arrived at the conclusion that everything I wanted was already in my shed, just unfinished. So for once I'm doing the logical thing and committing to finishing this thing. What I need to decide now, is whether to keep running the cafe-racer theme, or do I look more to a tracker, before it's too late to change my mind. Part of me wants to finish what I started, the other wants to change direction and make a more user friendly bike.

I also recently bought a really sweet '78 Toyota Hilux Pickup, so I've a bit of extra motivation as the bike will look crazy cool in the back of this thing.

I currently can't get into my flickr account for image hosting, so I'll make do with attachments for now.

 

[ridesolo]

.... What I need to decide now, is whether to keep running the cafe-racer theme, or do I look more to a tracker, before it's too late to change my mind. Part of me wants to finish what I started, the other wants to change direction and make a more user friendly bike.

It may depend on your age. I can tell you from personal experience that I started my CL360 build as a café bike and (years) later had the same thoughts you are having about switching to a tracker. I decided to finish it up as a café bike but in the end, for comfort sake, wished I had changed my direction. I sold it soon after completion but there's a good chance I'd still have it if I had listened to myself.

 

[Luugo86]

Holy thread revival batman.
I'm back on here, and I'm ready to actually make something of this project.
Life got busy after lockdown back in 2020. There's been campervan builds, breakups, new relationships, new jobs, lots of travelling, home renovations; you name it. The poor wee Honda has sat pretty much untouched for most of that time, and I'm now 7 years deep into this project with no end in sight, until now.

I'm working away from home a lot at the moment, currently based several hours drive away for the next few months. So I found myself looking around on marketplace for a cheap bike to play around on while I'm down here. I wanted something old, something kickstart, something simple, something cool. I looked around for a while and ultimately arrived at the conclusion that everything I wanted was already in my shed, just unfinished. So for once I'm doing the logical thing and committing to finishing this thing. What I need to decide now, is whether to keep running the cafe-racer theme, or do I look more to a tracker, before it's too late to change my mind. Part of me wants to finish what I started, the other wants to change direction and make a more user friendly bike.

I also recently bought a really sweet '78 Toyota Hilux Pickup, so I've a bit of extra motivation as the bike will look crazy cool in the back of this thing.

I currently can't get into my flickr account for image hosting, so I'll make do with attachments for now.


View attachment 241341

Cool truck

 

[paddyshepherd]

A fleeting trip home finally saw the wee honda dug out of its pit in the shed and back onto the ramp in the garage!

I had to oil the bore and free the engine off. Unfortunately, because I had never planned the project to be mothballed for so long, I hadn't made much of an effort to seal the engine up, and moisture had done it's thing a little. Nothing too severe and should all clean itself off once the engine is running, I'll just need a few extra oil changes to make sure it's not getting contaminated.

I hand cranked it a few times and then sprayed some ACF-50 on exposed areas. I'll brake-clean the ACF-50 off once I'm ready to seal the engine as it just breaks down with solvent. I've made a mental list of what still needs doing to finish the engine off and I'll probably check a few bits over just as a sanity thing as it's been so long since I last messed with it!

I had 3D printed a new top-yoke to try riser bars thinking about the flat tracker theme, but after swinging my leg over the wee thing I've very much decided it will stay a cafe racer build. I ended up moving the bars to above the yokes, not so much from a comfort perspective but because the steering angle is simply useless with them below, but as an added bonus it does make things easier on your wrists having them higher, and because the forks already poked through the yokes by about 20mm, it doesn't spoil the lines all that much by having the bars above.

I was always trying to aim for the tank being the highest point of the bike, as I think that makes it look much better, but I'm equally much more of the "Form-follows-function" mentality, rather than the "form-over-function" mentality.

I've also had a major rethink about what I want for this build. I initially planned a full moto-gadget setup with a custom wiring loom, whereas now I'm likely to go for a more bare-bones style getup. These engines can run without a battery and that's probably the route I'll go, with a low wattage headlamp, tail lamp etc. With how little this bike needs, a moto-gadget setup just doesn't make sense.

But anyway. Enough yabba, enjoy a couple of pics. I think these are also the first pictures I've shared with the Husqvarna front fender too, which conveniently bolts right up to the KTM forks with them sharing the same platform. I'll probably shorten it a little, but it didn't make sense to try and fabricate my own brackets with limited equipment and experience, when this one works nicely and isn't too unsightly.

With bars below yoke:

With bars above yoke:

Overall side profile:

Cockpit:

 

[adventurco]

Looks good, bars above the top triple for sure.

 

[paddyshepherd]

So whilst I'm away, I was left unsupervised a little too long and ended up with another RS. Picked up this wee beauty for the bargain price of £1100, runs and rides perfectly. I figured by buying an RS, if it ended up being junk, it would serve well for parts for the project. But I think this will be too good and I'll either sell it on down the line, or I'll give it to my girlfriend when she does her bike test. This bike was done as a covid project by the previous owners, and it's a relatively low cost build, but it's beautifully simple and on the whole, quite well finished. The paint on the tank is fantastic.

It's serving as a nice test bed, helping me work out some things for the project build whilst letting me enjoy the time away.
When I picked it up, it had a somewhat silly side-mounted plate which was just constantly in the way. Pushing the bike I'd kick the plate on several occasions, or catch my leg on it walking past the bike. I fired up Fusion360 and designed a new bracket, sent it to my 3D printer and within a couple hours I had a bespoke solution for a tail-tidy. There are some improvements to make, but this printer is going to be a godsend for bespoke parts throughout the 500 project, for areas where metal bracketry isn't necessary. With some carbon-infused filaments, the strength can be pretty crazy too. I'm hoping to use FDM printed parts for the likes of headlight brackets etc, where I can get a much nicer part with my printer than I'd be able to get from metal with limited tools and my low levels of fabrication experience.

Due to being away, not a lot happening on the 500 as yet, but I've been putting together a parts list to order for when I'm next home. I'm hoping to get back next weekend, but will have limited time on the bike. But I'm determined to make the most of every couple of hours I get now. I've also sent an e-mail off to try and enter it into the Bike Shed Moto Co (BSMC) show in London next year. I've been trying to make it to this show for a good while now, and keep missing it, but I figured if I get the bike entered it'll give me a kick up the butt to finish it, and make sure I prioritise actually going to the show!