Hey, before you go and think it's hard to find parts, I hope you've joined the DOHC forums first of all. The CB1100F.net forum is the daddy of 'em "all", the Cb750custom.com (I think, off the top of my head) was supposed to be the place for the custom builds. But, a lot of K and C cafe builds find their home on the supersport site. Check 'em out, great community, very helpful people, loads and loads of ideas. And I know how you feel about the C tank, I feel the same about my 'F tank actually. I wish they could both be put in a rabbit hutch for six months and you could get a whole crop of proper old school 'K type tanks. Ha ha. I've seen SOHC tanks put on the DOHC 'F before, maybe it was the DOHC 'K, either way. Best over all tank of the lot, is off of the CB1100R. That is one cool tank. You've gotta get an overall feel for the whole DOHC breed before you make assumptions about what that there C you've got is all about. Look at the 'K models, then look at YOUR frame. THEN you should get some good vibrations going. Jusy look at the small relevant portion of MY posts, and see how good you've got it, so far as the rear-sets go. Anyway, there are loads and loads of tank swaps over there. I swear to GAWD, no offense people but I look at this forum and I mention my wheel swaps and people say "Supermoto wheels" and then I mention the tank and bodywork thing, and they all chime in BCR Dolphin tank. Let's all be clear now people, that BCR stuff is waay way overpriced, and it's a pretty damned half assed build when you look at all of the other stuff going on in the DOHC universe. Sorry Benjie, but it's just the way I see it. You'll probably say the same about MY bike. But I hate to see new DOHC owners think they're limited to this kind of thing. Check out the CB985K builds and the wire wheeled CB900C shaft drive OEM type chopper with just slightly long forks, it's actually a pretty cool early 70's looking classy Honda chopper, nothing like the ones over at that weird DOHC chopper site ... what's it called ... it will come to me. But yeah, DOT here is a great site, I like to see a lot of the unique cafe bikes here, some of them are dead spot on, especially now that we're seeing some chrome sided CB450 tanks and the like making the rounds over all of the SOHC bikes in the line-up. But yeah, serious DOHC fanatics seldom show up around here. I'm sort of a DOHC fuck-tard, and I still know a lot of cool tricks. My bike will probably be really kick ass one day, but I'm broke and my health is pretty bad, so I mostly just modify one part at a time quite excessively ... kind of like a lot of other creative things I do, I never know just when "enough is enough", so I've screwed up more parts for my DOHC than I'll use. Ha ha. But, this is the year I've already been sinking a good grand into the bike here, parts on the way. Fat wire wheels. But yeah, not the person to look to for a completed bike. Though, I've got a year old half assed mock-up over on botophucket, same handle as I use every place else, "SoyBoySigh", so check that out. Soon more pics to post up there. I should probably do that NOW. Ha ha.
Just, seriously NO offense to the DO the Ton scene, I really like it or I wouldn't be here. It's just that DOHC Honda is not it's strong suit, and it's done so much more thoroughly on the dedicated forums. Oh, and Glenn over on 1100F.net, he doesn't censor ANYTHING, so just igore the fuckers who will rant that Cafe people need to be booted out. Glenn actually feels that way about the "Frankenbike" people a lot of the time. He set up the bike to preserve the 1100F, a rare model, and the 'R too of course, and the 900/750 little brothers to a lesser extent. But now there are so many "Oreo" sandwich bikes, Brand new front end, old lump and frame, new swingarm and rear wheel. They get kinda tiresome after a while. But hey, a swing-arm swap is a swing-arm swap, a front end swap same thing. Sometimes a swing-arm swap is a front end swap, if you're talking about a DiFazio Hub center steering thing, Bimota Tesi type of thing, ha ha. But what I am saying is, the technical methodology is there, and a very broad knowledge of what does and doesn't work on these bikes. If you're looking for advice about how to make the thing look like a total wet dream, well talk to ME about my DOHC "Sand-Cast Tribute" project. You can kinda visualize that, can't you" Yeah. I thought so. Ha ha. But I've done some shit to make mine happen. Got a spare 'F tank here I cut in half and I'm banging it out. But now I'm thinking old school chrome side covers on the tank, with rubber knee pads, little wing badges, Super-Hawk style. The 900 is basically two 450 black bombers after all. So maybe you wanna try using an 'F tank. I am pretty sure that the supersport bodywork has been put on the 'C frame time and time again. Shouldn't bea tough one. And from there, the 'F tank can be modified a lot of ways. Cutting off the "ear-lobes", hell I was thinking of putting an earing in there.... Ha ha. but I am now thinking, the chrome panels on the sides, that's probably the easiest way to modify the boxy nature of that tank. They lower edges could drop down a bit to bring the clipped corner of the earlobe left over, into the lower outline of the bike. Maybe the lower edge of the panel could be painted the main tank colour, so you could get a whole straight edge down there. Who knows, I think I'll have to try it.
Another one I've seen, that didn't fit too good, but I guess you could pound in the "tunnel" a whole bunch, you're gonna line it with "Creme" anyway. But the SOHC supersport tank fits somewhat okay on the DOHC chassis. If it were proportioned right, it would be pretty cool. I was hung up on the CB750cafe.com "Carpy" guy's Dunstall replica tanks, now he's stuck one on a DOHC, definitely NOT Carpy's forte' I have to say, the DOHC is just not the same animal he can't do his same bag of tricks that he re-hashes so damned tired again and again .... but yeah, I am no longer hung up on his Dunstall. Neither does that Yoshi replica pipe of his even look like a Yosh anymore. But I don't worry about it, 'cause "Cycle Exchange" has a nice four into two into one, that's a formula for making a whole bunch more power from these bikes, 'cause it's paired up the middle cylinders and the outside pair, so they're in synch. AND it's cheap, like three hundred bucks. They have even cheaper exhausts, that are alot like the SOHC '75 supersport CB750F and the CB400F (such a disappointment, when it was what became of the 350F, the most beautiful CB in my book) aka they "look like they've been hit like a truck", the "Side-winder" exhausts. Something like two hundred bucks. TONS of other good stuff besides. Anyway, I'll be sure to post some new pics here soon. Feel free to rip off any and all of my ideas, I would love to see something like my DOHC sandcast sooner than it's taking ME to build mine. Oh, but there IS a way to see it. Not quite as slick, pretty much just a tank and seat swap like BCR, and you can't even get stuff from this guy unless you prove you have the same bike he designed them for, and that you're using them as he intended ha ha, but still, cast wheels and all it's still in the same vein: http://www.whouse.jp/
Either way, your 'C bike is going to have an easier time than you think. CB900F shocks will jack up that ass. The 'F bodywork is a good place to start for a sportier look too. Aftermarket exhaust should shed a lotta pounds. Then you swap out the fenders for fibreglas and plastic stuff. Universal rearsets on the passenger peg holes. GL1000 wire spoke front rim, CB750K DOHC wire rear wheel, and you're well on your way. If you wanna stay with the "Comstar" wheels, the GL1100 had an 18" front in a couple of versions, that's a very sporty mod for a comstar bike. Gets rid of that huge front wheel. So too, there are people disassembling Comstars and rebuilding them, so none of the 'C models (OR CX models for that matter) is stuck with that 16"-er. The 'K is a 17. Fatter rim, or a CB750 SOHC 18" rim, or a custom fat rim like I'm paying for right now, and you're well on your way. The front from the DOHC 'K wire wheeled version is an 18" too, but only has one disc. BUT, you could swap in a GL hub I would bet! Oh, and if you don't have the twin front disc up front, look into whether the '82 CB750F lower fork sliders will fit to your forks, as I have a spare set. Then you can bolt up two calipers and discs, if you so choose. Staying with a single, I still recommend the DOHC 'K if you can find one, it's fatter than a SOHC rim and not as tall. If you wanted to go with a rear disc, though I wouldn't understand why, you could swap in an 'F swinger pretty easily. then you'd need a rear MC, but that's part of the CBR rearsets everybody uses now, so no big deal. The triangles on your frame, for passenger pegs, those are enough room to work with, that you could build anything you wanted onto them. Kinda jealous there, if you can't tell. As for the BCR fork shrouds, it's not the only way to do it, and by far not the cheapest. The fork caps, you should look at my botophucket, I modded a set there, self explainatory pictorial, all tools included. Definitely grab a 900 oil pump, and the 900 oil pump cover while you're at it, and preferably the sump but don't spend too too much on that. Don't put your oil cooler on with one of those oil filter diversion blocks. Bad news. Go to the 'F 'F-orum and do the "Path Plate mod", look into the "pick-up screen mod" and the "GM coil mod" too. There, that's a good summer's worth of stuff to do right there. If not five, depending on your mental state and how well you can get around, how many times you have to stop and get really wasted on pain killers, etc. But you've gotta look at some of the fundamental stuff there, to get that engine running strong. If you were thinking of going with pods, I hope you haven't thrown away your airbox yet, 'cause you need it. Air assist shocks, not so much, but the air box, yeah very much. Unless you're gonna put eight hundred dollar carbs on there. In which case, spending that amount you ought to put on an electronic fuel injection system, that's done to death over on the 'F site too. As well as carb swaps off of modern Gixxers, CV carbs, but they're new and clean and parts are still available over the counter. IF you need to restore your CV's, go to "Randakk's Cycle Shack", he's got what you need. You've gotta look into your valve clearances, it requires a special tool, but there's a loan program for that on one of the forums too. You can get second-hand shims in all the right sizes, or go to a "shim under bucket" system with Toyota parts, that lightens up your valve train and makes the whole ordeal a lot more affordable next time around. Plenty of people on the 'Forums with spare parts and unfinished projects, check out their classifieds long before you go to fleabay, people want their parts to go to "members" and offer great deals and freebees to a go home as well. "SurferNick" gave me a free pair of clubmans. Couldn't be more pleased. I can't even get my family to buy me bike parts for christmas presents....
Anyway. Good luck with it.
-S.
