Time to introduce myself and start my own topic!
I'm Joost, a 24-year-old guy from Holland (so don't pay attention to my bad english
), living in Kamperveen (little village nearby Zwolle). Tried 2 studies, didn't work out, and now working two jobs (dad's company and supermarket). About a year ago i got my drivers license, and since then i owned 3 bikes. Suzuki Bandit 600N, first bike, really loved it though it was old and started like crap. Didn't care, first bike so to me, it was the best bike there was. After that, i got myself the Honda in this topic, while keeping the Bandit. September last year i sold the Bandit (i was surprised someone wanted to have it because it really looked like crap) and then bought a nice 2004 Suzuki SV650. Light twin-engined bike, very much fun to ride, so that's gonna stay for a while. But, it's not a custom bike, and that's boring, so that's the reason for the Honda build
Bought a Honda CB750F a while back, had big plans to tear it down and build it up again, without any experience. Got inspired by the Guzzi build a friend of mine did, so, went searching on the web, found an old bike for a reasonable price (350 euros). See below. Went for a Honda because they are reliable and i liked the look of it.
PO didn't drive the bike for over a year so it was just standing there, outside, in a poor condition. Made a test drive, ran fine, only thing that had to be replaced was the battery.
After visiting the PO, I decided to buy it. 3 weeks after that i went down there again (with new battery) to drive it back (start of winter, so freakin' cold!). Surprisingly, it ran perfectly all the way and we came home without any problems! So far, so good.
The same day, i moved the bike to my dad's company (big place, shitload of space, perfect for a bike build at that time). Got a bit short on time after that so took me over a month to really start tearing down the bike. Had to start it again to move it, after a month it started instantly with the first push on the button, so, no reason to take the engine apart. Nice ;D
Before, ready to be taken apart:
After doing some hard, hard work
End result:
Right, time to get some parts:
Found a nice front-end of a kawasaki ZXR 750:
The front wheel is one of the two wheels i got from a cb900. Really like them, weren't expensive at all and they are a bit smaller and wider then the original comstars. The comstars also weigh a ton, so that's also an advantage.
Also bought a cb750 tank from an sohc, had better lines, and less huge then the original one. Still not sure which one to use, have to decide that when i put all the parts together.
Just had to get myself these, not very original but i really like the look of them, and i'm very curious about the sound:
Don't want to post a picture of every little piece i got myself over time so here's a quick mock-up picture:
Already chopped the frame in that picture, cut the end off, welded a new piece of tubing in between (with corners, not the smooth half-circle you see a lot)
After this, the project became on hold for a looong, long time. Recently i met Bert Jan and his girlfriend Jene again and he told me he started a motorcycle building shop not far from where i live (for info and pictures, take a look at his cb550 cafe endurance racer topic: http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?topic=39773.0) Visited a few times, really loved the place, so when Bert Jan asked me when i would bring my bike-in-pieces into his shop, it didn't take too long before we moved the bike to his place. So, very pleased about that!
Picture with parts laying down (quality sucks, i know :)
So, there we are. Now, the regular problems with building a bike with different parts. The front axle ofcourse didn't fit the wheel, so at first, i decided to make a new axle myself. A lot of work, but fun to do, so no problem. The more obvious solution, to get myself new bearings, did just recently kick in when Bert Jan (cb550 build) made clear that that was a lot easier. So, problem solved. I also want to use the original kawa brake discs and calipers so have to make myself some spacers (already made some in solidworks, now have to machine them).
Next problem: Triple tree axle is too short, so, have to make it longer. Cut the axle in half last week, going to insert a steel bar in it, get a short piece of tubing, weld it all together and then it should hold. Also found new bearings to fit the axle so when it's all done, it should fit without any problems. Will post some pictures about that proces in a while.
What's the plan?
I really like the wrenchmonkees style, less is more, clean bikes, etc. So that's the way to go with the design. Build it up again with the new parts, get the motor in, try to fabricate a new wiring system, and when it all works, tear it down again and send it to the powdercoater. Engine is going to be ice-blasted (no sand or dust in the engine, very nice) and then will get a nice new layer of engine-paint.
Didn't have the time to do much more until now so i will keep this thread updated with new stories and pics whenever there's something new to show. Also, when there are some big problems even Bert Jan can't solveP) i will ask for some help here! Hope you liked the (long) read ;D
I'm Joost, a 24-year-old guy from Holland (so don't pay attention to my bad english
), living in Kamperveen (little village nearby Zwolle). Tried 2 studies, didn't work out, and now working two jobs (dad's company and supermarket). About a year ago i got my drivers license, and since then i owned 3 bikes. Suzuki Bandit 600N, first bike, really loved it though it was old and started like crap. Didn't care, first bike so to me, it was the best bike there was. After that, i got myself the Honda in this topic, while keeping the Bandit. September last year i sold the Bandit (i was surprised someone wanted to have it because it really looked like crap) and then bought a nice 2004 Suzuki SV650. Light twin-engined bike, very much fun to ride, so that's gonna stay for a while. But, it's not a custom bike, and that's boring, so that's the reason for the Honda build Bought a Honda CB750F a while back, had big plans to tear it down and build it up again, without any experience. Got inspired by the Guzzi build a friend of mine did, so, went searching on the web, found an old bike for a reasonable price (350 euros). See below. Went for a Honda because they are reliable and i liked the look of it.
PO didn't drive the bike for over a year so it was just standing there, outside, in a poor condition. Made a test drive, ran fine, only thing that had to be replaced was the battery.
After visiting the PO, I decided to buy it. 3 weeks after that i went down there again (with new battery) to drive it back (start of winter, so freakin' cold!). Surprisingly, it ran perfectly all the way and we came home without any problems! So far, so good.
The same day, i moved the bike to my dad's company (big place, shitload of space, perfect for a bike build at that time). Got a bit short on time after that so took me over a month to really start tearing down the bike. Had to start it again to move it, after a month it started instantly with the first push on the button, so, no reason to take the engine apart. Nice ;D
Before, ready to be taken apart:
After doing some hard, hard work
End result:
Right, time to get some parts:
Found a nice front-end of a kawasaki ZXR 750:
The front wheel is one of the two wheels i got from a cb900. Really like them, weren't expensive at all and they are a bit smaller and wider then the original comstars. The comstars also weigh a ton, so that's also an advantage.
Also bought a cb750 tank from an sohc, had better lines, and less huge then the original one. Still not sure which one to use, have to decide that when i put all the parts together.
Just had to get myself these, not very original but i really like the look of them, and i'm very curious about the sound:
Don't want to post a picture of every little piece i got myself over time so here's a quick mock-up picture:
Already chopped the frame in that picture, cut the end off, welded a new piece of tubing in between (with corners, not the smooth half-circle you see a lot)
After this, the project became on hold for a looong, long time. Recently i met Bert Jan and his girlfriend Jene again and he told me he started a motorcycle building shop not far from where i live (for info and pictures, take a look at his cb550 cafe endurance racer topic: http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?topic=39773.0) Visited a few times, really loved the place, so when Bert Jan asked me when i would bring my bike-in-pieces into his shop, it didn't take too long before we moved the bike to his place. So, very pleased about that!
Picture with parts laying down (quality sucks, i know :
)
So, there we are. Now, the regular problems with building a bike with different parts. The front axle ofcourse didn't fit the wheel, so at first, i decided to make a new axle myself. A lot of work, but fun to do, so no problem. The more obvious solution, to get myself new bearings, did just recently kick in when Bert Jan (cb550 build) made clear that that was a lot easier. So, problem solved. I also want to use the original kawa brake discs and calipers so have to make myself some spacers (already made some in solidworks, now have to machine them).
Next problem: Triple tree axle is too short, so, have to make it longer. Cut the axle in half last week, going to insert a steel bar in it, get a short piece of tubing, weld it all together and then it should hold. Also found new bearings to fit the axle so when it's all done, it should fit without any problems. Will post some pictures about that proces in a while.
What's the plan?
I really like the wrenchmonkees style, less is more, clean bikes, etc. So that's the way to go with the design. Build it up again with the new parts, get the motor in, try to fabricate a new wiring system, and when it all works, tear it down again and send it to the powdercoater. Engine is going to be ice-blasted (no sand or dust in the engine, very nice) and then will get a nice new layer of engine-paint.
Didn't have the time to do much more until now so i will keep this thread updated with new stories and pics whenever there's something new to show. Also, when there are some big problems even Bert Jan can't solve
P) i will ask for some help here! Hope you liked the (long) read ;D
