Hi X,
Yup, thought you'd probably turned a wheel or 2 in anger at some time, LOL.
Dohc,
I have not changed the travel on the forks - it has 100% of the travel that Honda designed for the CB350. The CB350 stem has been shortened to fit the shorter CD175 neck (the head bearings are closer together on the 175) and the steering head itself is a little lower in the frame than a CB350 is, so the 2 combine to make the tubes - not the travel - a tad long for the little 175. If I had used one of Bullit's billet top clamps instead of the stock Honda drop clamps, hardly any of the tubes would have stuck up above the upper tree and if I can figure out a way to get the handlebar mounts fitted to it, still might do the change down the road.
When I was mocking up the bike, I had the forks, wheel and fender mounted on the bike with my mule engine in it and the exhaust pipes on the bike. I had the springs out of the forks so I could easily get full stroke and nothing touched at full compression, so good there.
The front tire is a 3.50X18, mounted on a WM2 (1.85") rim, a little bigger than the 3.00X18 standard CB350 tire - the tire on the donor bike's front end was a 3.60X18 on the stock WM1 (1.60) rim if you can imagine - glad I never rode it before disassembly.
I'm using Duro tires on the bike; they're DOT-approved, have the same tread pattern as the MT53 Pirelli that was used back in the day, have a decently rounded profile (not squared off like the Firestones) and aren't a real heavy tire. My stock CB350 front wheel with a Yokohama tire feels heavier than the one on the tracker, but I should weigh the two of them someday to be certain.
I generally like bikes with quicker steering input and as far as twitchy, perhaps that description was a gaff on my part, since the baby tracker feels about the same as any 350 Yamaha I've ridden.
The bike weighs 260 pounds complete, with oil in the motor, battery onboard but no fuel. I have stock CB350 springs in the forks
and wonder if they will be too stiff (CB350's were around a 100 pounds heavier), but I'll find out when I start riding it.
The tank looks small because it is supposed to, being almost the identical size to the one that was on my race bike...
Pat.