hello, 1st build, 81 cb650

[creasian]

So i've been reading alot of post and build threads on here, and decided to start my own build.
Picked this baby up from craigslist for $700 last year in november.Came with new rear tire and new battery. She did fired up but did not want to idle for long and shut off. Carb boots had rips, valve adjustment was not in specs, compression was unkown

After doing some reading, i went ahead and switched out the carburetor for another one that had the slow jets screwed in, did valve adjustments, compression checked out 140,145,135,150, adjusted the idle, and got it running again. threw some clip on on and here she looks now as of march

I did score a gsxr600 front off craiglist

Waiting on a few parts from DCC, i really hate waiting for shipping, but it'll be worth it. In the mean time while i wait for parts to ship, i''ll start pulling OT to buy more parts. stay tune.

 

[creasian]

dcc seat arrived with some tubing, waited 3 weeks for these. Good thing i have the weekend off.

 

[creasian]

Since it was raining outside I decided to hang out in the garage and modify the frame a lil bit. I'm not really diggim how the 650 is angle at the seat.

 

[creasian]

With some frame slugs from dcc i got to work , and modify the frame for the seat. I still gotta make a seat pan and strength the frame a lil more

 

[creasian]

Decided to call it a day. I was getting tired. I will maybe pull the motor since im gonna change the headgasket and new piston rings before i send it out to get it all welded up. Gotta order more parts.

 

[xb33bsa]

will you just weld the shock mounts anywhere or are you going to check clearance at full bump with you're new rear shocks ?

 

[creasian]

i gotta get new shocks since the shock mounts nipples are smaller, i'll measure it so i dont bottom out when i get the new ones in.

 

[xb33bsa]

good, also did you get a reference point of the swingarm angle before you hacked it apart ? in other words the original ride height at the rear?

 

[xb33bsa]

those gixxer forks look bent,i know the triple is slid down but still look bent better check them befroe you fall in love with 'em

 

[teazer]

What sort of tube did you use at the back end? It looks almost like conduit but obviously it's not, unless it's just a mock up.

 

[creasian]

ill double check on the gsxr forks when i pull the engine. if they are bent, hopefully they arnt then ill just have to use the ones off my current gsxr. i decided to make the tail hoop following the seat. if you guys have any advice that could help me on this build would be great.

 

[creasian]

Today i went ahead and disassemble the motor since i did some online shopping lastnight. Ordered complete engine gasket, piston rings, allballsracing bearings, and stop @ cognito to order the stem. xb33bsa i did check the forks, and you were right it looked kinda bent, but found that the lower tripple tree was a il bent, but the forks look okay to me. Means i gotta order me a lower tripple tree.

 

[creasian]

its been awhile, but i decided to not give up on this build. i redid the frame a lil bit, and threw out the old rear hoop it didnt look right. mocked up the gsxr forks. next i gotta save up money for the cognito front gsxr wheel conversion. im not sure what other wheels would fit the gsxr forks

 

[creasian]

Just an update. got the motor freshened up with new rings, head work, new gaskets. got the gsxr front end installed. still working on the rear wheels, it looks weird. i need to order rear sun rims to match the front and get a different rear tire, but for now just test riding her around the neighborhood. im overall happy with the ride and handling.

 

[xb33bsa]

it looks pretty good but you really need to raise the front back up at least 2-3" you dont have any lean angle clearance you will be scrubbing engine casing :'(
maybe you slow way down for corners ? or never ever ride on roads that you can do a decent pace on ?
also you will need to buy some triple clamps with more offset as well
if you say you are happy with the handling it is because you dont know any better

 

[creasian]

it looks pretty good but you really need to raise the front back up at least 2-3" you dont have any lean angle clearance you will be scrubbing engine casing :'(
maybe you slow way down for corners ? or never ever ride on roads that you can do a decent pace on ?
also you will need to buy some triple clamps with more offset as well
if you say you are happy with the handling it is because you dont know any better

lol,@ because you dont know any better. Maybe you are right, every bike should be the same as your bike the way it is setup. I'm use to riding gsxr600 and riding this cb650 is way different in handling and the way the setup is now, i do plan on raising the front end back up, replacing rear shocks for longer ones, and getting some rear sets. Chill out, its ok to test ride and make any adjustments afterwards

 

[kmcphee]

Didn't you get the memo? until further notice none of us are aloud to experiment with our bikes unless we have an approval in writing. Further more, any parts acquisitions (even if we are paying) must be approved prior to ordering!

I like the direction you are heading with your build.

 

[creasian]

thanks man, I been following your build as well

 

[kmcphee]

I'm 2 years in now but at final assembly. Its all the little items that hold you up along the way, waiting for parts etc. I also have an 18 month old son which takes priority. I get a little bit of wrenching in after he goes to bed and sometimes on the weekends. It will get done though.

on your stance, I think it looks good. I kinda followed what Devon was doing over at Cognito Moto. I'm using a lot of different parts than he did though. Aluminum swing arm, rear disc etc. The usd forks do drop the front but if you use 17" front & back rims and pay attention to your rear shock height it will turn out ok. You could always run your trail & rake numbers to see where you land. If you are buying new triples Devon does make adjustable ones now. I'm sure the track race gods will chime in now and give me a blast.

There is a ton of useful stuff on this site and I tend to not worry about the negative stuff people through out. Its been a lot of fun, its my first bike build.

 

[creasian]

this build was base of cognito 550. i notice his front was lowered a bit thats why i lowered mine, but his 550 swing arm was different than the my 650 which is a longer swing arm. When riding the bike i was flat footed. After getting new rear shocks from DCC 14.5" the ride height is much more better. The next mod will be the wide rear wheel conversion from cognito. Its kinda confusing cause parts are more available for 550/750, and the 650 not much so its a toss up as far as interchangeable parts.