Ahhh yep gotcha! Love the phrase "bamboo frame technology" LOL Kind of sums up the seventies for the Japanese! All horsepower and no handling. Kind of the opposite for the Europeans back then which tended to be all long wheel base, "slow" handling and no power!
Now that I've got a reliable internet connection for the next few days I'll post a little more information on the CB for those who have not yet cast their vote. I can't improve on HD's photos from my build blog so I'll just briefly summarise the story.
This bike was parked under a tree at my parent's neighbour's farm and had been out in the weather for 10 years. It was given to my brother for nothing and he passed it on to me. My 13 year old son and I have spent the last year pulling it part and putting it back together again and aside from anything else, that in itself has been a highlight of the whole process i.e. spending time in the shed together with my son!
So we pulled it all apart and cleaned it up. Soda blasted the motor cases, head, barrels and covers, sprayed them with heat proof rattle can and put it all back together with new pistons, rings and a rebore. Cam chain and tensioner were also new. Head received a head job and it was all bolted back together with a new carb kit in the CV Keihins. The frame was blasted and painted grey 2 pack with a metal flake after the usual trimming of unwanted bits and pieces.
The hard part was fitting the ridiculously OTT front end. I had an entire 848 front end (forks, triple clamps, discs, callipers and master cylinder) sitting in the garage after upgrading my race bike. It needed a custom spacer to get the CB steering stem to press into the 848 lower triple, a custom spacer and nut to get the 848 upper triple to fit the CB stem, a custom axle and 3 spacers to get the Harley hub to fit the 848 forks, 2 custom spacers and 10 holes drilled and threads tapped to get the 848 discs to fit the Harley hub and a custom speedo cable to get the Harley speedo drive to drive the CB speedo! Aside from that it was all straight forward!! I have no machining experience and had to rely on the generosity of my daughter's friend's father to get the parts made. He was very generous with his time and expertise and I am very grateful to him for his efforts. Thanks Sigi! Rear shocks are the stock items with extension brackets to raise the rear by about an inch. Some decent rear shocks are on the "to do" list as the stock items are not rebuildable and have zero damping!
Rims are custom aluminium F 2.15x18, R 3.0x18 with new spokes and tyres to match. Body work is Benjies Cafe Racer "El Poquito" with home made rear hugger and front guard. Paint was out sourced to my design. Electronics are all new with Dynatech coils, Rick's regulator/rectifier, electronic ignition is from BoreTech and it's all connected with a home made wiring harness. Stock (but new) sprockets front and rear. Rear set brackets are from an old 748 race bike I had years ago and the foot pegs and levers are from Loaded Gun.
Not sure what else to list here because as with all builds, it's the little details that take the longest time. It's been a hell of a lot of fun putting it all together but I'm glad it's done now because I'm champing at the bit to get on with the next one!
So thanks for taking the time to read all about it and thanks again for the BOTM nomination!!
