n00b alert!! 1973 Honda cb750 Cafe Project in different zip codes!

xunchicrewx

xunchicrewx

Active Member
This is my first bike build and I am enlisting the help of a friend for this, his business is Hues by Hughes, which is located about 115 miles away from me so there is going to be quite a bit of travel when working together and texting pics of the progress then I cant be there. Ive personally built a few autocross/track cars and such but currently dont have the space for a build(damned apartment) I picked up this bike for a good price. The bike ran and had a title which in Indiana is important. this is how the bike looked when I picked it up

cb750.jpg


It wasnt horrible but I knew that it needed quite a bit, not to mention being cleaned up. The bike right off the bat needed new fork seals and has some missing pieces. Ive had the bike for months riding it around but now that the winter weather will be approaching I figure why not get this project going. Ive had an accumulating parts pile going so all things considered why not. I have the build in my head. aesthetically clean. Paint will be and OE Honda Championship White tank with everything else black.... then a few weeks later I saw fly2devin's build and I thought "well shit!" I guess ours will be similar....maybe.

As soon as I got the bike to the garage we started mocking up parts which for me were the bars. away with the OE bars and added some clubman bars with new grips and controls minus the throttle side.

photo.jpg


Now I have to figure out how I can use the Lossa Shorty lever set and still have MC without fabbing something up? after opening the headlight bucket up we realized that there was some hacked wiring that was really horribly done. Thats just more that will need to be buttoned up but for a 40 year old bike...you cant expect much.

Tear down continued only to come to find out the forks are pretty much toast. Someone decided to literally hammer on the fork tubes leaving notches and divots in the tubes. I ordered the Cycle X lowering kit! the rear shocks were going to be replaced anyway. So the bike will sit almost 1" lower

teardown.jpg


tear2.jpg


While I wait on the package from Cycle X to get here...weve decided to start taking more apart. Plan was to re-jet and sync the carbs.

carbs.jpg


and again waiting for more parts the Lossa tail light has been mocked up and fitted.

taillight.jpg


and thats about all the progress made int he past 3 days. I will post more when I can.

As a disclaimer although I am a photographer these photos were taken with cellphones which I know is a lame excuse but I dont want to take my money maker into a dusty/dirty garage. Im sure you understand.
thanxx for looking
 
Re: 1973 cb750 project

Awesome, man. I just started a CB750 build myself. Good to see another photographer on here building a bike! Although my main job is accounting, I have a side photography business. Good luck and I'll be following.
 
Re: 1973 cb750 project

I appreciate that here is actually a shoot I just did with a guy who pinstriped my helmet for me:

<a href="http://jjacobsphotography.blogspot.com/2012/09/justin-lim-old-five-and-dime-sign.html/">Justin Lim. Old Five and Dime Sign Company // Fort Wayne, IN. JJacobsphotography</a>
 
Re: 1973 cb750 project

got a little further on the seat mounting. welded threaded bung holes into the frame which seems like a logical solution. I know that many seats sit on top of rails but this one fits over which I like just as well so here it is.

seatmount.jpg


mounted.jpg
 
Re: 1973 cb750 cafe project

I will update more after this weekend. The fork tubes and shocks came into today so that will move things along well. more photos to come Sunday. thanxx for looking.
 
Re: 1973 cb750 cafe project

So the weekend proved itself to be some what eventful. The new forks and shocks came in which looked awesome. Cycle X makes some good stuff.

rearshocks.jpg


However when mocked up the front was about an inch lower which was great but the rear lowed the bike about 4" which was more chopper style than cafe so Im currently trying to get those exchanged for normal length rear shocks.

we were able to get the oil drained and the motor pulled. So I pressure washed and scrubbed the frame for paint.

framewash.jpg


Next came the de-greasing of the motor. It was pretty bad. The front sprocket cover was missing when I bought it but was caked full of grease. Not the coolest shit in the world but I looks much better now.

enginewash.jpg


Meanwhile.. as I was doing that Phil was cutting off some misc tabs I know I wont need and repairing some minor rust

rearpegtriangles.jpg


frameandseat.jpg


tabs.jpg


This is current mock up before frame and other paint, this was also when we realized that the rear shocks were too short :mad:

mockup2.jpg


mockup.jpg


The next few days will be mocking up the rear sets and sand blasting the triples then off to paint. thanxx for viewing.
 
Re: 1973 cb750 cafe project

Ive been super busy with photo work so I have some progress photos to add to all this here soon.

Progress:
rear sets mocked and mounted.
frame, swing arm, fork ends and headlight bucket painted

its been hectic.
 
Re: 1973 cb750 cafe project

Good stuff, good stuff. I'd love to get a 750 so I watch every build I can.
 
Re: 1973 cb750 cafe project

Great start. Picked up a 73 CB750 about a week ago. I unfortunately won't be able to start my build till December, but I'll keep an eye on your build until then. ;)
 
Re: 1973 cb750 cafe project

thank you both. here is a bit more progress.

after realizing the shocks were too short I was able to email Cycle X to see if I could exchange them for a pair of stock length. They said no problem and I was able to get a pair of all black adjustable shocks in exchange. these came in today! Im stoked. <--- sorry its not too chronological

newshocks.jpg


Last week my Dime City/Loaded Gun rear sets came in so I rushed over to the shop so we could figure out my foot position. I didnt want them mounted too far back or too far forward so this is the position that felt the most comfortable. So we marked and welded tabs and made super thick brackets. At first it looked odd with the engine out cause they stuck out so far off the frame but considering the engine is pretty wide it will look a bit symmetrical when its all said and done.

rearsets.jpg


Phil aka the builder happened to have some old Buell heel guards on hand that he wanted to add to the bike and Im not going to disagree on free parts :)

Buellheelguards.jpg
 
Re: 1973 cb750 cafe project

Now it was time to sandblast some of the misc parts before paint. the new rear set brackets. the headlight bucket was horribly painted by the last owner. The paint looked as if it was applied with a brush. Also blasted were the riser caps I picked up from a '79 Goldwing to get rid of the indicator strip that was missing all the wiring and bulbs so I figured to clean it up might as well. The triples were peeling so those were also blasted and lastly the fork bottoms.

sandblasted.jpg


sandblasted2.jpg


A few days later the frame and all the parts that were sandblasted were in paint. The color is Satin Black. I didnt want to go too flat and this obviously a rather universal color.

satinblack.jpg


satinblack2.jpg


Currently the engine is back in for the most past. If you look closely you can see the black fork bottoms in this pic.

enginebackin.jpg


enginebackin2.jpg


Phil smoked a lot.... haha

In the mean time this came in for the 4-1 exhaust

heatwrap.jpg


thanxx for viewing. Ill update when I can.
 
Re: 1973 cb750 cafe project

I love the way you mounted those rear sets. I might have to snag an idea like that for mine when I get around to mounting the rear sets.

Keep up the good work.
 
Re: 1973 cb750 cafe project

Thanxx for the compliments. all smiles.

OneArmWillie: Im not sure where he got the shirt to be honest. thats not me... thats Phil.
 
Re: 1973 cb750 cafe project

the only update I have at the moment is that the wiring harness is being cleaned up and the wires that would be used have been striped out. The ignition has been relocated on the opposite side of the petcock along with a new start button.
 
Re: 1973 cb750 cafe project

OneArmWilly: Phil said that when he had his Buell he would go down to bike week yearly.

wires that we will not be needing. only 5 wires to the headlight bucket total:
nolongerneeded.jpg


Here is the relocated ignition and start button, tested and working:
ignitionandstartbutton.jpg
 
Re: 1973 cb750 cafe project

that bracket was actually bolted to my handle bar riser caps when I bought the bike, and there was more than enough wiring so we relocated it to a better position IMO. the earlier 750s didnt have the option of the ignition in between the gauges to my knowledge.
 
Re: 1973 cb750 cafe project

xunchicrewx said:
that bracket was actually bolted to my handle bar riser caps when I bought the bike, and there was more than enough wiring so we relocated it to a better position IMO. the earlier 750s didnt have the option of the ignition in between the gauges to my knowledge.
Click to expand...
Pretty sure you are correct. I just like the start button right there. looks nice.
 
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