Hey all... I'm new around these parts. Been lurking for a while, but now that I'm starting in on my CL360, I figured I'd join up and start a build thread to keep you updated on the progress.
The culprit a 1975 Honda CL360 Scrambler. Not quite sleek & sexy yet! My wife got this for me for Christmas with some help from Valvesrpung, who I've been friends with since we were about 13 years old. This bike is going to get the works... she's being turned into a sexy little black cafe. This is how she sat when I got her home on Thursday:
Clean title, no deep rust (just lots of road grime and dust), and she starts. Not too bad for less than $500 (My wife wouldn't tell me the exact price). I'm told it was a very good deal. Thursday & Friday:
Between Friday and tonight, I've gotten er down to just the frame, engine, and some wiring:
Also not too bad considering I'm extremely inexperienced with wrenching on much of anything, especially old bikes. However, starting into one of my first real projects, I have learned that I'm pretty OCD about my garage. Everything's being lined up, labeled with painters tape, and all nuts/bolts get labeled and separated into ziplock baggies. I'm also keeping lists of everything I plan to do to the bike, what items need purchased, and notes on anything else that may pop up. This was taken on Friday, and these have basically doubled since then:
Anyway, while tearing into her, I noticed a few little things-- the tank isn't in the greatest shape. The prior owner put some weird coating on the inside, and there are little stalactites in there. There's also some a little dent in there. I plan to replace the tank anyways, so no biggie.
Rear shocks aren't that great either, lots of nicks in the chrome and some rusting. But nothing a little polish & paint can't fix:
BTW-- can anyone tell me how to get that top chrome part off (above, blurred)? Is it a necessity? I want to run these black, but leave the springs chrome... I thought it might look better with more spring showing on the shocks.
Another small issue is that the triple tree was busted when we got it:
Also not a big deal. If anyone has a spare triple tree that will fit on a CL360 that they want to sell, please let me know. I plan to do clip-ons so those handlebar mounts aren't a necessity.
So that's how she sits. This week will just be lots of polishing and maybe some paint on the smaller parts. Now onto the future...
Being something of a wannabe nerd, I've named all of my pets using Anime names. I think I'll keep that tradition and name the bike "Vash The Stampede" cause it's Japanese and it's going to be loud as tits... unless anyone has any other suggestions. Maybe a girl's name would be more fitting? I plan to make this bike nice and dark, sleek and subdued... clean, classy and tasteful... but LOUD. Lots of black with some chrome accents.
So as of tonight, here is the master plan for this little 360:
-Powder the frame & wheels black
-Get the electric start working and standard servicing on the engine
-New tires
-New seat - I dig the BCR seats but goddamn they're spendy. I think I may just settle for a fiberglass seat and upholster it on my end.
-New tank - still haven't decided what kind to get
-Paint seat & tank - probably glossy black, maybe some metal flake, maybe charcoal grey with a black stripe, maybe flat black with a glossy black stripe, not sure yet...
-Black clip-ons, new brake & clutch levers, new grips
-Paint engine black, polish the sh*t out of the honda logo center cap (UBS Cover? I can't remember what it's called) and leave it nice and shiny for some contrast
-Wrap pipes (probably black), no muffler
-Mount the brake light in the hump of the cafe seat
-Mount the battery under the seat to hide it
-New turn signals
-Fork Boots - still undecided
-Bob the front fender, leave it chrome, no rear fender
-Replace those big box air filters with nice little K&Ns
-Paint my rear shocks, but leave the springs chrome so they sit chrome on black
-Rebuild my forks, replace seals, etc.
-New headlamp mount
-Shave some of the tabs off the frame that are no longer needed
-Give (almost) everything a nice fresh coat of black paint
-Put her back together, give the engine a final tune-up, put fresh gas in, and GO!
And the goal is to accomplish this before May-ish! So we'll see how much of that gets changed as I get into it and my wife starts limiting my budget! I'll be sure to update regularly with my progress.
Sorry to be long winded! Any comments, suggestions or tips are greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance, guys!
BTW-- if anyone needs any photoshopping I'm pretty good in PS (do it for a living) and I can mockup pretty much anything-- just PM, I'd be happy to help you out!
The culprit a 1975 Honda CL360 Scrambler. Not quite sleek & sexy yet! My wife got this for me for Christmas with some help from Valvesrpung, who I've been friends with since we were about 13 years old. This bike is going to get the works... she's being turned into a sexy little black cafe. This is how she sat when I got her home on Thursday:
Clean title, no deep rust (just lots of road grime and dust), and she starts. Not too bad for less than $500 (My wife wouldn't tell me the exact price). I'm told it was a very good deal. Thursday & Friday:
Between Friday and tonight, I've gotten er down to just the frame, engine, and some wiring:
Also not too bad considering I'm extremely inexperienced with wrenching on much of anything, especially old bikes. However, starting into one of my first real projects, I have learned that I'm pretty OCD about my garage. Everything's being lined up, labeled with painters tape, and all nuts/bolts get labeled and separated into ziplock baggies. I'm also keeping lists of everything I plan to do to the bike, what items need purchased, and notes on anything else that may pop up. This was taken on Friday, and these have basically doubled since then:
Anyway, while tearing into her, I noticed a few little things-- the tank isn't in the greatest shape. The prior owner put some weird coating on the inside, and there are little stalactites in there. There's also some a little dent in there. I plan to replace the tank anyways, so no biggie.
Rear shocks aren't that great either, lots of nicks in the chrome and some rusting. But nothing a little polish & paint can't fix:
BTW-- can anyone tell me how to get that top chrome part off (above, blurred)? Is it a necessity? I want to run these black, but leave the springs chrome... I thought it might look better with more spring showing on the shocks.
Another small issue is that the triple tree was busted when we got it:
Also not a big deal. If anyone has a spare triple tree that will fit on a CL360 that they want to sell, please let me know. I plan to do clip-ons so those handlebar mounts aren't a necessity.
So that's how she sits. This week will just be lots of polishing and maybe some paint on the smaller parts. Now onto the future...
Being something of a wannabe nerd, I've named all of my pets using Anime names. I think I'll keep that tradition and name the bike "Vash The Stampede" cause it's Japanese and it's going to be loud as tits... unless anyone has any other suggestions. Maybe a girl's name would be more fitting? I plan to make this bike nice and dark, sleek and subdued... clean, classy and tasteful... but LOUD. Lots of black with some chrome accents.
So as of tonight, here is the master plan for this little 360:
-Powder the frame & wheels black
-Get the electric start working and standard servicing on the engine
-New tires
-New seat - I dig the BCR seats but goddamn they're spendy. I think I may just settle for a fiberglass seat and upholster it on my end.
-New tank - still haven't decided what kind to get
-Paint seat & tank - probably glossy black, maybe some metal flake, maybe charcoal grey with a black stripe, maybe flat black with a glossy black stripe, not sure yet...
-Black clip-ons, new brake & clutch levers, new grips
-Paint engine black, polish the sh*t out of the honda logo center cap (UBS Cover? I can't remember what it's called) and leave it nice and shiny for some contrast
-Wrap pipes (probably black), no muffler
-Mount the brake light in the hump of the cafe seat
-Mount the battery under the seat to hide it
-New turn signals
-Fork Boots - still undecided
-Bob the front fender, leave it chrome, no rear fender
-Replace those big box air filters with nice little K&Ns
-Paint my rear shocks, but leave the springs chrome so they sit chrome on black
-Rebuild my forks, replace seals, etc.
-New headlamp mount
-Shave some of the tabs off the frame that are no longer needed
-Give (almost) everything a nice fresh coat of black paint
-Put her back together, give the engine a final tune-up, put fresh gas in, and GO!
And the goal is to accomplish this before May-ish! So we'll see how much of that gets changed as I get into it and my wife starts limiting my budget! I'll be sure to update regularly with my progress.
Sorry to be long winded! Any comments, suggestions or tips are greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance, guys!
BTW-- if anyone needs any photoshopping I'm pretty good in PS (do it for a living) and I can mockup pretty much anything-- just PM, I'd be happy to help you out!
