1974 CB360 build... just getting started!

[trey33088]

I've been lurking around for a year or so, reading posts gathering ideas for my CB360.

Lately, (as in past year) I haven't had too much time or money in order to commit to it and do a lot of work, but now that I've been able to actually throw some cash at it, I'm determined to find the time.

I'm out of town right now, but when I get home (hopefully soon) I'll have a garage full of new parts for me to play with! ;D

In all, over the past few weeks I've ordered:

• New wheel bearings, front and rear
• New brake shoes, front and rear
• Tapered steering bearings
• Bridgestone Spitfires 110/90-18 and 100/90-18 w/ tubes and rim strips
• Bronze swingarm bushing
• New 530 chain
• Stainless Bolt Kit
• Complete Gasket kit
• Carb rebuild kits
• Hondaman ignition
• Fork dust and oil seals
• K&N Pod filters
• New petcock

Soon to be ordering:

• Hagon Shocks (Haven't decided whether or not to commit to them or Progressive)
• GS850 pistons (I bid on a set in Israel for $40 total, but they don't have rings or wrist pins. Would aquiring a whole G850 head with pistons, wrist pins, and rings be worth my time?)
• Shortened cables (towards the end of the build)
• XS650 coils (bid on a set already, might not win them)
• Regulator/Rectifier Combo unit from oregon motorcycle parts (I'll just use stock for now)
• Jet kit for carbs
• who knows what else

Parts I have and plan on using:

• CB175 tank
• Homemade bicycle peg rearsets (buying the parts when I'm home)
• Clubmans
• Cheap aftermarket controls I picked up to replace the honda units
• Aftermarket handlebar switch (signals, headlight, horn, kill, off, ignition w/out lights, and ign w/lights)
• Autozone ignition switch (may change to something else later)

Ideas I'm throwing around:

• Carbon fiber short fenders
• Carbon fiber cafe seat
• Wrap tank in carbon fiber

I have some guys that *might* be able to hook me up with all the Carbon Fiber pieces, so long as I supply a mold. Haven't really commited on that idea though... Carbon Fiber on a vintage CB, unless it's themed right, could ruin the look... oh well, maybe I'll do it and paint over it.

• Rebuild spare engine, using crazypj's dyno bike and kiley's Gretta oil mods for inspiration (big bore; shaved, ported and polished head, balancing, drilled cam, crank bearing mod, etc.
• 2-1 side pipes
• Bigger forks
• Disc conversion on front

The thrown around ideas may have to wait, though. The wifes agreements for me spending time and money on my bike were that it
A. Be safe to ride when I'm done
B. Be finished by next spring
C. Not end up on the backburner lol

As soon as I get home I'm stripping it back down to nothing, and starting from scratch to make it a roller ASAP. The frame was hacked up a bit by the PO, nothing too bad but it needs work. I need to put a rear hoop on, weld braces into the frame, clean and grind all the factory welds, build the seat, clean the tank inside and out, sandblast and prime everything I can find lol (I'm not doing any chrome or polish on the entire bike)... the list goes on.

Anyway, thanks for the look guys. I'll have up some pics when I can get them.

 

[frogman]

Sounds like you got it mostly figured out, when you getting back to the states?

 

[trey33088]

Soon I hope. OPSEC reasons prohibit me from saying who I work with and when I go here and there. :/ It's not too bad though. Just hotter than the devils taint out here.

 

[trey33088]

I just won my coils... $31 shipped for a pair of XS650 coils with plug wires. They're not new, but they'll work for now, especially with the Hondaman ignition.

I have a spare engine thats pretty much broke down in pieces (came with the first bike in a plastic tub). It's the one I'll be building up *hopefully* over this winter using everything I can glean from Kiley and PJ's threads. I have access to a loaded machine shop, and if I can talk the machinist into it he might even program his CNC for me for some stuff (though I have to give him hand drafted drawings. He's OLD school, doesn't use autocad unless absolutely necessary.)

I'm shooting for being able to do the ton AND cruise at 75 for about 80 miles 5 days a week without have top end issues.

Any suggestions as to making a stout engine thats still reliable?

Oh, heres some pics btw. Once I'm home I'll upload the current pics.
The bike as it sat in my apartment:

and as I bought it:

 

[frogman]

Soon I hope. OPSEC reasons prohibit me from saying who I work with and when I go here and there. :/ It's not too bad though. Just hotter than the devils taint out here.

I did the time too bro, I know the feeling. Be safe, all will be waiting when you get back.

What the heck is the logo on the side? Looks familiar for some reason, can't place it.

 

[crazypj]

Cool, looks like you have everything pretty well planned out.
I would suggest wider wheel rims with the tyres you have, a 90/90 front is really too wide on stock rim but doesn't make bike unstable, a 100/90, just don't know as I wouldn't try it.
If it's easier to find, you can pick up a complete GS850 block with pistons, you don't need the head.
If you have 2 motors and a machine shop, may as well do both 8)
You've probably noticed I've bored every 360 block I have (even though I don't have enough pistons yet ;D )
I would also remove the liners from 850 block, just in case you want to do a 70mm Honda piston conversion in the future
Stay safe, keep your head down, (although I guess your in Afghanistan to kick ass not kiss it )
Oh, I would do external oil line mod if your going to beat on bike for extended periods, I've posted all the pics, drilling cam is actually pretty easy

PJ

 

[Kanticoy]

Absolutely with the top end oil mod. PJ and I went completely different routes but for the same effect. These bikes will eat the top end, its just a matter of time when it does. I am gonna build another lump eventually since I have 4 spares, and wanna re sleeve the motor and do some other mods as well. I also wanna try my hand with a hydro clutch. Either way good luck with the retarded Honda. They're an adventure for sure!

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

 

[trey33088]

Frogman: No idea what the logo is; it looked like something remniscent of The Punisher skull, but not quite. I think it was just a random sticker placed on there.

PJ: A few things:
I read your post about drilling the cam. Seems pretty straightforward. But where is the post for the actual external oil line mod? Got any more pictures?

GS850 head and pistons it is. The only NOS standard pistons are on ebay in israel, and I just stopped bidding at 25.00 plus 20.00 shipping. A whole head with 4 pistons is only 65-70 total on a good day.

Any idea where to get rings and wrist pins at? Looked all over and couldn't find any. If it comes down to it, I'll just keep looking for a head that comes with pistons, rings, and pins and use what I can.

After boring it out, any recommendations for a new copper head gasket thickness? Or should I just go ahead and deck the head as well while I'm at it?

Using GS850 liners for 70mm Honda piston conversion, which ones do you have in mind?

Lastly, I have a second set of stock carbs that are begging to be altered ;D Mind if I ship them your way when I get home?

Kiley: Thanks for info! I root for the underdog, thats for sure.

 

[crazypj]

PM me when you get back

 

[trey33088]

So I went ahead and ordered an Oregon Motorcycle parts Reg/Rec unit and Battery Eliminator. Then on to ebay: this

(Thanks Tim)
and this:

I don't really like the "modern" look of the tail light, but it will work until I finish building my hidden led tails. I dont want turn signals, but seeing as I'm in the Army, the only way to register on post is with them. So integrated it is

 

[trey33088]

So I just realized that I'm not going to be able to use that spiffy 55w/65w headlight with my wimpy charging system lol, and I submitted a return BEFORE it ships. Hopefully the company doesn't mind

Has anyone used a hondaman ignition? I have one that I'm planning on using with xs650 coils; I read the $50 dollar mod thread about using a relay to make the coils get 12 volts directly. According to the hondaman description though, it autotunes the coils resonance. Is it overkill using the relay as well?

Fork boots: I found these on ebay: white fork boots
top: 33mm Bottom: 56 mm height: 10inches (thats all it said for height)
Will they fit? I'm not sure about the stock size for boots, and can't seem to find any info.

I decided to go with a Chevy Orange and Ford Blue color scheme (the colors I picked on my first engine build with Dad for my '83 Blazer), with white accents.
Has anyone used por-15 engine enamel before? I hear good stuff about it, and the engine enamel comes in the colors I want. Supposedly, you can just brush it on and it self levels and stays super hard. Guess I'll be finding out after sandblasting my frame

 

[JustinLonghorn]

Awesome, someone else that is going to run white boots on a cafe. I used Daystar boots on my CB360. They were too long, but I can't remember the actual length. I know that they were longer than 10".

 

[frogman]

The relay idea is overkill, my 74 has no issues making 12 volts at the coils and its got over 22k miles on it. If nothing, take the switches apart and clean the contacts and lube them up with grease made for them and put them back together.

There are also other places that will sell you kits that replace the bulb with one that will hold a h4 bulb. You can get them in the lower wattage from places that sell scooter parts or on ebay. That's going to be my next change besides a new Pamco ignition when Pete gets them ready for the 360s.

 

[crazypj]

So I just realized that I'm not going to be able to use that spiffy 55w/65w headlight with my wimpy charging system lol, and I submitted a return BEFORE it ships. Hopefully the company doesn't mind



Fork boots: I found these on ebay: white fork boots
top: 33mm Bottom: 56 mm height: 10inches (thats all it said for height)
Will they fit? I'm not sure about the stock size for boots, and can't seem to find any info.

You only needed to swap the bulb for a 35/35 or 45/45
Brendon is running a 60/55 in his 360 and hasn't had any problems (yet )
He does keep the rpm pretty high though
remove the original dust covers from forks and stretch the gaitors over fork slider top, should fit pretty good but my be slightly long?
(it just means the pleats are closer together)
Here's Brendon's

 

[trey33088]

Justin: I like the white ones myself. I decided against any blue; I'm gonna just run with an orange white theme. Orange frame, wheels, engine, etc; white tank and seat w/orange stripe, white controls, spokes, etc. The fork boots should go right along with my idea for a fully painted, no-polish/crome anywhere look.

Frogman: I think I am just gonna go with an H4 bulb conversion. I liked the ebay light because of the LED's, but on second thought, building something similar won't be too hard if I try. thanks for the ignition tip.

PJ: I'm hoping they fit fine, I'm just a little skeptical on height. They're list as "mini" gaiters, so I'm not sure about them. I'll be home within a few days and I'll shoot them an email asking them to measure stretched out length.

 

[trey33088]

Finally home! Wife cleaned the garage while I was gone, which was awesome, but I had a hell of a time locating stuff, so I had to come
home and mess it up- i mean reorganize it. Had to find all my bike parts and tools and put them back in their places. Anyway, got the
garage situated, got some goodies from the harbor freight sale (waiting on a parking lot sale for uber goodies), and got to work
stripping the bike. Took everything off the frame in about 2 hours. Really glad I did; I found tons of loose hardware that I thought was
tight, a massive dent in the tubing in the frame, and a huge hole that I never noticed. Pics below:

As it sits now

P.O.'s shoddy brace welding. Needs to be cut out and redone.

Huge dent in frame

Engine

The Mancave

the donor bike (not title)

Pre-Teardown (hung all wiring to make sure it all works)




So little by little it's going to be coming along. Tomorrow I'm getting up early to start tearing the forks apart and prepping them for rebuild. Also gotta get my carbs cleaned and prepped for shipping to PJ for some go fast mods.


Question: On chrome parts, will sandblasting the hell out of them work if i want to paint over it, or should I dunk them in muriatic acid?


Oh, and since I managed to fix my harbor freight battery charger (broken solder) I can just clean the rust in the tank with it. I'm gonna just put it on when I leave for work an let it sit all day then change the cathode when i get home.


Thats pretty much it for the night. Dueces guys

 

[frogman]

HEY WELCOME BACK!! ;D Bet it's nice to get feet back on a bit more safe ground eh?

Little trick on the forks, if they have never been apart, the Allen's in the end need a fast snap motion to break loose because they loc-tite'ed them in. IF you try to go slow you will strip them, heck I even heated them a little with a propane torch till I could smell the loc-tite burning then popped them. I taped the Allen wrench to a broom handle so I had extra leverage.

Supposedly just a good buff with a sander will scratch the chrome up enough that you can prime and paint it. Its not really all that thick anyway.

Looks like fun, must be nice to have all the spare parts, wouldn't mind parting with some when your done would ya?

 

[trey33088]

I'm putting together a bin of stuff to part with. Mostly electronics. Disassembled controls, coils and condensers, stators, etc. Might sell off stock footpegs and lights too. I got keep enough parts to build the wife's Street Tracker 360 out of the donor bike. Stock pegs, seat, modded air filter with side covers, just some clean upgrades.

 

[jayfromjay]

Great looking build Trey. I sell the por15 products and can tell you the stuff is darn near bullet proof. Not cheap, but long term well worth it. We get alot of old timers restoring tractors and they love it. Good luck and welcome home!

 

[retrobetsy]

Look forward too seeing how it takes shape.