1979 CB750F Tracker (maybe?)

[jordandogtown]

The beefed up battery box also gives me some ideas for securing the tank. I really don't want to use the original mount since the seat will be below the tank, and I don't want to cut into the seat pad to run the bolt through it. The places where the side panels mount seem like the obvious idea, but I didn't want them to support the weight of ~5 gallons. Plus, I'm sure there needs to be some sort of rubber "cushion" incorporated like the original mounts.

I cut some foam strips for a proof of concept. I'll find some durable rubber for the final test. They will be secured to the frame, and will support the weight of the tank as well as provide some shock absorption.

That gives me some different options for the side mounts, which will just hold the tank from sliding side to side or lifting up when I'm recreating Evel's Caesar's Palace jump. Right now I'm thinking of welding a threaded sleeve/spacer to the gusset, that will reach the back of the mounts. That would prevent me from over-torqueing the bolts and bending the mounts. I've also mocked up some different L brackets but I think the spacer would be the cleanest and plenty strong if I fit it into a hole in the gusset before welding. Any other ideas?

I actually kind of dig the utilitarian look of using these mounts - especially with some trick drilled washers from the CR

 

[teazer]

That's a neat solution, but how thick is that steel plate? It may be an optical illusion but it looks thicker than desirable. And of course I make things out of 20 gauge thin steel so everything else looks thick to me.

 

[jordandogtown]

That's a neat solution, but how thick is that steel plate? It may be an optical illusion but it looks thicker than desirable. And of course I make things out of 20 gauge thin steel so everything else looks thick to me.

There's a little better explanation on the last page, but it's 3/16" according to my Harbor Freight calipers. Definitely overkill, but it's what I had on hand and I decided to sacrifice some weight to prevent another trip to town ;D

At least this way I shouldn't have to worry about not having enough support under the subframe

 

[jordandogtown]

I got this rad little $50 GP Style muffler courtesy of China. I did not have high hopes for it but it's actually pretty well made. I've seen some eerily similar ones on a few websites for over twice as much. I really wanted the raw works look of the real deal cone pipes, but for the price I think this one will do just fine.

I'll probably end up welding a reducer after the 4-1 collector on the headers I have now.

It also has a removable "dB Killer" plus a fiberglass packed baffle throughout the entire pipe.

 

[jordandogtown]

Work has been slow but steady the past couple weeks. Spring is always a busy time around here, but I'm still hoping to be on the road by summer.

I started brainstorming ideas to mount the seat pan. Although they're adequate, I'm not a fan of the super simple pipe clamp/bolt/rubber stopper method that a lot of people use. I'm sure the fiberglass is plenty strong but I want to support it a little more down the sides. I got the seat pan placed and worked out the angles, tested everything with wood, and finally cut some 3/4" angle iron to match. The rear cross member is just behind where the majority of my weight will be, and I'll eventually add a matching front cross member to give me some more mounting points. The frame will be welded to the top of the subframe, and I'll use some captive nuts on the underside to run some bolts through the top of the seat pan. Velcro/double sided tape should hold the seat pad in place well enough and still let me remove it if need be.

I also managed to knock out what was left of the steering stem bearings. The top race came out with a PVC pipe and a couple good wacks of the hammer. The bottom race needed some help. These sit inside a lip that prevents almost anything from getting any leverage on it. I used every crowbar/screwdriver shaped tool I could find but no luck. I finally put a couple quick welds around the inside, and the race all but fell out on it's own. Very cool

New steering stop tacked on the underside of the original. This placement actually worked out perfect, and was a lot easier than removing the original and cleaning everything up. I left it a bit oversized so I can file the ends and get the steering as far as possible without hitting the tank. After moving the tank forward and adding the larger forks, I'll need all I can get.

 

[Jimbonaut]

Damn that's a great looking muffler. As the bishop said to the actress, before getting punched out cold.

 

[jordandogtown]

Still fighting for time to work on the bike between everything else that's going on. It's getting to the point of waiting on a few final pieces before I can test everything before tearing down to paint.

The longer I looked at the swingarm the less optimistic I became with the adjustability. I intentionally left the mounting points bigger so I could find the range I wanted and then drill a few extra holes. I wasn't crazy about removing much material, so I opted for a sweet little adjustable linkage. It's plenty strong and offers dang near infinite height adjustments from Stock to -4" (for the CBR). The cool thing about this design is that one end is reverse threaded like a turnbuckle, so I can just loosen the locknuts and adjust the height without removing anything or lifting the bike. Super rad

Loosely assembled:

 

[jordandogtown]

I was also able to check off one pretty big box this week: Tars (/tär/ noun, derived from Hillbilly dialect meaning motorcycle "tires")

The original plan, scribbled on a napkin somewhere, called for dual sport/dirt track tires. The further I got through the project, it seemed like dirt track tires would be the only thing keeping this bike in the dirt track category. The more I thought about it, street tires just made more sense. Cheaper, more options in 17", better performance, etc. Although it is very likely this bike will see some farm road action, I ended up with the "smarter" choice and went with Pirelli Diablo Rosso IIIs (you don't want to know how close I was to full on race slicks ;D )

We'll just agree to call this a "Street" Tracker for now on

The first look with the basic proportions and I couldn't have gotten any closer to my original vision. I'm finally starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel

 

[canyoncarver]

Coming along nicely.

 

[cb250nproject]

This is looking bad ass


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[KPSguy]

Loving it! Jordan!

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

 

[Jimbonaut]

Shaping up nice man, really nice.

I really dig that exhaust - I've been looking at some similar ones but can't see how they mount. Did yours come with any brackets, or mounting positions on the muffler itself?

 

[jordandogtown]

Shaping up nice man, really nice.

I really dig that exhaust - I've been looking at some similar ones but can't see how they mount. Did yours come with any brackets, or mounting positions on the muffler itself?

It came with a small bracket that I'll have to weld to the muffler itself to attach to the frame. I'm not sure what kind of finish is on the muffler but I planned on flap discin' it real good before welding.

The end is a standard 2" pipe so there are plenty of reducers/adapters out there to mate it to the headers. It came with some stainless springs and the mounts to weld on the headers as well. Really not bad for the price, even if it is made of Chinesium

 

[Jimbonaut]

Right on, thanks Jordan - I took a punt with some moto pants last season from AliExpress and was pleasantly surprised with the quality too. Bit of a lucky dip but yeah for that money sometimes it's worth a flutter...

 

[jordandogtown]

Right on, thanks Jordan - I took a punt with some moto pants last season from AliExpress and was pleasantly surprised with the quality too. Bit of a lucky dip but yeah for that money sometimes it's worth a flutter...

Yea I'm definitely starting with the non-safety critical parts first. As far as the important stuff goes, give me good old marked up American steel 8)

 

[pidjones]

So.... will it be ready for the Moonshine Run in Stearns July 13th? I'll have the Hunley there (and the CB759F rat bike if it hasn't sold by then).

 

[jordandogtown]

So.... will it be ready for the Moonshine Run in Stearns July 13th? I'll have the Hunley there (and the CB759F rat bike if it hasn't sold by then).

That's the million dollar question. I've tried real hard to not give myself a hard deadline so it doesn't turn into "work" and start to stress me out if things aren't happening quick enough. I'd love to have it done by then but its just a matter of how life and other priorities work out.

I'm rebuilding the rear wheel this weekend, then mounting tires, and will hopefully have a roller by next week. I'd like to hear it run again before I pull the motor but I'm waiting on a custom harness (shoutout to Sparck) and we're still a little ways out. I'd like to be painting by early May but who knows

 

[pidjones]

Smart man. Take on one task at a time, and if it gets stalled start or finish another, or take a break. I took about a three-year break on the Hunley because of work demands. Knew that to go forward would require some constant attention (and a cleaned-up garage) so waited until retirement. I was surprised how fast it went then! Hope you get her there, but if not ready, come on anyway and enjoy the show. Just head down US 27.

 

[jordandogtown]

I think that's one time where my lack of focus actually helps. I'll get stuck on something, and instead of starting over, I'll just work on something else and eventually circle back around. The workshop is a mess because of it but it keeps me from getting burnt out.

I've got some buddies from Somerset so I'd love to make a big trip out of the show either way. I can't wait till summer car show season

 

[pidjones]

I think that's one time where my lack of focus actually helps. I'll get stuck on something, and instead of starting over, I'll just work on something else and eventually circle back around. The workshop is a mess because of it but it keeps me from getting burnt out.

I've got some buddies from Somerset so I'd love to make a big trip out of the show either way. I can't wait till summer car show season

Sounds like a plan. BTW, summer car show season has already begun here. I've been to three already. First was in Chattanooga with over 2000 cars. There are sites that gather show info for areas and post them. I know Beach Bend will have several this year. And there is always the monthly Somernights Cruise that draws huge crowds I've heard (haven't made it yet, but plan to). I grew up close to Somerset in Monticello.