1979 Honda cb650z cafe build

[kmcphee]

Just picked up this little 650 for $400 with a parts bike. It runs so so (right now) and my plans are: rebuild the carbs with higher jetting, get more air in & out, change out the seat and then change to spoke wheels. I have lots of parts on order right now, just waiting for them to arrive.

Something that has me pondering: Exhaust: I've been looking at the Yoshimura style 4 into 1 on ebay but listings are for the cb550 or cb750. I do understand that the 650 was a bit of an odd bike but from what I've researched the exhaust spacing on the 650 is the same as the 550. Would it be safe to say that the 550 pipe will fit my bike or would I be better off ordering the 750 one?, I realize I will have to fab up some mounts etc. I contacted the sellers but no response.

A little help from some of the experienced guys here would be appreciated.

I will probably start a build thread once I start gathering the parts up and the snow starts to fall but right now I'm just enjoying riding it.

Cheers!
Kevin

 

[kmcphee]

so I've been working on this bike quite a bit. I received a lot of parts and pretty much have the front end buttoned up. just waiting for the rim to be laced up / new tire installed. I decided on a front end conversion (GSXR). Conversion parts came from Cognito Moto, Devin is really great to deal with and answers all my questions. My favorite part from Cognito is their top triple with Motoscope Mini built in. Very clean look and when polished up this thing just stands out. Digital gauge with speedo sensor makes for an easy install.

I'm still stuck on paint colors right now, tossing a few ideas around.

I picked up this massive headlight bucket for cheap ($20), think its from an old ford coupe or something. Looks huge on the bike but maybe with the forks and rim installed it might just work. It definitely would bit different.

Anyway, that's it for now. There will be more pics to follow. Thanks for lookin'!!! Kevin

 

[DesertKZ]

Coming together nicely! Not feeling the headlight though. I think there are bikes it'd look really cool on, cafe builds, not so much. Just my opinion of course. Keep us updated!

 

[Hurco550]

Looks good. Following along

 

[kmcphee]

front end is finally on. Trying to find someone to lace up my front wheel but that is easier said than done in this town. Just have the headlight on there for fun right now. Probably will pick up a Bates style 5 3/4". This one is too big, might work on another bike I'm gonna build down the road.

 

[kmcphee]

In case anyone is wondering the car in the background is my 1973 Triumph TR6 I am doing an engine swap on. BMW V12 with auto trans / paddle shift. This is more of a long-term project when money permits.

 

[Kamn]

That TR6 is the shit! And with V12 its gonna haul ass........is the Beemer motor getting any massaging, like a turbo with a retuned ECU??

 

[Hurco550]

Usually between a bike and a car, the car is the safest... but idk that triumph may be hard to keep on the straight and narrow =) couple great looking projects. I am with you on the light, its a neat piece, but not digging it on that bike.. good work man. Lookin forward to seeing this one come together!

 

[Maritime]

Love the colour on that triumph. Bike is pretty sweet too.

 

[cxman]

is that a m70 or s70/2

 

[doc_rot]

lace the wheel yourself. its not difficult and i find it very rewarding. tons of videos out there on how to do it.

 

[kmcphee]

Thanks for all the good comments guys!!!!!

The V12 is an M70. I bought the whole car (1990 750 IL) and parted it out. Engine was well maintained so I'm going to do a basic tear down and new gaskets / paint etc. There's really nothing you can do internally and stock its at 296 HP so that's enough for a 2,000 lb car. On the front of the engine I'll be just running a small alternator and oil pump....have to do a dry sump for clearance. Might gain a couple HP here. I'm going to be running both stand alone engine & tranny controllers and also 12 ITB's.

Wheel lacing: thanks for the motivation doc_rot ! I think I might give it a try. Gives me something to do while having a couple beer anyway. Its probably the truing up part that is the hardest. Maybe I'll have the dealer do that part when they install the new rubber I just ordered.

 

[treitz]

That front end is bitchin. Love the Cogneto triple tree!

Glad you decided against that headlight. Just too big for THIS bike but could be cool on something else.

 

[kmcphee]

soooo I'm still playing around with different lights. Had this light for another project but I don't think it goes with the overall design I'm looking for. Think I will just order in a new 7" and be done with it.

 

[kmcphee]

Here is kinda the feel of what I'm looking at for a paint scheme. Haven't nailed down the exact colors yet but I'm not opposed to the powder blue and maybe a cream color. The number I've drawn in my seat pan will be highlighted in black with a real gold fleck inside to offset the gold color front forks.

 

[settintrendz]

Love the direction of the project ant the high quality parts you're putting together. Awesome. Cant wait to see the progress.

 

[1sttimer]

Dang there is some serious coin being dropped on this thing already. Nice work!

 

[kmcphee]

well I received my headlight in the mail. Bought a 7" chrome Drag Specialities. Really nice I gotta say. It has the bottom mount so I fabbed up a bracket and drilled / tapped the holes in the lower triple.

I should have my front rim back this week, dropped it off Friday for the tire install, lacing. Will be nice to get it back on the ground and check out the stance etc. The rear rim has been shipped so it will go back up on the stand to rip into the back end.

I did decide on some paint colors so paint will happen soon. I'll leave that for a little surprise for ya!! lol.......just have to finish up the fab work on the seat mounts and battery mount. I went with A Shorai lithium, thing is beautiful weighing in at only 2.3 lbs.

Oh and I did order my exhaust muffler this weekend. Its from DanMoto, stainless steel, called GP Extreme. It was only $120 bucks. Picture is mounted on a Triumph but that is basically how I will be installing as well, high up. Still have to figure out what header to buy or maybe just fab one in stainless.

I will post up some more picks of this stuff later tonight.

 

[kmcphee]

Got my front rim back and was able to get the bike down on the ground finally. I'm quite happy with the way it sits. Its lower in the front and when I put the new rear shocks on it should come up an inch, giving it a nice taper towards the front. The rear rim should be here any day and based on now seeing the front rim together I cant wait to get the back done. I might spend a bit of time this weekend removing the center stand and cleaning up some of the tabs etc, to be ready to mount the new exhaust.

Let me know what you think her???

 

[Ride509]

I love it, beside the fact that it's about identical to what I am currently building. Guess great minds think alike


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