75 CL 360 Cafe

Ok, just so I don't get, "what happened to the VW tips?" I'm going with straight pipes. I had two close calls with people pulling out in front of me and cutting me off. /Went straight home and took the mufflers off. Figured I'd give myself every chance I can.
It is louder so I guess I owe a new sound video. Funny thing is it even seems to run better?? Anyhow, I plan to hit my buddies up at the muffler shop on Monday to cut me new tips. I cut the ones off in the photo to put the VW tips on, Hope to get back to this:
DSC_0509.jpg
 
Yeah, I hear ya. I really like them too. I think they give a nice finished look and I loved the sound. However, the bike is louder now. Friends tell me that its the 'transition period" where drivers are not used to looking out for bikes yet. Sucked for me. I want all my bikes as loud as I can get them now.
Hey dcm, where are your pics?? Lets see what ya got.
 
i know what you are saying about transition period. i notice many more bikes on the streets lately. i tell myself that eventually cars will get used to having bikes around and maybe even look for them. as far as my project, here it is http://dotheton.com/index.php?topic=3751.0

still a ways off from finishing. but lots of ideas. things are moving ahead when i find time. sure helps to have all the inspirations around here
 
troybilt said:
Friends tell me that its the 'transition period" where drivers are not used to looking out for bikes yet. Sucked for me. I want all my bikes as loud as I can get them now.
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Don't hold your breath waiting for that to happen, Bro. Cagers will never get used to it. Bikes just aren't visible enough. I once wrote a research paper for a Psychology of Perception class. You see, I had been riding sport bikes for about a year. So naturally, the dangers I seemed to be encountering frequently on the streets puzzled me. Here's a simple test to demonstrate the limitations of our vision. When you see a full moon, hold your thumb up in front of it and you'll find the moon will be blocked from view. That's only about an 11 degree cone of sight. An extensive study of RAF fighter pilots showed that even the elite had great difficulty tracking fast moving targets (other fighter planes) moving either toward or away from the test subjects. The threshold seemed to be anything greater than 30mph or so. I suggested that human vision may not have not adapted to tracking faster moving targets because there weren't any threats that moved that quickly i.e. predators. There are, however, rare individuals who can. There was one WWII artillery officer who claimed he could see an artillery round in flight!

As for the "loud pipes save lives" addage, I read an article regarding the dopler effect and sound. Basically, a rear facing exhaust approaching from behind the target will not be heard in time for a driver to react. I've always had aftermarket exhausts on my sport bikes, but purely for performance, weight savings, and looks, but not for safety. My favorite was the SS/CF Muzzy full race system on my '98 ZX9R. The loudest, nastiest pipe was a D&D slip-on I put on my '02 gixxer 1K. Hey, it did give me a hair over 4 hp coupled with a mapped PCII. Not bad for a SO.
 
cool project dcm. I like how you do things ie: hand crafted valve spring compressor etc.... Are you able to use 200 heads? I'll have to start watching your build.

Biker reject that is some very interesting reading. Never thought about human vision and its ability/inability to track faster moving targets. Cool stuff. However, I would think that drivers might improve these odds if they atleast look both ways at intersections before proceeding, hahaha ;D
 
troybilt said:
cool project dcm. I like how you do things ie: hand crafted valve spring compressor etc.... Are you able to use 200 heads? I'll have to start watching your build.

Biker reject that is some very interesting reading. Never thought about human vision and its ability/inability to track faster moving targets. Cool stuff. However, I would think that drivers might improve these odds if they atleast look both ways at intersections before proceeding, hahaha ;D
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i should get the 200 pistons this week, but ill be out of town all week. once i have those i will take a look at my engine and see what is possible. right now my cylinders, pistons, and valves are all within factory tolerances. so, at the end of the day i can rebuild as is. im just trying to get all of my ideas figured out. will need to do paint and what not. i think im going to use the passenger pegs for control mounts and use the existing shifter (gp) and cut the brake arm and reuse that as well. i hope my paint comes out half as good as yours. not sure if i have the attention to detail and patience as you.

about your bike, im fairly certain you still have the 360 motor, did yours ever get the cam tensioner replacement/recall? i have heard that there was a recall or something and that if the service was performed there were two dots added above the motor VIN. my daily rider is a 360 without the dots. one day il be going through the engine and im trying to figure out what they did to the tensioner.
 
Thanks for the compliments. I did not know that about the cam tensioner. I'll have to check that out, thanks.
I think the outcome of the paint all depends on the prep. If you get that right the rest is easy.
Sounds like things may come together for you when you return.
 
troybilt said:
Never thought about human vision and its ability/inability to track faster moving targets. Cool stuff. However, I would think that drivers might improve these odds if they at least look both ways at intersections before proceeding, hahaha ;D
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Yeah, we all remember the phrase "Drive Defensively" being drilled into our heads in Driver's Educaton. Shoot, if cagers can't keep from running each other off the road, what are the odds that they will take special attention to look out for our low profile asses?
 
Aren't you worried that not having a front fender will mess up all that nice paint work you did on the frame and the tank as well as the front of the engine?
 
Troy... that is just part of riding man... my Harley is STUPID loud and very well tuned... people still cut me off even people i am right next to... loud pipes dont save lives... HELMETS DO!
 
JRK5892 said:
Troy... that is just part of riding man... my Harley is STUPID loud and very well tuned... people still cut me off even people i am right next to... loud pipes dont save lives... HELMETS DO!
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+1
 
I hear ya about the helmet guys. I believe that too, but you always hear the thing about the loud pipes. I guess defensive driving it will be ;D



"Cagers"...I'll defently use that one, ;D

Hey Hanly, I'm not worried a bit about the paint. The only thing that might be in question is the engine paint. It doesn't seem near as tough as the epoxy.
After busting my ass on everything I wanted something that would stand up to my abuses. Why go to the trouble if it looks like crap a year or two from now? That's why I went with the epoxy paint. In my opinion its the next best thing to powder. It is so damn tough. I'm convinced it will last. The colors are limited but I feel it's worth a slight compromise in color to get the durability. If I could have afforded powder I would have in a heart beat.
If the engine paint craps out, I'll have to do something different??? Troy
 
Troy did you remove the starter from your bike? Mine isn't working and I don't need it so I was thinking of removing it but need a plug for the hole.
 
I love this bike! Props on all the fab you did. love how the blue turned out.

I just bought a 75 CL 360 a week ago and I'm really glad you kept such a detailed build diary. I've read through it a couple times, and i feel a little more prepared for what I'm about to take on. Thank you so much!
 
Thanks so much for the kind words. I really like the small bikes too. Make sure you start a build thread. This is a great place to hang out. There are so many knowledgeble people on here who are always willing to help out. No flaming to worry about as well. I sure couldn't have built mine without them :).
Anyway, I've made a couple of changes to the bike. I added a small section of pipe to the exhaust and welded the VW tips on. I then painted the entire exhaust black and re wrapped them with the fiberglass wrap. It gave it a different look for sure. I'm also going to try a small faring if it ever gets here, but I don't have much time to fool with it now anyway. If I end up using the faring I'll probably go with fork boots. I also plan to paint the rims with black epoxy once I get new tires. I think that will add to the look.
Keep us posted on your build and if I can help out in any way just ask. Just so you know I'll be away for a couple of weeks starting next week.
Troy
 
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