Antique Shop Bike

P

Pistol

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what's up from kansas.
Got a story for you all. I had been looking for a winter project for a couple of months when I saw an ad in craigslist. It simply said something like "1981 Honda CB750 and a price (not much)". I called the guy to go look at it. He gave me an address. When I pulled up to the place, it was an antique shop. I walked in and asked the guy about the CB750. He somewhat laughed and pointed me to a shelf tucked away in the corner of the shop. This shelf probably had about 10-15 big boxes and bins on it. He said "there she is". I laughed and nearly walked away, but figured I had made the trip and might as well check it out. I walk over to a box and pull something out......... Hmmmm a battery box... looks freshly powder coated.... another part..... hmmm a N.O.S. headlight bucket...... Another box...... a mint and I mean crispy clean make you cry "mint" tank and side covers. He procedes to tell me that the frame is hanging in back... guess what, freshly powder coated. The engine looks to have high performance pistons from a 900. EVERYTHING is rebuilt on this....... Needless to say, I ask where the nearest bank is and take the boxes home that day.

So this is my Big Ass project: I'm not too far yet, but here she is. I'm going for a super minimalistic, streamlined, low profile cafe bike.
 
Progress on the bike: I want a road racer look for this project. I found a Norton Commando rear rim on Ebay for cheap. I had it laced to my honda hub for unique look. The only problem was finding 19" rear tires. I talked to my tire guy and he suggested using a modern front tire. He suggested the Avon Distanzia, which are actually hypermotard tires. The look sweet and are supposed to be pretty kick-ass. I've polished the hubs and had the brake shoe cover powder coated. The front forks are from a 1982 CB750F. The cases are powder coated. The clip ons are for mid 90's ninja 500's. The headlight is a vintage look 5 3/4" I bought off of ebay. It looks kind of "chopperish" now, but I hope it will look better as the build progresses. My next task will be completing the brakes. The rear shocks are Forzas. They are 14.5 inches long.
peace and grease
 
Great story and great bike. More like finding a CB750 kit than a restoration!

Too bad you'll miss all the fun of degreasing, swearing, sanding, swearing, grinding, swearing, scraping, swearing! ;D

Really, this is a cool bike. Keep us up to date with your build.

Scott
 
Excellent find - I'm surprised though at the recommended use of a 'front' tire on the rear wheel.

Avon makes some 'universal' tires that are engineered for use both back and front, with a reversal of rotation direction the only requirement. I'm running Avon Roadrider Universals in 18" front and rear on my bike as an example.

You might want to reconfirm the use of this tire on the rear wheel before going tearing out onto the roads.
 
I did plenty of research on the matter, and did find mixed reviews about it. This guy races vintage bikes, so I trusted him. I definitely am interested to see how it handles though. We'll see :-\ :P 8).....
 
Holy cats, terrific find!

Okay, fess up. What did you pay? *this is going to make me bite my knuckles, I am sure*
 
Unfortunately someone had come in the day before and told him what he had. So, he tried to raise the price to 800 but I got him to sell it for 700. I've already got that back from selling what I didn't need on Ebay, so I'm happy with that. You should have seen my wife's reaction though when I showed her "my new motorcycle". haha
 
great find indeed :) we built dads vespa p200 from the ground up, it came in boxes like your cb750 and we had a blast building it
 
A few updates:
I've got a tank, seat and battery tray ordered from BCR.com.
It should be here within the next couple of weeks. So far, I've just been working on small things while a buddy of mine is assembling the engine. I installed a pretty kick a$$ speedo last week as well.
 
WOW! Looks like you've made a lot of progress and some nice choices along the way. Fill us in on the speedo. Is it also a tach?
 
Distanzia's sound kooky on a CB, but they are kick ass tires. I have them on my DRZ and they grip like crazy for having such a wide tread and they are phenominal in the rain and gravel. You'll dig em!
 
great find so what is all done to the motor...im a sucker for a big boar 750 sohc or dohc
 
The motor is a DOHC CB750 with High Performance CB900 pistons. It's also got CB900F cams. The valve job is complete and I will be installing some accell coils. I'm also trying to save money for the dual carb set-up that www.cyclexchange.net sells. It's slow going so far, but hopefully it'll be done sometime this summer.
 
Oh, and the speedo is a 2 1/16" digital one. I think it may be a dakota digital. It is only a speedo (as far as I know). I got it from a buddy of mine who had it on a chopper of his. I plan on getting a sensor that mounts near any metal (magnetic) rotating assembly. i will mount it on my swingarm to pick up my sprocket bolts. The part is only like 55 bucks. I fabricated an aluminum plate to go where a fuse panel was (on the handlebar clamp) to hold the speedo. For more pics you can go to my blog. So long for now!
www.anatomyofacaferacer.blogspot.com
 
the guys over at cycle exchange are great! i work with them alot! well mostly the wife as she does all the paper work! ha ha ha ha but they are a great couple and have helped me out a ton!
 
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