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help me make a bad ass cafe!!!

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Author Topic: 78 honda hawk cafe racer!!!  (Read 17370 times)

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Offline h8nate12

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78 honda hawk cafe racer!!!
« on: November 07, 2010, 06:03:53 PM »
I just bought a 78 cb400 TII hawk. Its not in mint but its a steal for the price. At the end of this build i am hoping for a bad ass cafe so i am open to ideas and i am on a budget so feel free to throw me some ideasss!

Offline tweakin

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Re: 78 honda hawk cafe racer!!!
« Reply #1 on: November 07, 2010, 06:08:52 PM »
You may not get too many replies here since the Hawk is a twin and not a four cylinder, SOHC4.  A 78 hawk is not the easiest bike to build a "cafe" out of but it can be done.  My first build was a 78 hawk.





« Last Edit: November 07, 2010, 07:07:01 PM by tweakin »

Offline h8nate12

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Re: 78 honda hawk cafe racer!!!
« Reply #2 on: November 07, 2010, 06:32:13 PM »
78 cb400T HAWK!

Offline h8nate12

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Re: 78 honda hawk cafe racer!!!
« Reply #3 on: November 07, 2010, 06:39:17 PM »
yeah man thats sick!!
where did you get your rear sets?
and how can i get linkage that will fit?
« Last Edit: November 07, 2010, 08:33:26 PM by h8nate12 »

Offline tweakin

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Re: 78 honda hawk cafe racer!!!
« Reply #4 on: November 08, 2010, 04:57:45 AM »
The rear sets are universal rearsets from www.fastfromthepastcom  I had to make all my own linkage so they would work.

yeah man thats sick!!
where did you get your rear sets?
and how can i get linkage that will fit?

Offline MCRider

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Re: 78 honda hawk cafe racer!!!
« Reply #5 on: November 08, 2010, 06:56:39 AM »
I have one too! I'll be looking to make a track bike out of it someday. Something I can take to track days to practice finding braking points, holding a line etc. not to win any races. I scored a new in box Hooker Header for mine.

I have a few articles talking about how they could be made to run with RD400s, but make no mistake they were always the underdog. The single cam, 3 valve head is a drawback, but it does respond well to porting. My thought would be to port it, change the carbs, pipe, reduce front wheel to an 18", emulators, shocks, and just tweak everything else.

And Tweakin's bike is beautiful!
Ride Safe:
Ron
1988 NT650 HawkGT;  1978 CB400 Hawk;  1975 CB750F -Free Bird; 1968 CB77 Super Hawk -Ticker;  Phaedrus 1972 CB750K2- Build Thread
"Sometimes the light's all shining on me, other times I can barely see, lately it appears to me, what a long, strange trip its been."

Online Really?

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Re: 78 honda hawk cafe racer!!!
« Reply #6 on: November 08, 2010, 09:56:11 AM »
That is a hot 400 for sure.

Hey Tweakin, what makes the 400 not the easiest to cafe, as you put it.  Just curious, I have no idea.
I don't have a motorcycle, sold it ('85 Yamaha Venture Royale).  Haven't had a CB750 for over 40 years.

The Wife's Bike - 750K5
The Kid's Bike - 750K3

Offline tweakin

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Re: 78 honda hawk cafe racer!!!
« Reply #7 on: November 08, 2010, 10:18:58 AM »
It really comes down to the frame, that uses the motor for support.  The seat pan has a large dip in it and is not flat, so you either need to do some welding on the frame or custom mold a new tail section out of fiberglass to fit the drop in the frame.  That said I love my 400t and got it for $300 with only 800 miles on the engine.

That is a hot 400 for sure.

Hey Tweakin, what makes the 400 not the easiest to cafe, as you put it.  Just curious, I have no idea.

Online Really?

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Re: 78 honda hawk cafe racer!!!
« Reply #8 on: November 08, 2010, 10:39:55 AM »
Ahhh, I see it in the pics.  Magnificient build!
I don't have a motorcycle, sold it ('85 Yamaha Venture Royale).  Haven't had a CB750 for over 40 years.

The Wife's Bike - 750K5
The Kid's Bike - 750K3

Offline h8nate12

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Re: 78 honda hawk cafe racer!!!
« Reply #9 on: November 11, 2010, 11:16:49 PM »
Well guys just got in some parts i ordered check it out!! And took the fenders off and cleaned up the motor. I ordered a seat and tank combo from BCR. It will be in my hands in 3 weeks. stoked!!! oh and i got new 2into1 pipes. photos soon to come.. what kind of speedos should i get?? and whats the ratio on this bike?

Offline MCRider

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Re: 78 honda hawk cafe racer!!!
« Reply #10 on: November 12, 2010, 05:02:14 AM »
I intend to get a digital computer style which can be set to any ratio. Reduce the front wheel to an 18" should perk up the handling.
Ride Safe:
Ron
1988 NT650 HawkGT;  1978 CB400 Hawk;  1975 CB750F -Free Bird; 1968 CB77 Super Hawk -Ticker;  Phaedrus 1972 CB750K2- Build Thread
"Sometimes the light's all shining on me, other times I can barely see, lately it appears to me, what a long, strange trip its been."

Offline h8nate12

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Re: 78 honda hawk cafe racer!!!
« Reply #11 on: November 12, 2010, 03:49:35 PM »
Alrite yeah man ill check them out.. i just came home to my new IS-MAX HJC helmet and 2 vintage honda shirts.. pretty sweet! heres my new pipes!
« Last Edit: November 12, 2010, 03:52:29 PM by h8nate12 »

Offline Alan F.

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Re: 78 honda hawk cafe racer!!!
« Reply #12 on: November 12, 2010, 04:34:42 PM »
The 18" front comstar from a CM400 should bolt right up but the style is different from your wheels. The upside is in 81 they went tubeless.
Probably you could ditch that huge combo speedo/tach for the twin clocks from a CM also.

Offline h8nate12

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Re: 78 honda hawk cafe racer!!!
« Reply #13 on: November 14, 2010, 12:34:51 PM »
I ordered a new headlight and taillight. they came in yesterday and i had to modify the taillight to get it to fit properly.
(the taillight is temporary)
i should be getting my seat and tank combo in about 2 weeks..
i still need a speedometer, need to lower the front end a little bit, lower the headlight, relocate the fuse board, new tires, idk about the front wheel cause it handles pretty good as is but if you say its better ill look into it(only like $100 or less on ebay.). then ill get my seat and tank and paint.. done...

any other suggestions guys?

Offline Alan F.

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Re: 78 honda hawk cafe racer!!!
« Reply #14 on: November 14, 2010, 07:01:47 PM »
What's your location?

Offline MCRider

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Re: 78 honda hawk cafe racer!!!
« Reply #15 on: November 14, 2010, 08:19:57 PM »
I ordered a new headlight and taillight. they came in yesterday and i had to modify the taillight to get it to fit properly.
(the taillight is temporary)
i should be getting my seat and tank combo in about 2 weeks..
i still need a speedometer, need to lower the front end a little bit, lower the headlight, relocate the fuse board, new tires, idk about the front wheel cause it handles pretty good as is but if you say its better ill look into it(only like $100 or less on ebay.). then ill get my seat and tank and paint.. done...

any other suggestions guys?
If you feel the need to lower the front end, as i do, the smaller front wheel will do that. Then you could still drop the forks in the clamps a tad at a time. The smaller front wheel will perk up the steering, reducing what i think they call the "moment" the inertia of both steering and absorbing bumps, and the wheel will be somewhat lighter redusing unsprung weight, and increasing the springs ability to control. I'd lace a spoked wheel to it, get a slightly wider rim for better tires and wider contact patch. Might be a little more complicated to get a hub and spacers but shouldn't be too hard. And with a digital speedo you wouldn't have to worry with a speedo drive.
Ride Safe:
Ron
1988 NT650 HawkGT;  1978 CB400 Hawk;  1975 CB750F -Free Bird; 1968 CB77 Super Hawk -Ticker;  Phaedrus 1972 CB750K2- Build Thread
"Sometimes the light's all shining on me, other times I can barely see, lately it appears to me, what a long, strange trip its been."

Offline h8nate12

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Re: 78 honda hawk cafe racer!!!
« Reply #16 on: November 14, 2010, 08:25:24 PM »
yeah i didnt think of the wheel dropping it alittle but yeah ill look in to it. i have a 73cb350 that ive been wanting to bob. i think ill take the speedometer of it and do some customizing to the lights. but im in North Carolina..

Offline h8nate12

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Re: 78 honda hawk cafe racer!!!
« Reply #17 on: November 14, 2010, 08:45:17 PM »
where can i get something like this??

Offline h8nate12

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Re: 78 honda hawk cafe racer!!!
« Reply #18 on: November 18, 2010, 09:09:50 AM »
what kind of rear suspension should i get?

Offline SoyBoySigh

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Re: 78 honda hawk cafe racer!!!
« Reply #19 on: July 07, 2012, 08:13:41 PM »
where can i get something like this??

THAT'S exactly what I've got in mind as well. I don't think one HAS to get an old Suzuki hustler, but the real challenge is finding the right shape of case. I figure I could probably stick both stock clocks in the one case. Thing is, I'm more of a mind to grab some type of electronic clocks, unless I can find some really light-weight gear. What would be awesome, is a hall-effect pick-up that drives an electric motor. Why? 'Cause the main problem we all have with the old clocks is the #$%*ing CABLES. Ugh. SO YEAH. What a fella could really use, is an oval clock case with two tight holes in the base, or better yet with electric drives, and a custom dual-dial face. I'm thinkin' the right #$%* to grab is probably staring us all in the face, in the form of modern crotch-rocket gauges. If only one were cheap enough to strip down. What you'd want is the ability to dial in the wheel diameter to speedo rate, via some type of surface mounted dial, and then something similar in the tach drive. I'm sure that all of the magnetic pick-up #$%* in ANY of the crotch rocket drives is similar to any of the others, magnetic pick-ups being magnetic pick-ups. You know, there's a geek hobby magazine for dudes who like to #$%* with electronics. Whadda they callet? There's an expression. Ahh, "Circuit Bent". We need to find some of these dudes. You can often find them on the music scene if they're into classic synthesizers. Though I'd bet that the typical vidiot-game tweaker or computer tweaker is just using somebody else's "hacks". What you NEED is a dude who can modify the hardware side of #$%* based on the electronics. I can think of a few guys who do it with guitar pedals and #$%*, build their own boards and that type of deal. But yeah, what we need to do is source out the right kind of geek, maybe place an advert in the geek magazines. I'd like to put out a challenge to those dudes, offer to get some of 'em LAID and #$%* like that. Well, it's not like I'm as good at that type of thing as I used to be. If he's in highschool maybe I could introduce him to my daughter's friends. Most of 'em owe me few favours.... Ha ha. Maybe I should just get them hooked on my pain-killers. But yeah, ideally one could find a dude who could tweak the inputs on those electronic clocks off the crotch rockets, especially the wrecked and crashed #$%*. Then one needs to source out a good oval clock face, and get some custom graphics made for the dials. With a big enough face, I suppose one could fit in two typical clock mechanisms from an old school system, but then you've still gotta deal with the clocks. And you know, I still regard my DOHC Honda tacho drive as a source of #$%* getting into the head, right onto the cams. When I think of some of the old rusty cables and #$%* I've seem over the years, the rust and #$%* that came out of them, I wonder how much of that crap got into the engine!!! DAMN, if the cam got half as dirty as the engine end of the cable, that's a #$%*in' MESS. Ugh. So yeah, I'm all for plugging off the tachs and running a pick-up off the side of the coils. Then a little magnet on the wheel any old place, hell that's just a super-duper clean set-up, that's why you wanna do it. OF COURSE, the LOOK is what you want, so then you'll wanna run the wires through an old cable sleeve. That's not too far fetched. One could well imagine the speedo drive containing a sealed pick-up and a tiny little counter-sunk magnet in the hub. Not  rocket science, by any stretch of the imagination. Unless it's goin' on a rocket. Heh heh. In which case, I guess this IS rocket science.... Anyway, if any of you dudes has an autistic little brother, or a gran-dad who worked on radios in the Navy, that type of #$%*, then you should take 'em out of moth-balls and stick em on the forum. 'Cause it shouldn't be too far of a stretch to get some of them clocks tickin' to your tune, marching to the beat of your different thumper, etc etc ad nauseum....

-S.

Offline scottly

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Re: 78 honda hawk cafe racer!!!
« Reply #20 on: July 07, 2012, 09:26:19 PM »
If he's in highschool maybe I could introduce him to my daughter's friends. Most of 'em owe me few favours.... Ha ha. Maybe I should just get them hooked on my pain-killers.
That explains a lot.  :o
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