Topic: How far to cut rear of frame for cafe hoop

[MOTOJESUS]

How far back to i need to cut to install the frame hoop, i dont want to go too far. Does anyone have pics of their process of cutting it back.... Just dont want to overdo it for obvious reasons. Thanks in advance for the help...

[MOTOJESUS]

1976 cb550

[wenger828]

just finished mine last night on my 78' cb750f.. probably different but i cut mine all the way to the shock mounts and then cut the hoop to length to fit my thruxston seat.. i'll post up pics when its done uploading

[lucky]

Carefully remove the rear shocks (jack under the bike) and let the rear of the bike down.
Make sure the hoop extends past the rear tire when it is in that position.

OR...Put the bike on the centerstand and remove the rear shocks then lift up the swing arm and make sure the hoop extends past the rear tire.

[Cqyqte]

It really depends on the structure of the frame and then the overall lines that you want to achieve.  I have done a hoop on a '75 CB750 and '71 CB450, but I only have pics of the 450 during construction.







Too short and the lines don't flow, too long and it looks like an add-on and bulky.  Structurally you need to keep the frame integrity and design intact.  You also need to think about rear wheel travel, if the rear wheel on full deflection tucks into the frame rails then the hoop must be outside the line of that travel or be arched up to accommodate.  Hope that helps...

[wenger828]

this is where i did mine..

[sethdhawkins]

On the 750's, they have a little boxed portion that's part of the shock mount, if you cut to that, you have to either fill with weld, or with bondo prior to paint. I did both. You could put two fat-asses on my bike, with 12-1/2" shocks, and there's no way that tire would ever touch the hoop (it's also upswept a lil')...even if it were shorter. It's purely an aesthetic preference.

[sethdhawkins]

Not a great photo, but there you go.