Ok....all joking aside...
Steve here, joining you lot of intelligent builders/restorers. I've been lurking here for a while grabbing tips for my build. Just got Hondaman's book too.
I'm in the process of building a cafe racer out of a '75 CB750F. The frame came with a '73 engine. It was in pretty bad shape mechanically, but no significant rust to speak of. So, everything is torn down. The plan is to make it a moderately hot racer. Here's what I've done so far:
Engine:
Head ported and polished, then tank cleaned. Valve job with new valves, race springs, but kept the stock keepers/retainers. Did not go to 5mm because bike won't be a "world class racer" (maybe some day). Head machined flat and fins carefully repaired (with minimal heat).
Jugs bored to 836 and beveled. Wiseco pistons. Cycle-X forged rods. Ken also lightened and balanced a new crank for me (then proper bearings installed after plastigauge), and he lightened and balanced the rotor. Because it'll rev to the moon I will install a limiter by Dynatek. I also have their Dyna-S ignition, but I should have researched a little more because Hondaman's seems sweet. I will have to still get his resistor set up for the Dyna coils. Let's see, I got Ken at Cycle-X to undercut gears 3,4 and 5 and I put the better shift drum in, and he sent me upgraded clutch plates. New primary drive chains and cam chain. Ape studs. Ken's excellent set of gaskets. Upgraded cam to a 41A and also new cam roller, slider and main tensioner. Case was blasted and painted with high temp paint. I polished the the hell out of the head cover, and all the other covers, but added Joker covers on the alternator and ignition.
I still need to decide on a carb. I'm thinking 29mm CR's with K&N filters, but since I'm changing the oil tank to one over the fender at the back of the triangle I might be able to get away with cycle-x dual carb. I've got to research that. Lines to/from engine are braided stainless steel. Exhaust is OEM 4 into 1, but with shortened tail pipe.
Frame/body:
Detabbed. Left triangle removed, right has to stay because of the master cylinder on the F. Will place cross bracing at down tubes (thats going to take some careful planning) and in front of the oil tank (does that eliminate the dual carb set up thats usually for choppers?). Gussets are then not necessary. Possibly weld a pipe "U" onto the swingarm, or get a new box swingarm...haven't decided. Swingarm bearings will be ugraded and grooves deepened/widened per Hondaman's book. Ducati oil cooler is ready for a bracket to be added to the front of the frame near the horn. Cycle-X screw on oil filter adapter and bypass. Horn is upgraded to Joker. Clubman handlebars. Polished controls. Vintage connectors on all wiring (making my own harness to remove turn signals, etc.). The ignition key will be between the tach and speedo, which are OEM. It will be mounted on a chevron shaped tab affixed to the risers and will include high beam light and neutral light....possibly an idiot oil light, but i did install a Joker oil pressure gauge at the right galley. Fabricated an all steel cafe seat, still needs upholstery...probably snap on type look to it. LED tear drop brake light on tail. Axle mounted license plate. Frame will probably be powder coated gold fleck (yeah I know....I'm enamored of Carpy's Cafe build). I haven't decided on blacking out front fender or re-chroming. I've got a pedestrian slicer ready to go with "CB836F" on it.
Tank:
Its the long F tank. It will be sealed after cut outs or denting is done (not sure which yet). New spigot. I may shave the filler door.
Steering/Suspension is Race Tech coil overs in back and their springs with cartridge emulator up front. Tapered bearings installed at neck. Everything polished to high shine (up to a blue rouge level). I've got a fork stabilizer ready to go, but it's not the kind that attaches by the fender supports, so I'm not sure how much flex it will really stop. If anyone knows of a source for a brace to fit the F down by the caps, I'd appreciate it. No gators...I'll just clean the bugs off often.
Brakes:
These are OEM. I want the bike to stay within a period correct format, but modern brakes would be welcome. We'll see. With all the other stuff going into it, I can't bring myself to think about doing a dual brake set up just yet. I've got all the info for that if it comes to it. I cross drilled my own rotors. Rebuilt the master cylinders. Lines are braided stainless steel.
Wheels/tires: OEM but polished with new bearings. Probably Dunlop Qualifiers for rubber.
Electronic:
Everything is/will be custom wired. I'll do Hondaman's mod to save the starter switch with the Dyna coils I'm using. The battery is an 8cell gel Ballistic moved to the tail hump. Rick's solid state rectifier/regulator will be installed under the seat. Seat will also lift up to reveal a kill switch and the oil fill cap. Fuses changed over to modern blade style with a new fuse box.
I can't think of anything else right now. I'd be happy to get to know you all. Sometimes I think I bit off more than I can chew, but then remember how you eat an elephant....one bite at a time. Still, I couldn't be doing this properly without the expert advice here and in Hondaman's book. At times I still feel like I move 3 steps forward and one step back because I'll find broken or unusable or missing parts throughout the build.
Sorry for the long post, but I figured you'd just ignore it if you aren't interested.
Regard,
Steve
