Topic: Another Orange CB750 Cafe Racer

[CB_Jeff]

All, greetings!
Well I am kind of jumping the gun on posting this build thread... I will update later to post what I started with... basically a $350. botched bobber job that barely ran and had little going for it.
What I had when I started:
 - 1976 CB750 K6 with ~20,000 miles on it,
 - Black rattle can spay paint on the tank and side covers (tank painted with stock decals still on it),
 - MAC 4 into 2 with turn outs,
 - Ape Hangers.... unfortunately for me the wiring was lengthened with yellow wire and the connections were sealed with electrical tape.... water got into the handlebars and not much was working.
Anyhow, fast forward a year and a half and I am getting ready for some shake-down runs... the last hurdle is the seat, front brake and some other odds and ends.
I decided to go with the aerotech streamlining CB750 - specific seat that mounts to the stock hinges / mounting hardware... most painless way to go.  I have a hooded lucas style tail light that I was planning to use for another set-up that I mocked-up the seat with and I cannot decide if I like the look or not, I go and forth between liking it and thinking it is wonky.  The upholstry and blue tape are mock-ups, the blue tape marks where I am thinking about trimming the bottom of the bump as it is sitting on the turn signal stalks and I want to go for more of a cutlass / upswept look to match the lines of the exhaust pipes (yes, Dunstalls).
What do you think?

Before:



Where I am at now:

[jeff kushner]

 I scrolled down expecting to see a $350 butchered bobjob and instead, saw a very nicely done bike! I've never been a big sohc 750 fan but I love that color.....the tank looks real sharp! As far as what would look good, I happen to like the streamlined look with the bullet integral blinkers and lights, un-shrouded shocks and forks and flatter side covers to make it appear narrower......but you can't go wrong, looks great!!

jeff

[CB_Jeff]

Thanks Jeff!
To date the following has been done to bring the bike back:
- new wheel bearings,
- new fork seals,
- new chain and sprocket,
- bobbed front fender (purchased from forum member Spikey Bike),
- Norman Hyde m-bars with Napoleon bar end mirrors with Gran Turismo grips,
- Hammered out tank and paint by forum member Johnny5,
- Drilled front rotor,
- New tires (Dunlop F11 front and D404 rear),
- Lucas tri-bar headlight,
- New clutch and clutch lifter plate,
- Dunstall Power 4 into 2 header with mounts and pipes.
- Hondaman swingarm rebuild,
- Joker machine brake rod and strap,
I think that gets me to where I am at now.

Left to do:
- Rebuild caliper and install stainless brake line,
- Mount seat, upholster, tail light,
- Swap-out left hand controls...starter button not working

The goal is to get it pulled together for this riding season to get some miles on it....engine mods to follow next winter?

[Davez134]

I really like the exhaust! I went with that same tail light on my bike, but have a different fender. I have seen seats similar to yours with a round tail/brake light that look really good. If you're still going back and forth deciding, give one of those a try. Bike looks great though!

[Bankerdanny]

Ditto on the pipes. I think bikes in general look best with mufflers on both sides, and I particularly like the upswept look like that.

Really well done.

[CB_Jeff]

Thanks!
Yeah that exhaust was not easy to find, I liked the look of the 4 into 2 with the upswept pipes and with that set-up and the Dunstall pipes the bike really sounds good.... one person described it as a small block / dragster type sound.
In general I have been going for a somewhat period correct look and have tried to keep anything too modern looking off the bike.
After giving the tail light some more thought I decided to ditch the hooded lucas style tail light for a round flush-mount light.
I like this one sold on the left coast... but at $85. shipped to my door that is a bit of a tough nut to crack.

[deafcaferacer]

Love the new look, especially the Norman bars!

[CB_Jeff]

The m-bars are nice...I have to wonder if moving the controls up and down that far is going to necessitate rear sets?

[CB_Jeff]

Time to resurrect this thread to document the final repairs and assembly of the bike.  The last 5 to 10% of the build is truly the most time consuming and expensive.  The original plan was to get the bike on the road last fall before the snow started flying, but for several reasons, that didn't happen.  T

The main issue that I had was while giving the tank a final rinse I realized I had a leak up by the neck of the frame.... not a rust issue, part of the weld was sanded off while smoothing out the tank.  The tank was emptied out and taken to a local radiator shop for repairs... that was mid-November, and a pretty crumby winter started pretty much the next weekend and progress on the build ground to a halt.

The final to do list includes the following:
 - Figure out a better name for this build,
 - Rebuild the master cylinder and bleed the brake,
 - Hook up the speedo,
 - Figure out what is going on with the tail light (it works properly when the key is in the third position... not the second ignition position),
 - Clean and lube the chain,
 - Rebuild and re-install the petcock (the non-Honda kits ARE junk),
 - Final paint and assembly,
 - Road test!

I registered the bike on Friday, had it running and almost did the road tested it then, but then I realized I had a leaky petcock caused by fiber washers that had turned to mush.  Everything else looked good.

I didn't go with the Carpy bump seat... didn't like the look of it and went back to my original seat... looks better.  I used a set of Franken's mounting blocks to get the seat mounted to the frame...very clever fellow.  Will post update pics later today.

Everything should be back and ready to roll on 1 May.

[riverfever]

Bike looks really sharp. I've got the original 4-4 pipes and wouldn't mind something different but everyone says I should keep them. Love the tank.

[754]

Take a look at  a 1971 Superglide Night train rear fender, may like how the round light is set in.. For a different look. Would be doable on yours if the hump is  empty..

[CB_Jeff]

Here are some pics of the bike as it sits now.
I have been helping out the guys at Zook Moto with their CB750 eliminator... my bike is mocked up with a scrap one from a CB550 that we were using for measurements.... I believe one for the SOHC 750 is forth coming... between Franken's mounting blocks and the fender eliminator alot of problems were solved and the end product, in my opinion looks pretty smooth.

Outdoors last fall (w/o fender eliminator and tail light):



Indoors this winter:



Looking down on the tank... note my new paint problems near then neck:



From the side (instead of painting the whole tank again, I am going with some graphite colored scallops to mask the tank repairs (think CB360 scallops):



...and one more from the winter:

[754]

How much is that seat, without fender. can they do custom? I like the pattern on top.
 I plan to run 400F tank, with aluminum tracker rear fender,like Champion glass type, but it will fit the frame better between the shock mounts and end of tank.
 I want the round studs or snaps to emulate the 400F seat styling, but morph it with the tracker back section..
 So disregard. The tail section between shock mounts and rear of tank. The frame it will go on is cut where the green line is to rear of shock mount. I will add a tracker style hoop like in the second pic.

[CB_Jeff]

Frank,
Very nice seat, going for a flat tacker look?
I bought the seat and pan from a fellow in Walnut Creek, CA... I think that he did the fiberglass work and he had an upholster friend handle the foam, cover and snaps... I have his contact info if you are interested.  Top pattern was stiched in by the upholstery guy.
I could also get you a better pic of the cover if you like.  That pattern on the top of the seat is what sold me on the seat... looks very nice.
-Jeff

[754]

I will wait till I get to that point
 Have to check with a local guy that may have a heat sealing machine.. The top of your seat looks killer, the restaurant and the fender too.

[CB_Jeff]

....and a quick update to finish off the year on where this project is at:
 The bike is pretty much done, once I got it all together and road ready it became evident that there were some electrical and carb. gremlins.  Luckily Anders is close by and was able to help me out.  It was classic previous owner stuff, I pulled the carb bowls off and the main jets on the no. 2 and 3 carbs. fell right out... not even threaded in.  And the electrical gremlin was traced back to the coils, which I swapped out for a set that I had on another bike.  Following a carb rebuild by Anders and the coil swap out I put about 500 miles on the bike this season... with a small bit of dialing in and troubleshooting along the way.

Here is a pic of the bike in it's current configuration.



For 2015 I have the following in mind:

 - Continue to dial the bike in, specifically fresh oil and filters in the spring and a fine tuning.
 - New foam on the seat, the foam that came with the seat has zero density making the bike no good for anything over a 20 mile hop.
 - Clean-up the engine cases... parts of the motor look don't look that good, going to try to do as much as I can without removing the covers.... specifically the stator cover....
- Think about shouldered aluminum wheels with stainless steel spokes and some mild performance top-end upgrades on the engine

Enjoy the holidays!
-Jeff