Topic: CL350 Street Tracker / Cafe build

[Mr Freeze]

That setup is light. I also have a Hondamatic 750 and I think that whole setup is lighter than just 1 of the original 2-1 exhausts for the CB750A! I bought a set of the 4-2-1 but I havent mounted it up yet because I'm still finishing up my engine and have to get it in the frame.

[madScientist]

Thank you much Calj! I keep coming across things I still want to do to it to clean it up a little more (aside from give it a good wash...it needs it badly). However I cant / dont want to do anything to disable it for any length of time as I ride it pretty much every day.

Freeze -- no joke man. The UPS guy was real confused bringing that box up. He was carrying it like a pizza asking "what is in this...packing only?!"

I like the A's. My dad has a 77 A he tootles around on. The lack of a clutch confused me...i kept trying to grab for it and find the shifter lol.

[Mr Freeze]

Yeah I bought the A cause it's kinda unique and it's definitely fun to cruise around on. They definitely rip once you get above 25-30 mph. Too bad Honda didn't make it a 3 speed, might have sold better. I'm thinking of doing some kind of project with what I have at some point.

[madScientist]

Got some time in on the 350 with the long weekend. The cam chain problems were in the tensioner. I had to grind out a fair bit of casting to allow for free motion of the KA. Once I did that things went together much easier. Also managed to get the engine in the bike with minimal scarring. Painted up the peg brackets and bar clamps. I also polished up the pipes some but there are a couple rust spots that need some sanding.

Next up I'm going to get back to working on those stupid gators and get them situated. Get the exhaust mounted. Maybe get some clubmans bought and fiberglass up the rear cowl. Probably sprinkle some wiring in there as well which might take me awhile...i suck at wiring.

Here's some pictures of the progress.

Pistons:


Jugs:


Right side:



Left side:

[madScientist]

I wrapped the frame in painters tape and taped some cardboard to the lower rails. Cut it off for picture time :-D

[mikbeanz]

Nice bike. I love the LED headlight...been thinking about doing that with mine for a long time now.

[madScientist]

I guess i should get this updated with the off and on progress of the last 8 years. This will be a couple of posts.

I had to take a break from working on this bike to deal with a 66 mustang convertible and a 66 mustang hardtop which is now one of my daily drivers. Each...long stories. Anyway...

A few years ago i got a tail section for the bike but it was too narrow and didnt really fit snugged up the way i wanted. I ended up cutting it down the middle and widening it so that it fit the frame better. I also made it blend over the tail of the tank to better jive with the lines of the bike. I wasnt and am still not overly crazy of the hump size but figured it was a bit out of my abilities to try and lower it so I left it. It doesnt look really bad but I would have liked it to have been more the hump style of my 750. You win some, lose some.

I sanded the tank down to bare metal and worked out a couple dings. I gave the few low spots a really light skim with putty to make sure they were glass smooth. This turned out really nice.




I then gave both pieces a couple sprays of gray epoxy primer followed by black epoxy primer. I use the opposing colors to tell when everything is smoothed out since it allows you to see the highs and lows while you're going through your sanding process. I ended up spraying another coat of the gray epoxy as a final prep coat. Then sanded with some guide coat this time just as a last check to make sure the thing was smooth. In choosing the color, i figured the bike was already gold...i just figured i'd make it a brighter gold. This was a really forgiving color to spray. There are a few imperfections in it but it was my first time doing an actual spray job so overall, i'm really happy with it. The next ones will be better as i learned a lot about my guns and spray patterns. This was a base / clear spray and not single stage. And at that point, i let everything sit for awhile to both let the paint cure and to have a child...

[madScientist]

After painting i got stalled out again cause the electrics werent working right. Electrical stuff is not my strong suit and I got mad / frustrated and had to step away for awhile again. Last week i got it in my head i was going to figure the thing out. It didnt have any spark so i worked on the points and the coils. I ended up getting a new set of coils which did nothing. Still no spark.

I then changed out the points...still no spark. I had good power to the coils. Flipping the kill switch would subsequently kill power to the coils so i knew that was all working correctly so i figured there had to be something with how the points were set or with the main wiring itself. What was really suspicious was that i always had power to the points even when they were open. I then got really suspicious of grounds and started looking. Turns out i never made a wire from the negative of the battery to the engine. I did that and BOOM spark!

Time for the fun part...i started getting ballsy so I added a little gas to the tank, flipped the key, and two kicks later she roared to life!! I finished getting the clutch adjusted, exhaust proper installed, wiring tucked into the tray that I made under the seat and more or less getting it ready to go.

That cable solved a lot of problems. I had a weak starter which now spins over pretty easily even though, right now, I dont intend to install the solenoid. The headlight and turn signals all work now too.

I'm not really crazy so I dont want to take it for a run until i have new tires and tubes. Those will be here this week so fingers crossed i take it on the maiden voyage this weekend. I'm also getting air filters, a few more lighting items, and a couple more odds and ends to essentially wrap it up and then i can start tuning.

I do not intend to keep it though. While it was fun over this long time building it and i'm pretty happy with how it turned out, I have my 750 that I enjoy more and will probably never sell. This one doesnt have the appeal to me. Plus, with my dads passing I inherited a bunch of bikes that all need some love before those also get sent off to homes to enjoy them.

[madScientist]

Worked on getting the tires and tubes changed today and realized why i typically pay to have that done. The front tire came off okay however i managed to pinch the tube (i think...its not holding air) when i installed it. I have another one coming tomorrow. I'm going to take it out later tonight and see what happened.

The rear tire had been off bead so long it was stiff and i swear it shrunk. I ended up cutting it off since i was buggering the rim trying to get it to slide over. The new tire and tube went in without a hitch and is back on the bike.

Fingers crossed i can get the front tire sorted out and then its road testing time!! Who's excited? This guy