Topic: Project BCC Racer - CB750 frank cafe build on a Yammie Frame

[speedfoos]

Looking forward to the end result.

You and me both. I'm having a good time with this project because it's pretty simple and straightforward.

marked to see wtf happens next.

Some of the decisions I make in the garage surprise me as well. I've got a pretty clear picture in my head of how I want things to turn out. Push comes to shove I can always open my bank account on it, but I'd rather not do that on this build. All bets are off on the next one though.

LOL.. I think this guy will finish his build though... I've been here a few years and seen a bunch of builds with non Honda frames or engine but into a Honda frame flame out....

This guy is a yooper... He will get'r done!

Yeah, we have a natural stubbornness that's almost on par with our alcohol habit.

[speedfoos]

Got some toys in the mail today...



Not bad for $80. Master cylinder and caliper will go on the shelf for a future project, but the rearsets are solid. Not bad for $75.

Oh and attempted to mount the motor but will have to remove some offending metal first.

[Tews19]

I got those same ones for my build... I am putting them on the shelf as the seller didn't provide an linkage... I ended up buying a universal set from a member on DTT

[Elan]

cool build, subscribed

[speedfoos]

cool build, subscribed

Thanks.

I got those same ones for my build... I am putting them on the shelf as the seller didn't provide an linkage... I ended up buying a universal set from a member on DTT

You can get threaded linkage rod (correctly threaded) and heim joints off McMasterCarr. Great place to buy all that kind of stuff.

[speedfoos]

Whomp whomp, yeah. Right, now that's out of my system...

Finished the rear motor mounts. Had to do a little frame modification on the left side, but I'm clear by about a brunette.




And it appears I'm going to need an upper chain tensioner based on where I have to hang the motor and how much clearance there is in the frame for it.






Which I'm completely fine with because I like the look of them anyway.

And one last artsy shot.

[RAFster122s]

While the project is interesting and cool, I am grimacing when I look at the tubing size and construction as it looks pretty flexible. I hope looks are deceiving.
Best wishes for a successful outcome and thanks for serving...

[speedfoos]

I'm right there with you.  I'm going to gusset the key corners and have already re-welded most of the factory welds. Once I finish mounting the motor - and also moving the swing arm pivot mounts down about an inch and a half - I will go over the rest of the bike to make as strong as I can without adding another 20 pounds of steel.

[brandEn]

cool project, subscribed

[speedfoos]

cool project, subscribed

Thanks, hope you enjoy the show.

Did a little figuring on the swing arm mounts and got it sussed out. Once my pivot shaft shows up, I'll simply cut the existing mounts out and move them down about 1.5". Thought I was going to do it today so I leveled the bike out.

With super wicked motion blur.



But since I didn't have the shaft (har, har, har) I moved on to the motor mounts.

A little cutting, drilling, tapping and welding and the front lower mounts are done!



And I think I'll cut the old top coil mounting brackets off. A little close for comfort.




And I'm done for the night. Cleaned everything up and tucked the bike over to the side of the garage. I've got to fix a coolant leak on a car that belongs to one of my troops so I need a little room to work in the morning. Plus I'm on a cleanliness upswing right now.

[speedfoos]

Been a minute since I've posted up, but life gets in the way like that sometimes. So what have I done lately?

Well lets see.

- Went trick or treating with my family. It was fun.




- Spent a lot of time tearing down a '96 Sportster that a buddy bought at an insurance salvage auction. It's junk so we're pulling it apart to sell off the bits.




- Moved the lower rear shock mounting points forward to raise the rear an inch and a half.
- Mocked up the tank mounting tabs and tacked them in after massaging the bottom of the tank to clear the motor.
- Then I had a stroke of curiosity and grabbed the triple tree off that Sportster. It's pretty close to the same length as an XS400 triple....like really close.

I pulled the Yammie stem and triples off and slapped the Sporty triple into the neck. It was really close to fitting as is. Since I was on an inspired roll, I popped the races out of the junk Sporty frame (it's as twisted as my soul) and discovered they were about 1.5mm too big on the OD. Nothing a little ingenuity can't fix. Turned them down on my bench grinder - spun them on a socket that had an OD the same as the race ID - and pressed them into the Yammie neck.

Perfect fit. I dig it.



Now I just need to get the center of the Sporty axle turned down from 7/8" to 19mm to fit the Yammie wheel I have. This is a difference of 3.25mm. I'm really tempted to do this in my drill press with a file, but I will err on the side of caution and have a machinist turn it down. Maybe. I am eying a cheapish spoked 16" Harley wheel on the FleaBay right now and may get that instead. Depends on the price.

[speedfoos]

Still playing around with stuff and doing research. This bike is sorely taxing my research skills that's for sure.  Now that I got the 39mm Sporty trees fitted, it's time to figure how to get a front wheel and some braking underneath it. I have a front wheel and hadn't paid it much mind aside from knowing that it had a halfway decent tire on it and some spokes. I thought it was a Yamaha wheel, but it's not. Thought it was a Honda wheel, nope, it's not that either. The markings on the rim are RK Excel J16M/CXMT2.50 DOT III JAPAN 1104-02.
 
Neat. I have no idea what that means aside from the width and diameter.
 
Did some digging and was lucky enough to find someone selling my same wheel on eBay. It's from a 2002 Suzuki GZ250 Marauder. OK, didn't expect that, but now I know what it was and quickly discovered that it's a fairly uncommon wheel without a lot of (read, any) braking options. I went off to eBay and scored a nice 19" spoked Harley wheel instead.

A bit more planning and mocking things up but no real action. Namely finishing the front mounting tabs for the tanks, mainly parting out a '96 Sportster has taken nearly all of my bike motivation but that thing is 100% gone now.

That said, I fitted the sporty front brake, tire and sussed out the line. I thought I might have to get a custom one made but I simply curled the hard line to take up the slack. Done and done, plus a couple artsy shots because I'm jazzed about the stance.

[zekd]

You should consider some longer shocks in the back. Just my opinion

[speedfoos]

Yeah, I've been looking at some. It's all a matter of budget.

[speedfoos]

I took the carb rack, exhaust collars and switch housings with me down here so I would have something to do while I'm not in class. I completely cleaned the carbs, took them apart and soaked them in the bucket 'o carb cleaner for a couple days each and got everything all nice, shiny and moving smoothly again. The gaskets were in good shape and the only thing I need to replace is the little fuel line nubbins that link each side. Did the same thing on the exhaust collars.

I know I'll have to re-synch the carbs but that's OK, I have no idea if they were dialed in previously or not.






I also scored a set of controls and throttle cables from a 2003 Shadow off eBay for a decent price. Gave $40/shipped for them which I felt was a decent price. They were a little dirty so I cleaned them up as well.








I've got an XS650 tank (with cap, keys and petcock) on the way from a member on another forum that should take care of most of my clearance issues. Plus it will make the project go a little faster since I won't have to futz with a bunch of bondo work and trying to source a new cap for my tank since it's missing the latch, lock and key.

[apetersonboy]

Quite possibly the most nicely taken and well thought out and professional looking photos I've seen on a thread here.

[scunny]

call me old fashioned but I would re do that lower engine mount weld.
like the stance you have going.

[speedfoos]

Quite possibly the most nicely taken and well thought out and professional looking photos I've seen on a thread here.

Thanks. It's my second hobby.

call me old fashioned but I would re do that lower engine mount weld.
like the stance you have going.

They've all be redone since those pics were taken. I originally ran one bead with my old 110V welder as sort of a sturdy tack weld. I've picked a 180A, 220V welder since then and they are burned thoroughly now.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Very tasteful photos speedfoos. 

I like what you've done with the tank, scalloping the surfaces.  The fabrication on this build is a little daunting, especially in moving the swingarm to gain chain clearance. 

I'm looking forward to how it turns out and handles.

[speedfoos]

I ended up raising the rear motor mounts about a half inch to gain my clearance instead of jacking with the swing arm. Much safer to keep things in alignment. Tank is probably going to be shelved for another project because I have some carb clearance issues with this frame.

[speedfoos]

Been a bit, but life happens.

I took the carb rack, exhaust collars and switch housings with me down to Alabama during January-February so I would have something to do while I'm not in class. I completely cleaned the carbs, took them apart and soaked them in the bucket 'o carb cleaner for a couple days each and got everything all nice, shiny and moving smoothly again. The gaskets were in good shape and the only thing I need to replace is the little fuel line nubbins that link each side. Did the same thing on the exhaust collars.

I know I'll have to re-synch the carbs but that's OK, I have no idea if they were dialed in previously or not.






I also scored a set of controls and throttle cables from a 2003 Shadow off eBay for a decent price. Gave $40/shipped for them which I felt was a decent price. They were a little dirty so I cleaned them up as well.








Got a new tank, a killer deal on a really nice xs650 tank. Turns out my dished XS400 tank simply would not work. Petcock in the wrong spot and if I moved it to the right spot, the dished part would have interfered with the ever important task of moving fuel from the tank to my carbs.  Enter the XS650 tank.

I had to hack into and lengthen the back bone into the main support triangle and remove the secondary backbones, ribs I guess, in order to get things to fit and clear properly. No pictures of the mods yet because, well because I'm not ready to showcase that part until I clean it up and reinforce it. But enough words, here are some pics. You can kind of see my tube extension. I used some 3/8" wall tubing because it was the only thing I had in the garage that had the right OD.

[apetersonboy]

That bike looks like a beast!

[inv3ctiv3]

This is insane, what a cool build!

[speedfoos]

Yeah, this thing about 85% motor and 15% frame. Should be a real hoot to ride when it's done.

I've decided to make a seat pan for it instead of modifying the XS750 pan that came in the basket of parts. Should be able to crank that out this weekend.

[speedfoos]

Well, so much for cranking it out over that weekend like I promised, but I am making progress. Working working. Oh, these are 2.5" longer shocks than before thanks to a member on The Chopper Underground (TCU). Much better stance.

My first attempt at a seat pan. I think it's a keeper. Pan base cut, bent and notched to clear the rear tank mount.



Lining up the skirt with some mags.



Tack tack tack.



Tack tack tack tack tack tack tack tack tack tack tack tack tack.



Tired of tacking. The magic of time lapse - lots of tacking, grinding and flap wheel sanding later.



Sexy butt.



Yup I like it.



I still need to cut, bend and attach some reinforcing ribs to the underside because I'm suffering from a distinct lack of bead rollers in my garage. But some 1/4" stainless rod bent in the middle, flattened on the ends and welded to the bottom of the pan will stiffen things up. Once that's done, I'll fab up the tail hump, make the mounting tabs on the frame and weld the clevis posts to the bottom of the pan to secure it to the frame, then prime and paint it. Oh and get the seat made as well. I think I'll checkbook that one at the local upholstery shop as I have zero upholstery skills.