Topic: Vote for Bike of the Month - July 2015

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Paolo’s (P.abrera) 1976 CB550K2 The Thrilla from Manilla Café
http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,135180.0.html
Rebuilt  550 in the Philippines adapting many parts from other bikes (Enkei Kawasaki wheels, brakes), and fabricating new parts (air box, air/oil separator, seat):







dmonday’s 1974 CB550K0 Restomod
http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,118243.0.html
























mkoski’s 1977 CB750K7 Goldie Café
http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,142988.0.html








Wilbur’s 1978 CB750K8 Evolution
http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,100352.0.html

   

[70CB750]

Very hard decision

Good luck, guys!

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

For those nominated members, please feel free to post a build recap/summary (what you started off with and what you did) with lots of pictures.

[madmtnmotors]

A little before and after:


Before:

*Telltale fuel stains on carb bowl and starter cover



After: (where did all the oily grime and fuel stains go?)





Before:

*A return assist spring on the rear brake lever?




After (amazing how well things work when properly assembled):




Before:

*The clutch cable has become one with the #4 header, OMG WHERE'S THE ENGINE MOUNT?!



After:




Before

*I think the fork seals finally quit leaking since it looks like there might not be any fork oil left IN the forks...



After, with new braided stainless flex line fitted:




Before:

*Hopefully there's still some oil left in the engine. OMG! WHERE'S THE MOTOR MOUNT BOLT?!



After (where did all the oily grime go?):




Before:

*A string around the "Idiot" lights as some sort of reminder?


*Ahhh... obviously a reminder to purchase the correct ignition switch! The string is the only thing holding the switch in place...




After:




BEFORE




AFTER




Before:




After:






After painting all the bits and bobs, the following components received a topcoat of Spraymax 2K clear to promote durability, chemical, and insect resistance:
>Speedo and tach
>Master cylinder
>Caliper
>Side covers
>All the badges

Don't know about the fuel tank, it was a used part and was already "flamed" when I got it. Overall everything looks very good. You have to get within about three feet to start detecting the imperfections. If a component was fully functional it was cleaned (and painted or polished if necessary) then pressed back into service.

The only non stock items are:
>62mm CycleX pistons (1mm, 4th over) for total displacement of 761cc
>4 into 1 (appears to be a MAC)
>Headlight brackets (fork ears) since the K8 fork ears are like hens teeth, and the fork tubes looked good up top, I used aftermarket "bolt on" fork ears. The front signal lights are stock, mounted on posts from the fork ears, so if stock ears are found the original lights are there.
>Dyna S ignition.
>The chrome chain guard is from a 78' "F" model, the "K" model chain guard would be painted black.
>530 chain and 17/48 sprockets (very close to stock ratio)



500 mile service is currently underway:

>Changed out the Bel-Ray EXL 4T for a fresh dose (filter too!)
>Replaced the damn neutral indicator switch that insisted on continuously indicating a neutral condition...
>Inspected the plugs
>Replaced the points plate with a Dyna S. The points/condensers setup was more for practice than anything else. The timed (and indexed) points plate (with points cam) will be provided to the N.O. (next owner)
>Still need to clean, sand, and apply high temp black to the header pipes
>Check valve lash
>Re-sync the carbs
>Check slack in the drive chain
>Adjust cam chain
>Ride it some more!

[mkoski]

Hey guys, thanks so much for the nominations and kind words! Here's a little background on my project:

I graduated from university in April, 2014 and was on the hunt for a project to keep busy. A few months later I saw a triumph bonneville at a restaurant and really liked the look of a cafe-style bike. I was very anti-motorcycle at this point but I was looking for a project to work on in my free time and had always been interested in restoring a car so a bike seemed like a perfect winter project after doing lots of reading and researching. It was pretty much dictated to me that I would need to do this as cheaply as possible as I had just started working and university wasn't cheap! I looked for a while (specifically for a CB750 because of all the great things I read about!) and found this guy (on which few things worked, including a cylinder) for a great price.



After getting my license and riding until October (I was hooked!) I stripped it down for a winter rebuild. I spent lots of time looking at what others did and deciding what I wanted to do. After welding a loop onto the frame for the cafe style seat I decided on a few more ideas and then just rolled with it. A few of the parts I was very happy with were the engine and wheels, they looked sharp, I thought.




From here I started to pick out parts that I liked and installed them onto the bike. Over the project life I did 3 sets of rear-set brackets to get them right, 4 or 5 seat-pans and lots of re-work on stuff like changing the angle of the exhaust outlet and rebuilding my carbs more times that I care to admit. I really wanted this to be exactly what I wanted.

My favorite feature of the bike is my RFID ignition system. Instead of going big-money with M-gadgets equipment I spend $40 bucks on ebay and a day wiring it up.



The result is an ignition system that is really high security and starts with the swipe of a key-fob over my left side-cover. Always blows away some of the older folks that I show it to. 

Here are a few more shots of the bike:

Dice that the PO had on the bike, had to keep one to pay homage:


No tach, just speedo with a custom bracket to keep the line over the top of the bike:


Honda:


Initials in the rear-set bracket:


A pretty decent over-all shot: (that oil-stain isnt from my bike btw )


Proud owner:


Thanks for all the support guys, couldnt have even come close to getting this done without this forum and its members.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

I especially enjoy the "owner" pictures with the bikes.    Well-deserved pride of ownership!





Hah! You're not so anti-motorcycle now, mkoski! 

[greenjeans]

Voted.   Had to come back a few times to make up my mind.  Well done gents.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Agreed.  This one is tough to call.  I'm between 3 of them.

[dmonday]

My love for my 74' CB550 started in 2012.  A friend of mine from high school had it and had offered to sell it to me but I wasn't in a position to buy it at that time.  About a year later she posted a picture of her new Harley and I saw that she still had the CB550 in the background.  I asked her about it and she made me a deal on it that I couldn't refuse.  Here's the night I brought it home:



It had sticking brakes, electrical gremlins, no ignition, wiring issues, carbs needed gone through….etc.  Everything you expect to find in a 40 year old bike.  The people that had it before my friend had used it as a dirt bike. 

I knew from the beginning that I wanted to build a rider.  My CBR was not comfy enough for my wife to go on rides with me and wanted to build a bike that I think Honda would have built if they remade the 74' CB550.  So that's where the restomod began.  I wanted the modern benefits of LED headlight and tails, electronic ignition and so on.  I didn't want to cut anything off the bike incase I decided to take it back to original so I decided to work with what the bike had instead of chopping things off that I may regret later.  I took it completely apart over the 2013 winter so I could replace every bearing/seal on the frame and suspension and took all the parts to get powder coated.  I chose powder coating b/c I didn't want to have to tear it done again in a year to spray paint it again.  I recovered the stock seat myself, swapped to tapered bearings in the head, put on a braided front brake hose, discovered the bottom fork caps weren't on correctly (this made it ride very goofy).  I swapped to a modern fuse block with a regulator from an older F150 and went all through the wiring to discover it had many wrong connections in the headlight bucket.  I welded up a stand to bolt the engine to so I could clean and paint the engine when I tore the bike down.  I also swapped to stainless allen head bolts at that time and trashed the phillips head screws.  I used cb400 style bars and ran the wires internally.

My first time riding it:


Torn apart:

Relacing wheels:

When we'd watch movies at home I would be sanding parts at the same time to be polished:

Putting it back together after having it apart for 4 months:

Back together:

From spring 2014 to the winter I did nothing but ride it all over Indiana and took it with us on vacation to Florida.  I loved every minute on it.  I can't tell you how many conversations I got into with people that had that bike growing up, learned to ride on "that" bike and the memories it brought back for folks.  You could see in their eyes that they were remembering the joy that the SOHC's brought them back in the day. You can't get a better compliment than that.
During the time I bought the bike I also started building metal art for people.  I worked out a deal with a company called DB Custom to repaint my bike in exchange for an army tank I built.



A few months later I got it back and I couldn't be happier with it.  While it was being painted I converted to electronic ignition and put in a new clutch.


The day I got it and how it sits currently.












This winters project is a GSXR fork swap.  I'm thrilled that my bike is even being considered for BOM!  I've certainly got some great competition!
Thanks for the nomination.
Dave

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Just a little over a week to get your vote in.  This month's a close one.  Let's see some voting!

[Tintop]

Tuff choice, all great bikes.  But decision made....voted.

[seanbarney41]

uggghhhh...can't believe I just voted for a K8

[calj737]

I saw a piece on BBC that there's a nation-wide campaign going on in the Phillipines right now, petitioning people to sign up on SOHC4 and vote with national pride. Gee, I wonder what that's about? 

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

I saw a piece on BBC that there's a nation-wide campaign going on in the Phillipines right now, petitioning people to sign up on SOHC4 and vote with national pride. Gee, I wonder what that's about? 

The voting is definitely tight this month.

[Stev-o]

Dave - great write up. Only thing missing was audio of that sweet sounding GP pipe!

[Old Scrambler]

Close Call

[dmonday]

Dave - great write up. Only thing missing was audio of that sweet sounding GP pipe!

The GP pipe is easily my favorite part on the bike!  Sounds like angels screaming (in a good way). 

[mkoski]

Dave - great write up. Only thing missing was audio of that sweet sounding GP pipe!

The GP pipe is easily my favorite part on the bike!  Sounds like angels screaming (in a good way). 

Yep! Every time I go through a tunnel or under an overpass she goes WOT and it always brings a smile. Sounds fierce.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Have to admit that the one on my 750 sounds awesome.

[Stev-o]

Have to admit that the one on my 750 sounds awesome.

Go ahead, rub it in guys.  I need to get one!

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Have to admit that the one on my 750 sounds awesome.

Go ahead, rub it in guys.  I need to get one!

Punch it!  It's only money.

[Stev-o]

Have to admit that the one on my 750 sounds awesome.

Go ahead, rub it in guys.  I need to get one!

Punch it!  It's only money.

Just bought some minty 341's....

[mkoski]

Well then it looks like you need a new bike to put it on!

[70CB750]

Well then it looks like you need a new bike to put it on!

Yeah, fuel Stev-o's addiction 

[calj737]

Yeah, fuel Stev-o's addiction 

Crack dealers need crack heads to sell to.