Topic: '75 Cafe rebuild in progress

[cafe75-550]

Thanks!  To be honest, the bike really is only half done. I still have a long way to go with it (paint job, rebuilding the wheels and brakes, engine rebuild....)

Anyway, I used a 650 wheel because I wanted a wider rim, and at the time didn't have the facilities (apartment then) to rebuild a wheel. The 650 came stock with a 2.5" wide rim (the 750 didn't), and I thought the same hub, so I got lucky on Ebay and found one in good condition with a good tire that I could use (the 650 wheels, and actually most 650 parts, seem to be fairly cheap compared to 750 stuff, and even 550 stuff now...) I was a little surprised to find the backing plate from a 550 won't work though, the lip on the hub is different, so eventually (when I rebuild the wheels) I'm going back to a 550 hub because I like the look of the 550 brake plate better (and it willl look better drilled).

First off, the 650 hub is the same size as a 550, in fact, it uses the same brake pads.So if you're looking for a larger hub, this isn't it.

Second, the bearing locations are different and the backing plate has a different width because its cosmetically different from a 550, so it does have spacer issues. That being said, I solved my spacer issue with a couple of steel collets from the harware store...

[isred]

Thanks for the reply,i have a Gl rear rim that I want to put on the 550, kind of hoped the 650 was bigger than the 550. I have a 750 rear hub but it seems to be a little wider than the 550 Hmmm, oh well, Maybe move the front sprocket, thats the fun of these old bikes the mixing of parts and ideas.

[cafe75-550]

Definitely! Even fitting the 650 rear hub took some mixing and matching of spacers to get the sprocket in the right place. And my new engine is likely to be a 550/650/750 conglomeration displacing either 651cc or 718, depending on how much 650 I decide to use...

[davetheman]

where did you put your oil tank?

[WJL75]

The 550's don't have an oil tank like the 750's.  The oil goes in the engine.

[cafe75-550]

The 550's don't have an oil tank like the 750's.  The oil goes in the engine.

Exactly!  This is definitely a revival of an old thread! Hopefully I'll be posting some new pics pretty soon, I've done some more frame mods and will be running a new seat  (with a full "belly pan" to completely hide all of my electrics) and possibly a new fuel tank...

[Heironymous Josh]

The 550's don't have an oil tank like the 750's.  The oil goes in the engine.

Exactly!  This is definitely a revival of an old thread! Hopefully I'll be posting some new pics pretty soon, I've done some more frame mods and will be running a new seat  (with a full "belly pan" to completely hide all of my electrics) and possibly a new fuel tank...

If you get a new fuel tank I would be very interested in purchasing your modified stock tank.

[cafe75-550]

The 550's don't have an oil tank like the 750's.  The oil goes in the engine.

Exactly!  This is definitely a revival of an old thread! Hopefully I'll be posting some new pics pretty soon, I've done some more frame mods and will be running a new seat  (with a full "belly pan" to completely hide all of my electrics) and possibly a new fuel tank...

If you get a new fuel tank I would be very interested in purchasing your modified stock tank.

I'll keep that in mind if the new tank works out as planned...

[cafe75-550]

Heironymous Josch-

Just noticed one of your other posts; my tank has been modified to fit a 550, ie, the front mount has been widened to fit the 550 frame. I'm not entirely sure how this will affect how it fits a 750, but I suspect at the least it will fit a little loose in the front, at worst it may not sit on the rubbers at all (since it wouldn't fit the 550 at all before I modified the mounts). Just thought I should let you know, might not be a good option for you if I do decide to part with it...

[Heironymous Josh]

I'll shoot you a pm so you remember me if the new tank works out as planned!

[Heironymous Josh]

Heironymous Josch-

Just noticed one of your other posts; my tank has been modified to fit a 550, ie, the front mount has been widened to fit the 550 frame. I'm not entirely sure how this will affect how it fits a 750, but I suspect at the least it will fit a little loose in the front, at worst it may not sit on the rubbers at all (since it wouldn't fit the 550 at all before I modified the mounts). Just thought I should let you know, might not be a good option for you if I do decide to part with it...

Thanks for the heads up!  I can do custom mounts without a problem.  So long as the channel is too big and not too small.  I'm just in a bind.  I don't want to pay $700+ for new glass tank, I'm not confident enough to bang on my tank with a hammer and paying someone to fabricate it would cost more than a new one, so I'm hoping to find a used tank that will roughly fit my needs, the rest I can customize to fit.  Shoot me a pm and let me know what price you had in mind if you do indeed get a new one.

Josch

[shoggoth80]

Nice job on your cafe'. You don't see too many of the 550s turned into them. I'm really interested in how you added gussets to your frame... as this is something that I am working on myself... I have the bike, I have a vision... I know what I should do...but I'd like to talk to someone who's done it before me. I know a couple places to go for bodywork too...so I'm not even sweating that.
Cheers,
Andy

[SEBNN]

That is a nice looking bike you have there.  I've never seen the handle bars cleared of electronics like that, starting to give me some ideas for the wiring and switches on my own.  One idea for the guys doing wiring is to put the wiring harness in a cloth or rubber heat shrink tube cover to protect the wiring from wear and tear.  Or Kevlar covered cloth tubing cover it is Mcmaster part#8823K51 would do the trick.

Anyways, I was also interested in the gussets that you added, if you could point out the locations that would be great.  I have been cutting and grinding off the tabs, and unnecessary portions of my frame and am interested in strengthening it if I can.

Also, with all of the polishing, have you looked at getting a chrome type powder coat on it instead of the clear coat? 

[cafe75-550]

Holy thread resurrection Batman! 

Been awhile since this one has seen any posts, unfortunately its also been awhile since I've worked on my poor bike! 

Sebnn- my intention is to get rid of the wiring altogether, and I have purchased a couple of ARD electronic mags that I've been working on fitting to the 550. When thats done, I'll only need wiring for lights and a kill switch. 

As for the frame, I removed all of the tabs that weren't being used, which is pretty much all of them altogether. The original side cover tabs served as light gussets for the corners of the frame, so I replaced the tabs with gussets. Nothing super heavy duty, just some light steel (1/16"?). I don't recall what gauge it was of the top of my head, I can measure tomorrow. I also "completed" all of the factory welds. If you look at the stock frame you'll see that the stamped bits (engine mounts, footpeg mounts, etc) are not welded all the way around, just on 2 sides. Also, the downtubes are just spot welded together. I just connected all the welds and closed the edges. I highlighted the spots I added welds in the pic below, though I cleaned up quite a few of the existing welds as well. I've also since added a rear loop and new seat to the bike...

And as for powdercoating, I probably will eventually, but as you can see this is very much a work in progress, and polished and rattle clear are easier to work with when I make modifications...

[UnCrash]

Hey, it's looking great!

What kind of welder did you use to finish up all the factory welds?

Thanks.

Ben

[lostinthe202]

Hiya,

Nice looking bike!  I'm curious, now that's it's been a year since you started this thread, how has the clear coat held up on the frame?  Is that last picture current?

Also, do you still have the stock tank?  Want to get rid of it?

Thanks!

Will-

[FunJimmy]

Nice project.
I've always liked the picture in your avatar and it's great to find the build forum for it.

Cheers
FJ

[cafe75-550]

Hey guys!

All of the welds were done with a TIG welder, I learned in my old man's auto restoration shop back in high school and still have access to a professional machine. You wouldn't necessarily need that type of machine though, the frame is just mild steel and you could use any method you wanted if you were familiar with it. I prefer TIG though because its easier to control the amount of heat, and therefore warpage that you generate.

The last picture is current as of a couple of months ago. The clear coat has held up great actually, only a small spot or two of very light rust where it went on light. Although I live in CA and the bike's always in the garage, so it hasn't exactly been a torture test...

I do still have the original tank, but I think you probably mean the 750 tank in my avatar. I have that one too, but I also have another 550, so I'm going to hang on to it for now.

Thanks for the interest! 

[SEBNN]

On a side note I can tell you why the tops probably weren't welded, welds make the metal more brittle.  Welds running along the length of the tube create smaller stress concentrations than welds running around the circumferance of the tubing.  Just an FYI.  I don't think that you will run into any problems though as the bike has already survived 30 years of use.  Though, you could heat the metal at the welded areas with a torch to help relieve some of the stresses in the metal.  And on another note, depending on which tig rod you used you may not even need to do that.  So many factors to consider.

I forgot to ask about the battery that you used, but if you are going to stator type coils, will they still drive all of your lights?  If so, what are you using to do this?  Also, though, what sealed battery size did you use?  As I don't have time to do any type of stator conversion right now I interested in using a sealed battery under the rear fender similar to what you did.

Thanks,
SEBNN

[cafe75-550]

SEBNN-

Yeah, I'm not too worried about the circumferential welds making the metal brittle. Its fairly low carbon steel, and with the mild steel rod it shouldn't be much of an issue. Of course, any time you make a frame stiffer you increase the likelihood of stress fracture, but thats just the nature of the beast.

I'll still need to use an battery to run the lights as there's no provision for the ARD to do it, and its strongly discouraged in all of the ARD literature I've seen. I plan on running a sealed battery under the seat as before, just on a total loss system for the lights. I have a "Powersource" sealed gel cel, model WP9b-4, its a 12v 8ah battery, which should be capable of running the whole bike with the standard charging system. I bought it from an online motorcycle battery source, I forget exactly which one...

Hope that helps!

Bryan

[SEBNN]

SEBNN-

Yeah, I'm not too worried about the circumferential welds making the metal brittle. Its fairly low carbon steel, and with the mild steel rod it shouldn't be much of an issue. Of course, any time you make a frame stiffer you increase the likelihood of stress fracture, but thats just the nature of the beast.

I'll still need to use an battery to run the lights as there's no provision for the ARD to do it, and its strongly discouraged in all of the ARD literature I've seen. I plan on running a sealed battery under the seat as before, just on a total loss system for the lights. I have a "Powersource" sealed gel cel, model WP9b-4, its a 12v 8ah battery, which should be capable of running the whole bike with the standard charging system. I bought it from an online motorcycle battery source, I forget exactly which one...

Hope that helps!

Bryan

That'll do, just need to get a tray welded in under the seat, make my fender to cover it and modify my seat pan so that I can fit it in there.  The updated picture of your bike looks good.

[cafe75-550]

Are you planning on retaining the stock seat? Its pretty easy to hide the battery in the "hump" on the cafe style seats, although I did recently see someone that had recessed a portion of the stock pan to hide a battery, not sure if it was on here or on the "Do the Ton" forums...

[Jinxracing]

You could do it like this:

[greenjeans]

forgot about this thread....always loved that ford tailight.  Can't wait to see the final rendition.   Jinx, now your going to make me have to build a battery box like that......  My projects have been sitting too long.
Thanks for lighting the fire fellas.

[SSCR]

Jinx, is that your bike with the battery pan? If not might ya know who's it is? That looks great!