Topic: 1976 CB750F - first bike, first build - mild cafe

[riffman12]

1) good and snug/tight. Make a cheap easy tool for the tightening. Don't be pounding on your nice pretty bike and make a dent! I got an aluminum flat bar from the hardware store, some bolts and nuts. Bolts sized to fit inside the holes on the retainer. Drill one hole near the end of the bar for the bolt. Install one nut on the bolt. Install the bolt through the hole and install the other nut and tighten both against the bar. Leave enough of the bolt protruding through past the last nut so that it just bottoms out in the retainer hole so that the bar sits flush. Repeat this for the opposite side hole on the retainer. Or you might want to drill near the center so that you can use both ends as handles for better control. You can also drill a third hole for the other sizes of retainers on the bike.   

2) tight but don't break anything

3) not necessary but how stock do you want it to look?

4) 6mm bolt torque is 6 - 8 lbs I believe. They WILL snap off if too much force is applied. Locktite never hurts as long as it's not red.

5) SWEET kits!!  I have never seen those. IMO get the kit with primer, base, color and clear. They all are selected to be compatible with each other. You MAY want to get 2 cans of color to practice how to lay it down to get the desired effect/color depth over the silver base coat. You can always practice on the rear sprocket plate.

Thanks a lot Jerry

6-8 lbs seems so low on the sprocket bolts. I'm paranoid of things backing out haha. Perhaps i'll grab some blue locktite

As for the paint, I'd love to get all that stuff, but it gets preeeetty pricey. I was hoping to get away with one paint can + base coat and source my own primer and clear. Maybe I'll do the standard kit.

[riffman12]

tonight I think I got my rear wheel all ready to go and mounted. Punched the bearing retainers, tightened down all the sprocket and brake rotor bolts.









A few questions as this is my first time doing this and I really don't want to screw up my bearings and hub.

Firstly this is the process I used for the bearings and retainers. Maybe someone can just check my work and let me know that this sounds right?

1) tap the brake side bearing in all the way until it stops
2) insert the collar / spacer in the hub
3) tap the sprocket side bearing in until it is "snug" up against the collar. The collar should be touching both bearings, but still movable
4) tap the sprocket holder bearing all the way in until it stops, put the little spacer between the hub and the sprocket carrier, cush drive etc.
5) Thread the two bearing retainers in nice and tight, center punch the threads 4 times (see pics)

Let me know if that sounds correct. I'm paranoid after reading about a guy who's bearing came loose and bound up - caused an accident


Lastly, could you guys just double check the above pics and let me know if anything looks out of wack? I torqued down the brake and sprocket bolts nice and tight, used the factory locking washers on the sprocket.

Thanks a ton guys. One day I'll stop being paranoid

[Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er]

Looks good. As long as the bearings spin and the collar is not tight you're set. You'll be done soon.

[riffman12]

Thanks Jerry. Wheels are mounted and spinning nicely. I'm waiting on my new front brake lines to arrive and trying to get the rest of the bike buttoned up.

I currently have a gallon of evapo-rust in the tank trying to get rid of the oxidation. Then I'm going to spray it with Sta Bil engine fogger to stop flash rusting.

Then it's time to hand over the tank and the parts I need painted for color matching. Hoping to get that done this week.


Indicators and headlight are all wired up and working - sort of. The blinkers blink slowly...sometimes. Does this sound like symptom of a bad flasher relay? Or is there just not enough resistance in the system since my brake light isn't wired up yet?


In the mean time, I was trying to clean my rear master cylinder, and I think it's beyond saving. So much gunk and corrosion in there - I'm going to have to replace it. Anyone have a '76 or '77 rear MC they want to sell me? Or have an idea of how to adapt a newer one without fabricating a custom bracket?

[Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er]

75 or 76 rear MC not 76/77! How bad is the bore?

Slow blinkers = low battery perhaps. Is the rest of the wiring working correctly? Do you have that one short connector wire hooked up correctly in the front junction box?

Be careful with the tank cleaner and don't let it expose/eat any pin holes.

[riffman12]

75 or 76 rear MC not 76/77! How bad is the bore?

Slow blinkers = low battery perhaps. Is the rest of the wiring working correctly? Do you have that one short connector wire hooked up correctly in the front junction box?

Be careful with the tank cleaner and don't let it expose/eat any pin holes.

Well my rear caliper is from a '77F (not the dual piston) so I think I might actually want the newer one as long as it still mounts to the bike correctly.

The tank cleaner is pretty mellow stuff. And I don't think my tank was rusty enough to worry about pin holes. It was really just surface oxidation that I wanted gone.

[Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er]

Yeah, it's the mounting you need to deal with. The 77/78 has the remote reservoir. If you can deal with that there are a #$%*load on EBay for Chinese cheap.

[seanbarney41]

70's GL1000 mc will bolt right up but you will have to figure out a custom brake line as the GL brakes use different fittings at both ends.  I used GL master cylinder on my f3 because they are 1/2 to 1/3 the price of F bike masters.  It looks like certain dohc rear masters may be made to work too.

[riffman12]

OK going to try and head to my local salvage yard today and see what MCs they have. Also have them shorten my chain.

I'm still scratching my head trying to figure out what to do for a tail light.

I was all set to order a flexible LED strip, but then I realized the only surface I have to mount it on is the top of the seat pan. It would be aiming up at like a 45 degree angle. Would that still be visible to cars behind me?

It would be great to have something slim under the back of the seat, but I'm worried the tire will hit it under compression. There really isn't much room there. I also have no idea where I would mount it as the closest mounting point it way up at my hoop:



I'm not holding off painting until I can figure this out - in case I end up having to drill something into the back of the seat.

Any ideas?

[riffman12]

to clarify my brake light issue:

Here's a couple shots to show how little clearance I have under my seat:





I ordered this light off amazon on a bit of a gamble. It's meant to go under a harley fender...and it mounts with sticky tape, but I get the feeling it's going to kiss the tireif the shocks compress all the way:

http://amzn.com/B019VTK2YY


Does anyone else have ideas?

I'm even open to putting something on top of the seat, I'm just worried it will ruin the nice line.

[seanbarney41]

I used to run turn signals with red lenses and dual filament wired into the tail light and brake light...but then no rear turn signals,  although I think something could be done about this with a trailer light controller.

[riffman12]

I used to run turn signals with red lenses and dual filament wired into the tail light and brake light...but then no rear turn signals,  although I think something could be done about this with a trailer light controller.

I think I might get hassled a little too much by the CA police if I do that. I'd also like the brake light to be plenty visible.

I received that light from Amaaon, and it doesn't fit  The curv is too wide compared to the one on my seat so there's a big gap.

Time to try something else...

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Did you look into the LED strip?

[riffman12]

Did you look into the LED strip?

Yep that's what I wanted to do, but I don't have a vertical surface to stick it on. It would be aiming at the sky if I stick it on my seat. 

[Roach Carver]

I have seen that seat on other bikes but it seems like the rear came out a different/less steep angle with more clearance between the tire and the sheet metal.

[Roach Carver]

this is a forum members bike. its different but definitely provides more clearance

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

That's Dave Hiller's (aka Doctor D) bike.  I have a similar seat on my 750.




I was thinking something along the lines of welding in a curved slender bar to follow the curve of your seat edge and then mount the LED strip to it.

[riffman12]

I have seen that seat on other bikes but it seems like the rear came out a different/less steep angle with more clearance between the tire and the sheet metal.

I think the difference is that I shortened my seat. I knew from the beginning that I wanted the seat to end roughly over my rear axle. It was a little long when I bought it.

That other seat is pretty, but different shape than mine.

I bought this thing as a gamble: http://amzn.com/B002GTOE82

It looks like if I take that light off the plate bracket, it might fit under my seat with some kind of adhesive. If not, then I'll look into welding some sort of mount, or a surface to mount the LED strip.

Thanks for the help guys. Chain is on,waiting on brake lines still. Then it's just paint until this thing is riding. 

[riffman12]

OK it's been a little while here. Been waiting on some parts as well as figuring out a tail light.

I'm rebuilding rear MC this weekend as I finally found a rebuild kit. Also going to fill and bleed my front brakes.

Next week is paint, then on to tuning.

I think I'm going to go ahead and replace my 4 spark plug caps as they're cheap and the ones I have look original. Just as clarification, is this what I want?

2 of these: http://4into1.com/ngk-spark-plug-resistor-cover-120-degree-vd05f/

2 of these: http://4into1.com/ngk-spark-plug-resistor-cover-straight-sd05f/

right?

[Roach Carver]

Yes

[riffman12]

cool thanks. Ordered them.

Next issue: I finally got my tail light mounted but I'm a little worried that my tire will hit the light under full compression. Here's how it looks:



I'm mentally blanking on this...does anyone have a good way to measure how much the wheel will move upward under full shock compression? The swingarm hinge and the fact the shocks don't go straight up and down are confusing me.

I posted the pic before, but you can see here why I'm having clearance issues; the seat is pretty far forward:




Any ideas on how to make sure my tire won't hit? Am I making this more complicated than it needs to be?

[budman]

Any ideas on how to make sure my tire won't hit?

Become really proficient at dodging potholes?

[riffman12]

Become really proficient at dodging potholes?

haha perfect. Not so easily done in the bay area...

here's a couple similar pictures with it off the center stand (aka milk crate). So this is at normal rest:

[budman]

I'm kind of in the same boat.  I heavily modified the rear section of my CB750 and lost some clearance.  I see a lot of brats with low seats and I've wondered if they have problems with the tire hitting the frame.  There are shock extenders that you can buy but they look kind of odd to me.  You end up having to rotate the clevis 90 degrees.  Longer shocks maybe?  Until I get my bike running and rideable I'm not going to worry about it just yet.  I live in Houston.  I currently ride a rigid and I've become really good at dodging potholes.

[calj737]

You could always stand up on the pegs when running over stuff...