I'm pleased to report that despite my laziness in posting over the last 4-5 months of work, I'm "done" with my most recent CB project.
A bit of history first.... Unfortunately, my love affair with SOHC4s and bikes in general was cut tragically short when my divorce in 2012 forced the sale of all of my prized possessions, including a bone stock CB350F that I restored, a mildly cafe'd CB550, and my beloved Hypermotard 1100S. Fast forward 4 years, and I'm happily remarried to a wonderful woman who not only tolerates my mechanical obsession, but supports it fully. We bought a house together and I've devoted half of the garage to a motorcycle rebuilding space and have very much enjoyed spending the last several months elbow-deep in grease and spray paint.
Once I had the garage space and the go-ahead from the better half, I immediately began the hunt for a project bike to bring back to life. Southern California is a really tough market to find good deals. Every hipster wants $3500 for their CB350T that they've butchered in the alley outside their apartment so that it will match their mustache and skinny jeans. Deals are few and far between, and anything decent is swooped by one of the numerous shops dedicated to pumping out $8k cafe bikes. After months of looking, however, I caught a break. I had emailed a guy about a pair of CBs that he wanted to offload for a very reasonable price, but he had quickly replied they were sold pending pickup. I replied with my disappointment and wished him luck. 5 days later, I got a phone call from the same guy saying the other guy was flaking and I could pick up if I came that afternoon. I was in the truck and on my way within 10 minutes! The seller was a pretty awesome guy, as evidenced by his immaculately rebuilt mid-century modern sea-side home with a pair of equally immaculately rebuilt pre-war British bikes in his living room (talk about an understanding wife!). He had a Vincent Black Shadow and a Vello of some kind, both decorated with "best in show" ribbons and trophies. He led me to the workshop where we walked around a half-dozen more in-progress pre-war british restoration projects. The two "jap" bikes in question were wedged in the corner. He explained they were originally intended to be a bonding opportunity for him and his now ex-son-in-law, and that he simply wanted the memory gone... He had no titles, no knowledge if either ran, and i gladly accepted the challenge for an unusually low price of $1000.
My initial goal for both bikes was to make them safe, reliable, clean, titled, and registered and simultaneously addressed the numerous issues that you all know comes with mystery purchases. There was a stock-ish 1972 CB500 and a partial cafe 1974 CB550. The 500 had basically just been drug out of the junk yard and had 35 years of neglect caked deep into every corner of the bike. Everything rubber was replaced, the 3000 mile tune up carefully performed, and everything dirty was scrubbed and cleaned.
I had some challenges with the tank of the 500, which had been freshly painted (which I thought was the bike's only positive attribute). It had tons of rust inside, as well as a very thick and peeling tank liner. I soaked in acetone overnight to melt the liner and awoke to tons of pinholes where the acetone had eaten through the paint... Fixed one problem, caused another...
I subsequently stripped the tank, soldered the holes, redkoted the inside, and painted the tank and sidecovers. Definitely more work than I expected, but worth the result.
Amazingly, before too long, I had a runner! It was exhilarating to be back on 2 wheels! Because I had already sunk much more than I intended into both projects already, I wanted to get this one listed for sale and out of the garage to continue to buy pricier parts for the 550. In about a week, I had it sold to a genuine hipster who was excited to park it in front of his barber shop (I #$%* you not...).
Now I could shift my full attention to the 550. This one was a much better candidate for an easy cafe project. It already had a freshly powdercoated frame, polished engine covers, painted motor, rebuilt brakes and master cylinder, and although he couldn't remember the history of the motor, I found a receipt from Trophy Cycles for a full top end rebuild with 3mm overbored pistons, rings, valves, and guides! Bonus!
I went pretty nuts on parts and upgrades and did the following:
Fresh Avon Roadrider rubber and tubes
Rebuilt fork seals and filled with fresh fluid
New rear air shocks
Complete stainless hex bolt kit for motor
All new cables, fuel lines, and speedo cable
CBR superbike brake and clutch levers
Rebuilt non-functioning speedo with parts from a donor speedo (drive gear was stripped)
Lucas rear brake light
New eBay speedo decal
Clubman bars
Cheapo folding bar-end mirrors
Builtwell grips
Rebuilt starter solenoid
Completely rewired bike with eBay donor harness (original was trashed...)
Replaced incorrect CB550F header with Delkevic stainless header and hidden universal baffle
Uni pod filters and rejetted to accommodate
New clutch friction plates
Dropped in a 650 cam (best bang for your buck on a 550!)
Trimmed front and rear fenders
Custom leather seat from Vietnam on stock seat pan
Custom painted my tank, sidecovers, headlight bucket and fenders with Dupli-Color automotive color (5 coats Ford GT Metallic Blue and hand-taped stripes) and clearcoated with SprayMax 2k catalyzed 2-part glamour clear in a can, cut, buffed, and polished clear. It was only my second effort at rattle can paint that's not matte black and I'm happy to say it's a "1 foot paint job" not the "10 footer" that I was originally aiming for.
Overall, I'm so thrilled with the result. To put my passion aside for as many years as I had to, and to come back to it feels so rewarding. The bike rides great. It's quick, responsive, comfortable, and I'm proud to talk to people about the build whenever anyone asks about it. As always, this forum played an instrumental role in guiding my plan and helping me through every step of the tuneup and rebuild. My only regret is that I don't know more people in the area with the same passion you all have for these great machines. I hesitate to say the project is done, because we all know they're never done, but I'm excited to ride the hell out of it over the coming months and years. Thanks for reading!
