To start things off....I'm not a builder. So I'd like to use this forum as not only a build journal of sorts but also a place to get some feedback and maybe trouble shoot a couple issues.
I got my first bike, a '72 cb350, last year (2016) and rode it all season. After a season of hard riding both on backroads and in the city, I decided I wanted more power.
The work I did on my cb350 was done out of a community garage based in Cleveland OH called SkidMark. (
http://skidmarkgarage.com/) Very cool concept worth checking out if you're local or anywhere in NE Ohio.
The owner of SkidMark has stock piles of old Japanese motorcycles and parts so I was able to pick up a cb750 frame and engine for pretty cheap.
I'll spare some of the details to get the post up to speed, but here's some of the fun so far.
Ordered a hardtail section from voodoo vintage and early December it arrived. Completed frame to follow.
While the frame was out for chopping I went to work on the top end. I decided against cracking the case as it's a little above my pay grade and the engine seemed to be in relatively good shape when I got it.
An advantage to working in a community garage such as Skidmark is the access to tools and pieces of equipment you might not normally have access to in your every day D.I.Y. or home garage. One such piece of equipment is a vapor blaster. I'm no expert but it's my understanding that the vapor blaster uses compressed air to blast a water and particulate (in this case glass bead) mixture. Place a part in the cabinet and watch the grime wash away. Much like sand blasting there's a treatment process after pulling the part from the cabinet but nothing extensive.
Here's my cylinder bank before and after the vapor blaster. I also had these Honed.
Probably the best example of the vapor blasting success is the valve cover.
A few days later I get notification that the hardtail has been finished!
Look at those welds!!!
Got it back to the garage and threw the rear wheel, and front fork after getting the All Balls......just as fun to type as you'd think.....tapered roller's on the head stem.
SITTIN LOW!
Got a pretty wild hair about this interesting headlight surround I saw. and decided that I'd try my hand on fiber glassing something like it.
Inspiration
I've got a mold ready for the fiberglass but haven't committed to anything yet.
Found a tank and I think it fits.
I ordered a set of engine bolts from Dime City and was really happy with it.
Dug into the Head and began piecing it back together only to realize I was missing a Cam Tower Oil Jet! Oh yeah!!!! Of course its discontinued from Honda so our good friends at
http://www.cyclexchange.net/ came through in the pinch.. If you have any SOHC questions Ken is the guy. $3.00 part from Honda cost me $15.00 plus shipping. Thanks HONDA!
Quite honestly putting together the top end was one of the most fun things Ive done so far. Very rewarding tangible progress.
Flipped 'er over and got after that ass after putting on some of the other vapor blasted covers.
I know this seems all over the place and I plan to start detailing progress a little better. I just wanted to get the post up to date to where I am now. There's of course some things that I've glossed over intentionally. I want to keep this light up until I have actual issues to be resolved. I've probably gotten in over my head but I think with some focus I can have this project done in time to ride this summer.
