Topic: CB750 K3 Chopper Build

[budman]

Yep, Bud made short work of cleaning that frame off to bare iron! Thanks for the invite.

Looking forward to Bud's build on this one.

Really think Bud needs to go at least 915cc on this one - especially for Stev-o's benefit!     

Thanks for coming out.

Even though I'm ready I can't jump into this build too fast or too deep at the moment.  I have to keep the peace at home, although my wife did say if I helped her install the rock sliders on her Jeep she wouldn't say anything about the chopper.  Needless to say, the rock sliders are installed.

I would really like to get it finished for Sturgis 2018.

915? Hmmm...

[Lostboy Steve]

Tank looked good before and still does now! Very cool.


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[budman]

Tank looked good before and still does now! Very cool.

Thanks.  I've never done anything like that before, except for a little airbrush blending.  I was trying to hold back a bit because I didn't know what I was doing, but I found myself shifting gears because it wasn't coming out like a had envisioned.  Then it started to get away from me so I ran with it.  In the end I think it came out pretty good.  It was actually a lot of fun, hardly cost anything and I got to reuse and old part.

[Stev-o]

I blasted the frame this morning.  It only took about 20 minutes to remove all that nasty Nitro-Stan putty, primer, rust and whatever else that was stuck on the frame.  kmb69 came out for the festivities.

The frame is already back home on the lift, awaiting a coat of epoxy primer which it will get in the morning.

Lots of fab, mods and cleanup to do from here.
.....

Yep, Bud made short work of cleaning that frame off to bare iron! Thanks for the invite.

Looking forward to Bud's build on this one.

Really think Bud needs to go at least 915cc on this one - especially for Stev-o's benefit!     

Ha!  Yeah, one up me Bud!

Or how 'bout 1026cc?!

http://dynoman.net/engine/pistons/custom.html#cb750

[budman]

Ha!  Yeah, one up me Bud!

Or how 'bout 1026cc?!

http://dynoman.net/engine/pistons/custom.html#cb750

That's more than one upmanship.  Maybe an 860.

[Terry in Australia]

I blasted the frame this morning.  It only took about 20 minutes to remove all that nasty Nitro-Stan putty, primer, rust and whatever else that was stuck on the frame.  kmb69 came out for the festivities.

The frame is already back home on the lift, awaiting a coat of epoxy primer which it will get in the morning.

Lots of fab, mods and cleanup to do from here.

That's a fascinating frame, it looks like someone's modded an OEM frame, but they've done good work, it looks seriously strong. You may have problems installing Cycle X's twin carb set up though, a member here who installed one on his 750 had to "notch" the rear downtubes.

[budman]

That's a fascinating frame, it looks like someone's modded an OEM frame, but they've done good work, it looks seriously strong. You may have problems installing Cycle X's twin carb set up though, a member here who installed one on his 750 had to "notch" the rear downtubes.

The frame is a beast.  It needs work, but it's doable.

I've found several photos of bikes with stock frames using the Cycle X dual carb setup.  The problem looks to be lack of room for air intakes.  I have some ideas.

[budman]

I got a couple of coats of epoxy primer shot on the frame today.  Hope to be hacking and welding in a few weeks.

[Terry in Australia]

The frame is a beast.  It needs work, but it's doable.

I've found several photos of bikes with stock frames using the Cycle X dual carb setup.  The problem looks to be lack of room for air intakes.  I have some ideas.








Yeah mate, if you take a close look at the second bike, which first looks like the carbs clear no problem, you'll see that in fact he's cut the downtubes above the engine mounts and moved them inwards so the carbs clear. I think that's way too drastic for me, Murray's twin carb setup isn't quite as pretty, but it allows clearance for the carbs and filters. Cheers, Terry.

[budman]

Yeah mate, if you take a close look at the second bike, which first looks like the carbs clear no problem, you'll see that in fact he's cut the downtubes above the engine mounts and moved them inwards so the carbs clear. I think that's way too drastic for me, Murray's twin carb setup isn't quite as pretty, but it allows clearance for the carbs and filters. Cheers, Terry.

Whatever route I take there will be clearance for carbs and filters, guaranteed.   

[Terry in Australia]

Good idea mate, it'll be hard to ride it without them!

[budman]

WARNING!  RANT BELOW!

So, yeah I bough the chopper without a title.  The PO seems like a decent guy.  Older gent who spent a lot of time making parts and modifying the frame and such.  Said he bought the bike without the title.  He never got around to getting one, but he did make a trip to the DMV and got a printout saying the last time the bike was registered was in 1990, which he gave me when I bought the bike.  He also sent a registered letter to the name that was on the DMV printout.  The letter was returned, which he also gave me.

I've spent the last few weeks researching my options and decided to pursue a bonded title here in Texas.  I followed the instructions found here:  http://www.txdmv.gov/motorists/buying-or-selling-a-vehicle/bought-a-vehicle-with-no-title, and on Monday, with application, bill of sale and ID in-hand I made my way down to the "TxDMV Regional Service Center", which is different than a regular DMV Service Center.  I spent an hour in the Houston Traffic, mainly because there is major road work going on in every part of the city.  I get there and there is no parking available.  I found a space down the street and eventually walked inside.  The place was packed.  I get a number and wait another hour only to be told that the bike is not in the system and I have to have a "Law Enforcement Inspection Form" filled out to verify it's not stolen, of which there is no mention of that form on the DMV instructions link above.  I show the lady the printout and she walks in the back for a few minutes only to come back and tell me the same thing.  Frustrated, I grab my stuff, leave and re-enter the Houston traffic for another hour.

So that evening I'm online searching like a mad man for what it is I'm supposed to do.  I find this:  https://txdmv.blogs.govdelivery.com/updated-law-enforcement-identification-number-inspection-form-vtr-68-a/.  This form is what I need, filled out by a LEO. If you click on the link you'll see that the form is unusable though and is not intended for the public to get its hand on.  It's only intended for law enforcement to posses.  I start calling all the PD's, the County Sherriff, the State Troopers and no one knows what I'm talking about.  One of the PD's said to call the Houston PD, but it turns out they won't do the inspection unless you are a Houston resident, which I am not and only on running vehicles, which I don't have.

I finally talk to the Chief of my little village PD and he wants to help.  He's been around and knows exactly what I'm talking about.  I show him the SAMPLE form and he calls the local DMV.  They tell him they have the form so he sends me down there to get one.  I get there and they don't have the forms anymore.  They "used to" have them, but not anymore.  The lady calls her bosses, they tell her to call the "TxDMV Regional Service Center", the place I was at on Monday.  The "TxDMV Regional Service Center" doesn't have the forms and tell the lady to call Austin.  She calls the DMV in Austin and they tell her the forms are only available...guess where...at the "TxDMV Regional Service Center".  So I call the Chief back and he said he's going to dig around some more.  I said if he can confirm that the "TxDMV Regional Service Center" I would be happy to go get the forms if he tells them he is sending a courier.  Meanwhile my wife is conversing with the local Constable, whom she knows.  I asked her to ask him if he can get the form.

The Vermont thing is looking more and more attractive.

[Terry in Australia]

Wow, what a dick around! Here in backwards Melbourne we have a "Red Plate" classic rego scheme for any bikes over 25 years old. You don't need proof of previous registration, your bike just needs to pass a roadworthy inspection, which you take with your application form to our version of the DMV, and for around $50 USD you get to ride your bike with personal injury insurance, for a year.

The more I read about how difficult it is to get older bikes back on the road in the US, the more I understand mass shootings at government facilities.........

[Stev-o]

The Vermont thing is looking more and more attractive.

Only good for registration but a very simple process and you dont have to leave your home except to mail the letter!

I'm about to do it for The Park Racer...

[budman]

The Vermont thing is looking more and more attractive.

Only good for registration but a very simple process and you dont have to leave your home except to mail the letter!

I'm about to do it for The Park Racer...

The word is that once you have the Vermont registration you can waltz right into the DMV and get a Texas title based on the Vermont registration alone, claiming that Vermont doesn't require titles for vehicles older than 15 years.  True?

I'm probably going to call the DMV Regional Center tomorrow and Austin and have them both explain the process of getting a bonded title to me and ask how one can get the elusive VTR-68-A.

[Stev-o]

The Vermont thing is looking more and more attractive.

Only good for registration but a very simple process and you dont have to leave your home except to mail the letter!

I'm about to do it for The Park Racer...

The word is that once you have the Vermont registration you can waltz right into the DMV and get a Texas title based on the Vermont registration alone, claiming that Vermont doesn't require titles for vehicles older than 15 years.  True?

Yes, I've done it.  I prefer not to discuss it further on a public forum though for concerns that it may go away...

[budman]

Wow, what a dick around! Here in backwards Melbourne we have a "Red Plate" classic rego scheme for any bikes over 25 years old. You don't need proof of previous registration, your bike just needs to pass a roadworthy inspection, which you take with your application form to our version of the DMV, and for around $50 USD you get to ride your bike with personal injury insurance, for a year.

The more I read about how difficult it is to get older bikes back on the road in the US, the more I understand mass shootings at government facilities.........

It's not uncommon for stuff like this, but this is the worst I've been through with stuff like this.  They should call this form the "Bigfoot" form.  People claim to have seen it and know about it.  There's mention of it on the internet, but there's only a cloudy image of it that can't be used for actual verification.

I read somewhere that more people are dragging these old cars and bikes out of fields and barns and the lost title thing is pretty common place these days.  You would think a procedure would be in place, but it sounds like they're making it up as they go along because the person behind the counter doesn't really know what to do.

[budman]

OK, so I called the number for the DMV in Austin, which is actually the DMV in El Paso (go figure) and the lady was very helpful.  She explained exactly what I needed to do.  I called the Regional office also to see how I can get a VTR-68-A form into my local PD's hands so I can get the VIN inspection.  They didn't have a clue.  They don't have the forms.  Evidently a PD needs to be a member of some kind of super secret group in order to know how to get these forms.

While I was on hold I did some more internet searching and it turns out the next county over does these inspections.  I called and asked if I had to be a resident of that county to get the inspection...NO I DO NOT!  I made an appointment for Tuesday.  Hopefully this works.

[kmb69]

Bud, Thanks for the info and updates.
Gonna need to be dealing with similar issues soon.

[budman]

Bud, Thanks for the info and updates.
Gonna need to be dealing with similar issues soon.

No problemo.  That's why I'm posting this stuff.

[budman]

So last week when I made my appointment for the VIN Inspection I had explained to the woman I talked to on the phone that all I was bringing was a frame and that I needed the inspection in order to get a bonded title.  She said that was fine.  I showed up for VIN Inspection appointment this morning with the frame in the back of my truck and the officer I talked to said they couldn't do anything for me because they don't inspect just frames and that it had to be a complete motorcycle.

There's a check box right on the inspection form for a "motorcycle frame".  That's how they title motorcycles, by the s/n on the frame.  What the neck?  More evidence how these government entities just make up stuff as they go along or how they feel on any given day.

From where I sit I'm thinking I only really have two choices.  Spend the money and build the bike, then go get the VIN Inspection and bonded title, which I really don't want to sink a bunch of money into something that I might have trouble with down the road...or pay Vermont,  build the bike and try to get a Texas title when the bike is finished.

[MauiK3]

Wow, typical DMV stuff. I feel for you. If the Vermont path is a sure thing that's what I'd do. Seems as though Texas has trouble being even a tiny bit creative in such circumstances. I just had a problem with my utility trailer registration. My bank bounced the check for no reason, really. I got a letter from Maui County saying I had to come in with a bank check and gave me the exact amount. I went in and they wanted $24 more!. They said that whoever wrote the letter got the amount wrong when there is a penalty. It took them an hour to figure it out. My bank only said "we're sorry, our mistake". We are going to try to get them to pay the penalty but I doubt it will work.
These official things are a pain in the grass.
Best of luck, deep breath, enjoy the journey to a very cool chopper.
Steve

[budman]

Hehe.

[Terry in Australia]

Nice...........

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Damn. I have yet to try that trick.