Topic: MrFry's CB750 Cafe Project Thread

[doug_id]

Don't think of the dent as a flaw......it's a "beauty mark"   

[MrFry]

Don't think of the dent as a flaw......it's a "beauty mark"   

a very unsightly beauty mark!

i've shifted gears on the seat (again).
a welder appeared in my garage recently so i decided to 'fiddle'
my first plan was to cut a bunch of long triangles and weld them together at angles. The idea was that once they are all welded together they would form a 'hump' for the seat
no go, my welding sucks and the machine i was using does to

so i grabbed a sheet of metal and started beating on it
although it looks a bit better than my first attempt - i am still light years away of forming a seat i would actually use

so the latest idea:

it's from Airtech-Streamlining and it's a 'Ducati 900ss seat'.
according to the dimensions it will fit the frame pretty well and i think it looks ok.
i'm wondering if i could form a piece of metal over that, polish and attach it?
or perhaps can find someone that could?

either way, i'll probably have it upholstered at the local place i mentioned earlier.
i just couldn't fall in love with this seat



oh and my picture server went down
apparently i was only alloted 500mb of space (oops)

[MrFry]

My gallery is back up (excuse to bump my own thread)

polished the tank some more last night, and played with some ideas in photoshop for the tank and seat, removed the buddy brackets



yay/nay?


also - now that i am able to get the bike on the centerstand (thank you tt) i am wondering how you guys balance the bike to take the front wheel off?
i tried tieing the back of the bike to some cinderblocks, but it lifted them right up and sat on the front wheel still.

[Blaize]

I have my kid sit on the bike and slide back damn near to the rear fender while I unbolt the wheel.

[enforcer]

Put a jack under the motor.  OR, if you have the back wheel off, it doesn't work to jack up the front, so I hung the front end from the rafters.  I just hooked two straps to my handle bars and to the rafter and ratcheted it up.  It worked slick. 
To paint a clearer picture, my bike was balancing on the center stand and the front end was hanging from the rafters.

Enforcer

[MrFry]

I have my kid sit on the bike and slide back damn near to the rear fender while I unbolt the wheel.

do you have him sit there while the wheel is being serviced? 

unfortunately my garage has a covered ceiling (no rafters) - looks like i may have to try the floor jack.

[MrFry]

hah, and you all thought you had 'megaphone mufflers'....
today's story starts off with a not-so-successful trip to my motoplace. Still waiting on brake parts, air filters, etc.
i did however, pick up some headlight brackets, front turn signals, a rotor (for my dual disk conversion - still gathering parts), some fuel line, and a reserve tube for my petcock.
replaced all the fuel line, pushed in the reserve tube (it looks like they should be stiff. The Ebay petcocks show them 'floating' in the hole. Then need to be pressed in), installed my headlight brackets, and turned to the exhaust...

i decided to hear it one more time without the muffler before i clamped it all back up
when i pull the muffler off i find ANOTHER piece sitting inside the pipe
this time, it's actually a part that came with the muffler.

in the blink of an eye, i had decided just to core the damn thing - it fixes stuff falling out right? 
so now i have a true megaphone exhaust and damn... it sounds good!
...maybe not so good to my neighbors, but out of my 5 vehicles 4 of them are pretty loud now


im changing servers for my gallery site, so i don't have anything for you right now - will update with pictures and videos when i can!




<edited for pictures>


running a little rich i'd say...

[scunny]

I like the look of the bike, that stripe on the tank looks similar to a guzzi 850 from the 70's
for holding the bikes back down just put a drop in anchor in your garage floor, they are flush so no tripping on it and when you need to strap the bike down screw in an eye bolt.   

[TwoTired]

lso - now that i am able to get the bike on the centerstand (thank you tt) i am wondering how you guys balance the bike to take the front wheel off?

You're welcome.

I use a 1 ton bottle jack and a small block from a 2/4 under the oil filter housing.  You do need to watch for when the rear tire contacts the floor while raising with this method.  The center stand can fold up and bike fall over if you jack too high.  No, that hasn't happened to me.  But, it's possible.

Cheers,

[MrFry]

thanks guys!

here are some vids:
Straigh pipe 4-1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0UbcutQ-wc

Cored Kerker Muffler (so really just a megaphone shell)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZOnIbKTsqs
it sounds like a race bike in person 

and when i put the end-cap in:

...yes, that is my goofy laugh in the video - it really suprised me

[mrblasty]

I've been running with open exhaust for several months, first with open down tubes and now with a '78 super sport header attached to an ebay sourced Jardine can with the baffle removed.  I've made reference to the sound level being rediculoud, I'm sure the neighbors are happy now that I've stuffed the baffle back in the can.

[MrFry]

I've been running with open exhaust for several months, first with open down tubes and now with a '78 super sport header attached to an ebay sourced Jardine can with the baffle removed.  I've made reference to the sound level being rediculoud, I'm sure the neighbors are happy now that I've stuffed the baffle back in the can.

i've said it before, and i'll say it again, man i love being a turtle
..no wait

i love my bikes like i love my women, loud and naked 

the end-cap or baffle or whatever you want to call it, is easy enough to remove.
i figure i'll probably leave that in so it's only... "dayum" loud.
i'll take it out for those special occasions where i want "WHAT?!" loud

[JohnK6]

by this time i had started researching gauges.
i wasn't a big fan of the stockers, and really my only requirement was a Tach.
what would have been ideal was a Tach with a speedo and indicator lights built in - but they were $$$
and i couldn't justify spending more than what i paid for the bike on a gauge
so i looked somemore and narrowed it down to 2 choices
the Trailtech Vapor
and the ElectroSport 3700 series

...in the end it came down to customer service. I left a message for electrosport, and never recieved a call back
so i called trailtech and experience some of the best customer service i have seen in a long time
so a week later i had the VAPOR gauge with Indicator light dashboard

i tried several different methods for wiring the indicator lights, but in the end - it came down to cutting up their harness and fitting it to the CB via 8-pin Radio Shack connectors



the tach signal jumps around a bit and after talking to Trailtech they are sending me a new tach lead with resistors
i mounted the speedo sensor to the front brake dust-shield and drilled a hole through the base of the rotor for the magnet.

Hi, can you tell me the exact type of the trailtech vapor? which u used for you're project?, and what you think of it, cause i.m going to start with an cafe racer, and i like the sight of the vapor.

where did you get the input off for the revs counter?

[MrFry]

by this time i had started researching gauges.
i wasn't a big fan of the stockers, and really my only requirement was a Tach.
what would have been ideal was a Tach with a speedo and indicator lights built in - but they were $$$
and i couldn't justify spending more than what i paid for the bike on a gauge
so i looked somemore and narrowed it down to 2 choices
the Trailtech Vapor
and the ElectroSport 3700 series

...in the end it came down to customer service. I left a message for electrosport, and never recieved a call back
so i called trailtech and experience some of the best customer service i have seen in a long time
so a week later i had the VAPOR gauge with Indicator light dashboard

i tried several different methods for wiring the indicator lights, but in the end - it came down to cutting up their harness and fitting it to the CB via 8-pin Radio Shack connectors



the tach signal jumps around a bit and after talking to Trailtech they are sending me a new tach lead with resistors
i mounted the speedo sensor to the front brake dust-shield and drilled a hole through the base of the rotor for the magnet.

Hi, can you tell me the exact type of the trailtech vapor? which u used for you're project?, and what you think of it, cause i.m going to start with an cafe racer, and i like the sight of the vapor.

where did you get the input off for the revs counter?

sure thing
http://trailtech.net/vapor.html
i opted for that one cause it seems the most setup for street use.
it has a bar for the RPM display, as opposed to just a digital number (a big deal for me), plus some safety settings like a 2-stage Shift Light, as well as Tempurature warning.
i'm still waiting for the temp sensor and the new Tach Lead to get here (they were supposed to ship last week... and the week before... etc.
they are really helpfull on the phone, but it seems to take a bit to get them to send what they say they will.
so i haven't hooked either of those up, but i was told to hook the Tach lead up by tapping the input wire of the coil. We shall see how that works.

i'd probably ask for a lead with resistors (they make them), as the regular lead that comes with the kit seems to have a 'dirty' signal - the tach jumps around a lot.

now, that being said - i'm not to optimistic on the new Tach Lead, seeing as i don't have a lead plugged in for the tach, and it is still picking up a signal and read about 100 rpm every now and then.

i think (once i get the lead) i'm going to put some ferrite beads around the wire - hopefully it doesn't completely kill the signal.

oh, and If i recall correctly, none of the other gauges use that 'indicator dashboard'

[JohnK6]

there are special cables with a special safetyharness which blocks external signals (special earth connection) maybe that will solve that problem?

and:

none of the other gauges use that indicator dashboard

the dashboard is what it makes special 


thanks for the link for the vapor equipment.

[MrFry]

there are special cables with a special safetyharness which blocks external signals (special earth connection) maybe that will solve that problem?

oh!? and where does one go about getting these?>

[JohnK6]

there are special cables with a special safetyharness which blocks external signals (special earth connection) maybe that will solve that problem?

oh!? and where does one go about getting these?>

           

in the USA I'll don't know in Europe you can get several types

for example a coax cable (for t.v) has the same thing, only with a hard inside cable not suited for on  the motor   what you're looking for is a cable with a special flex earth outside and a flex cable inside, i've searched on google but i don't know the right names in englesh

[Andrew Foss]

if you buy one of these http://www.cyclestuffusa.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=13675 and pull out the baffle, it will fit snugly into the end of your header, then all you need to do is drill a small hole and put in the bolt to hold it in place (i also stuffed some steel wool around the baffel for more sound reduction). i did this with my kerker system because i dont like the look of a bulky muffler, and i dont like the sound of completely open pipes. it sounds about as loud as the kerker did with baffle.
-andrew

[KB02]

there are special cables with a special safetyharness which blocks external signals (special earth connection) maybe that will solve that problem?

You're looking for "Shielded" Cable. The "Shield" is what blocks out the electrical "Noise" that causes the interference.

[MrFry]

ahhh, ok thanks guys.
not sure i would be able to run the Shielded wire - the Vapor has special connectors and all that
plus, like i said earlier - it's still picking up a signal without the lead plugged in

so it must be picking it up from that little 2" lead.

[MrFry]

if you buy one of these http://www.cyclestuffusa.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=13675 and pull out the baffle, it will fit snugly into the end of your header, then all you need to do is drill a small hole and put in the bolt to hold it in place (i also stuffed some steel wool around the baffel for more sound reduction). i did this with my kerker system because i dont like the look of a bulky muffler, and i dont like the sound of completely open pipes. it sounds about as loud as the kerker did with baffle.
-andrew

thanks Andrew.
i think i'm going to keep the ratty Kerker muffler i have on there.
...now that i've completely cored it and it sounds wicked!!!
 

[MrFry]

seeing as my local moto place is having a hell of a time finding the metal tube for the brake caliper - i'm asking you guys for help

WHERE CAN I FIND THE METAL TUBE THAT GOES FROM THE BRAKE CALIPER TO THE BRAKE LINE?!

1977 CB750 k7 - for reference

[andy750]

If the K7 calipers are the same as the K4 calipers then I have a spare in my garage. If you want it let me know your address and its yours. Should be good to use.

cheers
Andy

[MrFry]

If the K7 calipers are the same as the K4 calipers then I have a spare in my garage. If you want it let me know your address and its yours. Should be good to use.

cheers
Andy

thanks, but i'm pretty sure they are different.

ignore that metal tube - it's all bent up

[dagersh]

Mr. Fry,

Since my last post did not help, let me try again!  Would you consider going with SS Brake lines?  If so, you can get a Banjo directly on the Caliper and forgo the tube entirely.  Look to the guys at HEL for help in what you would need for a line from the M/C to the Caliper.

By the way, the rendering of your bike looks awesome.  Someone mentioned the resemblence to the '70's Guzzi 750 Sport.  Looks like this:



Keep up the great work!

Gersh