Topic: 1975 Honda CB750P2 Police Restoration - White Gold

[BenelliSEI]

James….. Where did you get the new regulator and rectifier? I’m re using the originals on my project, but would like to have a new set on “standby”.

They're original parts that I refurbished.

You can remove the top cover of the regulator, get it zinc plated and yellow passivated. The rectifier is just cleaned up / airbrushed.

Thanks! I will do that. John D.

[JamesH]

Managed to get a few more hours on the police bike today, and she’s really starting to come together.

Siren test fitted and patrol lights fitted and wired. I’ve decided to run a red/blue patrol light setup for now (as opposed to the double red US setup). Not sure if this will stay this way, but is fine for now.

Master cylinder refurbished and fitted. Both controls have been refurbished - can’t fit the Lh switch until the clutch perch and siren lever perch come back from straightening and polishing.

Hit a snag with the tank paintwork - so that will be a couple of weeks away at least. What is it always the paintwork lol..

Anyway - progress photos below:

[Shtonecb500]

omg those lights are killing me, i love this.

[desertrefugee]

Yup.  The old cherries and berries. I’ve seen those behind me way too many times.

Good stuff as usual, James. Can’t wait to see the finished machine…like parked in front of a police station or something.

[WideAWAKE]

Out of curiosity, is having lights and sirens hooked up legal??

I know here in California it would get you in some serious trouble if you turned em on.

Flashing light are legal to install, just not use.

But I could see a real grey area in the fact that your lenses are blue and red.

[desertrefugee]

Regardless of whether they are hooked up or not, he is going to freak people out when he comes up behind them on the road. All you'll need is a white half helmet and sunglasses. 

Heck, I had people telling me I looked like a cop on my black and yellow Valkyrie when I wore my half helmet.

[Shtonecb500]

you should get one of those flag poles on the back of the bike that says "not a real cop".

[JamesH]

Evening all.

Progress on the Police bike has been sporadic and slow, whilst I’m waiting for a few bits to come together..you guessed it, the bloody paintwork. Why is it ALWAYS the sodding paintwork that holds up these projects .

Anyway, have got the front end finished now, and carbs fitted and we have a running bike. She settles down into a nice smooth, quiet tickover - so I’m bloody chuffed.

The headlight ‘nacelle’ was a bit of a challenge to get a headlight rim to fit smoothly, but managed to get there in the end.

I’ve also wired up the patrol lights to a flasher unit I found in the US - yes, they’ll be disconnected for road use but if I ever show the bike it’s a nice little ‘show trick’.

I’ve also been at the 3D design/printing to mock-up the missing bracket that guides the siren cables to the rear drive bracket/roller. It’s amazing what you can conjure up from a couple of photos from the internet . Had to redesign the first effort and ‘thicken’ it slightly; second time lucky.

Have been in touch with Venhill who have agreed to manufacture a clutch cable in grey to my specification - the one I bought from CMSNL two years ago was about 16” too short..def a spec savers job there lol..

So will be a quiet couple of weeks whilst I wait for the paintwork to get sorted, then I can button this one up and go out for a spin / get arrested by the local plod for ‘flashing’ :-).

[JamesH]

So the bike is pretty much finished - just awaiting finalisation of the tank and side cover. I have the unenviable task of fitting the decals later this week before the tank is clear coated by the painter.

Anyway, airbox is now fitted, carbs synchronised and she runs really nicely.

Have finished the siren installation; the proof of concept 3D printed roller drive bracket was a great guide for my local welder who modified the 500/4 bracket to match my design.

Correct length clutch cable sourced and fitted.

Revised design for the 3D printed siren cable clip fitted - I’ll need to make a final design change to this but it’ll do the job for now.

I also managed to source a ‘low profile’ blue patrol light to match the red unit I had with the ‘clear’ lens. So I’ll fit these reflectors to the bike tomorrow at some point.

Also fitted and aligned the NOS seat and very please with how she’s looking. The paintwork will be the icing on the cake once ready.

[WideAWAKE]

Absolute stunner!!!!

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

On the home stretch!

[MauiK3]

So totally amazing.
I ran the video of flashing lights and the blue one comes out a bit green, I guess the digital pipeline it goes through shifts the color some. The stills are blue, video is more green.
Fantastic project.

[Stev-o]

Hey James...just ran across your thread, great job!

[JamesH]

Thanks for all the feedback. It really helps and keeps spurring me on over the finish line.

Picked up the fuel tank and managed to grab a couple of hours at lunchtime to work in the ‘clean room’ (aka the dining room table) to apply the decals to the tank.

This is the job I’ve been most dreading on this project, as I’ve never (successfully) attempted decals with this level of compound curvature.

Procedure was to very lightly wet-sand the base coat on the tank with 1500 wet/dry, to give a good adhesion bed for the decals.

The decals are best applied ‘wet’ with a spray bottle with a small amount of washing up liquid, which gives time to position the decals before pressing them down with the squeegee. Patience is the key here as the decals come in 2 parts and need to ‘line up’ in two locations but with two pairs of pinstripes.

Anyway, 2 hours later and it’s done - it wasn’t straightforward but I stuck with it and it’s pretty much spot on.

Back to the painters tomorrow for 2K clear and I’ll be ready to fit and wrap this project up…

[BenelliSEI]

James..... nice job on the decals! The machine is fantastic!

[JamesH]

Cheers guys - smashing a pint of IPA and having a play with the design of the siren bracket in CAD to see if I can use a 3D printed part and still tighten the rear upper engine bolt without crushing the 3D printed plastic material (PLA).

Current thinking is to recess an M10 washer within a recessed pocket and use an M10x25 washer under the nut to transmit the load. I’m sure there’s a better way but the beer is flowing ha ha..

[Shtonecb500]

damn, I think i found the solution to my problem. Im going to run one of these cop style seats when I want to run my top box on my bike for trips. This police bike is gorgeous, I love watching people 3d print their own stuff, those police lights are pretty damn awesome.

[JamesH]

Evening chaps.

Finishing touches applied to the bike this evening, after receiving the tank and side covers back from my painters.

In the past couple of weeks I’ve swapped out the patrol light lens’ for the earlier ‘clear’ style - personally I prefer the look of these.

Very pleased with how she’s come together over the past 14 weeks. It’s been a long haul since buying her back in 2018, but I guess good things come to those who wait.

Family ‘staycation’ means she’s going to stay put for a couple of weeks before I can do some shakedown tests. But it’s been worth all the hours and effort that’s gone into saving her.

Thanks for the comments and feedback along the way, it’s been greatly appreciated.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Nominated for Bike of the Month - need a "SECOND" to the nomination:  http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,180400.0.html

[JamesH]

Nominated for Bike of the Month - need a "SECOND" to the nomination:  http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,180400.0.html

Very kind of you - thanks!

[Benth]

One of the finest builds I've seen on this forum and I've been lurking for ever.  Wholehearted second.  Amazing James!

[rocket johnny]

i'll gladly give that  gem a second !      a fantastic restoration down to the nat's ass

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

This bike is currently duking it out for Bike of the Month June 2022.  Please remember to cast your vote:  http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,189995.0.html

[Stev-o]

Fantastic job James!

[PeWe]

One of the few Police CB750 to be seen!
I doubt I will ever see anything as good as this one!

If people should have had camera phones back in the days, I'm sure they  should have taken selfies with the Police bike when stopped getting a ticket for anything.