Topic: The X's Project

[xtalon]

Well, I've been sniffing around here for about 5 months now, asking stupid noob questions, picking up great info and ideas and sharing my smartarse wit.     I've been accumulating parts and working in the background over this same time period, trying to get my project to come together.  I didn't want to start a thread earlier for fear I couldn't pull it off for some reason.  I've been riding bikes forever and while I can perform minor maintenance, change the oil, plugs, sprockets, adjust the chain, remove wheels, etc, I'm truly a noob as to the intricate workings of a motorcycle.  This forum and the people here that contribute have truly been a blessing, because without you guys/gals, I couldn't have gotten as far as I have.   This is a great forum and the motorcycling spirit truly lives here.  I've never seen a more 'civilized' group that aren't constantly argueing or slinging insults, thumping their chests and so on and so forth.  Even when rarely it is does happen, people don't seem to take it to heart and simply let it slide off and come right back for the good of group.

In my introduction to this forum, I stated that I bought the '76 CB750K to have a bike I could ride two up with my girlfriend, but since after my first streetbike (a '77 CB550 by the way), all my other bikes have been sportbikes, so I don't know how to ride a bike with a straight back and good ergonomics.  Therefore, I had to turn it into a cafe.     Since this bike has to be a two seater, I can't do the solo seat, but I guess it will never be a true cafe, but that's fine by me.

Now about the bike.  I bought a runner and one that was in average to above average shape.  I wasn't going to change too much until I found this forum and became inspired.  As I said, I've obtained a lot of great info and ideas from people on this forum.  Back in January only a few days after I had brought the bike home, Pro Teal posted a pic of a Honda 450 Black Bomber that someone had cafed.  I loved the look and that became the main inspiration, since then others bikes, projects and ideas have come up that have led to my vision and concept.  I personally want to thank Pro Teal for that picture and the inspiration that came from it.  I want to thank DME for his exteneded tank idea and his personal answering all my questions.  I love the vintage racebike look those tanks give.  I want to thank Eric Lessard who I met on ebay.  He built my wheels and put up with my stupid noob questions(and I think he lurks around here somewhere)  .    I want to thank whomever realized the GL1000 frontend would swap out with a CB750 and especially thank Eurban who has been helping with this aspect of my project and replying to my noob questions.  He is extremely knowledgeable and very thorough in his answers.  Actaully, I want to thank everyone who has ever contributed to this forum, because I am sure, if not me, then you have helped someone somewhere.  I also want to thank my good friend Jason who is my riding buddy and also happens to own a body shop.  That definitely can be a good thing!     I also think he is getting bit by the vintage bug, so we shall see what happens.

Here is the bike I started out with.  As you can see it was in good shape.  I didn't realize until months later that it had lowering blocks on it because I had never heard or seen such a thing.



Below is the concept (done in photoshop).  I want the tank to look like 1960's Hondas (the bikes that had the chrome panels on the tank).  Rather than use chrome panels, I am going to paint the sides with Alsa Mirrachrome.  It's a chrome paint that when applied correctly is supposed to provide 90+% reflectivity.  It's expensive stuff, but I hope it works the way I want it to.  Here is a link to some pictures of what it should look like:  http://alsacorp.com/products/mirrachrome/mirra_show1.htm

Other than the tank.  The bike will have Mac dragpipes that have been modified to make the pipes on each side sit side by side instead of staggered.  The pipes in the below picture are not photoshopped.  The rear wheel will be a 150 size tire on a 3x16" Harley Davidson rim.  The front wheel will be stock size but mounted to a GL1000 front end in order to get beefier forks and two disk brakes up front.  Bike will have clip ons and a modern master cylinder.  The wheels will have black powdercoated rims and stainless steel spokes.



I'm hopefully only 2-3 weeks from being done... although are we ever truly done?  I'm about 3/4th's of the way there and I have tons of pictures of each step of the process.  I'll post some here, but what I don't post here, I'll try to host somewhere for people to go visit if they are interested.

I'm interested in feedback... even if you don't like it.  It's my bike and I like it, so that's all that really matters to me.  Also, if you see something I have done or I am doing that appears unsafe, please speak up.  As I said, I'm a noob at all of this and my mechanical knowledge is limited.

Again, the second picture is concept, so it won't look exactly like that, but I hope I can get very close.

--xTalon

[tmht]

I gotta say it first...

How are you going to get your back wheel to hover like that? 

Or... Rear tires should last forever on that thing!

Seriously, the concept looks killer. It's a concept we haven't seen a lot of on the forum. I can't wait to see how it turns out! Just take your time and don't rush it. You'll be happy you did.

[kuyarico]

I know that pictures make bikes look nicer that they truely are sometimes. You're bike looks like a beaut in it's current state. Are you sure you want to chop it up? The concept looks cool, but you seem to already have a nice scoot there. My 2 cents...
 

[Badger 5]

I agree.  That bike looks to nice to cut into.

[tmht]

I just noticed/thought of something... You said that this has to be a two seater, so I am assuming you will have a pillion on board at times. You may want to put your butt on the seat where it will rest with the extended tank attached and make sure there is actually still going to be room for your passenger.

[dagersh]

Talon,

That will be a killer scoot.  I too love the Chrome Tank Sidecover concept.  I have them on my '64 Benley and '68 Suzuki Cobra, it is such a classy look that brings back the look of the BSA's and Tritons of old.  I like the idea of Alsa paint, and it would be great to see how it works for you.  In model building there is a line of paint from "Alclad" that we use for metallic finishes.  It also involves a base coat of gloss black.  The "Alclad" is then sprayed over the base.  Once it dries, it has a "powdery" finisish that you buffed with a soft cloth, and voila, the finish looked like real metal.  Now, I used Johnsons Floor Wax over it to protect it, but I would not recommend it for outdoor use.  I don't know how the Alclad or Alsa would take a clear coat meant for automotive use, but I hope it works for you.

Looking forward to your build thread!

Gersh

[xtalon]

I know that pictures make bikes look nicer that they truely are sometimes. You're bike looks like a beaut in it's current state. Are you sure you want to chop it up? The concept looks cool, but you seem to already have a nice scoot there. My 2 cents...
 

I agree.  That bike looks to nice to cut into.

Yes, I totally agree.  I would have liked to have bought something in worse shape, but I wanted a good runner.  Anyway, after I bought it and came up with the concept, I actually bought two tanks off of ebay so I could keep the original tank, but unfortunately one tank had more bondo than I would wanted and the other had 1 inch of some kind of tank sealer hardened on the bottom of the tank.  I guess the PO didn't read the instructions about draining the excess!     Both were unuseable except as the shell for my extended tank.  Oh well, the damage (so to speak) has already been done guys.

TMHT, thanks for the heads up on the seat. I've already thought of that and think it will be okay.  I've held off on cutting the seat pan and the rear fender, so if an issue comes up, hopefully I can figure out something.

Gersh, thanks for the info on the paint.  I think the Alsa is going to work out.  As stated, my buddy owns a body/custom shop and he is very eager to try this paint, so I think he will do everything he can to make it work.

Thanks to all for the comments.  All are welcome

--xTalon

[bgfootball67]

Looks killer!  I am a huge fan of the powder coated rim hoops with polished spokes and hubs.  I am in the final stages of a BCR project with some of the same cues.  Love these old bikes!  Good luck!

[SD750F]

xtalon,

I noticed that you removed the front fender. I like the look without a front fender but you will have to retain the internal brace from a original fender or add an aftermarket brace to maintain stability.

Scott

[greenjeans]

Love it.     I can't wait to see how that paint turns out.    Just curious to know about the process....weathering, waxing etc.  My next project will have a faux chrome finish.  Who stretched your tank ? Or did you find one with the shape you wanted ? Have you powdercoated the rims yet ?   I have a tiny suggestion on the powdercoat color for the wheels..... a semi-gloss black looks good against a tire.... Sometimes a high gloss black overpowers the tire color - always makes the tires look dirty....  not really a big deal though.  Can't wait to see the finished product.   And, I agree with all your sentiments about this site.... I've learned more and have been inspired a great deal over the last few months with this site and the good people on it. 

Hurry up and finish so I can be jealous of yet another sohc.  Well done.

[xtalon]

xtalon,

I noticed that you removed the front fender. I like the look without a front fender but you will have to retain the internal brace from a original fender or add an aftermarket brace to maintain stability.

Scott

Scott, when I first removed the fender, I never knew there was an issue, but after reading stuff here, I realized there was.  I'm looking at options, but haven't  settled on anything yet.

Love it.     I can't wait to see how that paint turns out.    Just curious to know about the process....weathering, waxing etc.  My next project will have a faux chrome finish.  Who stretched your tank ? Or did you find one with the shape you wanted ? Have you powdercoated the rims yet ?   I have a tiny suggestion on the powdercoat color for the wheels..... a semi-gloss black looks good against a tire.... Sometimes a high gloss black overpowers the tire color - always makes the tires look dirty....  not really a big deal though.  Can't wait to see the finished product.   And, I agree with all your sentiments about this site.... I've learned more and have been inspired a great deal over the last few months with this site and the good people on it. 

Hurry up and finish so I can be jealous of yet another sohc.  Well done.

This paint can be clear coated, so it should be no different than any other automotive paint.  My friend Jason and I have stretched the tank, but it is more of an illusion since it's merely the shell of another CB750 tank cut and welded to the original tank.  As previously mentioned, I got the idea from DME, so he gets all the credit.  I'll post pictures shortly.

My first step of my project were the pipes.  I liked the MAC drag pipes, but I didn't like the way they were staggered one slightly above the other.  However, there is a good reason for this stagger.  It gives clearance for the rear brake pedal and I imagine it gives better ground clearance, but I don't know this for a fact.

Anyway, in order to get the pipes to mount side by side, we had to cut a section out of each inside pipe.  Believe me, it wasn't easy taking a saw to brand new pipes out of the box.  If it wasn't for my buddy Jason, I don't know if I could have followed through with my plan, but the boy is good, so we measured, cut, measured some more, grind and then welded the pipes back together.  Here you can see where we cut out a section and welded:



My bud Jason at work:



Once they were done, I brought them home and painted over the ground and welded spots with black VHT High Temp paint and then I wrapped them in 2" Cool Tec header wrap.  I had heard that wrapping pipes is really a two man job, but I found that the handle of my old vacuum cleaner matched the opening of the pipes and if said vacuum was wedged under my kitchen cabinets, then it provided a pretty stable platform. 



Hey, redneck engineering at it's best, but it worked!     Here are three of the four wrapped.



After they were all wrapped, I masked and painted the wrap with the black VHT high temp paint.  I also took the header clamps and cleaned them with stainless steel brush and sandpaper.





Painted them with the same VHT paint in my high tech paint booth and then baked in the oven until done.



Your cookies are ready Ma'am!   


After everything was semi-dry, I mounted them on the bike and fired it up to let the engine evaporate the rest of the moisture.  Here's the finished product:







--xTalon

[kslrr]

I am diggin' those pipes, especialy the rear view.  Looks like it could take off into the air.  Nice job.

[Blaize]

I feel your pain about looking for a crappy bike to start with. I would have had a damn tough time sanding that tank down, or choping the bike at all for that matter. I got lucky and mine was had all sorts of missmatched parts and a windjammer when I got it so I never have had to feel guilty about cafe chopping it. Quite the opposite in fact. The only problem is the chrome is spotless on my pipes so I dont have the heart to wrap them and let them rust away under there.

 Andway, I am really eager to see what that chrome paint looks like. keep us up to date.

[greenjeans]

I'll bet those pipes sound great.....

[KB02]

Looking killer so far, man. Keep up the good work.

[xtalon]

Yep, the pipes are LOUD, but I don't see them being any louder than some of the Harley's out there.  They are loud but it sounds great.

Phase II was the tank.  As previously mentioned, I wanted to keep the original tank and side covers in their original condition, but after purchasing two tanks off of eBay for my project, I decided to use the original tank since I knew it was in good condition.

The first order of business was to strip the two tanks.  The eBay tank had a spray-bomb paint job on it.  As I was removing it, I noticed that the PO didn't even bother to remove the original Warning/Caution sticker above the filler hole.  Here's the eBay tank stripped along w/ the stripped GL1000 fork:



Once stripped, I took it to my buddies shop and had at it with a pneumatic saw and pneumatic cutting wheel.  The ebay auction said the tank had very little rust.  When I received it and shook, it sounded like the whole insides had rusted out, but I later discovered that the tank lining was coming off.  Once cut open, you can see it was more than that... a nice thick layer of tank liner on the bottom.  In the picture, other pieces of this substance are laying in front of the tank:



Once cut in two, I cut the filler hole and gas cap out.  In hindsight, I should have done this another way, but it all worked out in the end when welded a piece back in.  I then cut the bottom of the tank out, leaving only the upper shell which lays over the original uncut tank.  Here it is on the bike prior to welding:





Rather than simply weld it directly on, my buddy Jason thought we would get a better fit if we cut the shell in half which we did.  This allowed us to form fit it a little better, but caused a slight issue later.  When contoured to the original tank, this caused a little bit of overlap of the two halves:



...so Jason cut the overlap out as best he could.  We then began to tack weld the pieces together.  Jason used a body shop tool that melted/bonded little dent puller things to the tank.  I've never seen this before and previous had only seen where you drill the dent, insert the tab and then pull it w/ the dent puller, but this kept from drilling holes and was strong as hell.  I used the dent puller to pull up on the pieces to get it at the correct level while Jason tack welded.  Here are the little copper (I assume) things.  I'm sure Spikeybike will like this look.     Afterwards the things are just cut off and then ground down when grinding the welds:



After everything was tacked, all the seams were welded and then I ground them down.  Once I got the tank back home (we didn't have the bike at his shop because the rearend was off - Phase III), I realized since we contoured the shell, the opening in the back of the shell that would normally clear the frame was now hitting the frame, so I had to cut room for the frame.  This took me hours because I cut small bits out at a time so I wouldn't take out too much.  I used a dremmel for this and got a piece of the grinding disk in my eye (even though I was wearing safety glasses... now I have a safety shield), so that was an $85 optometrist bill I can add to he project cost!     Here you can see the welded tank on the bike w/ the holes for the frame:



After that it was body filler time.  The first filler he used had fiberglass in it and that was used to fill in the low spots and cover the seams:



...then came the bondo:



That's basically where Phase II stands.  The tank still needs a little more bondo and then primer.  I already have the paint and then it will be on to the mirra chrome.  Cross your fingers!

--xTalon

[.RJ]

That looks kinda fun  

What'd you use to strip the paint off the tanks?  I need to get mine painted, might as well save some cost and strip it myself.

[Jinxracing]

Wow X, that's looking really good! Keep the pictures coming.

[ProTeal55]

What'd you use to strip the paint off the tanks?  I need to get mine painted, might as well save some cost and strip it myself.

Acetone works great as a paint stripper, just make sure u wear gloves ! 

[.RJ]

Acetone is ok... will Aircraft stripper work better?  I avoid using that stuff when I can though... its really nasty.

[xtalon]

That looks kinda fun  

What'd you use to strip the paint off the tanks?  I need to get mine painted, might as well save some cost and strip it myself.

I used Strypeeze (from my local Ace Hardware) and I wasn't very impressed.  It took like 4-5 attempts.  There was a thread not to long ago about this and if I remember correctly, members were having excellent results with other stuff.  Search and see if you can find that thread.

Regarding the tank, I meant to add that I sealed the inside with POR-15.  I used their Marine Clean in the tank prior to welding and this took care of any residual gas/fumes, so we didn't have any issues welding the tank.  I'm not saying do this and you will be fine, I'm just saying this is what I did and it worked (i.e. we didn't blow up!).    After all the welding and grinding was done, I then used the 'Metal Ready' and finally the POR15 fuel tank sealer.

--xTalon

[dusterdude]

damn,i got a woodie.

[EdB]

i've used the aircraft paint striiper a few times. works good. cover up thought. nasty stuff.  hurts pretty bad if you get it on yourself.

[Mountainman]

OH MAN am I torn on this project. I think that it is going to look awesome when you are done, and I totally understand wanting to start off with a good runner but..... OUCH, it still stings seeing such a nice bike chopped up. I know that when you are finished I'll forget all about how it used to look and be impressed with what a great job you did. Keep it up!

[rbmgf7]

Nice stretched tank! That's what I had in mind for my bike whenever I got around to Cafe it.

I notice you have lowering blocks on your bike. How are they? I'm a short guy (real short, 5'4") and I have a good 5-6 inches before my heels touch the ground. I was going to modify the clevis mounts on the swingarm to adapt to a eye mount but if the blocks work, I'll just buy or make a set.

I love seeing all these CB's come back to life either restored or modified. Keep up the good work!