Topic: Phaedrus: CB750 RestoMod - Update: 09/23/21 w/ new video

[MCRider]

Got my NOS inner fender. Now I can sleep at night... in SF.

 Its only $$$   

[DollarBill]

We're not greedy or selfish here but geez hurry up and get your trip out of the way so we can see this thing come together!

Seriously, have a safe and fun trip!

[goon 1492]

Yeah have a safe trip brother, and that sucks about the fender . Does it have a bouncy rubbery kinda feel to it, I have used a soldering iron on plastic gas tanks to weld them back to gether before but they wern't PP or PE.
Man that bites, but atleast you got a replacement and you showed a great tip for others who need to remove that fender and how to do it right.

Maybe you can try some 3m seam sealer, scuff the fender near the crack with some 80grit and use that stuff, then keep the fender for a backup if the other one gets damages later down the road. Dunno just me brainstorming.
I will post a pic of that stuff, if not used there it is good stuff for alot of different things.

[goon 1492]

Here ya go this stuff, and after I thought about it. nothing will stick to PP or PE so I dunno if what I said did any good.
 
Oh well this stuff is good for many other things at least.

[MCRider]

Thanks Goon for the tips. Now that we know the inner fender is made of "unmendableanium", we can move on. Treat those good ones nice you guys! Virtually all the used ones are broken at least a little, and new ones are not available from dealers.

The plastic welder I spoke with said he could repair it and would use a soldering iron among other things, but was upfront saying it would break again and I wouldn't be happy with the appearance (or the break) and really didn't want to do it.

I just received the one I made a "best offer" on from eBay. A little more $$ than I was hoping to pay, but its done. I just couldn't see putting a cracked one on Phaedrus after going this far.

It's NOS, very obvious never mounted on a bike but some very slight scuffing from 30+ years on a shelf somewhere. Doesn't even have the tail light wire clips in it. The guy had 2 of them, bought out a dealer's stock somewhere.

All told, this little side excursion with the inner fender was about 5 hours.

Back to work Sunday AM.  Great trip to San Fran, good to be home.

[mystic_1]

Welcome home Ron.  Got vacation pics to share? 

mystic_1

[MCRider]

Thanks Mystic. I'll post some vacation pics soon, they're on my wife's camera. We spent 4 days in Oakland, SF, Wine Country, and 2 days in Gold Country near Nevada City. All went well.

So Sunday AM, spent a bit of time just cleaning up and getting reoriented. Reminding ourselves of what we had done, left undone and what was next. Nothing too earth shattering in this session, but I know how you guys enjoy pictures.  

Knowing now that the inner fender is impervious to all chemicals known to man, I cleaned the NOS inner fender with Goof Off, removing the stock label.




After lubing them up with ArmorAll, we popped out the wire clips from the old IF and they popped into the new one no prob. Grabbed them with the broad needle nose and lifted/leveraged them out.


Pulled the swingarm to install the new inner fender. You can cram it in there without removing the swingarm, but i don't think that's the proper way and risks breaking it. As you can see, the lower tip of the IF is below where the SA would be, and hasn't begun to enter the pinch tabs on the frame.


With the IF in place, I unwrapped the NOS rear fender. Bought brand new in 2000, and in wrappings ever since. Possibly no longer available? I bot the K0/K1 style which is shorter than the origianl K2 and takes the smaller taillight. Going for that look. The original K2 fender served well. But it was overstressed with a luggage rack backrest combo that used 2 points on the fender, and was often grossly overloaded. Consequently it had a nasty crack in it.


Mounted up, all new chrome bolts and washers:


Greased up and reinstalled the swingarm, hopefully for the last time. It fits tight in the new bosses. And moves oh so smoothly on the HondaMan hand fit bronze bushings.

By tightening the front motormount, the frame will pivot on the centerstand tube and the SA bosses will separate and even a few thou is enough to allow it to slide in. Keep that in mind if you are having trouble getting one out. Squeezing or releasing the motor mounts changes the pressure on the SA bosses.


I'm missing the shoulder bolts for the tail light, other misc stuff. Need a wiring harness too, so I'll be putting together a wish list for Yamiya next.

[Ecosse]

looking at the last picture, wow! 

[MCRider]

looking at the last picture, wow! 

As Craig Ferguson would say: "I know!".

It's more than I imagined it would be.

Thanks!

[Ecosse]

looking at the last picture, wow! 

As Craig Ferguson would say: "I know!".

It's more than I imagined it would be.

Thanks!

and when riding p2 people will point and say "isn't he a cheeky monkey!"

 

[MCRider]

I know!   

[Bill/BentON Racing]

MC,looking good,I have 1974 CB750 with APE's kit,I think they disavow any knowledge from a liability stand point.I believe OK for street bikes,drag bikes?,but definitely not for roadrace bikes.You do lose some rigidity.When you cut thru the smaller tubes they immediately separate and do not align,Welded under tension? A CB 750 on a roadrace course is already a handful ,don't add to it.Sure do enjoy your posts and project.Go for it! Bill Benton

[MCRider]

MC,looking good,I have 1974 CB750 with APE's kit,I think they disavow any knowledge from a liability stand point.I believe OK for street bikes,drag bikes?,but definitely not for roadrace bikes.You do lose some rigidity.When you cut thru the smaller tubes they immediately separate and do not align,Welded under tension? A CB 750 on a roadrace course is already a handful ,don't add to it.Sure do enjoy your posts and project.Go for it! Bill Benton

Actually I've had my APE kit installed since 1980. Used it on my road racer (this same bike, just a different manifestation) and either I simply wasn't fast enough or didn't care, it was never a problem for me.

For this iteration, I have had a machinist concoct several bolt on reinforcing gussets to the kit, which can be seen way early in the thread. And of course again once I get to that point. Along with frame gussets above the swingarm, and at the joints below the gas tank. And the factory gussets where the frame tubes from the steering head join the down tubes, below the gas tank, have been welded.  I'll never be riding it as hard as i did when I was racing, so they are just for show. Too bad my road racer wasn't this stiff.   

I have one of Gordon's kits I'll use on the next one.

[Bill/BentON Racing]

I should have known you had it covered,We all wish our 750's were as you described,I did not read 43 pages of post,Sorry,I just thought the ones ,esp at Daytona had lots of extra gusseting and needed it!Keep up the great work! Bill Benton

[Ecosse]

ok, a few things here: that paint scheme is gonna be a knock out! if you ask some... i do have a $10 head- not adjusted for inflation, if i may could i trouble you for another picture of that helmet?

don't fret if not.

[mrosso]

Is that a Voxonda motor mount?

[voxonda]

Yes, it is.

Regards, Rob

[MCRider]

I should have known you had it covered,We all wish our 750's were as you described,I did not read 43 pages of post,Sorry,I just thought the ones ,esp at Daytona had lots of extra gusseting and needed it!Keep up the great work! Bill Benton

And not to diminish your comment either as the APE kit couldn't possibly have been as strong as stock and there was a reason terms like "hinge", "flexi-flyer", "death wobble" and "head shake" were often used with these bikes.

Other things I'm doing is to use one of Rob   www.voxonda.com   's double sided motor mount in the right rear, I've welded my engine guard to the right front motor mount making it more stout, replaced the 2 8mm bolt and nuts by drilling and tapping out the frame to 10mm bolt only, enlarged to next SAE size the 2 long lower bolts (but retaining the stock mm threads), boring out the frame and engine to size, replaced with custom made stainless steel mount bolts, (Rob supplied a SS bolt for his mount as well), hand fit to a friction fit (had to enlarge the footpeg holes to match) all to stiffen things up.

Like I said all for show, wish my racer had been so stiff.  

[MCRider]

Thanks Ecosse. The helmet I raced in is my Bell Star ca 1978, probably cost $35. "MECCA" was Motorcycle Enthusiast Consumer Co-op of America". A little parts operation I ran out of my gargage mostly to get my own parts cheap. A lot of people were doing that back then, but the wholesalers/distributors caught on and started requiring pictures of true storefronts and bank records and such and put us out of business. Understandably, but it was fun while it lasted.

[Ecosse]

beautiful helmet, thanks. a guy i worked for, now deceased, started much the same way i think- to get parts cheap i mean. 

[voxonda]

Thanks Ecosse. The helmet I raced in is my Bell Star ca 1978, probably cost $35. "MECCA" was Motorcycle Enthusiast Consumer Co-op of America". A little parts operation I ran out of my gargage mostly to get my own parts cheap. A lot of people were doing that back then, but the wholesalers/distributors caught on and started requiring pictures of true storefronts and bank records and such and put us out of business. Understandably, but it was fun while it lasted.

I started working that way just over a year ago. Think there is work for the 'enthusiast', but you will not make any money.

[MCRider]

Thanks Ecosse. The helmet I raced in is my Bell Star ca 1978, probably cost $35. "MECCA" was Motorcycle Enthusiast Consumer Co-op of America". A little parts operation I ran out of my gargage mostly to get my own parts cheap. A lot of people were doing that back then, but the wholesalers/distributors caught on and started requiring pictures of true storefronts and bank records and such and put us out of business. Understandably, but it was fun while it lasted.

snip

I started working that way just over a year ago. Think there is work for the 'enthusiast', but you will not make any money.

A few people can do it, but not usually. Russ Collins, Dan Gurney, etc. But usually, its like the old saying "the cobbler's children have no shoes".  You end up working on everyone else's sh-t and not on your own.

I worked in a drag race shop as a youth. We would crank out these god awful 70's choppers, extended front ends, king and queen seats, too much engine for the chassis, to pay the bills. Then come Friday afternoon the boss would start churning on his dragster, I'd do tuneups half day Sat then help him all Sat night, go to the races Sunday with very little sleep (none). He was pretty good, usually got a trophy and that made it worth it. Monday back to the chops again.

Later I was working in a dealership parts counter in Tucson. THis guy (imports exports) would always come in and buy whatever he wanted, new bikes, accessories, bikes for his kids etc. Heck of a nice guy too. It was then I had an epiphanee "I'm on the wrong side of this parts counter".

Took a while, not as flush as that guy was, and I'm not as enthusiastic with my job, but I love my hobby.  And I do like my job too.

I'd never discourage any one dreaming to make it work, make your passion your job. But its hard.

Was it Dirty Harry who said, "A man's gotta know his limitations."

[voxonda]

Hey MC

That Dirty Harry passage says it all! Do what you're good at, try to learn from others but do not burn yourself!
Luckily I love my daytime job too, although with life taking it's toll, it is harder to stay motivated. Just want to do what I love most.

Cheers.

Rob

[MCRider]

Hey MC

That Dirty Harry passage says it all! Do what you're good at, try to learn from others but do not burn yourself!
Luckily I love my daytime job too, although with life taking it's toll, it is harder to stay motivated. Just want to do what I love most.

Cheers.

Rob

Yup. 

[MCRider]

Man, lots of time, little to see. I set up my laptop in the shop to fill my Yamiya shopping cart more efficiently. Would the wireless network reach past the 12' breezeway and 2 garage stalls? Yes, signal strength "good".



So from last Yamiya order, we have the fender "corn" to install, rubber bumber that the license plate may contact.



Hole had a nasty burr on the inside so we ground that off:



Pushed it through from the backside. Ta da!



For those who don't already, knee pads really help the process:



Been soaking the fork legs in solvent for a week.



Spun out all the studs. I was fearful, they came out easily. Had to take them out to send the legs to the Cryo people. Was told the difference in expansion coefficients might break the lower legs.



Now that its gold and it all shows up, I am amazed at how much birdsh!t I left behind on the old welds, I thought I got it all, but it just doesn't show up in black. Same for smoothing the welds, I can't believe how much I missed. I guess i wasn't very methodical.  Nevertheless, its a lot better than stock and no one will know but me.

So I filled the Yamiya cart with things: wiring harness, grommets, shoulder bolts, sprocket, etc. I hate ordering parts casuse just as soon as I do, I find them cheaper somewhere else. Time comes to just do it and get it over with. Win some and lose some. Yamiya has some oddball stuff I needed so i just got iot all from them this time.

I ran several speed calculations with this calculator. http://www.juric.org/mopar/tools/topspeed.php

I liked the performance I had with 17/48 sprockets and a 110/90/18 rear tire. With the 140/70/17, I find I'll need a 18T CS sprocket to maintain the ratios.
Good acceleration, top speed about 129 @ 8000rpm. Probably a little higher if engine will pull it.

Bot a cam chain, adj sprocket and cam from APE. It's 360 lift; 250 duration. Bottom of the line WebCam. I'm not going for max out here, just something to open up the breathing with the carbs, head, and pipe. Keep the redline about stock as far as power is concerned. Its capable of much more.

Filling a box for the Cryogenics people: primary chains, cam chain, cam, and sprckt; rockers, lower fork legs, tranny, drive sprockets, anything else i can think of. As much for slickeriness as strength.