Topic: CB750K7 Nine Lives Cafe Racer - au revoir

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Now that the project's nearing completion, I thought I'd post a thread on my CB750K7's transformation from ebay barn find to cafe racer. 

I had been lurking in the forums until I popped the trigger on a 1977 CB750K7 on ebay for a couple hundred bucks.  Here's what she started out looking like:

77CB7502 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

77CB7503 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

77CB7504 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

77CB7505 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

77CB7506 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

After getting to ride her for a few months, I decided a new look was in order.  I took her down to Carpy's shop to swap the bars to clubmans, trim the pipe, replace/upgrade to a tri-bar headlight, re-form and re-upholster the seat, overhaul the brakes and synch the carbs. 

10 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

11 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

12 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

13 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

14 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

The old girl then got a quick cosmetic makeover with a new tank and paint job. 

15 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

16 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

17 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

18 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

19 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

22 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Around this time, I started experiencing some charging issues, the annoying kind that happen on and off -- and always at the wrong time.  After having the bike die a mile from home twice, I replaced the regulator/rectifier to a solid state dual unit, and replaced the stator, but the problem still persisted intermittently.  I also added some new side covers from LPM that Carpy painted and applied his 750 decals.  Carpy also installed a new bobbed rear fender. 

Carpy found a shorted wire, and gave the girl some added ooomph with some new CR carbs and a Dyna 2000 ignition and coils:

014 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

After the mods, I took her for long ride up Pacific Coast Highway and down to the Cycle World Bike Show in Long Beach, where someone pilfered one of my newly-painted side covers.  Can you believe that!?  I had to buy another one from LPM.

The new ignition and carbs made a big boost in power.  However, the old crusty dried out wiring harness was still creating issues.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Frank aka 754 generously supplied me with a used K7 wiring harness.  With the bike being stripped down, I decided to powdercoat it, rewire it, swap in an earlier front end with gators, do a top end rebuild (to address a blown head gasket), build a replica Yoshimura 4-into-1 exhaust and add a second disc brake. 

Carpy was up to his eyeballs with builds, so he asked another builder if he could strip down the bike and reassemble it with the new engine.  The K7 was going to be my run around town bike, since I had also picked up a K2 to have Carpy turn into one of his killer cafes, with the idea that the K7 would keep me occupied during the build.

The new builder decided to rebuild the engine allegedly with an 836 kit, Yoshimura cam, port/polish and valve job.  So the old girl went under the knife again:

015 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

The new builder had some ideas he wanted to try out while the bike was apart.  He enlisted Long and Jim from Buddha Paint (http://www.buddhapaintoc.com/) to work up a killer new paint job, with rustic, gold leaf 750 emblems on the side covers, ghosted checkers on the tank, fender and side covers, and hand-masked checkers on the front and rear brake hubs, handle bars and rear grab bar, along with a Union Jack on the oil tank (to be a surprise when you pull of the right sidecover).  For weeks afterward, Long and Jim were cursing about checkers, but they did some pretty incredible work and have good reason to be proud of their handiwork.  If you look close, you can see the checkers in the first picture on the spine of the tank; they also follow down the fender and overlay the gold leaf adorned side covers.  These ghosted checkers, while barely visible in the shade, really pop out in the sunlight.  Long and Jim do some amazing custom work, from vintage bikes like ours to modern superbikes, to turbocharged, nitrous infused drag Hayabusa bikes with 360 rear tires.

With the frame powdercoated, reassembly commenced, including some new IKON shocks from down under and some new NOS switches I sourced.  I also found some fork ears on ebay that we had black chromed to set off the polished metal and black gators.  The wheels were rebuilt with aluminum Excel wheels and new stainless steel spokes topped off with newly painted hubs.  The lower forks were machined to have ribs to match the gators, laser cut the brake rotors with checkers, laser cut the rear brake cover with Cafe Racer, and water jetted Cafe Racer into a new finned brake stabilizer.  The rev counter and speedometer were rebuilt to new condition:

Honda750012 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

Honda750005 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

Honda750007 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

Honda750008 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

[aussie]

WOW... this looks great

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Next came the engine.  I found some cool finned covers from Cycle X for the clutch, points, rotor/alternator and tappets (thanks Ken & Sue), which were black chromed along with the valve cover, kick starter and shifter.  Carpy contributed one of his brand new finned breather covers, too.  The engine mirrors the finish of the rebuilt forks -- polished lower (cases), black midsection (barrels) and black chrome top (valve cover).  The engine was then accessorized with a Moon Eyes oil pressure gauge. 

All the worn rubber was replaced with NOS parts.  It's highly recommended that you replace the rubber side cover gussets especially if you replace the stock air box with velocity stacks or pods.  Otherwise the wind can pull off the covers at speed.

Power Pros replicated a 4-into-1 replica Yoshimura exhaust, with a modern twist -- incorporating cross-overs (the cross tubes on the front) to improve low and mid-range power.  Then the pipe was ceramic coated to keep it rust free and give it a lasting smooth satin black finish that will not discolor from the heat. 

cafedon001 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

cafedon002 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

cafedon003 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

IMG_0031 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

No kidding, Aussie. 

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Next order of business was the new seat -- a triple-stitched saddle with ostrich leather in the center flanked by cow leather.  Note the 12-pack of Newcastle on the adjacent lift.  MReick has his Chimay.  Coincidence of having quality beer handy?  I think NOT!

The 630 chain was converted to a 530, with new front and rear sprockets and a left-over red Hayabusa chain to give it a dash of red color to match the CR carbs and the Union Jack, a water jetted brushed stainless steel chain guard, and a drilled the sprocket cover. 

The oil lines were rebuilt by welding anodized fittings to the original fixtures and cutting new braided stainless steel hoses.  The anodized fittings bring together the red and blue of the Union Jack oil tank, CR carbs and Dyna 2000 ignition box. 

The "dash" panel then got some attention: a new Union Jack to refurbish the sunbleached signal light cluster and ties together the colors and Brit Bike theme; a Braking adjustable master cylinder to give the brakes plenty of oomph; and an Arlen Ness matte black mirror. 

IMG_0016 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

IMG_0041 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

IMG_0016 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

[luder]

freaking awesome....all I can say.luder

[Sporkfly]

Details are great. I don't have that kind of patience  'course I'm not looking to win any shows, mine's meant to be a daily rider, may as well consider it a rat bike as well.

[aussie]

Whats the go with those two pipes welded across the headers?, Looks excellant and a lot of attention to detail,this is very time consuming.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Aussie,

Those are the cross-overs I mentioned in the previous post.  They allow the gases to flow better between all four pipes -- between those firing simultaneously and those not -- to increase gas flow.  This is supposed to increase low and mid range power. 

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Thanks, luder! 

[andy750]

Wow what a great build and excellent photos. How does it run?! And sound? That exhaust is a piece of art.

Of course I am left wondering how much all this superb work cost? 

Looks to be a great ride.
cheers
Andy

[my78k]

If you have to ask you can't afford it! 

Very nice bike indeed. My only criticism might be it may done up a little too much...weird comment I know but to some it may come off more of a "theme bike" altho I gotta admit I dig that you gave it lots of "go" to match up with the "show".

Dennis

[aussie]

Aussie,

Those are the cross-overs I mentioned in the previous post.  They allow the gases to flow better between all four pipes -- between those firing simultaneously and those not -- to increase gas flow.  This is supposed to increase low and mid range power.  Those Kiwis are sharp.

The craftsmanship of the pipe is pretty impressive.  Chris has been very focused on details throughout the build, to use it to show people the range of what he can do.  He's also rebuilding a CBX Turbo bike and a vintage Katana (both old school superbikes), but that's a different story for another forum.

Thanks mate , just seems like there hanging out there

[MMICAFE]

you need another video of the bike with the yoshi exhaust on there i havent heard those pipes yet

[robe0531]

that is one of the best bikes i have seen on this site

[imamotohead]

Awesome build!  Can you say BOTM? 

[bgfootball67]

Incredible, great build...  Can not wait to hear her!  I want that exhaust!!!

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

I'm getting psyched.  Friday night and Saturday are my days to ogle "the other woman" aka the Nine Lives bike. 

The revised brake mounts just came back from machining and polishing, so we should probably have the brakes mounted and plumbed this weekend!

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

New brakes mounted -- Vintage AP Racing 4-pot calipers with custom fabricated mounting brackets polished up!

DSC01498 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Whew!  A three year hiatus??  Yes, it's true.  The Nine Lives bike sat in the same state of completion (99%) at the shop for the last three years.  It was used for promotion, research and development for exhaust headers and glorified window dressing.  I was preoccupied with modern bikes, getting more seat time riding and going to some track days.

I just brought her home to get her completed.  Unfortunately, the tank was never lined and it rusted from the inside out ruining Buddha Paint's awesome knee dents and paint job.  Brakes still need pads and the engine (now sporting an oil leak) needs to be broken in and tuned.  It's high time I get her finished.

The tank is being re-created by Scott "Chivo" Harrington formerly the head painter for West Coast Customs, who also happens to be a childhood friend.  After having the old tank interior media blasted, we discovered there was nothing left to salvage.  I picked up a donor for $50.

Here she is when she was photographed by John Zamora three years ago.  She looks pretty much the same as pictured, but now with a newer generation stainless 4-1 pipe and no tank.

IMG_8456 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

IMG_8469 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

IMG_8469 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

IMG_8500 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

IMG_8528 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

IMG_8531 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

IMG_8556 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr