Topic: Score! **750 cafe build** Completed!

[davis96]

Looks fast, but I'm not sure that those bicycle disks on the front are up to the task of stopping it. Plus that downward angle won't do any favors for fuel flow.

Seems like more of a trailer to the show than get up and go bike.

It is pretty though.

Geez I cannot stand haters.. To be fair I was only talking about paint. However those "bicycle brakes" are modern Beringer brake hub assemblies with dual inboard rotors and calipers, and will do as good a job stopping the bike than most any on the market.

As for the angle of the tank, did you ever consider the prospect that a modified tank on an extensively customized bike by a professional custom motorcycle builder might not use the factory petcock position on the rear of the tank?

Not to be a dick but nobody likes unsolicited, under-informed criticism for the sake of criticism

-Davis

[projectmonster]

Do you have any photos you can post of how the tank is mounted in the back of the tank. Also how the tailpiece is mounted. I am working on a very similar build and really like the way yours has turned out. The fitment of the tank and tailpiece seem to require a lot of finesse to produce the expected results.

Thanks,

Brent

[Shoeboxjoe]

The tank has the standard cups that fit around the stock rubber bushings. There's a flat tab off the rear of the tank that i just hold down with the fiberglass seat. I have adhesive rubber padding that helps make it all snug.  Sorry i dont have any pictures and the bike is sold now so i cant get any.

Basically i made an aluminum frame that is epoxied to the underside of the seat. I drilled 4 holes through the seat and said frame, then welded tabs to the frame that had nuts welded to those. 4 flat allen head screws then sandwich the rear gas tank tab between the seat and the frame. Then the seat pad velcros over the allen head screws.

Here's a pic of the aluminum frame before it was welded together, you can see the tab on the back of the tank:


I think most people use wood for the seat frame which would have been much easier, for some reason it never occurred to me to use wood.

[kempf]

Made some quick engine stand adapters from gate hardware, polished head and valves, painted and reassembled.





Cam installed, timed, chain tensioned, everything torqued, tappets adjusted.

It's a beautiful bike! I like it! How do you painted your engine? What kind of paint to use? Engine Enamel Heat Resistant? Old paint cleaned or painted over? Primer? It looks delicious! I want to paint engine my bike, but i dont known how... 

[nvr2old]

Nice to see a new spin on a 750.   The white, black and the red seat are a great contrast.  Well done, man.

[Shoeboxjoe]

It's a beautiful bike! I like it! How do you painted your engine? What kind of paint to use? Engine Enamel Heat Resistant? Old paint cleaned or painted over? Primer? It looks delicious! I want to paint engine my bike, but i dont known how... 

Thanks! I think it helps that i have no idea what I'm doing. If I'm remembering correctly this was just Dupli-color ceramic engine enamel. Aluminum color for the cases and gloss black for the cylinders. I cleaned everything A LOT with degreasers of all sorts but ended up using mostly brake cleaner which worked the best. The outside of the cases and the cylinders were lightly sand blasted, being careful not to blast any mating surfaces obviously, then cleaned again before painting.

[SKTP]

Looks great! Well done

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

With help from another post on this forum, i think i've found the cause of the bike running like #$%* when it's hot. Someone suggested vacuum lock in the gas tank and i noticed there's no vent in the gas cap on the tank. so i drilled two 1/8" holes in the spring plate under the gas cap to allow venting. After doing this I fired the bike back up and noticed fuel everywhere under the tank. Apparently the cheap Ace Hardware 1/4" fuel lines don't deal with heat very well, they were very soft and now leaking at the in line fuel filter connections which is probably the real cause of the bike running like #$%*.

Also I've noticed the fuel tank is weeping fuel from one small spot along the seam. It seemed to be getting worse through out the day so I drained all fuel and aired the tank out. I'm waiting for some Caswell's Epoxy tank sealant at the moment and was going to try resealing the tank. Gauges and air filters should be here this week. I'm still hoping to have the bike ready for the Tomahawk Fall Ride on the 17th.

Thanks for the comments! I appreciate any feedback

How has the Caswell held up in sealing the fiberglass tank?  This was a common problem that came up as ethanol was increasingly mixed into gas.

[Shoeboxjoe]

I'm not sure, i sold the bike maybe 3 years ago now. it was still fine when the new owner bought it but i haven't heard from him since. We've used Caswell's on the Honda Super Cubs we work on and its held up fine for years but those are metal tanks. I would guess the Caswell's would hold up better than that fiberglass tank would over the years.

[mrbreeze]

So do you still have the chop? Would like to see that in a project thread.

[Shoeboxjoe]

Yea sorry I sold that shortly before completing the 76 cafe. It had no title and the modified hard tail frame looked like garbage. I still have a 77 CB750 I'm mulling over what to do with.