Author Topic: ALUMINUM CB750 SIDE COVERS UPDATE (Read 14409 times)

BLUE71TURBO · « **on:** July 17, 2009, 10:15:41 PM »

Well guy's i have a dollar figure for the cast aluminum side covers for a cb750. $ 200.00 for the pair.
The startup cost is high, so i'm gonna have to do more research and see if the demand is worth the big investment
that i would have to put up front. The one major draw back in order to keep cost down is that the covers would
have to be bolted on from the back side. In order to keep the tangs on the back side that go through the rubbers,
the tooling cost would rise alot more, hence the final cost would be higher. I'm still going to try and follow through
with this project and hopefully the demand will be high enough so that the final cost will be even lower that $200.00
for a set. Oh yea, that will be without the recess for the emblem. Thanks for your time fellow bikers. JON G.

HondaMan · « **Reply #1 on:** July 18, 2009, 06:54:51 AM »

Blue:
If you can also cast some bosses at the locations where the lugs are found, I could get some screw-in parts made (they call them "dildos", honest...

) at a friend's machine shop, in a batch. Then you could also cast a hole at the location, so it could be threaed (aluminum is easy to thread) and these lugs turned and Loctited in place.

My 2 cents, let me know?

mystic_1 · « **Reply #2 on:** July 18, 2009, 09:19:43 AM »

Sounds like a great solution to me Mark.

mystic_1

grumpy · « **Reply #3 on:** July 18, 2009, 09:22:14 AM »

I'm still in for a set.

How could you bolt them on from the back? Not a whole lot of room for a wrench back there.

How about just drilling holes for M6 bolts instead of the tangs?

I'd rather have them bolt on. More secure that way. People have stuff stolen from their bikes while parked in the lot at work (and the lot is literally 20ft from the front door of the DA's office!). I'm bolting down everything I can.

stearmandriver · « **Reply #4 on:** July 18, 2009, 11:08:05 AM »

I would like a set and will pay now if it will help with the initial start up. As long as you feel the quality is not an issue.

Thanks
Dave

mrosso · « **Reply #5 on:** July 19, 2009, 10:57:20 AM »

Count me in.

HondaMan · « **Reply #6 on:** July 19, 2009, 01:59:55 PM »

Quote from: grumpy on July 18, 2009, 09:22:14 AM

I'm still in for a set.

How could you bolt them on from the back? Not a whole lot of room for a wrench back there.

How about just drilling holes for M6 bolts instead of the tangs?

I'd rather have them bolt on. More secure that way. People have stuff stolen from their bikes while parked in the lot at work (and the lot is literally 20ft from the front door of the DA's office!). I'm bolting down everything I can.

This is a real good idea! I vote for this one. The security is a problem around here, too.

754 · « **Reply #7 on:** July 19, 2009, 02:18:24 PM »

Just get them made with the boss for the bolt, we can get together and make the threaded bullets..

BLUE71TURBO · « **Reply #8 on:** July 19, 2009, 04:32:04 PM »

I just checked out the YAMIYA covers and the current dollar to yen conversion = $444.71 without shipping !!!

Man i gotta get this off the ground somehow !! Pray to the motorcycle gods !!!

HondaMan · « **Reply #9 on:** July 19, 2009, 08:40:48 PM »

Quote from: 754 on July 19, 2009, 02:18:24 PM

Just get them made with the boss for the bolt, we can get together and make the threaded bullets..

Roger that: just what I had in mind...

BLUE71TURBO · « **Reply #10 on:** July 19, 2009, 09:13:22 PM »

I'M thinking of different design angles for the attachment of the covers. Threaded lugs as HONDAMAN and 754
suggested, bolts from the backside, longer studs with a hole drilled through the side for a pin or cotter key to
hold it on and for security. I have a real good friend that is a retired santa fe machinist and has a machine shop in
his garage. I will see if he can help me with the lug situation, if not, HONDAMAN I'll be getting ahold of you !

The real #$%* of the process is i'm gonna have to butcher a cherry set of covers to section them and to add larger
bosses because of the shrinkage for when the aluminum cools. The foundry calculated about a 1/4 inch shrinkage
total ! Anyway, thanks for your input guy's. JON G.

coolgoose · « **Reply #11 on:** July 19, 2009, 11:10:38 PM »

Pardon me for my ignorance

But is there any advantage with aluminum side covers when compared to the plastic ones? Besides being sturdy and wont get broken easily.

Cheers!
CoolGoose.

Achmed · « **Reply #12 on:** July 19, 2009, 11:14:26 PM »

I'm ignorant too, but it's an aesthetic thing for me. Not that I'll be spending that much money on aesthetics, now at least. It would be nice to have them available, though.

coolgoose · « **Reply #13 on:** July 19, 2009, 11:37:51 PM »

Do any of you guys have pictures of their CBs with aluminum side covers? Please share them here so we all can see how beautiful they look when compared to the plastic ones

754 · « **Reply #14 on:** July 19, 2009, 11:43:32 PM »

Coolgoose, how good do yours look polished

Not too shiny, I bet

We cant show a pic, of the few sets made in the 70s, I have maybe seen 1 set

Achmed · « **Reply #15 on:** July 19, 2009, 11:54:18 PM »

Did they actually make them from aluminum, once upon a time?

Retro Rocket · « **Reply #16 on:** July 20, 2009, 12:44:14 AM »

Nope.

Terry in Australia · « **Reply #17 on:** July 20, 2009, 04:19:21 AM »

Once upon a time, the CB750 was probably the third most customized bike in history (behind the Harley and Triumph twins) and there was a massive after-market for all sorts of shiny things, including cast aluminum sidecovers, they looked nice, but were normally pretty rough castings, and they were heavy and often fell off.

I'm sure that if anyone nowadays is gonna reproduce these desireable (but otherwise purely aesthetic) items, they'll devise an excellent way of securing them to the bike, so that they continue to enhance the look of someones bikes for years to come, and don't just go bouncing down the freeway on your first ride, like the old ones often did..............

BLUE71TURBO · « **Reply #18 on:** July 21, 2009, 07:39:25 PM »

Yes TERRY, I'm definitly going to work on a design for the threaded lugs so that a small hole will be drilled so that
a cotter pin or other type of pin can be attached so that the covers will not fall off.

Terry in Australia · « **Reply #19 on:** July 28, 2009, 12:12:45 AM »

Good idea mate, even a well placed internal hex "allen screw" through the bottom tab with big washers either side of the rubber frame grommet and a nyloc nut would do the trick, and if you used S/S fasteners, would probably enhance the finish. Put me down for a set too!

zzpete · « **Reply #20 on:** July 28, 2009, 01:24:55 AM »

Count me in!!!! They will look real nice polished!!!!

HondaMan · « **Reply #21 on:** July 28, 2009, 09:06:13 AM »

I'm interested, too.
IMO, simply installing a spring pin through some "cotter pin" holes would be enough to thwart most random thieves. If they are seen pulling and twisting something off of a bike in a parking lot, that's gonna attract a lot of attention...

If they look like the OEM ones did, I think they could sell well, as they would be more paintable than the ones from UK. Those are nice replicas, but I am not happy with the way any of the paints have stayed on, yet. Or rather, not. (Even that "bumper paint undercoat" that's supposed to etch its way on... $:-\$ ).

Popwood · « **Reply #22 on:** July 28, 2009, 10:30:05 AM »

My bike's PO put on a cheezy plastic side cover and it screws on from the front. The screw fastens to a threaded part that inserts in the hole where the tang went. The treaded part is made much like a the type of dry wall anchor that pushes through the hole, but when tightened, the part inside the wall is forced to collapse holding the fastener in place. It must be an off the shelf item. One good feature is once tightened, stays in the same place so the screw hole in the cover is always aligned. Could be a solution here!

HondaMan · « **Reply #23 on:** July 31, 2009, 01:13:18 PM »

Quote from: Popwood on July 28, 2009, 10:30:05 AM

My bike's PO put on a cheezy plastic side cover and it screws on from the front. The screw fastens to a threaded part that inserts in the hole where the tang went. The treaded part is made much like a the type of dry wall anchor that pushes through the hole, but when tightened, the part inside the wall is forced to collapse holding the fastener in place. It must be an off the shelf item. One good feature is once tightened, stays in the same place so the screw hole in the cover is always aligned. Could be a solution here!

Those used to be available from places like JC Whitney, long ago. I haven't seen them in decades, though. They are thin styrene, are they not?

SOHC4ever · « **Reply #24 on:** July 31, 2009, 01:56:05 PM »

Quote from: HondaMan on July 31, 2009, 01:13:18 PM

Quote from: Popwood on July 28, 2009, 10:30:05 AM
My bike's PO put on a cheezy plastic side cover and it screws on from the front. The screw fastens to a threaded part that inserts in the hole where the tang went. The treaded part is made much like a the type of dry wall anchor that pushes through the hole, but when tightened, the part inside the wall is forced to collapse holding the fastener in place. It must be an off the shelf item. One good feature is once tightened, stays in the same place so the screw hole in the cover is always aligned. Could be a solution here!

Those used to be available from places like JC Whitney, long ago. I haven't seen them in decades, though. They are thin styrene, are they not?

Sounds like the Maier set that I got for my 76F. Warning: RHS 750F cover does not fit.
The insert is some kind of thin metal.

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Author Topic: ALUMINUM CB750 SIDE COVERS UPDATE (Read 14409 times)