Topic: Rebirth of paulages' cb735

[paulages]

ok mike, here you go...



i cut most of the posts off with a bandsaw, but the rest i milled off with a .5" end mill in my poor man's milling machine.... a century machinery radial drill press (not "central machinery," the crappy HF brand...) with an XY axis milling vice. i was going to plug and weld the holes up, but i kinda like the look, and i'm not too worried about structural integrity as the bottom tree takes most of the abuse... i'll keep a close eye on it in any case.

[paulages]

You haven't been riding?? The weather's been quite forgiving I think, especially considering that the rest of the country is under a blanket of snow.

Not entirely by choice.
I don't have anything ridable at the moment: Sold the running XS650 to get an '83 GS1100E (needs front & rear brake pads & a new rear rotor); the little 250 ninja is still mostly in boxes and the CB500 needs a whole BUNCH of frontend work after I had a little unplanned agricultural experience last October.

Maybe I'll get to the GS this weekend.....

-JP

did you see the thread regarding our open house party tonight? 7PM. look in the regional section.

[pdxPope]

did you see the thread regarding our open house party tonight? 7PM. look in the regional section.

PM sent.
(Didn't want to go any further off topic than I already have.)

I am really impressed with the the fairing mount/skeleton thingy. How long did it take you to tack that together???

-JP

[paulages]

3-4 hours? Wasn't really paying attention to the time..

[traveler]

Paul....honestly....can your bike keep up with a new 600cc sportbike?

~Joe

[MRieck]

ok mike, here you go...



i cut most of the posts off with a bandsaw, but the rest i milled off with a .5" end mill in my poor man's milling machine.... a century machinery radial drill press (not "central machinery," the crappy HF brand...) with an XY axis milling vice. i was going to plug and weld the holes up, but i kinda like the look, and i'm not too worried about structural integrity as the bottom tree takes most of the abuse... i'll keep a close eye on it in any case.

Thanks Paul....I feel much better.

[bucky katt]

that looks fantastic Paul, impressive work you've done there

[paulages]

Paul....honestly....can your bike keep up with a new 600cc sportbike?

~Joe

"keep up" depends on the situation.. it definitely does not handle or perform like a modern 600 class sport bike. i have no problem staying with the pack in twisties riding with guys on modern bikes though. on the roads around here i know well, i've often passed guys on modern liter bikes even, but that's about knowing the road more than anything else. that said, i probably couldn't do it on my BSA. 

[mlinder]

Paul....honestly....can your bike keep up with a new 600cc sportbike?

~Joe

"keep up" depends on the situation.. it definitely does not handle or perform like a modern 600 class sport bike. i have no problem staying with the pack in twisties riding with guys on modern bikes though. on the roads around here i know well, i've often passed guys on modern liter bikes even, but that's about knowing the road more than anything else. that said, i probably couldn't do it on my BSA. 

Paul and I beat the crap out of some litre bikes now and then up on Germantown Rd. I remember one time, I was on my '69, and he was on a tore-up, stock k4 750. We completely tore up some new sport bikes up there. I'm not sure they appreciated being passed on the inside at high speeds by our porky, ancient bikes.
Could we keep up on a racetrack with a modern bike? Hells no. Can we have bigger balls than guys on gixxers on some local roads here? Oh, yeah, we can.

[traveler]

I'm sorry...I mean acceleration...like a stop light to stoplight drag race.

~Joe

[paulages]

I'm sorry...I mean acceleration...like a stop light to stoplight drag race.

~Joe

don't know about that... i try to avoid that type of thing, as it's just begging attention from the cops. i'll let you know what it does in the quarter mile eventually.

[traveler]

Paul,

PM sent.

~Joe

[greasy j]

Paul....honestly....can your bike keep up with a new 600cc sportbike?

~Joe

"keep up" depends on the situation.. it definitely does not handle or perform like a modern 600 class sport bike. i have no problem staying with the pack in twisties riding with guys on modern bikes though. on the roads around here i know well, i've often passed guys on modern liter bikes even, but that's about knowing the road more than anything else. that said, i probably couldn't do it on my BSA. 

I raced a new cbr600 on my 750-4 and killed it. from light to light, 2 blocks. but I think the rider counts more than anything. a lot of people are afraid to use their throttle. I can beat almost any other bike on my old 71 750, in traffic.

and if you haven't painted yet, I like the red for sure.

[greasy j]

ok mike, here you go...



i cut most of the posts off with a bandsaw, but the rest i milled off with a .5" end mill in my poor man's milling machine.... a century machinery radial drill press (not "central machinery," the crappy HF brand...) with an XY axis milling vice. i was going to plug and weld the holes up, but i kinda like the look, and i'm not too worried about structural integrity as the bottom tree takes most of the abuse... i'll keep a close eye on it in any case.

I ground off the gauge mounts on my 750 3tree and the clamp later cracked. don't know if it's related, though because my fork tube was bent as well and that could have contributed. puttin a gl front end on my bike now and wanted to grind off the mounts just like you did, hopefully it will not weaken it too much. has me wonderin, though. maybe it's better to leave a bit more material on?

[paulages]

did you have bars mounted to the top tree or clip-ons? fork brace? this would make a huge difference i think, as with bars you'll actually be steering with the top tree. as it looks to me, most of the strength is in the ribbed support around the holes, which stayed. if i get nervous about it, i'll just weld up the holes.

[greasy j]

yeah, I had bars. and no brace 'cept for the fender mount minus fender. I'm pretty sure the bent tube caused it, but it just makes me leary now. the gl one is so damn bulky, though that I'm sure it could lose a lil weight.

by the way, assuming I get my bike done soon enough I'm planning on riding up to Seattle w/ a friend this summer. I think we might meet in Vegas. not sure. but we're def stopping in PDX. you might know him. 'member the Bloodclots? 'chaos day is almost here'

I'd like to get together all the punks who ride somehow. seems there's none too many down here in Oakland, though. should be a forum or something. better yet a club. minus stupid rules.

[cb650]

At the drags even my 650 would do ok to the 1/8 against non regs who couldnt cut a lite.

[paulages]

i got to looking at my top tree, and decided to mill of the rest of the unnecessary bits. i haven't weighed it against stock yet, but wow does it feel lighter.

the "mill" (don't laugh at me, pros..):






cleaned up, polished and mounted.

[greasy j]

nice!

[traveler]

Looks good, Paul.

I imagine, It will be fine.  Like you stated, with clipons, there is no torque load on the top tree.  It just has to deal with torque loads from the fork tubes trying to flex.

Worst case, you see some stress cracks and then weld it up, right??

(I hope I'm right!       )

~Joe

[paulages]

Looks good, Paul.

I imagine, It will be fine.  Like you stated, with clipons, there is no torque load on the top tree.  It just has to deal with torque loads from the fork tubes trying to flex.

Worst case, you see some stress cracks and then weld it up, right??

(I hope I'm right!       )

~Joe

let's not talk worst case, but if i see cracks i'll use a new top tree.

[Zaipai]

Nice work Paul, I for one would never laugh, you are light years ahead of me!

.: Scott :.

[paulages]

it's getting there... paint and clearcoat are on, but i'm not sold on the pinstripes, mainly because the color ended up looking like masking tape after the clear went on. it was a metallic off-white which i liked a lot before clear, but the clearcoat yellowed it a bit. on the other hand, i had considered bright yellow for the pinstripe, but couldn't find a nice vinyl decal in yellow. maybe once it's all buffed up it'll look ok. by the way, the raw aluminum clearcoated left an amazing finish, that can't quite be captured on film. it's very pearlescent, which hints of orange and blue that jump out at you as you walk around it, like the colors on a beetle. i like it.

[coldright]

Well done.

[CBJoe]

That looks fantastic... The red on the tail-piece balances the whole package VERY well. 

Joe