Topic: advice on rebuild: cyclex 'git kit' #2, 17" wheels, best suspension????

[greasy j]

ok, I blew my head gasket over 6 mos. ago on my 1971 cb750 k1. got a cbr for transpo while I get my 750 back in running shape.

I threw the 750 together on the cheap in the back yard mostly of my old house. it looks awesome and everyone seems to dig it, but I did a lot of it really half ass. when I started I had a very limited budget. I want to redo a lot of stuff that is not exactly up to snuff.

I have started working for myself and things are improving. I now have, and soon will have more, money to blow. I also have an awesome garage all to myself, with a good tool collection.

I bought the bike for $40, but it's basically what I've wanted since I was 16 and I don't mind spending $$$ to achieve my dream bike. things I want to do:

• rebuild engine- 850cc complete with extras (cyclex git kit #2) opinions on this?
• dual discs in front- need 2nd disc, caliper, splitter for master(will I have to move my fork mounted speedo to make room for 2nd disc or does this all fit?)
• bent front fork tube needs replacing (cyclex carries tubes, but only for 73-later, what's the dif)
• top 3 tree cracked
• fork brace or fender possibly needed
• 16" wheel in the back was laced backwards, it feels wonky, not true.- want to lace hubs to 17" aluminum rims front and back, but maybe stock size. any opinions or experiences with doing this? what can I get away with with stock forks/swingarm?
• suspension: maybe cartridges for forks? what are the best upgrades? good rear shocks for sure, Works? Hagon? what do you suggest? I'm willing to spend $$ for a good ride
• Carpy makes Yoshi style exhausts- anyone have one, heard anything good or bad? I like the look. looking to replace the Mac
• cigarette lighter popped out on a bumpy road, need a new one 

I'd like to hear your opinions or advice on any of these ideas. especially the cyclex git kit #2 which goes for $1,700 it contains these items:

The Git Kit By  Cycle X :
             #2 Git Kit includes:
                  *Heavy Duty Stud Set............ (a must)
                      *Spring Set............................ (high performance)
                      *Cam Chain........................... (heavy duty)
                      *Cam.....................................(hot street to match big bore kit)
                      *Valve Set..............................(Cycle X super flow valves)
                      *Cycle X Big Bore Kit ..........(849cc,  101/2 compression)
                      *Cycle X Super Rods ............(good insurance for your hot-rod motor)
                      *Complete Gasket Set........... (you will need this)
                      * Gasket Sealer......................(great stuff)
                      * Oil Seal Kit..........................(you will need this)
                      * Clutch Plate Set...................(OEM quality)
                      * Titanium Retainers..............(lightweight to match your superflow valves)
                      * Valve Guides........................(nice)
                      * Primary Chains....................(good idea)
                      * Primary Chain Roller...........(good idea)
                      * Cam Chain Slider.................(a must)
                      * Cam Chain Roller................(a must)
                      * Cam Chain Roller Assembly( well, a must)

                      Retail for the above items sold separately is  $2086.00
                      Git kit #2 price is  $ 1785.00 , you'll save $ 307.00

wot do ya think? good deal? seems pretty complete to me. I would just have to get someone to do the cylinder bore. know anyone in the Bay Area? I'm thinkin I might want an oil cooler as well, with the increased bore and new cam and whatnot won't it run hotter? I have a Dyna s and stock coils. will this be ok with all the engine upgrades? it's not super extreme or anything.

 I intro'd myself a while ago and haven't posted since but I've been lurking most of the time since, reading and trying to absorb as much as possible. I'm going to pick up an engine stand off craigslist soon, make the adapters I learned about on the site and get started. I have a buddy who can help, but he's a British bike guy so it's just muscle and whatnot, not knowledge like you guys.

opinions and suggestions are greatly appreciated. I will take lots of pics of the whole project and post them in the appropriate section when I begin in a few weeks.

[greasy j]

here's pics of the bike as it is now.

[jesus freek]

Just going over the pics of your bike, man that thing looks tough, everything you have done so far looks sweet!  I especially like the seat, and that 16 out back. What size tire did you go with on that? Sorry to hi-jack, sweet bike!

[greasy j]

it's a 150 tire. there is no clearance, it works but it's really tight. I should've used a 140 probably.

[750Caferider]

Before you get the cycle x kit check out: http://www.cbrzone.com/sohc.html
I've heard really good things about them.  I've also read more than once not to go bigger than a 836/850 kit, or you can ruin your head.
There have been several posts on swapping forks with newer dual setups so you might be able to find something on the forum for that!
She looks awesome!  Hope your rebuild goes well!

Cheers!

[greasy j]

Before you get the cycle x kit check out: http://www.cbrzone.com/sohc.html
I've heard really good things about them.  I've also read more than once not to go bigger than a 836/850 kit, or you can ruin your head.
There have been several posts on swapping forks with newer dual setups so you might be able to find something on the forum for that!
She looks awesome!  Hope your rebuild goes well!

Cheers!

thanks! I'll check on that when I get home from work. I'm only goin to 850, don't want to kill m'self, or my baby. I have a set of 450 forks with caliper and disc, but no splitter, might go with that flipped around, heard it will work. prob is then I can't use the fender mount as a brace anymore. would have to get a fork brace. they're hard to find and usually overpriced. might be my best option, though.

[HB-1fan]

Hi Greasy,
 First of all, nice looking bike!!
 The guy that owns cycle x is a great guy and very knowledgable. I have had a few conversions with him. I believe for a few extra bucks he will "match bore" you a set of jugs to the 850 pistons in the kit.
 You can use the front end from an early goldwing, have dual discs, and still keep that traditional look. They are slightly bigger fork tubes, so you might not need the brace. Someone else here can tell you if it is a bolt on or not. Search the database for the conversion!

If you want the bike to handle good put 18" wheels on it, front and back. Check Buchanons for that.

Don't forget Dynoman.net for parts, either!!

HB
 
 

[HB-1fan]

And don't forget to send your head to MRieck for proper tuning to your kit!!

HB

[Alan F.]

I have a set of 450 forks with caliper and disc, but no splitter, might go with that flipped around, heard it will work. prob is then I can't use the fender mount as a brace anymore. would have to get a fork brace. they're hard to find and usually overpriced. might be my best option, though.

Nah, use the fender mount as a fork brace, just grind off the rivets and flip the fender around, then pop-rivet it back on to the brace, or rivet on a fiberglass or plastic fender to shave a few pounds off the front end.
Nice look you've achieved there.
-Alan

[greasy j]

Hi Greasy,
 First of all, nice looking bike!!
 The guy that owns cycle x is a great guy and very knowledgable. I have had a few conversions with him. I believe for a few extra bucks he will "match bore" you a set of jugs to the 850 pistons in the kit.
 You can use the front end from an early goldwing, have dual discs, and still keep that traditional look. They are slightly bigger fork tubes, so you might not need the brace. Someone else here can tell you if it is a bolt on or not. Search the database for the conversion!

If you want the bike to handle good put 18" wheels on it, front and back. Check Buchanons for that.

Don't forget Dynoman.net for parts, either!!

HB
 
 

what do you mean by 'jugs'? slang for cylinders?

18" front and back? is that for sure the best on a 750? wouldn't it be hard to find tires?

thanks for the info!

[bucky katt]

i had looked at the "git kit" but i didnt want the rods, they wont delete/substitute parts so i'm going to have to buy everything seperately if and when i do my big motor. i have good rods now.

[HB-1fan]

Greasy, if you want it to handle good on curvy roads, this would be my prefrence. Newer bikes go a size smaller on the front, it helps cornering even better.
 Yes, I meant cylinders. He lists them on the site, or atleast he did.
 Tires are no problem, I have Bridgestone battlax's, both 18" and very sticky compound for street tires.

Hope it helps,
HB

[greasy j]

i had looked at the "git kit" but i didnt want the rods, they wont delete/substitute parts so i'm going to have to buy everything seperately if and when i do my big motor. i have good rods now.

couldn't you buy it to get the big discount, then sell the rods? dig your avatar, that's hilarious.

[greasy j]

Greasy, if you want it to handle good on curvy roads, this would be my prefrence. Newer bikes go a size smaller on the front, it helps cornering even better.
 Yes, I meant cylinders. He lists them on the site, or atleast he did.
 Tires are no problem, I have Bridgestone battlax's, both 18" and very sticky compound for street tires.

Hope it helps,
HB

that's exactly what I wanted to know. I'll prob go with that setup, then. what size rims (width) and tires did you use? mind if I ask what it cost? thanks for the help! it's fun to go fast, but scary if your back end is bouncing around. need to fix that.

[bucky katt]

i had looked at the "git kit" but i didnt want the rods, they wont delete/substitute parts so i'm going to have to buy everything seperately if and when i do my big motor. i have good rods now.

couldn't you buy it to get the big discount, then sell the rods? dig your avatar, that's hilarious.

thats fat freddy freekowtski from the fabulous furry freak brothers. my inner child is actually fat freddy 

[greasy j]

thats fat freddy freekowtski from the fabulous furry freak brothers. my inner child is actually fat freddy  

awesome, I'm partial to anarchy myself. I'll have to check that out.

[Duke McDukiedook]

Just get a GL1000 front end if you want to go with dual discs. It will be a lot easier and you won't have to worry about your bent tube.

[greasy j]

Just get a GL1000 front end if you want to go with dual discs. It will be a lot easier and you won't have to worry about your bent tube.

wouldn't have to worry bout the cracked tree either. good point.

[greasy j]

found a GL1000 on craigslist for $600. complete. running. guy needs it gone. wonder if it would be worth it to buy it for the front end and sell the rest. found another guy whos parting one, though. see if he calls...

so git kit #2, GL100 front end and 18's front and back. I found another post discussing rim width so I'm set. this really is the bestest forum ever.

you guys rule!

especially paulages, who has been helping me a lot. and just happens to be in a band that I really dig. small world.

but all you guys are super helpful. I'm very appreciative of this resource. I remember being stuck with local junkyards and calling Honda mechanics who didn't have time for me back when I was 16. before the magical internet!

[Duke McDukiedook]

Eh, you should be able to get a GL1000 front end at a moto boneyard for way cheaper than $600. If you can buy it for that much and it runs, keep it together- they are nice bikes.

[greasy j]

found a front end. goin to see it, prob get it tomorrow. calipers are frozen but everything is there. he says. best part is it's right down the street.

[seven]

Hey nice Bike man,

If mine looks half as good as that, when I'm done, I'll be stoked.

You mentioned you are split between the cycle X and carpy yoshi style pipes.

I am personally leaning towards the carpy exhaust, cause IMO, it sounds better.

Link to Cycle X

and Carpy's

What do you Think?

[greasy j]

What do you Think?

I def like the carpy Yosh exhaust. sounds killer. and really good clearance, it fits tighter than any else I've seen for the 750-4. my Mac was a really good deal, but crap clearance. crap chroming and paint and it bolts on funny. wonder if his comes with the Yoshi sticker?

anyone know about the quality level of his parts? he has some really cool stuff. I'm not super hot on some of his builds, though. his bikes always come out looking really busy. like those glittery disco choppers that make me wanna barf. only functional and rideable. to each his own, however. some like it blingy.

goin to check out that front end in a few

[greasy j]

I got a complete front end (I hope) for $80. the guy who had it lives near me and has tons of stuff for goldwings. he had a bunch of other random Honda bits as well. nice guy.

everything looks good except the master cylinder. it is very clean inside but the piston that gets pushed by the lever to actuate the calipers is stuck in. like in the fully depressed position. how do I get it to pop back out? also it's the same size as my 750 one, is this what the gl1000 mc really looks like. thought it would be bigger. not that I'm complaining.

he had some aftermarket fork caps that have valves in them. they are in the picture near the front. he said a tube goes between them to connect them. it looks like one of them is missing something, anyone know anything about these? I think the missing piece might just be a plug?

the calipers seem fine, forks look good. think I got a good deal. if anything is missing I can go back for more parts.

[MJL]

Air ride forks. There should be a tube to connect them. Don't use high pressure to fill them, use a hand pump, and don't put much in. My 650 says something like no more then 16 psi, so I wouldn't go much more than that for a gl front end.

I think I paid 75 fo my gl front end, and my master cylinder was stuck too. I ended up buying another one.

[eurban]

Its a bit tough to tell from your pic but I am wondering if you actually have a GL master cylinder?  They typically have an alloy base with with a round plastic resevoir.  The resevoir in your pics appears be alloy and not as large as the ones typically used in dual disc applications.  Find one that is correctly sized for the dual discs if yours is indeed not correct.  Regardless, you will want to rebuild the master cylinder and calipers before putting them in to use.   You are making a braking "upgrade" with 30 year old parts with an unknown service history so get the pieces, disassemble, inspect and rebuild.  Every GL caliper I have opened up (probably about 10) has had significant amounts of rust on the pistons so be prepared to replace these as well.  I have also found that bolts holding the caliper halves together can be next to impossible to remove on some of the calipers I have worked on.  Use some heat and penetrant.  Good luck.

[nokrome]

Hey nice Bike man,

If mine looks half as good as that, when I'm done, I'll be stoked.

You mentioned you are split between the cycle X and carpy yoshi style pipes.

I am personally leaning towards the carpy exhaust, cause IMO, it sounds better.

Link to Cycle X

and Carpy's

What do you Think?

   i think a 4-2-1 design of the cyclex pipe will give you better performance throughout your rpm range, i think the yosh style pipe is more for upper rpm performance.
  carpys pipe does sound better but the cyclex pipe comes with a mac can on it, throw that thing in the trash and put on somthing better and i think it will be an all around better set up

[greasy j]

Its a bit tough to tell from your pic but I am wondering if you actually have a GL master cylinder?  They typically have an alloy base with with a round plastic resevoir.  The resevoir in your pics appears be alloy and not as large as the ones typically used in dual disc applications.  Find one that is correctly sized for the dual discs if yours is indeed not correct.  Regardless, you will want to rebuild the master cylinder and calipers before putting them in to use.   You are making a braking "upgrade" with 30 year old parts with an unknown service history so get the pieces, disassemble, inspect and rebuild.  Every GL caliper I have opened up (probably about 10) has had significant amounts of rust on the pistons so be prepared to replace these as well.  I have also found that bolts holding the caliper halves together can be next to impossible to remove on some of the calipers I have worked on.  Use some heat and penetrant.  Good luck.

I actually got some bigbrakes from fishhead here on the forum. they're nissin's like on cbr's with an adjustable mc. so I'm set, but yeah that was the wrong mc and those calipers were the wrong year as well.

[greasy j]

just an update:

thanks for the advice all! I decide against the git kit. it's been a lil rough lately with work being sporadic. I may paint the CBR and sell it for dough to buy parts for the CB, but I don't feel super rich anymore. and besides the bike is really fast as it is, it just needs to handle and stop better. so it will be a stock engine rebuild. I'll put the $ elsewhere. the opposite of a sleeper.

I am finally taking the engine overhaul class at CCSF. I just got the engine out of the frame last night and will be cracking it open on tuesday. this is the 1st time it has been out of the frame since it was built in 1971! the previous owner bought it new and never did anything except change the pipes and let it rust and rot away for close to 40 yrs. antsy to see what it will look like inside.

I'll post a topic in the project section when I have something to show you guys. wish me luck!