Author Topic: LostSoul's Project "Lucky 13" build (Read 12651 times)

LostSoul86 · « **on:** July 07, 2011, 07:34:58 AM »

A little introduction about myself before I begin, so bear with me for a bit. Name is Andrew, 28 yrs old, co-own a motorcycle parts and repair shop with my father, work on pretty much anything I can get my hands on for the learning experience, and just do it because it challenges my mind. Been in the industry pretty much my whole life, been riding since the age of 5, raced offroad for a few years but never really owned a street bike save for a 125cc stroked Elite 50 scooter, lol, but I do have my license for riding motorcycles through the rider course. Anywho, I'll start on about the project....

I picked up my first CB750 last week for a scant $150

It was a former "drag bike" I was told, where the rider wrecked on track, then it sat, then came up for sale, but already had potential when I first laid eyes on the craigslist ad. I've always been a fan of the older bikes because they have soul that newer bikes don't and for $150, I figured I couldn't go wrong.... turns out I didn't

I ended up with a 1978 CB750F Super Sport equipped with quite a few goodies.

So after bringing it to it's new home and partial tear down to see what I was working with, I came across the following on the bike already.....
Yoshimura race exhaust (I'm guessing the hand bent because it's smooth bends)
CX500 Turbo front forks w/ brace
CX500 Turbo wheels (rear has a hub adapted to it since the CX is shaft drive)
Tommaselli Gold Commander Z-bar clip-ons
Sandcast Carbs w/ choke circuits removed
Koni rear shocks
Steering damper
Oil cooler w/ sandwich plate

So after tearing it down a little to see what I have to work with, I've come to some decisions. My overall project goals aren't really for top-end speed, but better handling, better braking, lighter weight, ease of repair, a better ride and some decent looks along the way. The overall look I'm going for is of minimalist and cafe inspirations, if that makes any sense. After a rocky start, I decided on a name for the project and dubbed it "Lucky 13" and the color scheme will consist of Black and Blue, like bruises

If you can't tell by now, I have some pretty off the wall tastes, so be gentle

LostSoul86 · « **Reply #1 on:** July 07, 2011, 07:41:41 AM »

So I had some time after getting work done to swap in a front end off an '05 YZF600R, basically bolted right up!

After a few ideas from around here, I've come up with some thus far, but only after making sure the motor is up to par first. Those ideas being:

CBR600F2 rear wheel
CBR600RR Rear brakes
Braided black SS lines
Z bars or 41mm clip-ons (depending on what's more comfy for me)
CBR600F2 swingarm and Monoshock
Gordon Frame mod
"blood" spattered valve cover
Cut off un-used tabs
Loop rear part of frame for rigidity
LED signals
HID headlight (I live in God's waiting room, so it's for see and be seen purposes, hopefully)
relocate battery
hidden key switch
Updated control switches (new CBR)
Wire tuck (hiding wires)
frame gussets
Cafe style seat
Dyna Ignition and mini coils (unless someone has a better option)
Rearsets

I have a ton more, but between working on customer stuff, it might get a little slow in the progress area at times $:-\$

CafeDawg · « **Reply #2 on:** July 07, 2011, 07:50:34 AM »

Sounds like you've got the space and parts pipeline to make this bike what you want it to be. I think it would be a great sleeper, keep it no show and all go. Looks like it needs some electrical work and rearsets and has it been lowered? I don't know enough about the mechanics and specialized parts on that bike, but I'm guessing it's going to be a bear to tune and keep street friendly. I also have a 78 CB750 SS so I'll keep my eyes on your build and see where it goes.
Respect!
CD

LostSoul86 · « **Reply #3 on:** July 07, 2011, 08:09:56 AM »

Yes, it's been lowered and extra tabs mounted on the swing arm. The PO actually did a good job, but then got lazy towards the end when it came to body work. As far as tuning, it's always a pain, but with so much space between the frame and carbs, it should be a snap to make adjustments, it's just part of the process really and I love to tinker. With modifications comes sacrifices, give and get. You read my mind on the sleeper part for sure though, I'm not going to be too flashy hopefully and just do how I feel it should look.

hapakev · « **Reply #4 on:** July 07, 2011, 12:47:50 PM »

Nice project! I'll be watching this one.

articblue · « **Reply #5 on:** July 07, 2011, 12:53:47 PM »

Dang sweet find.

Looking forward to your build.

MasterChief750 · « **Reply #6 on:** July 08, 2011, 06:29:25 AM »

if the motor is a 78 f it has really early k carbs on it.

LostSoul86 · « **Reply #7 on:** July 08, 2011, 08:52:29 AM »

Quote from: MasterChief750 on July 08, 2011, 06:29:25 AM

if the motor is a 78 f it has really early k carbs on it.

That's what threw me off in the tear down! It had the 1-4 throttle cables, each carb had it's own slide and there was nothing linked except for 1-2 and 3-4, which it should have been linked at least by the choke assemblies. Trucking along though.

I'm kind of looking off and on for a CBRF2/F3/900RR/R6 swingarm before I have to get creative and mount up my '04 600RR swing arm.

Currently restoring a '82 GL500 Silverwing for a customer with no joke, 1040 original miles, so I gotta work before I can play.

jaguar · « **Reply #8 on:** July 08, 2011, 08:58:47 AM »

interested to see how the turbo wheels were adapted.
not looking to sell that are you?

Low on a CB will not handle well.
actually you want 1 inch longer rear shocks to make the bike handle.

Are the carbs marked with a "28" on them?
might be worth some $ to a rest guy.

LostSoul86 · « **Reply #9 on:** July 08, 2011, 09:50:11 AM »

Quote from: jaguar on July 08, 2011, 08:58:47 AM

interested to see how the turbo wheels were adapted.
not looking to sell that are you?

Low on a CB will not handle well.
actually you want 1 inch longer rear shocks to make the bike handle.

Are the carbs marked with a "28" on them?
might be worth some $ to a rest guy.

As a matter of fact, yes, I might be looking to sell the setup, ready for bolt on.

I was going to raise the rear a bit, it actually has some reverse rake to it which needs to be addressed.

Depending on what comes off, I might just sell them and go for either the Cycle X dual Mikuni's or swap on a stock set from an '87-'88 F model. Still looking for a number, but I haven't looked over the entirety of the carbs yet.

LostSoul86 · « **Reply #10 on:** July 08, 2011, 02:00:15 PM »

Just got done raising the rear back to stock height, and got a little play time. Got the carbs back together and on as well. Was looking in my parts boxes and I found my rear sets from my aborted 600 Hurricane, my 600RR rear brake system, 600RR start switch and my Nissan radial master cylinder from a GSXR. I have my 600RR rear swing arm, just no rear wheel currently. I'm trying to stay away from a Mono shock setup, but it's getting more and more tempting to say the least!!

Here's a question, anyone have what the height is from the rear most part of the frame to the ground when sitting upright? I want this bike to handle well, not like crap. I know I can only get so much, but every little bit helps when going in the right direction.

jaguar · « **Reply #11 on:** July 08, 2011, 02:41:53 PM »

Search around here and read Hondamans posts about handling

burmashave · « **Reply #12 on:** July 08, 2011, 06:46:47 PM »

I'll be watching, too.

I can't remember if I passed this along to you or not, but there's a good thread about improving handling here:

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=51175.0;topicseen

LostSoul86 · « **Reply #13 on:** July 09, 2011, 09:36:20 AM »

Thanks for the info Burma and Jaguar. I have a lot of reading to do

LostSoul86 · « **Reply #14 on:** July 12, 2011, 05:12:01 PM »

Well, it looks like I'm going to be selling a few of the pieces that were on the bike so I can continue on with the project. I'll be selling the following soon after getting pictures....

Tommaselli Clip-ons
CX500 Turbo Wheels and complete brake systems
CX500 Front suspension and brace
Koni rear shocks (need taller shocks)

If anyone is interested, please let me know via pm. I know I need a tank for beginners

Toxic · « **Reply #15 on:** July 13, 2011, 03:45:06 AM »

If it was a drag bike ... any clue as to what, if anything was done to the engine?
-big bore kit
-cams etc

bill440cars · « **Reply #16 on:** July 13, 2011, 05:13:53 AM »

Great Find and definitely Great price! I'll be looking to see just what all you DO with this one (and how you do it too)!

Catch you later, Bill

LostSoul86 · « **Reply #17 on:** July 13, 2011, 07:23:08 PM »

Quote from: Toxic on July 13, 2011, 03:45:06 AM

If it was a drag bike ... any clue as to what, if anything was done to the engine?
-big bore kit
-cams etc

I won't know until I pull the engine apart to replace gaskets and seals. The guy I bought it from didn't know much as he wasn't the one that built the bike, and believe me, I asked.

BR · « **Reply #18 on:** July 15, 2011, 07:02:25 PM »

Nice job, I was wondering who was gonna get that bike off Craigslist. I saw those wheels in that crappy picture on craigslist and thought they were overseas cb1100f wheels. I was going to drive down and look at the bike when it was for sale but the title story the guy gave me scared me off. I probably wouldn't have been scared off if I had known it had the yoshi exhaust and K 0 carbs damnit. Good luck with the project and I'll be watching this one. Hope you get the title stuff taken care of before you spend too much $ and time on it.

Retro Rocket · « **Reply #19 on:** July 16, 2011, 03:22:53 AM »

Quote

Here's a question, anyone have what the height is from the rear most part of the frame to the ground when sitting upright? I want this bike to handle well, not like crap. I know I can only get so much, but every little bit helps when going in the right direction.

If you want it too handle forget the monoshock, unless you modify the oil tank and fit a shocl like the old TZ Yammy's had, running parallel to the frame centre tube. The cbr arm will extend the wheel base by about 4 inches or more which is fine for the drag strip but not great for the street. Early GSXR 750 swingarms are cheap and when the mono shock section is removed and the arm is shortened, end up being about 1 inch longer which is quite ok for these bikes.....I have a shortened GSXR1100J swingarm on one of my bikes and it ended up being around 40mm longer, I am using it on an F1 frame which is a little longer than nthe K frames Here's a gsxr 750 arm on a 500 racer....

Mick

LostSoul86 · « **Reply #20 on:** July 16, 2011, 02:55:19 PM »

Quote from: BR

Nice job, I was wondering who was gonna get that bike off Craigslist. I saw those wheels in that crappy picture on craigslist and thought they were overseas cb1100f wheels. I was going to drive down and look at the bike when it was for sale but the title story the guy gave me scared me off. I probably wouldn't have been scared off if I had known it had the yoshi exhaust and K 0 carbs damnit. Good luck with the project and I'll be watching this one. Hope you get the title stuff taken care of before you spend too much $ and time on it.

That's what I was thinking as well and when I emailed the guy the night previous, I was surprised I got a reply saying it was still available! I got extremely lucky with this for sure, but like you said, the title is going to be a concern later on, so I'm not too entirely worried about it at this point in time. I wanted to snag it before I lost my chance, it had some pretty interesting parts and I figured a drive there would prove my gut instincts right. I'm certainly glad I did, but there's a lot of work needing to be done, I guess I like to be challenged

Quote from: Retro Rocket

If you want it too handle forget the monoshock, unless you modify the oil tank and fit a shocl like the old TZ Yammy's had, running parallel to the frame centre tube. The cbr arm will extend the wheel base by about 4 inches or more which is fine for the drag strip but not great for the street. Early GSXR 750 swingarms are cheap and when the mono shock section is removed and the arm is shortened, end up being about 1 inch longer which is quite ok for these bikes.....I have a shortened GSXR1100J swingarm on one of my bikes and it ended up being around 40mm longer, I am using it on an F1 frame which is a little longer than nthe K frames.

Mick

Thank you so much for the bump in the right direction!! The monoshock idea is a last resort, and if it's a step backwards in the handling department, I'd rather not use it at all! I know there's limits you can either achieve or hinder, but I do have my 600RR swingarm sitting around that I bought a while back, perhaps I'll use it for another build some day instead. Are you pictures available for viewing? I'm still in the planning and process stage, while gathering small pieces here and there, so I'm open to any and all suggestions. Oil tank should be replaced on this anyway, the PO welded a Dzus tab on it which burned a hole in the lower part of the tank, which was then sealed with resin/putty

Any thoughts on CBR F2/F3 swingarms, or was that what you were talking about previously when you mention the GSXR swinger? Any idea as to what the best range in wheel base is for these bikes? I'd like to come as close to possible, if possible. I rode a somewhat stock (suspension-wise) CB750F the other day and it felt a little heavy and slow to respond to input even though it was taller than how mine is currently sitting.

I know a local retired machinist, so deleting the monoshock mount is not out of the question. My old Hurricane swingarm will fit, but there's space on the sides and I'd rather take a tiny bit of material off than have to make spacers for it to fit properly. I'd also like to use a wider wheel in the rear than what I currently have also, which for rolling chassis purposes, is off my old Hurricane with a 140/70-17 tire, which quite frankly is a bit on the bulbous side IMO....

Also started sorting out the cut up and rigged 32 year old harness...

Retro Rocket · « **Reply #21 on:** July 16, 2011, 03:29:15 PM »

I'll take some pics of my swingarm mate, i have 1 pic but there's not much detail visible. I am not too sure about the CBR swingers mate, once i saw how easy it is to mount the Suzuki arm {bolts straight in } i didn't bother looking at anything else.... There are a few 750 racers on this site {Mec and Voxonda come to mind} and i am sure they would answer any questions about bike geometry. Rob {Voxonda} is using a stock frame and is a really nice guy so he would be a good start for info. My bikes are in pieces whilst i collect parts, I am doing larger bore bikes with lots of trick bits and fuel injection is on the list as well, so i still haven't worked out all the small details yet. These bikes can be a ton of fun set up well and would surprise a lot of people with their capabilities. Gotta keep these old girls alive and kicking......

LostSoul86 · « **Reply #22 on:** July 16, 2011, 05:00:41 PM »

Thank you so much Mick!! You've been of great help in just two posts! I'm doing some searching now and looking through threads I've found.

Retro Rocket · « **Reply #23 on:** July 16, 2011, 06:34:21 PM »

No problems mate, glad to be of assistance.

LostSoul86 · « **Reply #24 on:** July 16, 2011, 09:51:30 PM »

Quote from: Retro Rocket on July 16, 2011, 06:34:21 PM

No problems mate, glad to be of assistance.

Guys like you are the reason I'm glad I joined this forum.

So after some searching I've found that the CBR600F2 swingers should bolt right in between the stock frame with little to modification. IIRC, the F2 wheels are 17x4.5" which should mount a 160 or 170 tire which would give me good turn in being smaller, still offer the grip I'm looking for, offer better braking and update the looks of the bike.

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Author Topic: LostSoul's Project "Lucky 13" build (Read 12651 times)