Picked this gem up for $375:
This'll be my first CB build. I'm not sure yet exactly what I'm going to do with it, other than I have a vague idea of a classic, clean minimalist cafe racer machine with some modern upgrades, no fluff.
I had posted another thread with a bunch of noob questions here:
http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=91895If anyone can chime in on any of those questions, I could use some guidance and TIA.
This is my personal spare time project, I expect it to take probably a year. I have another one to build this winter; a friend's CB550 (not sure what year, mid 70's). I'll do a seperate build thread for that one once I get it up here and start tearing into it.
Anyway, I wanted to do a test ride before teardown, so I went through the carbs, points etc and got it purring like a kitten:
Can anyone tell me if this amount of blowby is normal? (I'm already planning at least an 836 kit/cam/head porting for it)
The test ride went well, it seems to ride fine, no major problems came up, so now to tear into it:
The exhaust is soaking in penetrating oil - they're pretty well rusted in place. I'll probably end up taking the manifolds off the head and then separating them from the pipes on the bench.
The front end
Looks like I'll need new fork tubes:
And I hope I can clean this up:
Both forks seems to operate smoothly, depsite the rust.
Definitely getting new, tapered baearings:
My pile of parts so far. Most of this won't be going back on the bike, except maybe the gauges. Anyone see anything they want?
So, about that front end, I could really use some input here, 'cause I'm not even sure at this point what my options are.
- the fork tubes need to be replaced - I don't think any amount of magic is going to bring those rusted things back to new looking
- I'm not excited about the look of the upper triple
- Clip ons, or dropped clubman bars? I could go either way. I'm leaning towards bars for the classic look
- I would like to have dual front discs with modern calipers
- Both forks definietely need a full rebuild with cartridge emulators/progressive springs
- The housings are showing some minor pitting, will need a skim coat of bondo and paint at the least
- If the top of that one housing can't be cleaned up, it'll need replacing
- One of the gator boots is torn
- Definitely want to keep the look of the spoked wheels
- I like the look of the front fender, but was planning on cutting it down, eliminating the stays and painting it
- Would like to get better handling and lower the bike overall
- I want to go to more modern sportbike tires
- The spokes are all showing surface corrosion (white powdery stuff), but the rims and hub look good
- Will need new wheel bearings, rotors resurfaced and cross-drilled - it may even be bent - something was dragging on the front wheel halfway around, haven't gotten into the caliper yet
With all the above points in mind, is this front end too far gone - a lost cause for what I'll have to put into it to bring it back to new? Am I better off looking for a completely different front end, and off of what other bike, (I have to keep the spoked wheels, what's compatible??) or is it worth rebuilding this one?
Among my considerations are:
- Cost
- Ride quality
- Handling/performance
- Parts compatibility
- Least amount of fabrication
I may have to do further disassembly and evaluate more, to see if i need to replace the disc, if the caliper is any good, what the fork internals look like, etc.
A direct bolt-on from a modern bike with spoked wheels and dual discs would probably be ideal. Thoughts, advice?
