Topic: Tracy California Cafe Body

[Humble Pie]

Anyone have a picture of the bottom of a Tracy Body for a CB750,,picked one up ,,but beginning to wonder if its for a BSA

[754]

 Does it have clearance for the coils and frme tubes under the main backbone tube. check oil cap hole distance from centerline...

[MCRider]

Yes it does ,,BUT no tank mounts,,instead there is a hole on top,,for a bolt to mount it

Yup that's a british body, Triumph or BSA. Sorry.   


Maybe you can make a stud on a clamp that will work.

[754]

Dies it fit otherwise, sorta doubt it if its wrong....easy to fab up the brit style mount, piece of tubing, stud, a few clamps..

[MCRider]

Does the hole in the right side line up with the stock oil tank? I don't think the British bikes had oil tanks in the years that they had the center tank mount. They carried their oil in the frame.  The filler was right behind the headstock at the front of the tank.

If the rt side lines up with the oil tank, it would seem too coincidental. Maybe Tracy made some Honda bodies with a center mount gas tank and supplied a mount post to do it. In which case, you should be able to as well.  754's idea is good.

[MCRider]

Yes Oil seems to fit correct

Hmmm. It looks like it fits too well to not be for the Honda. I'd PM 754 for a tank mount idea.   

[Hinomaru]

Flashback to 1974 ... Here’s a two-part Tracy catalog in PDF format. Shows the different Honda 750 body styles and other makes that were available at the time. Tracy offered some wild paint jobs.

http://thexscafedotcom.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/xs650-tracy-cat-pp1-32.pdf

http://thexscafedotcom.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/xs650-74-tracy-catalogue-pp-33-65.pdf

[cameron]

MAKE IT FIT.

[754]

Remember if you run 76 and earlier K carbs with fork tops, that you need more clearance than the 77/78 PD carbs.. keep it in mind..
 if it fots the stock carbs, I would say its probably correct.
 I think the mount is a piece cut from 1.75 or 2 inch tubing, with a stud welded on and clamps.

 GRRrrrrooooovvvvy paint by the way..

[MCRider]

On page 7 of the first brochure is the 2 piece, 2 passenger set that is on the bike in my avatar. The tank fits on the stock mounts.

The 1 peice body for the 750 says it uses Universal mounts. I just always thought the bodies fit like my tank did on the stock rubber bumper mounts.

[mrjack55]

Think I got it,,will know tomorrow.

 Just have to make top tank mount,,and find proper clearance off of the backbone

Hey Humble, I thought I saw that Tracy for sale on CL the other day.  What gives?
Did you buy it, or decide to keep it?

[MCRider]

I had the 2 piece combo in my Avatar. They make good show, but for the time I had it there were lots of compromises in actualy using it as a practical piece.

The tank is too small. They say 3 gal, but I suspect less. Mine used standard petcocks that don't have a reserve tube, so that's a problem. If i remember correctly, the fue didn't flow freely from one side to the other. Two petcocks were used and it still wouldn't draw completely.

(PS: I just looked back at your picture and I see a stock Honda petcock, which is good. Still I wonder about drawing from the other side)

The seat height is actually higher than a stocker, or as high as, even though the foam is thinner, which is not what i would want in a serious cafe style.

So it depends on how you want to use your bike. If its a Friday night, burger stand, in town bike, the Tracy is cool. If its a serious mile eater, out of town with gear, it gets old pretty quick.  That's just my impression.

[cameron]

MAKE IT FIT. ITS TOO AWESOME.

[somesuch]

Anyone have a picture of the bottom of a Tracy Body for a CB750,,picked one up ,,but beginning to wonder if its for a BSA

I have one, and can take a pic tomorrow if you still need it. You can email me this way I will not forget since I get the email on my phone.

--Nick

[somesuch]

It seems to looks like it will need spacers in the back shocks are pretty close,,though you can tell someone cut the hole for the battery

looks like mine, you need rubber bumpers in the back, by the battery, and the center mount just bolts onto a top tube.....looks like a cb750 body.

[seaweb11]

Flashback to 1974 ... Here’s a two-part Tracy catalog in PDF format. Shows the different Honda 750 body styles and other makes that were available at the time. Tracy offered some wild paint jobs.

http://thexscafedotcom.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/xs650-tracy-cat-pp1-32.pdf

http://thexscafedotcom.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/xs650-74-tracy-catalogue-pp-33-65.pdf

As a Tracy owner I thank you for those links    ....still printing....
I have to agree that these 2 1/2 gallon tanks make the bikes a non hwy runner, that's why I have a few ride choices in my garage.
I also had to get out the dremel and make room for carbs and petcock.  In all they are what they are, a piece of strange CB750 history

[Hinomaru]

The OP and Tracy fans might find this interesting ...

Posted by: Ted Shaffer on the CB750 website.

http://honda-cb750-s.456789.n3.nabble.com/
 
Good day, I was chief designer at Tracy Design in Santa Barbara from '76 to '87 and have fond memories of the great fun we all had designing and building MC accessories. To the point, there were three different Honda CB750 one-piece body styles produced by Fiberglass Works/Tracy Design.
 
#1 Early units made by Fiberglass Works, Santa Cruz, CA, ('71-'74) incorporated 2+ gal. fuel capacity and had an access provision on the right side for the remote engine oil tank and one-up seating. While I didn't design this one, it was always my favorite as the shape had a purity to it that subsequent designs lacked due to a company mandate to increase fuel capacity on all new designs. Have you ever tried to make 5 gal. of gas look good without modifications to the bike's frame?
 
#2 The later design (company name changed to Tracy Design and located in Santa Barbara, CA) had a larger two-up seat, more fuel capacity (4 gal.) and updated styling that many enthusiasts, at the time, felt was the inspiration (read rip-off) for the later Honda designed 750F. Tracy also manufactured a smaller scale version of that 750 body to fit the CB550. #3 The final iteration, and likely the rarest to find these days, was an updated body for the earlier CB750 with the remote oil tank. It was the last body I designed for Tracy ('87) and had greater fuel capacity (I don't recall the amount but probably 4 gal.), and a two-up seat. All the Tracy bodies had a "glove box" in the tail section that was accessed by removal of a fastener under the body that allowed the seat to be "flexed" up at the rear. They were produced in iterations unique to the different makes of bike and included models for Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, and Kawasaki and ranged in MC size from 1000cc to 350cc.  

Link to the thread:

http://honda-cb750-s.456789.n3.nabble.com/tracy-body-kit-td1003012.html