Author Topic: CR750 replica for the street (Read 73968 times)

Brookesy in Oz · « **Reply #75 on:** September 21, 2012, 12:37:29 PM »

My ultimate goal too - CR750 Replica... we'll see

Terry in Australia · « **Reply #76 on:** September 21, 2012, 04:11:53 PM »

Get stuck in Brooksey, and I'll buy all the bits you take off your bike! Cheers, Terry.

Brookesy in Oz · « **Reply #77 on:** September 22, 2012, 01:32:08 AM »

G'day Terry.

Mate, the K1's staying pretty much stock except maybe the handlebars. When I find a K0 frame I'll start on the CR750 replica... but I'm not looking too hard just yet

Terry in Australia · « **Reply #78 on:** September 22, 2012, 02:44:59 AM »

Why do you need a K0 frame for your CR replica mate?

Brookesy in Oz · « **Reply #79 on:** September 22, 2012, 02:54:54 AM »

It's just a preference Terry... like "if I'm going to do it, it has to have a K0 frame" etc. etc. Just a mental picture of what I want

Vincent · « **Reply #80 on:** September 28, 2012, 09:49:23 AM »

OK, more progress. Picked up my frame from the powdercoater. Before I brought it in, I spent time going over the frame and brackets with a file and emery paper, smoothing rough edges and getting rid of splatter around some of the factory welds. I think it was time well spent. Next up is the engine. I have all the parts already, but I want to finish the cases before I put things back together. Just a side note: I'm continually amazed by how much space the bike - in its present state - takes up. All together, the bike would need about 14 sq.ft of floor space. But in pieces? I have boxes on shelves, boxes on the floor, the fairing is hanging from the ceiling, and the tanks and wheels are in another garage.

aggiepike · « **Reply #81 on:** March 21, 2013, 06:27:15 PM »

great build so far. Any update on it? New pics???!!!

Vincent · « **Reply #82 on:** March 22, 2013, 11:01:50 PM »

Life has a way of intruding on my motorcycle time. So unfair. A lot has been going on, and CR progress has been happening at a glacial pace, but there are a couple of things to report. The bottom end of the engine is together, the chrome and cadmium plating is done, and the instruments are disassembled. Here are some pics.

Heavy duty cylinder studs from Dynoman.

All new OEM Honda chains and tensioners.

APE balanced and micropolished the crank and assembled the new rods and bearings.

Remembered to stagger the primary chains.

Well, probably overkill, but I decided to put all the new stainless bolts in the lathe before I install them.

I didn't want to paint or polish the engine, so I degreased it, bead blasted it, rubbed it very softly with 0000 steel wool, rubbed it VERY softly with a soft Scotch pad, and then spent hours with dish soap, bore brushes, and a garden hose making sure every glass bead and every steel wool fiber was gone. Blew it off with compressed air, dried it with paper towels, and called it done. It has a low satin finish that looks right to me.

Installed bronze M3 swingarm bushings.

Shock bushings were installed with another of my high-tech bushing installation tools. Yessiree, developed right here in my own lab.

I had bought a speedo and tach from a CB400F a while ago, and after I ran them on my '77 Gold Wing to make sure they worked, I took them apart using the classic rubber strip, hose clamp, and paint can opener method. Going very slowly and gradually, it left the crimp rings in nice shape. I have new faces waiting, and hopefully I can get it all back together just as well.

As I think I mentioned in an earlier post, CB400F gauges were chosen for two reasons. It's pretty cramped in the fairing, and there wasn't room for the big CB750 gauges. Also, I've switched to an 18 inch front wheel, and since the 400F has an 18 inch wheel, I'll get a more accurate reading from the speedo. Does anyone out there have an idea about removing the trip meter shaft from the rest of the mechanism? I'd like to do something about replacing the little rubber boot on the shaft. Any suggestions?

Well, I guess that's it for now. Thanks a lot for looking.

Vincent

SF · « **Reply #83 on:** March 23, 2013, 04:43:37 AM »

love the moded bolts and the raw ever so lightly polish finish on the motor. you could paint the letters on the tires to kind of give it that old skool track bike look

Old Scrambler · « **Reply #84 on:** March 23, 2013, 10:07:49 AM »

Its great to see progress AND some home-brewed mods to make this build very interesting. Nice motor finish

What are you doing for a steering dampner? The correct units are from the CL77 model........but they are more for show than race-track effective. I have a spare if interested............or shop around for a unit that has even two-way tension at the mid-point. MP3 used one on the replica build that Mark did for the Barber Museum.

SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan · « **Reply #85 on:** March 23, 2013, 11:33:41 PM »

Vincent,

I see you decided on the engine finish. Combined with the bolts, it gives a great industrial teutonic look.

Keep it up, brother.

Don

aggiepike · « **Reply #86 on:** March 24, 2013, 07:55:30 AM »

wow very nice! Keep up the good work.

chris mcshifty · « **Reply #87 on:** March 24, 2013, 10:45:49 AM »

Very nice build . Can only image the finished product

Mugen_Stumpo · « **Reply #88 on:** March 24, 2013, 11:42:52 AM »

is there a faq or diy for the tacho opening method?

Vincent · « **Reply #89 on:** March 24, 2013, 10:34:03 PM »

Hey, thanks for the comments. I bought an NHK steering damper for the bike. One end goes to a threaded hole in the lower triple clamp and the other end goes to a mount that has been welded onto one of the front downtubes. It's actually adjustable, so it will be for more than just looks.

Here are a few places that talk about taking gauges apart.:

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=58003.0

http://www.salocal.com/sohc/tech/speedo/spedo1.htm

http://www.dimecitycycles.com/dccdiatribe/2011/02/honda-cb-gauge-disassembly-and-face-replacement/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=hnF8_bSTqlU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJxG6Y70qwE

If you google the various terms, you'll find more. I think the two most important things are bending the crimp ring up gradually and supporting the edge of the ring so it doesn't get distorted during the process.

"Industrial" is exactly the look I want for the engine.

And has anyone rebuilt CB400F gauges? I want to know if I can remove the tripmeter shaft so I can replace the rubber boot.

Vincent

Mugen_Stumpo · « **Reply #90 on:** March 25, 2013, 01:01:24 AM »

should be left thread... so try to remove it spinning counterclockwise

Vincent · « **Reply #91 on:** March 26, 2013, 10:24:43 PM »

OK, I'll be the bummer here. Thanks for the tip, but a standard right-handed threaded item loosens when spun counterclockwise. A left-handed item loosens when spun clockwise.

Vincent

Mugen_Stumpo · « **Reply #92 on:** March 27, 2013, 06:00:46 AM »

brain fart... sorry

ekpent · « **Reply #93 on:** March 30, 2013, 08:34:28 PM »

Your friends at the Garage Company, Cadmire and Yoshi got a nice little shout out in the latest issue of Motorcyclist for their work in helping a guy restore his 1967 Montesa 250.

Vincent · « **Reply #94 on:** March 30, 2013, 11:00:17 PM »

I've not met Cadmire, but I'm very familiar with Yoshi and Kiyo. Their knowledge of motorcycles is vast, their enthusiasm is contagious, and they're interested in everything from obscure little dirt bikes to choppers, classics, hot rods - basically, everything on wheels.

sazaver · « **Reply #95 on:** April 01, 2013, 12:07:35 PM »

I just got My pipes from lordmoonpie for my cafe/CR replica kind of project. Awesome craftsmanship!

When you get to that point, can you post more pics of the exhaust brackets/mounts? I really like how clean and solid looking they are.

Vincent · « **Reply #96 on:** April 02, 2013, 10:50:35 PM »

I'll second that endorsement of the lordmoonpie CR pipes and add that they made the trip from the UK to LA in a rigid plastic tub that ensured that they arrived in perfect condition.

The mounts were purchased from M3 racing, and they're welded onto the frame for a neat and solid fit. Kiyo at Garage Company designed, fabricated, and installed brackets on the pipes.

Work has been busy lately, but I'll try to snap a couple of pics in the next few days.

Vincent

SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan · « **Reply #97 on:** August 22, 2013, 05:00:26 PM »

Hey Vincent,

What's the good word on you CR750? I can't wait to see how its been coming along. Are you going to the VVMC Rally on September 14th?

Don

Vincent · « **Reply #98 on:** September 28, 2013, 11:37:46 PM »

Well, once again it's been a slow and frustrating process since I last posted here, but I finally have some actual progress to report. My friend Joe is a machinist, and he duplicated the engine hanger bolts in stainless steel (metric thread, of course.)

I cut a bolt to length and turned the end so I could use it to replace the bolt that holds the cam chain tensioner against the chain.

Since I decided not to install the kickstart, I made a plug for the hole in the clutch cover where the kickstart shaft comes out. I used a piece of aluminum rod...

turned it to fit, beveled the edge, drilled and tapped a hole in the back to accept a bolt and fender washer...

..and installed it in the cover. There's even a place for an o-ring.

After that, I took it out and bead blasted it, but I haven't taken a picture of it like that yet.

Had help from my friend Mike, and we put the engine in the frame using the lay-everything-on-its-side method. Really easy, and not one scratch on the frame. The engine has a balanced and micro-polished crank, new Super Rods, bearings, oil seals, primary chains, cam chain, chain tensioners and guides, Wiseco 836 pistons, stainless steel valves, Webcam camshaft, Kibblewhite valve springs, and bronze valve guides.

Next was the front end. Tubes from Frank's, powdercoated lowers, Progressive springs, new oil seals, 1977 CB750K dust excluders, Tomaselli clip ons, stainless studs and nuts for the end caps, and tapered roller bearings in the steering head.

New Bridgestone BT45 tires, aluminum rims, stainless spokes, o-ring, bearings, seals, and cush drive rubbers.

And finally it looks like a motorcycle. It's not ready for the tank and seat yet, but I couldn't resist.

So that's it up to now. I'm waiting for the calipers and some other stuff to come back from the powdercoaters.

I got a wire connector kit and crimping tool from Vintage Connections, and I'm looking forward to making a wiring harness. Hopefully it won't be months before I can feel like I have enough progress to post here again.

Thanks for looking.

Vincent

Stev-o · « **Reply #99 on:** September 29, 2013, 09:49:28 AM »

Great update, all looks fantastic.

News:

Author Topic: CR750 replica for the street (Read 73968 times)