Author Topic: CL350 Street Tracker / Cafe build (Read 21911 times)

madScientist · « **Reply #100 on:** May 28, 2014, 05:32:45 AM »

So to get the bottom of the gators down over the legs I need to get them good and slick...then buy a 12-er...and have at it :-D. I'll give that a go this weekend with a fresh supply of Coors Light and Jack Daniels.

I have kicked around the possibility of moving the mounts on the tank up a little to fix that up tick the tank has. What still bugs me is the front of the tank...the way it kind of tappers up instead of coming to a demarcation point and then moving up.

In other news...dropped a line to Pamco Pete to see if he might have a twin ignition. I really like the one I have in my 750. In looking at the website he used to have them but they seem to be unavailable currently. I'm also going to splurge on the VM30's. My budget is kind of knackered up anyway so might as well go with the good stuff! I am also going to put in an order for CB350 rear sets from Dime City Cycle. Also kicking around ordering the axle spacers from ebay versus making them.

calj737 · « **Reply #101 on:** May 28, 2014, 06:01:23 AM »

Check out, I think it was Noblehops, or nvr2old's rebuild thread. They used a very clever painting trick of "blacking out" the underside edges to visually shorten the seat and tank. You could do the same with that area of the tank, using the side panel crease as your paint line.

A quick test: apply some black tape to the tank area in question, stand back, and view it from different angles. May also help you decide if there's a better mounting position based upon what you see, or don't see.

grcamna2 · « **Reply #102 on:** May 28, 2014, 06:16:26 AM »

Chase,
I found the difficult part of those gaiters was hooking them to the bottom of the fork ears and then hoping they'd stay put ! When the rubber gets hard they don't stretch or stay put as well;beer will help.
I think I have a set of rear axle spacers(the ones outside the hub..not between the the bearings inside)I can hunt for;get back to me if you're interested.

madScientist · « **Reply #103 on:** May 28, 2014, 06:26:47 AM »

Message sent :-D

Maybe I'll look into getting some new ones for pliability's sake. I might try heating them up a little to loosen them up and see if they are a little easier to manage.

I'll try the tape trick and see what it looks like.

The other thing I'm kicking around is making add on's to the front of the tank to level it out without actually cutting up the tank. I might be able to shape up some sheet steel to fix it up. I'll keep that as a last effort though. I really hate the idea of modifying a usable tank.

grcamna2 · « **Reply #104 on:** May 28, 2014, 09:41:57 AM »

The rubber gaiters,if they're still in good cond. (or any old rubber parts)can be soaked in a 50/50 solution of Wintergreen oil(massage therapy supply places or Amazon,but make sure it's the Real Wintergreen oil because it works better than the imitation stuff)and water and then left to heat a little in an old pot on the stove at about 175 degrees for about a half hour;the old 'cook'em in Wintergreen oil' trick.

The thicker the rubber is the longer you can give'em more heat,but thin rubber like the gaiters no longer than a 1/2 hr.

madScientist · « **Reply #105 on:** July 02, 2014, 07:47:16 PM »

After a short hiatus I'm back to the 350. I've been focusing on motor work trying to get the engine buttoned up and back in the bike so I can build the cowl and check fitment.

The engine is fighting me tooth and nail. After a short scare of losing a dowel which i subsequently found, I put the top end together. The jugs set down on the pistons fine. WAY easier than doing a 4 cylinder...I double and triple checked the cam chain routing through the KA tensioner. Set the head down and realized I couldn't get the cam gear situated in the cam chain with the head. So i pulled the head, put the gear into the chain, put the head back on. I started feeding the cam through which was an exercise in frustration but I finally got it through only to find the dowel at this point. So out it came and went through the exercise again. Mind you before feeding the gear I matched the "L" timing mark straight up when the "LT" mark on the stator was at the mark. Bolted the cam in, mounted up the rockers.

This is where I hit trouble. When putting the tach and points cover on there is absolutely 0 play in the cam. To the point where I can get one but not the other on there. The KA tensioner is tight against the jug wall and the cam chain is alarmingly tight. To make matters worse apparently the cam is 180 degrees out. Which doesn't matter cause i want to take the whole lot back apart and do it again. My suspicion is that the KA doesn't have enough clearance in the jug wall to full slacken the chain. Alternatively the issue could be the chain I was sold is too small / the wrong one.

Either way it'll get run to ground. After-all there are 2 ways to do a thing...the right way and again.

grcamna2 · « **Reply #106 on:** July 02, 2014, 08:31:09 PM »

I never installed a KA but from what I've been told,I think that it needs a good amount of casting removal work inside the cylinder block to let it move freely

madScientist · « **Reply #107 on:** July 03, 2014, 05:12:59 AM »

I shaved some of the rivets off but I guess I didn't get enough off. Oh well...i kind of wanted to change the color of the jugs and cylinder head anyhow. At current the jugs are satin black and the rest is silver. I think i want the jugs silver, head satin black, and everything up silver. I think the black cylinders are out of place.

Mr Freeze · « **Reply #108 on:** July 03, 2014, 07:22:11 AM »

This is off topic, but I see you have the Cycle 4-2-1 exhaust on your F bike. How are you liking it? Did you add any sort of strap to the muffler to attach it to the frame in the back?

Quote from: madScientist on April 29, 2014, 09:16:13 AM

Thanks. She's a great pup although she's gettin' old.

I dont have pictures of a seat yet as I haven't made it up. I'm going to be making a seat / cowl out of fiberglass similar to what I have on my F. I really like how it looks. The trick will be getting it to look right with the tank. The tank has a "bobbed" look to it which i dislike. I was going to put a CB tank on it as I think those are more "leaned forward". I will not be modifying my current tank as it's straight and fairly clean.

Similar to this:
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madScientist · « **Reply #109 on:** July 04, 2014, 08:23:17 AM »

No worries at all. I like it a lot. It sounds great! Nice and throaty at idle and the lower RPM's and then screams when i hit about 8k and higher.

There's no strap holding the rear of the pipe in place as the whole thing is pretty rigid. Plus, no joke, it weighs like 3lbs so there's very little strain. I've had no issues with it hanging only from the exhaust flanges.

The wife got me a gopro for my birthday. I plan on taking some video on the bike that will hopefully have some good audio. Stay tuned to the 750F thread in my signature for that.

calj737 · « **Reply #110 on:** July 04, 2014, 08:37:04 AM »

Hey Mad-man, just wanted to say, every time I see a pic of that blue bike, I like it more. I always notice another small detail in it that makes me appreciate the build again and again. Clean, subtle, but brilliant.

Really great looking stuff!

Mr Freeze · « **Reply #111 on:** July 05, 2014, 05:19:25 AM »

That setup is light. I also have a Hondamatic 750 and I think that whole setup is lighter than just 1 of the original 2-1 exhausts for the CB750A! I bought a set of the 4-2-1 but I havent mounted it up yet because I'm still finishing up my engine and have to get it in the frame.

madScientist · « **Reply #112 on:** July 05, 2014, 02:24:33 PM »

Thank you much Calj! I keep coming across things I still want to do to it to clean it up a little more (aside from give it a good wash...it needs it badly). However I cant / dont want to do anything to disable it for any length of time as I ride it pretty much every day.

Freeze -- no joke man. The UPS guy was real confused bringing that box up. He was carrying it like a pizza asking "what is in this...packing only?!"

I like the A's. My dad has a 77 A he tootles around on. The lack of a clutch confused me...i kept trying to grab for it and find the shifter lol.

Mr Freeze · « **Reply #113 on:** July 06, 2014, 07:22:10 AM »

Yeah I bought the A cause it's kinda unique and it's definitely fun to cruise around on. They definitely rip once you get above 25-30 mph. Too bad Honda didn't make it a 3 speed, might have sold better. I'm thinking of doing some kind of project with what I have at some point.

madScientist · « **Reply #114 on:** July 07, 2014, 05:41:29 AM »

Got some time in on the 350 with the long weekend. The cam chain problems were in the tensioner. I had to grind out a fair bit of casting to allow for free motion of the KA. Once I did that things went together much easier. Also managed to get the engine in the bike with minimal scarring. Painted up the peg brackets and bar clamps. I also polished up the pipes some but there are a couple rust spots that need some sanding.

Next up I'm going to get back to working on those stupid gators and get them situated. Get the exhaust mounted. Maybe get some clubmans bought and fiberglass up the rear cowl. Probably sprinkle some wiring in there as well which might take me awhile...i suck at wiring.

Here's some pictures of the progress.

Pistons:

Jugs:

Right side:

Left side:

calj737 · « **Reply #115 on:** July 07, 2014, 05:53:52 AM »

Next time, wrap up the frame with blue painters tape or bubble wrap. It'll protect your pretty work on the frame and the cases

madScientist · « **Reply #116 on:** July 07, 2014, 08:50:53 AM »

I wrapped the frame in painters tape and taped some cardboard to the lower rails. Cut it off for picture time :-D

mikbeanz · « **Reply #117 on:** July 28, 2014, 12:57:38 PM »

Nice bike. I love the LED headlight...been thinking about doing that with mine for a long time now.

madScientist · « **Reply #118 on:** August 08, 2022, 10:27:46 AM »

I guess i should get this updated with the off and on progress of the last 8 years. This will be a couple of posts.

I had to take a break from working on this bike to deal with a 66 mustang convertible and a 66 mustang hardtop which is now one of my daily drivers. Each...long stories. Anyway...

A few years ago i got a tail section for the bike but it was too narrow and didnt really fit snugged up the way i wanted. I ended up cutting it down the middle and widening it so that it fit the frame better. I also made it blend over the tail of the tank to better jive with the lines of the bike. I wasnt and am still not overly crazy of the hump size but figured it was a bit out of my abilities to try and lower it so I left it. It doesnt look really bad but I would have liked it to have been more the hump style of my 750. You win some, lose some.

I sanded the tank down to bare metal and worked out a couple dings. I gave the few low spots a really light skim with putty to make sure they were glass smooth. This turned out really nice.

I then gave both pieces a couple sprays of gray epoxy primer followed by black epoxy primer. I use the opposing colors to tell when everything is smoothed out since it allows you to see the highs and lows while you're going through your sanding process. I ended up spraying another coat of the gray epoxy as a final prep coat. Then sanded with some guide coat this time just as a last check to make sure the thing was smooth. In choosing the color, i figured the bike was already gold...i just figured i'd make it a brighter gold. This was a really forgiving color to spray. There are a few imperfections in it but it was my first time doing an actual spray job so overall, i'm really happy with it. The next ones will be better as i learned a lot about my guns and spray patterns. This was a base / clear spray and not single stage. And at that point, i let everything sit for awhile to both let the paint cure and to have a child...

madScientist · « **Reply #119 on:** August 08, 2022, 11:02:35 AM »

After painting i got stalled out again cause the electrics werent working right. Electrical stuff is not my strong suit and I got mad / frustrated and had to step away for awhile again. Last week i got it in my head i was going to figure the thing out. It didnt have any spark so i worked on the points and the coils. I ended up getting a new set of coils which did nothing. Still no spark.

I then changed out the points...still no spark. I had good power to the coils. Flipping the kill switch would subsequently kill power to the coils so i knew that was all working correctly so i figured there had to be something with how the points were set or with the main wiring itself. What was really suspicious was that i always had power to the points even when they were open. I then got really suspicious of grounds and started looking. Turns out i never made a wire from the negative of the battery to the engine. I did that and BOOM spark!

Time for the fun part...i started getting ballsy so I added a little gas to the tank, flipped the key, and two kicks later she roared to life!! I finished getting the clutch adjusted, exhaust proper installed, wiring tucked into the tray that I made under the seat and more or less getting it ready to go.

That cable solved a lot of problems. I had a weak starter which now spins over pretty easily even though, right now, I dont intend to install the solenoid. The headlight and turn signals all work now too.

I'm not really crazy so I dont want to take it for a run until i have new tires and tubes. Those will be here this week so fingers crossed i take it on the maiden voyage this weekend. I'm also getting air filters, a few more lighting items, and a couple more odds and ends to essentially wrap it up and then i can start tuning.

I do not intend to keep it though. While it was fun over this long time building it and i'm pretty happy with how it turned out, I have my 750 that I enjoy more and will probably never sell. This one doesnt have the appeal to me. Plus, with my dads passing I inherited a bunch of bikes that all need some love before those also get sent off to homes to enjoy them.

madScientist · « **Reply #120 on:** August 11, 2022, 12:08:57 PM »

Worked on getting the tires and tubes changed today and realized why i typically pay to have that done. The front tire came off okay however i managed to pinch the tube (i think...its not holding air) when i installed it. I have another one coming tomorrow. I'm going to take it out later tonight and see what happened.

The rear tire had been off bead so long it was stiff and i swear it shrunk. I ended up cutting it off since i was buggering the rim trying to get it to slide over. The new tire and tube went in without a hitch and is back on the bike.

Fingers crossed i can get the front tire sorted out and then its road testing time!! Who's excited? This guy

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Author Topic: CL350 Street Tracker / Cafe build (Read 21911 times)