Topic: My cafe racer was finished in 2006... Update 2023.

[DME]

Hello to you, good people of the SOHC-forum.
I just joined your eminent forum even though I live on the other side of the great big pond called The Atlantic Ocean.

Here in the north of Sweden the snow has just disappeared and the bikes are slowly beginning to rule the streets again, thank god!

I have owned my CB750 K2 since 1994 but haven´t had the time and money to make it into what I wanted until this winter.
It has now been totally overhauled inside out and resurrected in the shape of a classic cafe racer!

I will add pics in the gallery soon but until then you can find a pic here:

http://www.sporthoj.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=146253

I started by stretching a standard K-series gastank almost 6 inches and made the cafe seat out of sheetmetal. Took some serious work but it was worth it. Then when I was going to true my rear wheel I found that all spokes except four were seized....
Then it all went bananas.....
New spokes and rim at rear and suddenly the front looked a bit tatty. So, new spokes and rim there to then. Doesnt the frame look scruffy? Powdercoating? Certainly. And so on......

Well, here it is and I am finally happy!
Ended up doing all work on my own except paint and upholstry. What a great feeling!

Cheers
Daniel

[Bob Wessner]

Welcome Daniel! We've been called a lot of things, but "eminent" isn't usually one of them. 

Nice cafe treatment there, really like it. Could you detail how you lengthened the tank?

[jsaab2748]

Nicely done sir. You'll fit in just fine here. 

[DME]

Thanks a lot!

You can find more pics in this thread about the build:

http://www.sporthoj.com/forum/showthread.php?t=107771

They are crappy photos taken with my cellphone but at least it gives you a hint of how I built the tank!

The thread is about six pages long and the pis is spread out in it. Its also in swedish..... but you´ll manage, right? 

The green bike in my avatar in that thread is my other bike, a Y#*¤ha FZR1000 that I have streetfightered, just in case you´re wondering.......

I´ll explain in detail, but right now my eyelids are really heavy, so I will get back to you!

Cheers
Daniel

[Sam Green Racing]

Welcome Dan, it's a credit to you sir.

Sam.

[Bob Wessner]

Its also in swedish..... but you´ll manage, right?

Unfortunately, my knowledge of Swedish starts and ends with meatballs. 

I was able to follow though.. pics worth a thousand words as they say.

[clarkjh]

Nice looking bike and Welcome.

James

[cben750f0]

welcome to the forum mate, great looking ike... ove the lines, and that tank is a winner...... cant read swedish, but liked the photo's, ... great....peace

[DME]

Okay, here´s the specifications:

1975 CB750 K2 (in Europe the K2 was sold from -72 until -75 in case you didn´t know )

Powdercoated chassis with powder clearcoat

Rebuilt wheels with new spokes and rims

Conical steeríng head bearings

Bronze bushings in swing arm

Raask rearsets

Raask clip-ons

Sito 4-2 exhaust on cut-off standard K2 downpipes

Homemade seat out of sheetmetal, using standard rear hinge on right side, removable without tools

Homemade stretched K-series gastank, 6 inches longer than stock. Uses standard rubber fittings

Centerstand pivot points on frame cut off, otherwise standard

Engine rebored to 2:nd o.d.

New valves and valveguides

New transmission- and camchains

Rebuilt carbs

New bearings throughout engine and chassis

New stock cables

All zinkplated parts (nuts, bolts, brackets, bushings etc..) replated.

All aluminiumparts polished

New clock faces

Rickman replica NOS front fender (bought on Ebay USA.... 15$ including  p&p to Sweden! Bargain....)

Lucas rear light on stainless steel bracket

CB900 Boldór rear shocks (30 mm longer than stock for faster turn in and more aggressive stance)

Stainless steel chainguard

Stock -75 electrical system with original turn signal relay

Fork stanchions from KZ-series cut down and rethreaded to K-series length

Brake caliper rebuilt and powdercoated

K1 tankemblems chemically stripped and repainted black

Stainless steel brake and oil lines

Stainless steel engine bolts

Gloss black paint (will probably put on original-looking stripes in gold when I get the time to fiddle with that...)


I have probably forgotten lots of stuff but if you have any questions, post them here and I´ll answer them as soon as possible!

Big thanks to the people who did the paint and the upholstry!!

Daniel

[Bob Wessner]

Wow, very impressive list of mods. Nice job!!

[SteveD CB500F]

Daniel - that is just awsome!!

If when you post to the Gallery, make sure you put a copy in the "Custom" album as well.

My Swedish is limited to "Sven" and "Ulrika" 

[DME]

Daniel - that is just awsome!!

If when you post to the Gallery, make sure you put a copy in the "Custom" album as well.

My Swedish is limited to "Sven" and "Ulrika" 

Glad you like it!

I´ll try to put som pics in tha custom album also, but first I need to figure out how that gallery is working....

Perhaps I should start a small correspondence course i swedish here on the forum!

First, the swedish word for meatballs is köttbullar and it´s pronounced [shutbullar]...... Nah, we´ll drop that idea

I´ve got a masters degree in speech-languge pathology but I realised that I´m not that interested in all that...

Working as a computer technician now, mainly with adaptations and alterations of computers for people with communication problems. More my cup of tea (or coffee, preferrably...=))

Cheers
Daniel

[SteveD CB500F]

I worked in Stockholm for two days per week for most of 1988.  I was the project manager for Nortel Networks on an X.25 Packet Switch network (remember them?) for the Swedish PTT (Televerket).

Didn't learn any Swedish though... 

[Steve F]

Absolutely beautiful!  I'm really impressed with the stretched tank.  The whole bike comes together in such harmony, that I can't take my eyes off of it.  Fantastic bit of work.  Oh, and welcome to the forum. 

[74cb750]

Daniel,
nice job. Looks like you also spent a considerable amount of time polishing the engine etc etc.

Maybe when I retire I will have wheels as nice, but for now the "classic" rusted look
prevails on mine.

And all this work only took you how many hours? Less than 100?
peace,
michel

[DME]

I probably spent about 70 hours just on building the tank..... Fortunatly my time is free
Haven´t summarized the total cost or the time spent on this project, don´t want to know.

I have tried doing it as cheap as possible by sourcing used parts from all over the world and recondition them.
For example the complete exhaust is from Germany (Ebay) and it only cost me 120$.... Polished up like new!

Engineparts were polished by hand in the evenings in front of the TV

I started on the project in september and was more or less finished in mid-may. Thats the great part of working with bikes, you can manage to start and finish a project in a winter (yes, we do have a long off-season, I live just 200 km south of the arctic-circle...).

[Bob Wessner]

I live just 200 km south of the arctic-circle

I'll never complain about our winters again.

[78 k550]

Welcome to the board.
Very sweet ride. I hope there's not alot of road dirt there that is too clean 

Paul

[Rushoid]

Welcome, Daniel! That is a beautiful bike! Polishing while watching tv... Great idea! Except I'd be hearing complaints the whole time: "You're making a mess! That stuff stinks!" Etc., etc.
BTW, my Swedish is limited to the Bikini Team! 
Lee

[DME]

Okay, now my album is up and working.
Took some time to figure all the settings out, but I finally got it the way I wanted it!

Welcome, Daniel! That is a beautiful bike! Polishing while watching tv... Great idea! Except I'd be hearing complaints the whole time: "You're making a mess! That stuff stinks!" Etc., etc.
BTW, my Swedish is limited to the Bikini Team! 
Lee

Ahh, the Swedish Bikiniteam! That would translate to: det svenska bikini laget......

Welcome to the board.
Very sweet ride. I hope there's not alot of road dirt there that is too clean

Paul

Thanks! Well, if it gets too bad one can always rebuild it again! It´s fun!

I live just 200 km south of the arctic-circle

I'll never complain about our winters again.

It´s pretty good with a long winter.

You get your snowmobile out in january and ride it until the end of april.

Then it´s time to get the bike you rebuilt during the winter out and ride it until the end of oktober!

The best part:
You never get fed up with doing the same thing all the time! 

Cheers
Daniel

[Brent C.]

*Paris Hilton voice* That's hot!!

What a bike!! I hope mine will look half as good when i'm done with my k8.

[ProTeal55]

That bike is kick ass !
I dig the tank, and the tailsection/seat...
You should be uber proud of what you have done...

[CaféElite]

amazing... flat out amazing...

what prep work did you do to the frame before powder coating? Are your Raask rearsets made for that application or did you have to modify them to fit. I am trying to find a good set of rearsets that are as close to bolt on as possible.

[Tim.]

BIKE OF THE MONTH!

[Terry in Australia]

Hey nice bike mate, I've got a couple of dented old K tanks, so i might attempt a "cut and shut" like that, how does it mount at the rear now? Cheers, Terry.