Topic: Another Cafe Build (73 CB350F)

[Green Goblin]

Hey guys

Long time no see! I used this forum years and years ago when I got my first bike, a $200 estate sale, 1973 CB350F. It was mostly complete but was missing some key items, like the exhaust, that most used sohc's were missing. I knew nothing about bikes but had tinkered with enough cars that I figured I'd just get to it and figure it out as I went. It wasn't easy to get the thing running, but after breaking stuff and learning many lessons along the way, I got it running. I did the usual 2010 era cafe style mods (clip-ons, pod filters, cafe seat) and thoroughly enjoyed the bike for 2 years before it finally gave up. The engine had smoked/leaked and had low compression since the day I got it running. I'd have to ride at the back of the pack otherwise I'd smoke-out my buddies. So I was very happy to get two years out of a bike that I had less than $1000 into.

So I dismantled the bike, bought a CB400F motor from a member on here, had it bored and rebuilt to 466cc and got to work on the rest of the bike. Well..... 8 years have gone by and I haven't touched the bike. I completely stripped the thing, and my ambitions grew and grew to the point that I had collected parts from 5 different manufacturers in the hopes of making this work. I am not a machinist or welder, just some dude in Canada with some tools and hopes n dreams. So the bike was stripped, frame was sandblasted, parts were put into rubbermaid bins and I went on with my life for 8 years.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago. I get laid off. Not a huge deal, I've got some cash tucked away and there are millions in the same boat as me. I'm looking around for things to do, and realize that I've got this amazing motorcycle project in my garage, that needs some love and attention. So I build a crappy table out of some new wood and some wood from the backyard and go find all of the parts. It looks like I still have everything, so I guess I'm good to go!


These are the main points of interest on the bike:

-Harley-Davidson front Vrod wheels (19x3.5) on the front and rear
-Yamaha R1 inverted Forks
-Refreshed 400F engine bored to 466cc
-I love wiring so much that I'm building my own harness!!!! (I dislike wiring very much)

I had intentions of upgrading the rear suspension to a monoshock, but that'll have to wait. I'm planning on getting this bike ridable during summer, not completely finished, but I want to at least be able to ride it down the block and back without hurting myself or the bike

 So ya, I've got the top neck bearing coming in from All Balls ($5 shipped to the US or $35 shipped to my place in BC!!). The rear wheel spacers will be finished at the machine shop tomorrow. Once the neck bearing comes in, I'll button that up, plop the engine in, get the bike off the table and begin the wiring.

The rear brake setup, is something that I'm gonna have to figure out once I get there, but I feel confident I have workarounds for most of the other problems. I've got a solid 530 sprocket coming, that I'll have to redrilled to the bolt pattern of the Harley wheel's brake rotor pattern. I might also have to space it out a tad, but that's something we'll deal with when we get there.

Anyways, that's all I have for now. I haven't posted on a forum in many years, but I remember this one being a good group of people, so I'm happy to share my enthusiasm.

Take it easy

[scunny]

Looks like you have your hands full.
Shall be following.

[Sigmund]

It sounds great, I like the wheels. Do they weigh much?

[WhyNot2]

Cool looking, wondering about the wheels myself.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

I looks like here's some significant rake added to the front.  Have you compared stock fork length to your donor fork length?  I'll assume that you have taken into consideration fork offset changes and other differences in geometry.

I imagine those V-Rod wheels are aluminum but what is the weight difference to stock? 

[calj737]

I looks like here's some significant rake added to the front.

Only because there's no rear shock currently installed. Optical illusion ;^)

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

I looks like here's some significant rake added to the front.

Only because there's no rear shock currently installed. Optical illusion ;^)

Truth be told, I didn't notice that, Cal.  Good point.  I'm hoping those wheels don't weigh as hefty as they look.  That 466 will get a work out!

[Green Goblin]

Oh ya, these wheels are heavy as heck. But I'm not building this bike to be a sport bike, otherwise I'd just buy a sport bike. I'm lucky in that I work at a dealership, get a brand new demo bike each year and have access to different bikes when I need them. But for now I'm stuck with a single one while I work through this temporary lay
 off.
 
I've always liked the look of solid wheels and thought it'd be a nice challenge to figure out how to get those Harley wheels to fit on my beloved first bike.

[Stev-o]

Cool project, subscribed...

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Oh ya, these wheels are heavy as heck. But I'm not building this bike to be a sport bike, otherwise I'd just buy a sport bike. I'm lucky in that I work at a dealership, get a brand new demo bike each year and have access to different bikes when I need them. But for now I'm stuck with a single one while I work through this temporary lay
 off.
 
I've always liked the look of solid wheels and thought it'd be a nice challenge to figure out how to get those Harley wheels to fit on my beloved first bike.

Ok. I get it. I'm still interested to see how it turns out.

[Green Goblin]

No updates unfortunately. I'm stuck here waiting for parts to arrive. I live in Canada, in Richmond BC which is about 25mins from Point Roberts, WA. Under normal circumstances, I ship everything to Point Roberts as it's far cheaper and faster than shipping to Canada, even though it has to come through Canada to get to WA.

I'd post a pic of the map, but somehow forgotten how to do that in the last few days. Anyways, I had to order a single bearing from All Balls. $6 shipped to point Roberts, or $36 shipped to Canada. Plus, our dollar is horrible, so add another 40% on after currency conversion.

That being said, my buddy ordered a bunch of parts for his drz400 from rocky mountain atv and it arrived 2 days after he ordered it and shipping was the same cost as my single bearing. Can you tell I'm a bit sour with all balls? :p

Anyways, just waiting for parts at the moment. Gonna go grab some tires next week. Once I get the top neck bearing, I'll finalize the front end assembly and mount the engine. I've got a new wiring harness coming in from 4into1.com (great pricing and they've got a ton of nick nacks n boobobs for any build), I'll get cracking on the wiring.

Then once my rear sprocket arrives, I can figure out how to adapt it to the Harley brakes disc mount. Unfortunately I could only find a 40T sprocket for the rear, so I've up sized the front sprocket to offset that. I'm sure there are going to be odds n ends thst I'll need to order, but once everything arrives, I should have the majority of what I need.

Fingers crossed!

[Green Goblin]

Hello all! I've finally received a large stash of parts and was able to get the front and rear together. Had to get a small spacer made by my buddy with a 3D printer, but everything is looking good so far. Gonna put the engine in and try to figure out how to get a sprocket to work with this wheel. My fear is that the bolt pattern on the wheel is larger than the entire sprocket I have, so I'll have to come up with an interesting solution to run the that wheel.

If that doesn't work I'll have to use the 5inch wide rear wheel. But in order to use that, I'll have to extend the swing arm, which at this point might be easier than trying to get the sprocket to fight on the current wheel.

Fun times ahead!