Topic: New member from NGW

[TedT]

Greetings everyone!  My name's Ted, and well I'm in the market here for either a CB550 or a CB750, but I figured I'd stop in and say hello from Naked Goldwings.  I'm on there occasionally as family and work permit, as the proud owner of a slightly modified '82 GL1100 Interstate.  I say slightly...well here's a before and during pic.  She's apart now, awaiting some paint.

Before



And as it sits now:



My plans for the as-yet-to-be-found CB would revolve around a little customization, but not exactly down the cafe or chopper route.  I'm thinking something more along the lines of what Honda might have done had they pitted a CB against a certain XR from Milwaukee...First though, gotta enjoy the bike, and before that, find one and buy it.

[dusterdude]

welcome ted

[mrbreeze]

Thats a sweet lookin wing......would be interesting to see what you can do to a 750 to make it look like an XR.

[CharlieT]

I have a hunch he'll get a bit of help from his old man. Won't be the first XR/tracker style conversion we've done. Last year I took this 1982 Ascot FT 500:


And turned it into what an "Ascot" named bikeshould have looked like:



SHould be fun and interesting on doing something similar to an SOHC

[TedT]

Thats a sweet lookin wing......would be interesting to see what you can do to a 750 to make it look like an XR.

Thanks!  There are a lot of things on that wing that just hide out of view, like the flip-top tank and quick remove seats that make it a lot easier to work on.  I'm hoping to do the same with a CB, make the tank and seat quickly removeable for maintenance, hopefully without the same amount of frame mods that it took to mount that regular tank on the 'wing.

[kghost]

Hey welcome ted,

Several of us here are also over at the NGW site, myself , bill , and paul.

Don't forget the pictures when you find a bike

[TedT]

Oh trust me, when I find the bike there will be lots of pictures coming.

For now though, it's off to the bike shop with my son.  It's one of his favorite pastimes hehehe

[doug_id]

Welcome 

I like those naked / cafe'd wings.    Just maybe my next project.   

[burmashave]

Welcome, Ted!  Good luck in your quest for the right CB.

[TedT]

Thanks for the welcome guys!  As far as finding the right one...I think I have that covered.  Pics to follow, since at some point someone took the batteries from my camera and probably used them on a lightsaber.

[CharlieT]

, since at some point someone took the batteries from my camera and probably used them on a lightsaber.

Man, that sure sounds like something one of my boys would have done at that age!

Get over to check it out yet??

[Uncleben89]

welcome!

[TedT]

As promised, here are some pics of the new bike.  It's a '78 CB 750 that's in pretty darn good condition, with only 6800 miles on the clock.  The PO had it in storage for about 20 or so years, but unlike most then took it out and got it into running condition before selling it.

Some front shots first...



Yeah, that Vetter fairing is a little big.  Not quite mounted right either.  It does have the lockable compartment though, and it has the key to boot, which I suppose is nice.




Side shots showing off the gigantic sissy bar that will quickly not exist as a part of this bike. 

Taking off the tank for cleaning revealed this little piece of triangulation that I'm curious to see if I can do away with:



I wonder if I can either tie it in from the top tube to the lower part of the brace with some flat stock, or if I would be able to put in a similar brace at the rear without doing too much to compromise the bike's structural integrity.  Time to break out the textbooks and the grinder, I suppose.

[kghost]

Hey ted,

Thats a pretty structural brace...why do you want to remove it?

[TedT]

I might need to rework it for tank clearance when I do the conversion over the winter.  I'm looking at different ways to achieve the same stiffness because I assumed it was there to give support for the steering stem and/or downtubes.  Perhaps bracing it at the front and rear might allow me to do the same thing.

But for right now, I'm just riding it as-is.  Got her on the road today for a short ride.  Still have some float bowl issues to work out, but the tank/petcock have been cleaned out and the old oil and filter changed.  Man, what a nice ride!

[burmashave]

Ted, she's sweet.

[TedT]

I agree with you there.  That fairing works remarkably well...if I hadn't had the issues with the float sticking, it would have been very hard for me to have just turned around after such a short ride.  Something about leaking gas made the choice a lot easier for me.

[TedT]

Well, fixed the gas leak and rode her on home last night.  Turns out some of the gunk from the tank was preventing the #1 carb drain screw from fully seating.  Now she runs like a top and doesn't leak gas, so it's time for the fun. 

As far as my plans go, I could easily go the cafe route with this bike, it's begging for it actually.  Problem is, I can't ride it if I did that to it, the old back just wouldn't be able to take the riding position.  So an upright style is needed, plus going the flattrack route will cut off a lot of weight, which will make it easier for me to get this thing on the centerstand if need be.

I've done some searching, and the tank I want to use has a 3" channel at it's narrowest point...I'll need some more detailed measurements, but I might not need to modify the frame at all, other than tank/seat mounting concerns and of course the standard taking off bracketry and such.

I'm still trying to figure out how to get an equal-length 4-into-2 single side exhaust...unless I go ahead and pair off the cylinders at the head, which would make it much easier.  Anyone have an idea of how to accomplish this?