the build(s?) (mysta2)

[mysta2]

I’ve decided to add this in here for timeline clarity instead of sticking it to the original post like the last one, enjoy.

Well, one week turns into 3, but my wheels are done… sorta:

Welcome to High5Cycles:

worth the trip just to hang out with the staff and the smoking hot owner (:

but I’ve got other things on my mind, when I walk up at about 5pm after work, the front’s done:


Looking lovingly oldskool

After a couple hours kicking around the shop chatting a bit. I get to sit in and watch “D” build my rear, at which point I’m glad they weren’t able to get to it before… then I wouldn’t have learnt nuthin (:

According to my camera this shot was taken at 9:05. Thanks for spending some of your’ Friday night with me guys. I think I got out of there around 9:30-9:45 (they close at 7)

Back in the garage:


Mounting the front… not much to say here, just tighten the front nut first then the back (don’t forget the threadlock, this is exactly the kind of nut that will back out under vibration, and it’s about the last one you want to loose at speed)

my bike can wheelie… as long as you remove the rear.

I didn’t take many shots of the assembly because during it I was either excited or pissed off (and neither mood makes time for pictures) but all in all it went together pretty smoothly. For a while I thought I had lost the retainer clip for the chain and the adjuster bolts, but a second trip back to the shop in the middle of the night located them sitting next to my desk in a long forgotten solvent bath. At 2:07 I had her running again, although no headlight wiring forced me to put off a ride till the next morning.

Ahh, a beautiful Saturday morning for riding. Note how much lighter the bike looks without the battery and how much room it frees up for some foam canisters.

Also you can see the brand new, still white wrap, that wont last long.

First stop of the day, back to high 5 to show her off a bit and see if Scott and D can squeeze her in for a bit of a tune up.


Every time I stopped for the first 15 minutes of my ride all the smoke coming off the wrap makes breathing a bit of a chore. The horrified looks that all the cagers give you as they stand off waiting for your’ bike to burst into flames make it all worth it though… makes me wish they’d smoke like that a bit longer.

You can see here that they’re getting a bit more seasoned towards the head.

No dice on the tune, so I head a little farther south and hit Greenville to chat a bit at SouthWest Choppers, and ask if they might be able to find the time for a little carb magic.

Again no dice but I do get to learn about what sounds like a badass bar for café racers (Later that evening when trying to get out to that bar is when I found out that my headlight doesn’t gel with the bat-pac)

[mysta2]

no batt = no headlight = no riding after 6:30 = no good

I had stripped all the wiring out of my left side control since I was planning on mounting a toggle switch on the headlight housing to control hi/lo/off, but never got around to the switch. Instead of trying to wire the toggle up I decided it might be better to eliminate a variable and put the stock wires back together.

This is the original complete left control harness: (don’t you just love incandescents… better than a flash imo)


One problem on this side was the horn, when you pressed the button the horn would half the time do nothing and the other half it would make some pathetic attempt at squeaking (yes even more pathetic than the stock horn in spec)… bad connection, the housing is so corroded that it doesn’t really make contact when the button’s pressed. Here’s a great shot of all the wrong types of tools for this job:

What I have: 2 woodworking chisels for scraping the surface (the $0.99, guaranteed to cut yourself or your’ money back type) and some 600 (good grit, just the wrong format)
What I should have: Contact cleaner and a lightweight wire brush/stiff toothbrush, and maybe a small emery board.

This is one of the kick "O Ring" things about old stuff, if this was a new bike this button, the housing, the spring, the contact, the mounting plate, and possibly the whole control assembly would all be one part that you’d have to completely replace (it would be less likely to fail, but if it did it would be trash)

all back together:


on top is the headlight hi/lo switch and the strip below is the row of contacts for the signals:

they’re bridged with a white ground so I had to cut that out as close as I could to the switch I wanted to keep.

What night of bashing would be complete without stabbing yourself in the thumb with a chisel blade (one of the many good reasons for using the correct tool for the job)

guess I’m not getting my money back.


on the right is the harness for the horn and hi/lo (keeper) and on the left is the turn signal harness (trash)

you’d almost think I knew what I was doing:


here’s a shot of it with the batt reinstalled in order to use the headlight:

looks so heavy again ):

[cafecafe]

i joined this forum just to compliment you for making a hell of a nice CB350 cafe racer. Im still on a hunt for a CB350 to cafe out and ill be using this thread for inspiration. couple of question is that a stock gas tank your using and will you be selling that style of seat you made for your CB350 maybe a fiberglass one? again graet job!

[Mag7C]

The helmet painting segment made me laugh, awesome journal keep it up.

[mysta2]

You ever wondered where the lines between hobby, habit, and obsession are? Me too…

With my bike approaching a somewhat finished state, I am left wondering what I’m going to talk about on here. The thought occurs to me that there were a lot of paths that I had been exited about at one time or another, that I didn’t take with this bike. The problem with building just one bike is that you have a lot more ideas then one bike can hold. I’ve always really loved the look of a concourse hand beat bike that shows off nothing but polished aluminum and lets everything else drop away in satin black, but I also love bikes covered in flat black with metal flake frames with fading numbers falling off the sides. So what should I do (as if you don’t already know the answer) I know bates has a 360 in his yard… after all one of the coils from it is on my bike, and last time I took a look at it I noticed that a lot of its’ parts were in better shape then my bike was.

So here we go again (:

I’ve dubbed her “69” from the last two digits of her vin. No tank, no coils, a head full of rain water(special thanks goes out to whomever took off the right intake tappet cover… wait, that might have been me) no top tree, and a bitchin sissy bar.


A couple hours and a lot of WD40 later, I’ve got myself an Ebay pile… (If I ever get around to listing this stuff):

If anyone’s interested in anything please do not post here but feel free to PM or e-mail me. Keep in mind, most parts that are essential to the function/legality of the bike I will be keeping.

…and a little more then a rolling chassis:


note how much of the frame I cut out of the other one…

…this one will get the same treatment

It’s quite a chore to move her around without a top tree to hold the bars, guess I’ll have to go ahead with that billet one that I’ve been dragging my feet with.

[mysta2]

NEXT!

So the other day when I found myself out at Bates Cycle Salvage I stumbled across something I haven’t ever seen before: a 1970s 4cyl that I actually liked the looks of. I discovered that It was a Honda 750F super sport that had just arrived on the lot 4 days prior. The motor turned, the slides moved and it was only missing the headlight and seat padding, and some miscellaneous covers that I would have pitched anyway. It was a lovely shade somewhere between pink, red and ugly… now how could I pass that up!? Next day I leave with it on the back of a truck, sure is heavier then a 360.



F super sport, distinguished by its’ slim tank, rear seat cap, and 4 into 1 exhaust


note to others looking at used bikes: if you see stuff like this, it may be best to just walk away

the best part is that the spare 15amp fuse slot is bridged… so you know that the owner was not only willing to damage the electronics, but they also don’t know what they’re doing, always a good sign.

This project will be another good one for me, I get to learn about:

4 bangers

hydraulic disk brakes

and piston carbs

This is my major pet peeve about this era Japanese bike, these stupid gas door lids

I thought I had a tank with this bike… nope, it’s thoroughly trashed inside. Oh well, I see no fuel door in this bikes future.

Check out the overspray on the fenders and the painted shut oil cap


I don’t have much of a plan for the 750 yet, I’ve been trying not to think about it too much and concentrating on 69 first… which I also don’t have a good plan for yet. I’ve got to get it on an inflatable rear tire and fix the dragging rear brake soon though so it’s a little easier to move around.

[mysta2]

Some comparison pics I took:





I haven’t been able to tear into the bikes much yet because I’ve promised myself that I’d redo the garage before I started spreading parts all over my very limited floorspace:

This is my 1 car a few days ago

The door on the right leads to a storage space that is piled with junk, right now that is all cleaned out and both 360s are in there, the rest of the garage is housing more then it deserves and will be cleaned out and reorganized in the next few days. I’ll have some after shots soon and will be able to finish tearing 69 down to refinish the frame and swing arm, and find out if the engine is salvageable.

[Sev]

Wow, just wow. I'm amazed and jealous. You do some very very impressive work.

[rapidblue]

YOU SUCK!






but seriously, looks great and I am seriously jealous

[mysta2]

No actual “get your’ hands dirty” progress on the bikes yet, but I figured, It’s time to share some things anyway.

I’ve been working a lot on my garage when I can and it’s getting there.


still a bit cluttered and there are a number of things that I would like to get rid of.

I’ve also been doing some ideation on where I want to head with the new acquisitions. I worked out some sketches for the 750


Obviously they’re pretty rough as neither has an oil bag or a battery. The first is a pretty straightforward buildup, the only cutting would be the frame behind the shock mounts. The second is closer to an idea that the first 360 put in my head, and would need a lot of re-engineering and welding. Both are running a Kawa ninja front rim… 250? 500? Just because I really like that rim and it’s a 17, I would like to get something up there that has dual disks, like the Kawa sport tourers… but I don’t like their rims. Also the fairing might work that low on the bottom one if it’s cut up in the center but I don’t know about mounting the headlight that low… unless… it was offset enough to sit on one side. Something to play around with.

Anyway, that’ where I’m at currently. I’m going to do some more sketching on the 360 and the 750 and see if I can’t work up some tighter renderings to motivate myself and keep to a solid path.