1981 CB650C Cafe Racer Project

[VII]

I actually had not considered that. Crossing my fingers it doesn't rub.

[Volker_P]

I'd remove the shocks and go down until contact of the wheel to the rear frame. Then measure frame shock mounts distance and compare with shock mounts length on the (unloaded) shocks themselves minus maximum free moving length of shocks. If this value should be smaller than the distance previously measured at the frame you'll run into a problem.
Also don't allow too close values because the tire diameter will also expand a bit at higher speed! (precisely it's the shape of the cross section).

[VII]

Got some more work done today...

Finished hoop/tube/seat pan welding. Used some metal putty to fill in gaps and smooth things out. Here you can see the wiring that will sit between the seat and pan. I'll use some sort of spacer to hold the seat up.



Started the welding on the rear hugger mounting bracket. I'll finish up the work on it tomorrow. The bottom of the fender will be rounded and pretty much totally hidden by the exhaust.



Cleaned up my work space a bit.



In addition to the above, I also:
-ground a bit off the front of the seat so it would sit a little lower in the front.
-Did some sanding of the welds/metal putty to make everything smooth(er).
-Cut rear fender to fit the rear hoop. I actually cut it too much but it will work for now.
-Heated up the rear plastic inner fender and melted it a little to fit better against the seat pan.

[Volker_P]

Good lines!

As expected the rear tire to frame gap looks quite close even on the main stand without you sitting on the bike. The book says the rear axis will lift 91mm.

Be sure the chain is far enough off the rear fender. There the stock chainguard has a cutout inside at the wheel.

Whereever you are going to place the ignitors, make sure they get at least some ventilation. Otherwise the black stuff is very likely to melt out. Beyond that, the fins indicate that they need some cooling. Same with regulator. If you cannot find a suitable location, fixing these components on an alumina plate as a heat sink may help, too.

[VII]

-Finished welding the hugger brackets.
-Cut cutouts for the chain in the hugger. Still need to make a cutout for the rear brake support bar.
-Rounded the bottom of the rear hugger.
-Rear gas tank mount mocked up.
-Worked on the front gas tank mounts but need to do them again.
-Exhaust mounted
-license plate mount added to rear chain adjuster.
-Carbs Mounted
-Rebuilt petcock
-Removed carb fuel shutoff valve (petcock already has a fuel shutoff in it).
-Ignitiers refilled
-Ignitiers and Regulator will be mounted under the seat pan.

Seat still needs to be mounted. Once I figure out the seat I can finish most of the wiring and mount the seat pad, tailight, etc.


Holes cut into the rear hugger to allow for chain deflection.



I welded a bolt to the rear chain adjuster to which I have attached my license plate. I picked up some 16g sheet metal today to make the mounting plate from. I may add another support bar to keep it from rotating.



The bike will have 4 main colors when finished: Burnt copper frame, Satin engine/exhaust/wheel/other bits, oil rubbed bronze tank/seat/etc and chrome (or polished) engine bits/fenders/gauges/etc.



I may paint the wheels copper as well save for the polished rim and/or the fenders oil rubbed bronze. I'll just have to put it back together and see what I like. The right shock mount is actually painted oil rubbed bronze. It looks black from far away but in the light has a metallic bronze to it.

[Anamagous]

Wow, bike is looking sick! I wish i had the skills to pull that off, but for now mine is a fake cafe racer, hahaha. Question: how and what paint did you use to paint your exhaust. did it do ok over the chrome? how is it holding up? What kind of prep work did you do? Thanks.

[VII]

Wow, bike is looking sick! I wish i had the skills to pull that off, but for now mine is a fake cafe racer, hahaha. Question: how and what paint did you use to paint your exhaust. did it do ok over the chrome? how is it holding up? What kind of prep work did you do? Thanks.

You're in luck as this build has nothing to do with skill; just years of breaking more than I fixed. I'm sure you're fully capable of doing anything I can, you just got to give it a shot.

Fake cafe racer is merely a stage, you'll eventually get it to where you want it. Most people do the easy "Cafe Racer" by throwing handle bars and maybe a tail on a bike. While I personally feel that it doesn't capture the "feel" of a Cafe Racer, it's a stepping stone in the right direction. Hell, I never hate bikes, just the people that own them. Douche bags gets judged more harshly than others; the nice guys are always welcome into the fold, no matter the stage of build.

I can't say how the paint will hold up on the exhaust just yet. I chose to use caliper paint since it has the highest temp rating of the paints I found and is meant to resist chemicals. I removed as much rust as I could and then sanded the exhaust with 320. I had no high temp primer so I just sprayed right to the exhaust. Couple knicks from install but it looks like it'll be just fine.

If you're sure you want to paint it; give it a shot; you can always sanded it down and do it again. There's some good info online I'm sure to walk you through how to rattle your way through a project if you're inclined to search.

Best of luck.

[Anamagous]

VII,
Thanks for the tips... I really like the black exhaust, but I may end up heat wrapping the header pipes and leaving the trumpets chrome... Yes, I am finding out that this is more than a summer project. This bike is a stepping stone process to hopefully a great end result. I would love to pass this bike onto my son. I just plasti-dipped my front fender today. I will let you know how it holds up. Thanks for the info / advice. Good luck finishing your bike, its looking good.

[VII]

A plastidipped fender sounds very interesting. How much did you have to use? I had thought about coating my paintable pieces in spray on liner as I like the low gloss, texture and durability. The plastidip seems like it would be just as, if not more, durable but smooth. Post pics when you get a chance.

[Anamagous]

Hello,

I am getting ready to cut my rear fender (chrome) and install a lucas style taillight. It seems that the rear fender is two peices of metal that are stacked together. The top piece (chrome) around the lip of the rear fender is rolled over to give a finished look. So, When I cut the fender what is a good way to finish the end of the fender so that the two individual peices do not show? Any ideas, recommendations? Thank you

[VII]

I know what you're talking about but I didn't have to worry about it myself since my rear fender is tucked up and under my tail.

Because rolling the lip again would likely just mess up the chrome, you will probably either have to carefully grind the inner support back enough that you cannot tell it is there, use door/fender trim to cover the cut edge or use some sort of filler on the fender to smooth out the edge and then paint the fender to hide the filler. I'm sure there are other options but that is what I occured to me this moment.

If it was me and I planned to keep it chrome, I would grind the support back a cm or so and then just smooth out the exposed fender.

Best of luck.

[VII]

I bought another project car a couple weeks ago so progress has been slow going.

I did manage to:

-Mount the regulator and Igniters under the seat pan.
-Officially mounted the seat to the pan. I'm using hockey pucks as spacers and lock bolts going through the seat, through each puck and through the seat pan. I'm using wingnuts for quick removal.
-Ran a new starter wire to the relocated starter solenoid.
-Did a little rewiring here and there.
-Added float bowl drain tubes.
-Cut a hole for the rear hugger brake support bar.
-Welded one of the sidecover tabs to the rear hoop.

I've been running the bike a little every day. It has what I belive to be noise valves as it goes away after a min or so but is loud initially. I have a lot of tuning to work out eventually as it won't run idle but it does have good throttle response and the de-baffled 4-4 sounds great.

Next I plan to cut a piece of metal that bolts to the seat pan near the front to pull up and hide the wiring for the regulator and ignitors. I'm also thinking I might dive into the front end soon.


Right side of the hugger.


Cutting circles with a cutting disc is not easy.


I welded this tab here thinking I would use it for something. It's one of the old side cover tabs I cut off. It's completely hidden by the tail.



Regulator and Igniters mounted under the seat pan. I'll cut a piece of metal to mount just in front of them that will tuck the wiring away and hide those bulky connectors.

[Anamagous]

VII,
sounds good...that is kinda what I was thinking (either cut the support back a little or use black tank trim (the fender is going to get painted black). I will let you know how it turns out. Thanks for the advice, your project is looking good by the way!

I know what you're talking about but I didn't have to worry about it myself since my rear fender is tucked up and under my tail.

Because rolling the lip again would likely just mess up the chrome, you will probably either have to carefully grind the inner support back enough that you cannot tell it is there, use door/fender trim to cover the cut edge or use some sort of filler on the fender to smooth out the edge and then paint the fender to hide the filler. I'm sure there are other options but that is what I occured to me this moment.

If it was me and I planned to keep it chrome, I would grind the support back a cm or so and then just smooth out the exposed fender.

Best of luck.

[gojoego]

Dumb question, but that number plate did you just cut it out of some sheet tin? How did it mount up? It looks great!

[/quote]

[Anamagous]

A plastidipped fender sounds very interesting. How much did you have to use? I had thought about coating my paintable pieces in spray on liner as I like the low gloss, texture and durability. The plastidip seems like it would be just as, if not more, durable but smooth. Post pics when you get a chance.

VII,
the plastidip seems to be holding up well, I have not given it an official road test yet but it has been handled a lot, without damaging the paint. I have also used plastidip on my front forks, honda emblems and the rear fender. It has that black satin (not flat) look to it, very cool, I also painted my rims gloss black, with engine enamal. The gloss and satin combo looks very cool, This week I am painting my tank and side covers "synergy green" same paint as the 2011 chevy camaro. Once complete the bike will be mostly black with green / chrome. I am super excited to get this bike on the road. I used about 3/4 can of plastidip on the front fender. I did 4 coats, just because I wanted the plastidip to be thick on the front end where it is exposed to rocks and road debris.