'81 CB650 Standard Cafe/Brat/Scrambler proj.

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MacGordon
Posts: 32
Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2012 2:09 pm
Location: Idaho

'81 CB650 Standard Cafe/Brat/Scrambler proj.

Postby MacGordon » Fri Jul 20, 2012 4:21 pm

Hey everyone!

Been posting in tech help, but forgot to throw out some picture love to my fellow forum bros.

1981 CB650 standard. It appears to be nearly identical to a Custom, with spokes and 4-2 exhaust (vs, mags and 4-4).

Here's how I brought it home:
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Here's with a bit of photoshop tom-foolery and a cafe seat/foam kit:
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And here is a couple of bikes I'm looking at for inspiration:
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My plans were to change the tank out for a mid to late '70's tank to give it a more of a cafe look. Not sure now. Doesn't look bad in the photoshoped pic. Let me know what you guys think.

Have a great weekend!

unleashed
Posts: 26
Joined: Mon Jul 09, 2012 1:25 pm

Re: '81 CB650 Standard Cafe/Brat/Scrambler proj.

Postby unleashed » Fri Jul 20, 2012 9:50 pm

Hey there, Your right about the CB650 is just CB650C with spokes & a 4 ino2 exhaust, I just bought an 81' CB650C & the PO spent good money "upgradeding" from the 4 into 4 to a 4 into 2 exhaust. :lol:
I'm kinda old school but IMO a "bobber" needs to have a big "Twin" motor & for a "Cafe" need an inline 4 for them to look right. That is just my opinion & I'm nobody so this meens nothing. Build it your way, how you want & enjoy doing it & thats whats important. :D
I had planned on building mine into a cafe racer but as time go's by I'm begining to like the stock look mor & more. The only ting I have done was buy a pair of handlebar mirrors & installed 1 on the left side other than that I'v done nothing. I'm looking for a chrome grab bar for it. Heres a picture with the old mirrors.
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"Silly Rabbit Trix Are For KIds"- General Mills

onepieceatatime
Posts: 323
Joined: Wed Nov 02, 2011 5:12 am
Location: Franklin County, Pennsylvania, USA

Re: '81 CB650 Standard Cafe/Brat/Scrambler proj.

Postby onepieceatatime » Fri Jul 20, 2012 10:01 pm

There are a few differences beyond that. The custom had chrome chain guard and headlight bucket instead of black plastic, and in '81, also had dual disc front brakes. The customs had different handlebars, different master brake cylinder to match the angle of the handle bars, different forks, emblems, etc.
Folsoml wrote: Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement. :lol:


1977 CB750K
1977 CB750K
1978 CB400A
1980 CB650C
1980 CB650
1982 CB900F
1982 CM450A
1997 GL1500SE

unleashed
Posts: 26
Joined: Mon Jul 09, 2012 1:25 pm

Re: '81 CB650 Standard Cafe/Brat/Scrambler proj.

Postby unleashed » Fri Jul 20, 2012 11:11 pm

Wow, your right there are quite a few other differances. When I was looking to buy I had found an 82' CB650 that was red with 8,000 miles & the 81' blue CB650C with 19,000 that I ended up buying.The custom just looked way more sportier.
Last edited by unleashed on Sun Jul 22, 2012 3:26 am, edited 1 time in total.
"Silly Rabbit Trix Are For KIds"- General Mills

MacGordon
Posts: 32
Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2012 2:09 pm
Location: Idaho

Re: '81 CB650 Standard Cafe/Brat/Scrambler proj.

Postby MacGordon » Sat Jul 21, 2012 7:51 pm

So, another member here in the forums showed me his brat on the tech thread.

Davesee's bike is a great example of where I'd like to go with my build.

Image

MacGordon
Posts: 32
Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2012 2:09 pm
Location: Idaho

Updates

Postby MacGordon » Thu Aug 23, 2012 10:52 am

Well folks, following Davesee's (member here) bike's look, I also got the same bars and have started the modification process.

So far I've got done: Euro bars, Emco grips and shift lever boot, clutch/brake lever rubber slide-ons, grip protectors, Kenda K761 Dual sport tires (80% road, 20% dirt), bar-end rear-view mirror, & head light grille.

Most of the items I've either gotten off jcwhitney.com or ebay.

I've also got some parts on hand ready for working on it this winter: mini bullet turn signals (bulb style), bullet style stop/tail light, & front fork rubber gator style covers, as well as tank off a '72 CB450. I'll trim a bit off the front fender and bob the rear fender. As well looking to find a good carb to put a mac 4-1 exhaust and pod filters. And...possibly an acewell all in one gauge.

Enjoy the pics. I'll post more as I continue working on the project.

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nitroeagle
Posts: 82
Joined: Mon May 04, 2009 11:37 pm

Re: '81 CB650 Standard Cafe/Brat/Scrambler proj.

Postby nitroeagle » Thu Aug 23, 2012 9:41 pm

Looking good. Amazing how much changing the bars does to the look of the bike. I see you're thinking of changing out the gauges. I'm not sure what style. I changed mine to a small speedo & deleted the tach. The speedo has all the idiot lights & turn signal indicator in it. Just an fyi. Since the new gauge used 1 bulb for the turn signal indicator, and the old set up had 2, power would back feed when using the signals. I wired in 2 diodes to keep it from happening.

MacGordon
Posts: 32
Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2012 2:09 pm
Location: Idaho

Re: '81 CB650 Standard Cafe/Brat/Scrambler proj.

Postby MacGordon » Fri Aug 24, 2012 3:51 pm

nitroeagle wrote:Looking good. Amazing how much changing the bars does to the look of the bike. I see you're thinking of changing out the gauges. I'm not sure what style. I changed mine to a small speedo & deleted the tach. The speedo has all the idiot lights & turn signal indicator in it. Just an fyi. Since the new gauge used 1 bulb for the turn signal indicator, and the old set up had 2, power would back feed when using the signals. I wired in 2 diodes to keep it from happening.


Yeah, to me, it totally gives the bike a new look. I love running with my pals on the twisties with their old bikes. Before I was on my HD. For $600, and the cost of the stuff I've put on it, I've got a great bike to scoot around.

Thanks for the heads up on the turn signals. Hadn't thought about that, and it's very good to know.

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nate85
Posts: 71
Joined: Wed Jul 25, 2012 8:37 pm
Location: Alpena, Michigan

Re: '81 CB650 Standard Cafe/Brat/Scrambler proj.

Postby nate85 » Sat Aug 25, 2012 4:07 pm

what bars are these and do the controls hit the tank? i have some custom bars on mine and the controls hit the tank and can not be turned all the way. bike looks good. the bars make a huge difference in the style of the bike

MacGordon
Posts: 32
Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2012 2:09 pm
Location: Idaho

Re: '81 CB650 Standard Cafe/Brat/Scrambler proj.

Postby MacGordon » Fri Sep 14, 2012 12:21 pm

Sorry for SUPER slow reply. Summer has been a blast riding as often as I have.

Anyhow, they are eurobars, and I got them from JC Whitney for cheap.

http://www.jcwhitney.com/bikemaster-uni ... 9y1981u0j3

The controls nor the bars or anything do NOT hit the tank. Thanks for the compliment and yeah, it can change the look so drastically it's amazing. Everyone wanted me to go clubmans (which I did on my '80 suzuki gs450 bobber proj) but this is more of a scrambler/brat project to me.

When you go to jc whitney's sight, you can enter in your year, make, & model under the motorcycle parts list, and it'll give you lists of what "should" work for your bike. Have fun. Most of their stuff is quite affordable.


Pic of both my metric bikes ('81 CB650 & '80 GS450):
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DonSoares
Posts: 35
Joined: Fri Apr 13, 2012 7:14 am

Re: '81 CB650 Standard Cafe/Brat/Scrambler proj.

Postby DonSoares » Fri Sep 14, 2012 1:10 pm

Very nice dude! I'm putting superbike bars on my 81 custom in the next few weeks and am excited about the results. My worry is less about hitting the tank, and more about rerouting the cables. Any tips? Or did you replace the cables? Thanks.
81 CB650 Custom
http://imgur.com/zvSpC

iansimpson
Posts: 62
Joined: Mon Apr 30, 2012 10:51 pm
Location: British Columbia, Canada

Re: '81 CB650 Standard Cafe/Brat/Scrambler proj.

Postby iansimpson » Fri Sep 14, 2012 4:16 pm

I have superbike bars on my 80c and didnt change any cables. Clutch cable and brake line would idealy be shorter, as the bars moved everything forward about 6 inches. I have the clutch cable sticking out a bit between the headers and it hasnt been a problem there and isnt too noticeable to anyone besides myself. Brake line has some excess and it flaps around in the wind, im ordering a braided cable and they can hopefully make it 6 inches shorter to eliminate that. everything else i just tucked behind the headlight

MacGordon
Posts: 32
Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2012 2:09 pm
Location: Idaho

Re: '81 CB650 Standard Cafe/Brat/Scrambler proj.

Postby MacGordon » Fri Sep 14, 2012 4:17 pm

On the suzuki, we did have to reroute the throttle cable. It was getting bound up when you turned one way, and pulling the cable when you turned the other. Which just so happened to increase acceleration.

The honda has those dual throttle cables system. And although I have yet to mess with rerouting them, I may do so this winter when I change the tank (to a '72 CB450 tank), which will give me a little more room to fiddle with the cables.

I may be wrong, but the only reason I can see for replacing cables would be either due to their failure, or if you went with ape hanger style bars...where you'd need more length. Most typically, you can find places to hide, tuck, or split the difference in the length of the cable, when using euro/cafe/clubman/drag style bars.

But that's just my 2 cents.

MacGordon
Posts: 32
Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2012 2:09 pm
Location: Idaho

Re: '81 CB650 Standard Cafe/Brat/Scrambler proj.

Postby MacGordon » Tue Dec 11, 2012 1:01 pm

Been a busy summer, but finally started working on CB again. I wanted it to be in working order before I started with the tank swap, fender bobbing and trimming, and seat reupholstering.

Things I got done in the last couple weeks:
-Helicoils on the two top outer bolts on top of the block. Seems so many people have this issue.
-New fork seals and boots, with gator covers.
-New chain and sprockets.
-New spark plugs.
-Had a bike mechanic friend bump up the pilot jets (while he did the Helicoils). The others are pressed in so couldn't replace.

When I got the bike this summer, didn't realize I was only running on 3 cylinders. No wonder I wasn't getting the power I expected. Then, while riding, a different spark plug completely blew OUT of the top. I was a little shocked because it sounded like a shotgun firing off...then terrible exhaust noise the rest of the way home. It worried me that it stripped the threads. Fortunately, it did not.

Pics:
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The pic I snapped right before riding it home saturday (right as it began to spit some snow):
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More work and pics coming soon'ish (winter). :D

MacGordon
Posts: 32
Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2012 2:09 pm
Location: Idaho

Re: '81 CB650 Standard Cafe/Brat/Scrambler proj.

Postby MacGordon » Sat Feb 16, 2013 2:06 am

Finally got some time to work on the Honda. Been trying to trace a wiring issue with my '70 Challenger, and found it. So me and the boys took a spin in the ole muscle, came back and started doing some mockup. Here are the 2 pics of the old '72 tank now that the body work is done on it (had left side dent), and sat the seat recover kit on the frame. Enjoy.

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And for those wondering what my Challenger looks like:
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