1981 HONDA CB650 CAFE RACER UPDATES
Today I didn't have a ton of things to get done because I'm still waiting on some parts to arrive. My main mission was just to get the front turn signals and headlight brackets removed. However, this literally took between 3-4 hours of work. I received a new pair of chrome headlight brackets similar to the ones I used on my last build in the mail yesterday. I will still need to pick up a new set of turn signals but they will be much smaller and hidden then the ones you see blow.
In order to remove the headlight bracket ears above, I had to take apart the whole front end. The triple tree, handlebars, speedometer & tachometer. I should have done this back when all this stuff was already removed from the bike two weeks ago but I didn't realize those ears had to slide off the end of the forks. Oh well. Live and learn!
I cut the turn signal electrical wiring before removing them. I left enough length for the wire to reach the new ones I put on. As you can see, the stock turn signals really are HUGE. This time I buy turn signals I won't be getting plastic ones because they feel too cheap to me and probably won't hold up. Even though they are more expensive, some nice black bullet metal ones will look awesome. I'll post a few pictures when I decide on the ones to use.
Below are two picture updates for the Honda CB650 C. Next week I should be receiving my new seat pan, which will need to be sized for a seat and painted after all that is said and done. I will also be picking up the gas tank from La Habra Radiator on Wednesday. I dropped that off on Friday of last week to have some patch work done as well as get a flush of the terrible tank liner that was used by the previous owner. This of course was an expense I didn't think I was going to need to have, but glad it's fixable and that I don't have to buy a whole new gas tank. They are hard to come by these days.
(Side View)
(Front View)
I'm working on an '81 cb650 and can't figure out how to remove the air valves on the top of the forks so that I can remove the signals and headlight bracket. Any advice?
ReplyDeleteHey Paulo! Thanks for commenting! Yes, the air valve tube that connects the forks on top of the triple clamp will need to be removed in order to get the headlight brackets off. You will need two different sized wrenches to do this. If you were sitting on the bike facing the front of the bike, you would want to start with the right hand side valve. There are two hexagonal nuts. The one closest to the valve is the one you are going to loosen. The second one directly behind it you will need to hold firmly in place so it doesn't turn at all. Be careful when your unscrewing the nut because if you strip it you will never get it off of there again. Just make sure you are using the correct millimeter wrench. Once you get the right side off, then you can go over to the left side and unscrew that nut similarly to the first one, only you won't need to hold a second nut in place to unscrew this one. It is independent and will only be able to be taken off once the other side is free. It's kind of a pain, but that's how you do it. Hope this helps!
DeleteI'll give it a try. Everywhere I've looked online, they skip this part. Usually just say something like, "remove top portion and schrader valve" but don't actually say how to. I also wasn't sure if the air pressure in there would shoot anything out. So this is removing the nuts for the tube that connects both forks, right? Once the tube is removed, I can then pull up the triple tree. Thanks.
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