COMPLETED - 1981 HONDA CB650C Cafe Racer!!!

COMPLETED - 1981 HONDA CB650C Cafe Racer!!!

I thought I would share a few pictures of the final build day for the 650 Cafe Project.  It came together nicely and overall I'm happy with the look and feel of the bike.  She's definitely loud and FAST!  This weekend I am planning on driving it down to the Long Beach Swap Meet to see if I get any bites.  I am trying my hardest not to get attached to it because I really need to move this one so I can get started on a CB750 build.  I've been keeping a pretty close eye on craigslist for one but it's got to be the right bike and of course the right price.  In the meantime, enjoy this beauty!

I'll try and find some time this weekend to shoot a video "walk-around" of the bike.  Stay tuned.

1981 CB650C CAFE RACER UPDATES FOR 4/22

1981 CB650C CAFE RACER UPDATES FOR 4/22

If everything goes according to plan, this week should be the end of this build.  As you can see the bike is pretty much done and looking good.  There are a few things I may adjust such as the handlebars and the front headlight but otherwise I'm happy with how it's turning out.  I stopped by the painters yesterday and was disappointed to find that my tank, seat pan and side covers were still not done.  They actually had not been touched since the last time I stopped by a week ago.  If there's one thing I've learned with this build it's to never pay in full for a paint job up front.  At most, pay half up front and the rest when it's done.  That way there will remain a sense of urgency behind the one doing the work.  This can be applied to any kind of service being performed on the bike build as well.  I'm told that it will be completed by Wednesday night (tonight).  Meaning, I will be able to go pick up these last few parts to put on Thursday morning!  Fingers crossed.

The last little things that were done were involving the electrical.  This is still something I don't have the capability of doing myself.  I am hoping to learn though because it can be expensive to have done.  The taillight in the above picture, along with the license plat bracket were connected and are now ready to go.  The new turn signals in the front and back were also wired up and work well.  They are a light brighter than the ones I put on my CB360.  I know the taillight isn't much but I can always add another one under the seat down the line if need be.  I do like that the taillight matches the size of the turn signals so everything is in unison.  

At the moment, the front brake calipers are being rebuilt because we've found that they are freezing up.  Big safety issue.  You definitely always want to make sure you keep your brakes in check.  If those things lock up when your driving 40-50 mph you're up shit's creek.  I'm praying that I don't have to buy new calipers because those are not cheap and I'm already slightly over budget on this build.  Not by much though.

The goal is to take this out to the Long Beach Swap Meet this Sunday, April 27th to see if I get any bites.  I'll be listing it for a VERY fair price so I'm hoping someone will show interest.  The Swap Meet brings a wide range of bikers and you never know who is going to roll through.

Thanks for stopping by!  Check back soon to see the final product and reveal of the paint job!!

1973 HONDA CB500K UPDATES FOR 4/17/2014

1973 HONDA CB500K UPDATES FOR 4/17/2014

I haven't had much time to post so I thought I'd put up a few updates this morning before I head out to work.  As far as the Candy Green CB500 Four goes, I've made some good progress.  The bike is now registered, titled and insured in my name after a few trips to the DMV & CHP, a once paperless, unridden bike has been reborn!  I've been taking it out on the road quite a bit and enjoying the ride.  She takes a bit to warm up but once she does, it's all good.  The picture below was actually taken at the April gathering of the Vintage Bike OC club that meets once a month.  It was another good turnout for the crew.  

A week or so before the event I had found an original, mint 1973 CB500K seat on EBAY for sale.  I had been searching online for one for some time and the last time I saw one, it was gone before I could even place a bid.  There were actually two listed and both were reasonably priced.  I decided to go ahead and purchase the one that was in better condition, and yes it was a little pricier but still more affordable than having the seat re-made.  It would also lose it's original quality if I had someone do a re-pro on it.  I wanted the seat to be as original as everything else on the bike.  Unfortunately, the seat didn't arrive until after the event, oh well.  I was hoping to have it in my grasp and installed before the showing.  I was still happy to have found it and actually purchase the thing.  (NOTE what the seat looks like in the above picture.)

As you can see in the pictures below, the new seat restores the look and feel of what this bike would have looked like the day it was bought.  I'm extremely happy with it!  My original plan was to sell this bike after getting it all fixed up and titled but now I am attached to it of course.  I may just keep her :)  

There's a few more things that I would like to do but I'm in the process of finishing up the CB650 cafe build so until that is done and sold this little honey will just have to wait for more funding.  As is, she makes a great daily rider and an overall great investment.

Thanks for stopping by!!

1978 HONDA CB750 SUPERSPORT UPDATE 4/5

1978 HONDA CB750 SUPERSPORT UPDATE 4/5

 Yesterday afternoon I went back to work on my friend's 78' Supersport!  Overall, it was a really productive day and I got done everything that I wanted to.  The main mission for the day was just getting the carbs taken off so I can have them rebuilt, cleaned and re-jetted for velocity stacks rather than the standard air box.  Performance wise, it will help increase the amount of air the carburetors are able to take in and it will be a lot easier to service the carbs in the future without that clunky air box pinching them in there.  As we knew before removing the carbs, there is definitely something mechanically wrong with them because the throttle arm was not moving at all.  After I got them off and took a look I'm still not quite sure how they got like this, but there is a piece that is bent and blocking movement.  I'm hoping it's something that can be fixed rather than replaced.  We shall see!

    

Now that the hard part is done we can figure out what style of velocity stacks or pod air filters to get.  They will be ordered sometime in the near future.  Several parts are still in the mail, like the battery.  That will be arriving next Tuesday I believe so I will need to get it filled and charged up so by the time these carbs are all pretty and in working order we can actually do a test run on the bike.  The tires have already arrived but we are going to wait to have those put on last since it is not something I have the ability to do.  They are Dunlop's if I'm not mistaken and are going to look rad!

The parts that we did get in we put on after the carbs were removed.  New push/pull throttle cables were hooked up, but still waiting on the new throttle tube.  That will arrive with the battery on Tuesday.  We put the master cylinder back on as well since last week I removed it to be cleaned out.  A new rubber gas tank grommet was thrown on too.  You can kind of see it in the picture above. Since I can only work on this bike one day a week, this project probably won't be done till the end of the month but we aren't in a hurry as I want to make sure everything is done right and in the most cost effective way.  

Tomorrow I am finally taking the 72' Honda CB500K down to the CHP to get the VIN verification, which is the final step in getting it registered and able to be driven out on the road.  I've already done all the paperwork at the DMV and got insurance on it, so once they verify the VIN I can go get my plates and take it out for a nice long cruise.  Next weekend is also the April gathering for Vintage Bike OC, so I'll most likely be taking the 500 to that.  Saturday, I'm planning on going to a Grand Opening event over here in HB at the Harley Davidson dealership.  Lot's going on!!