CLASSIC TRACK DAY - WILLOW SPRINGS RACEWAY

Distinguished Gentlemans Ride

1972 HONDA CL175 ROLLER

Parts for Days

Over the last month or so I've been starting the journey of sourcing parts for the CL175 rebuild. I've included a few pictures below of the awesome pieces I've found on EBAY so far.  There is a guy out of Minnesota that has been parting out what seems to be a pretty sweet bike that is the exact same year and model as the one I'm working on so, he's definitely been my business.  I got a nice set of wheels, shocks, brake arm, headlight bucket and fork ears, as well as front and rear brake hubs.  

I will say, I've been pretty lucky so far. I got a killer deal on this 1970 HONDA CL175 gas tank that one other guy had a bid on, but didn't end up putting up a fight for it. It's in great condition and only had a few minor scratches.  All the other tanks in this condition that I've seen on EBAY are listed around $200 - $400 dollars.  I got this one for $50 + shipping.  Not bad!

My buddy Chad Williams, who I got the frame, forks and some other parts from also had a nice set of high pipes that I ended up buying off of him, since those are also very hard to find and expensive on EBAY. They cleaned up nicely, but I will still have to find a heat shield in the coming months as the ones for this set didn't make it.

The engine is going to be a major project. And by major I mean expensive. I need the entire head, as well as new jugs, pistons, crank, timing chain, oil filter and seals at the very minimum.  The rest of the bike is otherwise in pretty good shape right now, so the engine will most likely be my winter project. 

The oil filter was a real pain to get off the engine. I'm 99.9% sure that had only been taken off and cleaned once or twice in it's life. There was a wall of 1/2 inch thick of oil that had become hard and almost mud like. The screw that holds the oil filter on gave me a good fight, but the impact tool once again came through for me. I will be dropping all the engine cases off this weekend as Sihilling Metal Polishing, as they have done all my metal polishing for all my bikes.  Can't wait to get these all looking pretty!  I'll be sure to take a before and after picture to post.

I also stopped by Mission Motorsports to have a new pair of shoes, bearings and tubes put on the wheels I mentioned at the top of the post. I went with the Shinko SR241 Tires, since I already had a new rear tire kicking around my garage and buying a whole new pair didn't make sense when I could just order a matching front tire from Motorcycle Superstore.  They have pretty amazing prices but what I didn't know was that Mission Motorsports charges you more to put tires on that you buy yourself than ones you order through them.  I believe it's $18 dollars a wheel for the tire install if you bought the tires from them, or $33 dollars a wheel if you bring your own. That is kind of lame if you ask me but I get that they are trying to get people to start buying tires from their brick and mortar stores rather than online, since they are getting killed by those online prices.

I was able to get the wheels installed this past weekend and it's definitely starting to feel like an actual motorcycle rather than just a brown box of parts.  I'm really excited to have a rip-a-round motorcycle that isn't a show bike, but will still be fun to scoot around on.  The great thing about projects like these is that you can take as much time as you want, especially when they have fallen off of the DMV system...ha! Check back soon for more posts on this project.

WORLD'S FIRST 3D PRINTED MOTORCYCLE!

Well...it finally happened. AP Works successfully 3D printed an electric motorcycle called "Light Rider." Now, I know there are going to be haters questioning the durability of this aerospace-motorcycle creation, however I think it is a true testament of just how much you can do with additive manufacturing.  I think it's just incredible and my hat is off to these guys.  Apparently they are only making 50 of these bad boys, so unless you are one of the lucky few who can afford the 50,000 euro price tag (just under 56K US dollars), chances are you may never get to see one. 

Here are some specs: It weighs in at only 35kg, making it one of the lightest motorcycles today.  The whole frame is made out of Scalmalloy®, which is an aircraft grade aluminum that offers an equivalent strength to that of titanium and is unequaled in 3D printing. It can reach speeds of up to 80km/h, and it can go 0-45km/h in just 3 seconds!  That's not bad. It also has a 60km exchangeable battery, which comes out to about 37.28 miles per charge.

It has a 6kW electric motor, which offers impressive acceleration as I noted above.  On top of that it is silent and emission free.  I appreciate saving the planet and low emissions vehicles, but I would definitely miss the rumble and roar of the exhaust beneath me as I twist the throttle. That's half the fun! For those with short commutes that don't have a lot of storage space at home and are looking for a light, compact vehicle that separates themselves from the crowd, this would be it.  I mean look at that body design!  Let me know what you think of the Light Rider in the comments below.

If you want to see some live shots of the Light Rider click here:

https://youtu.be/Fad7zXGR85c

If you want to visit their website click here:

http://www.lightrider.apworks.de/#!en/dkqv3 

1973 HONDA CB175 RESTORATION

I spent a couple hours putting a short video together of the 2-year journey this 1973 HONDA CB175 motorcycle took since it's been in my possession (2014).  I included some information in the video about parts that I used/where I bought them and the motorcycle shops I gave business to. I've gotten a lot of questions pertaining to those things with some of my previous motorcycle build videos, so I figured I would just include it right out of the gate.  Watch till the end to see what the bike in this picture used to look like!

https://youtu.be/DoXsdUBbDbU

LONG TIME. NO POST.

It has been nearly 2 YEARS since I last posted on the blog and I don't even know where the time has gone.  Although my motorcycle shenanigans haven't made it to the blog, I've still been as busy as ever bringing vintage bikes back from the dead. Most of my projects have only made it to Instagram @murphysmotorbikes, but I will do my best to catch ya'll up in the months ahead. The other day I was inspired to get back on and post thanks to a friendly email from a fellow bike builder in Toronto who reached out about one of my projects.  Even if I've helped 1 person in all of the stuff I've posted, than I've accomplished something. And it's been worth it.

With that being said, here are the items I will be covering in the coming weeks:

The Complete Restoration of the 1973 HONDA CB175 SuperSport 

The 1975 HONDA CB360 Heart Transplant

The 1971 HONDA CB175 Race Bike Beginnings

& The Two-Stroke Extravaganza 2016 at Hansen Dam

There is some good stuff on the way so check back or subscribe!

1973 HONDA CB175 K7 SURVIVOR PURCHASED!

1973 HONDA CB175 K7 SURVIVOR PURCHASED!

Today I found a guy that was coming into town with a 1973 Honda CB175 in the back of his truck to sell.  I have been looking for a smaller CC project for part of my collection and thought this might be a good chance to snag one for a decent price.  His asking price was already pretty attractive but it did need some work, so I made him an offer and we did "the dance" of finding something we could both agree on.  Even though it runs great I was able to work out a deal for him to drop it off at my apartment rather than having to drive out to pick it up in Anaheim and ride it home, and then go back to get my car later in the day.  All in all, it worked out perfectly.  

The good: the bike had title, was registered on Non-Op until November, ran great, was delivered to my door and is all original (including paint).  The bad: it needs a new seat cover, side covers, new rear shocks, as well as a new drive chain at minimum.  This wasn't enough to deter me from buying it because fixing it up is half the fun.

Today I put in quite a few hours cleaning up the undercarriage and scrubbing some surface rust off the exhaust pipes, wheels and front fender.  I also went online and found as many parts on EBAY as I could for what I'll be needing in the months ahead.  I haven't ordered anything yet, but little by little it will get freshened up.  

The newbie has been welcomed into my Honda Family with open arms!  Below is my starting line-up.  Gentlemen, start your engines!