CB750 cafe racer build

[Paul in NZ]

Confused??? No! TOP effort mate

[jonbuoy]

Cheers,

I'm thinking of one of these two for the pipes, I steering towards the round style as it will be easy to mod the pipe I have and not choke the motor.

[xwhatsit]

Very nice, the headlight brow looks cute

Might I ask how much it cost to cover that seat? That's one area I'm still trying to work out how much I need to spend.

[jonbuoy]

Very nice, the headlight brow looks cute

Might I ask how much it cost to cover that seat? That's one area I'm still trying to work out how much I need to spend.

$250 + GST, I think it would have been a lot less to get just a padded insert done. Yeah headlight brow has grown on me - I thought it was a bit tacky to start off.

[xwhatsit]

$250 + GST, I think it would have been a lot less to get just a padded insert done. Yeah headlight brow has grown on me - I thought it was a bit tacky to start off.

Holy mother of...

Time to read up on how to do DIY upholstery

[Duc]

Hey jonbuoy.

Looking good but can I comment on something.

I think part of the cafe racer 'look' and design is a straight clean line thru' the base of the tank and the base of the seat. Maybe you can raise the front end of the tank a fraction to achieve this. ( If you happen to agree with my comment of course)

[psyguy]

nice to see the update on your project!
i really like the silver seat vinyl
and those polished calippers look primo

[jonbuoy]

Have been reasonably busy on the bike, its been hard to get off my arse and into cold damp garage of an evening so things have been finding their way into the kitchen sink and on the coffee table - the perks of being an antisocial bastard!

I had a bit of a spend up on Ebay:

New forks (chrome was stuffed) & fork boots from cycle X - about an inch longer than my standard forks I knew that anyway - I'll make a spacer up for the spring and drop them a little in the yolk - will still be sticking up slightly but I can live with that. Bar end mirrors added.
And some cool little aluminum bodied indicators, they are clear lensed and a bit modern looking but they seem to disappear when on the bike. They look a lot better than any chrome/plastic retro ones I've seen. They are not E marked, I'm hoping the wof man will turn a blind eye, if not I'll put my old ones on for the warrant and swap back.

I'm pleased with how its looking, the motor will really make the bike - I found some finned covers on Trade Me which make it look a lot meaner. It will be pretty hard to tell its a Honda as there will be no logo's on the motor or frame. By chance I found some solid aluminum bar while out on one of my scavenging sorties, I'm using this for gear and brake pegs on the rearsets. Looking very chunky and a little home made but I like that look.

The oil tank was looking really ugly so I cut some aluminum sheet and made a bezel to go around it, this covers up the spot welding and creases. I'm still on the lookout for a knurled ally disc to go on top of the old dipstick - I'll cut the plastic handle off leaving the thread and dip stick then screw/epoxy the disc on top as a filler cap.

Wiring loom is almost finished, I stripped the whole lot back as the electrics are all under the seat more to come on that.

[jonbuoy]

More pics.... I'd really like to get the rotors cross drilled and ground at some stage probably when its back on the road.

[slowpoke]

Looking good mate. Not a criticism at all, just a comment: that has got to be the biggest rear disc I've seen in....in....well, ever really. Funny how things evolve.

[jonbuoy]

Its a beast ain't it! I'm hoping if I get it drilled it won't look so massive or just a little cooler. I don't know what Honda were thinking when they put that on the back end.

[Duc]

Where /who painted your tank JonBuoy?

I want a good painter in the Auckland region to do my CB550 tank in two tone.

Anyone who can do this could PM me please.
(Tank is stripped to the metal already)

[jonbuoy]

Where /who painted your tank JonBuoy?

I want a good painter in the Auckland region to do my CB550 tank in two tone.

Anyone who can do this could PM me please.
(Tank is stripped to the metal already)

Hey Duc, I got it already painted on EBAY, I hear Reflections have a good rep and feedback on here - I've never used them myself.

[fergie]

jonboy,
love what you are doing,keep up the great reports. very insperational.

[gijoe1313]

Bluddy fan'frikk'ntastic... good effort there and it's an inspiration to me and any others doing rebuilds! Will have to put the effort in double time now! Looking great and can't wait to see the final product!