CB750 cafe racer build

[Paul in NZ]

Top job mate - I'm loving the finned covers - sooooooo 70's

[xwhatsit]

That engine is bloody massive, that surely can't be a one man job? Cor blimey. But then again it's a full cradle frame, don't have to worry about supporting it from underneath. Good luck with that

Yay! Spokes! It'll look horn. Keep the double discs for the CR? They had twin front stoppers, didn't they? I love the CR look, very reminiscent of the earlier Honda GP racers. Even the big fairing.

[pete376403]

Pic of CR750 replica from the baber museum.
It would be a lot of work but a 4 into 4 exhaust system would be in keeping with the look

[tri boy]

Lov'n ya work.
Can I suggest flat polished alloy, flush mounted with the frame for side covers to hide batt/elecs etc.
A machinist can spin up some dowls that can be TIGed to the flat so you can utilise the original side cover mounts.
Worked on some Rickman Z900 conversions.

[jonbuoy]

That would have been easier - electrics are under the seat hump now, I'll tidy up the oil tank and leave it without a cover.
It is a big lump, I got impatient and put the engine in the frame tonight, laid the engine on its side and lowered the frame onto it then rolled the whole lot over - not my idea but a brilliant one anyway, not a scratch on the frame or the engine. it makes the tank and seat look small now. There is a guy in Invercargill building a beautiful CR750, he's making a set of four into fours himself. I might make a pilgrimage and ask to take look at it one day:

www.mypages.co.nz/~andyf/Honda3.htm

[psyguy]

hey, that engine looks mint ! and it souns like it's going to perform real nice too
but you left us high n dry a bit, saying the engine's now in frame - and no photo of it??? can't wait to see it!

[jonbuoy]

hey, that engine looks mint ! and it souns like it's going to perform real nice too
but you left us high n dry a bit, saying the engine's now in frame - and no photo of it??? can't wait to see it!

Yeah I hope it don't leak..

[jonbuoy]

Pic of CR750 replica from the baber museum.
It would be a lot of work but a 4 into 4 exhaust system would be in keeping with the look

I only started to get into the older bikes after seeing one of Carpy's cafes but they are really growing on me, those CR era bikes are so sexy. I wasn't even a fan of the standard CB750 but now thats starting to grow on me.

[jonbuoy]

Been making slow progress, garage flooded from next doors drain which made it a minging place to work. I've nearly finished the electrics, just the idiot lights to wire into the headlight bucket. All the plugs have been chopped off and remade with identical ones from Jaycar. Loom has been shortened and extended in a few places, I used one layer of insulation tape under the black braiding you see in the photos. Its a lot more flexible than the standard loom and makes the steering much lighter. The rest of the loom has been tested and seems ok.

[jonbuoy]

Airbox and carbs stole nearly a day of my life to fit, not something I want to do too often so the bastard better run good. I painted the wheels with rattle can paint as I'm not sure if I will use these or the wire wheels. I can run better rubber on the alloys and they are period lesters so I might just stick with them and get them painted properly next year, both front and rear wheels had new bearings which were a prick to fit. Still waiting for a swingarm needle bearing kit from the states to arrive to finish up the back end.

I had to move the tank mounts up and forward as the pet cock was fouling the engine. A lot of other little bits and bobs have had to be done which I've forgotten about.

[jonbuoy]

Guages came out nice - they don't look as good in the photos as they do in real life, I used the older style faces from the Donor bike I have.

[jonbuoy]

Pictures...

[kiwifruit]

very cool

[Goblin]

What an awesome project! Looking very very cool!

[FJRider]

I had a 77 CB750 F1 when I was living in Singapore,back in1980. The twin disc setup was not standard, but added later. Bought in kit form as an improvement to the standard single stopper. The discs were often drilled to aid stopping in the wet. The rims look similar to the ones I had fitted. "Kruger" cast mags. Take a close look at the rims. The makers name may be cast into them. Japan exported bikes with a red light above the steering head bearing, that came on at 50mph. Japans speed limit. Yoshimura made engine overbore kits, upto about 900cc. Mine, from memory, had an 843cc kit installed. I added an oil cooler as air cooled bikes in the tropics, got overheated easily. Yoshi exaust systems were also available for the 750 hondas. Individual pod air filters were popular too. The chassis was a "little" flexy but you learned to live with it. The F1 and later F2 were both 4 into one exaust setup as standard. Crappy looking mufflers though. Dunstal made a muffler that fitted straight onto standard headers. Parts on the later 750's were a mixture from previous models. Most are interchangable and made to renew not replace (seals etc)