CB750 cafe racer build

[Swoop]

What Edbear said. That looks superb!!
Well done.

[psyguy]

I can see why there are a lot of 90-99% finished projects up for sale, my enthusiasm was on a downer until I had that quick spin up the road. All the little jobs take so much time. I still have a few things to sort

Mate, always a pleasure to read/see your updates!

[jonbuoy]

Cheers guys.

My celebrations at getting the bike on the road were short lived after a stupid fall off the sidestand - that'll learn me to disconnect the clutch safety starter switch.... Luckily there was hardly any damage - a bent mirror and a broken fin on the generator cover. I knew I should have walked away at that stage but I thought I'd cut the broken fin off the cover and tidy it up. In my rage the hacksaw slipped and took a detour over my index finger and knuckle so the rest of my evening was spent at A&E waiting for stitches


Onto the good stuff - It does ride like a modern bike - pulling quite well up to 130 or so. The engine's got a really nice sound - very mechanical with all the chain drives, an unmistakable 70's IL4 exhaust note, nice induction growl and a surprisingly nice whine from the straight cut tranny

Clutch was a bit tricky to set up - either dragging or slipping. Neutral is a rare find with the engine running, gearshift is clunky until its warmed up - might try a different oil grade. I've not been gentle with her on the run in and I can tell the compression has come up since the rings have bedded in, still a few hundred k's to go. Brakes are definitely a four finger affair which is taking some getting used to.

Riding position is quite sporty, and handling isn't bad at town speeds, interesting to see how it goes on the twisties.

I haven't had chance to open her up much more than a few test runs up the motorway (no warrant as yet). I've popped in standard 110 mains anyway as it was chronically rich on the 115's it came with. Plugs are still sooty think I need to drop the needles a notch as well. A new set of Bridgestone Battleaxes from Cycletreads make a huge difference in the handling. Running a few PSI in the air fork adapters makes a big difference to front end dive - to be honest I thought they were a bit of a gimmic and decoration only. Happy to be proved wrong.





I

[psyguy]

My celebrations at getting the bike on the road were short lived after a stupid fall off the sidestand

i have once had the brake pads changed at a shop and the brake seemed a bit sticky to me but with the rain storm just starting and me wanting to get home asap i hastily jumped on the bike thinking "everything's gonna be fine" (but really knowing i should ask the mechanic to test ride the bike and double check everything)
sure enough, on the way home, trying to stop for a trafic light, i highsided in the middle of the intersection...

good to know you're getting there with your project

[vifferman]

Great work, jonbuoy!
You've done very well indeed.
Bad luck about the bike falling over - you must've been really pissed off.

Just a question - are the footpegs slippery? They don't seem to be knurled or anything for grip.

[HenryDorsetCase]

Ouch re the stitches. karma trying to tell you to take it slow for a while?

Hang in there, at least its a runner with only minor fettling now.

On a related note I went into Pitlane in Chch a couple of weeks back and Don has got a Seeley framed Honda 4 leaning up against the wall. He is building it for CAMS next year apparently. 810cc kit, double disc front with cast iron Brembo rotors, and a tidy Seeley tank/seat with the Seeley "kit" nickel plated swingarm. It fair made me salivate, its fair to say.

[Wired1]

Nice work, I like the combination of silver and chrome, you must have been up all night polishing it though. I wonder what an SR500 cafe racer would look like?

[xwhatsit]

Nice work, I like the combination of silver and chrome, you must have been up all night polishing it though. I wonder what an SR500 cafe racer would look like?

Pretty damned cool!

Thumpers are the real café racers

The third photo is an SR500 mill in a slimline featherbed Wicked! My current avatar is an SR400.

[jonbuoy]

Thanks fellas - Those Seallys are sexy as be cool to see one on the track. Pegs aren't slippery but they can fold up a bit too easily at times. I was a bit wild after the drop to say the least, I had torrets syndrome for about an hour the old granny next door closed her windows . Meh all good now, just as well I didn't hacksaw through my tendons or that would have been the end of my polishing days. Cafinated SR500 would look pretty sweet I reckon.

[Laava]

Congrats Jon, that is a sweet looking machine. I bet you are proud of the finished result. I know the feeling too! Well done!

[jonbuoy]

Nearly passed the WOF first time - only a blown bulb stopped me riding away all legal like. A few little jobs to sort out and a bit more fiddling with the carbies and it'll be finished. I'm moving overseas in June so it will be coming up for sale sometime before then. I'll be gutted to see it go but its not viable to take it with me.

I also have a near complete F1 with a dunstall tank and a cafe seat that would make a great project - just needs some TLC - no papers with it unfortunately. If anyones interested in either drop me a PM - good to see it go to an enthusiast.

[jonbuoy]

The good news - now fully legal 6 rego and warrant Had a chance to take her out through some twisties, gotta say it doesn't handle anywhere near as badly as I thought it would. Maybe the tapered steering head and needle bearings in the swingarm are doing the trick? Not comparable to a modern bike but definitely usable on the road.

The bad news, I've been made a job offer I can't refuse in Spain, exporting from NZ to Spain is a complete mare I have to export it to the UK first then through to Spain, its causing me a bit of turmoil as I don't know if I will ever do another build like this again.

So it looks like I really am going to have to part with her, will be selling along with a heap of engine spares, a 2nd complete supersport with an identical fibreglass dunstall tank, all parts/materials/oils/lubes/fluids from my garage and a few tools used in the build that are too big to take with me.

What do you's educated fellas reckon she's worth in the real world? I can split the bikes but would prefer to sell as a whole.

Powder coated frame
Alluminum ceramic coated swingarm
Needle bearing swingarm kit.
Top end engine rebuild cam chain/tensioner
All brakes rebuilt with new seals and boots
Braided brake lines
Braided oil lines
Tapered steering head bearings
Lester alloys with new bearings all round
New O ring chain and sprockets
New Tyres
Tarozzi rearsets
New Battery

The rest of the details you can pick from the pictures. Don't want to put on Trade Me unless I have to.

[xwhatsit]

Shit, I want this bike so bad, but have no money . Somebody on KB buy this so I can buy it again when I'm older and richer!

[psyguy]

why don't you store it, or are you never coming back from spain???
i doubt you'll get the money it deserves
market value? ... $4000 ?

[jonbuoy]

why don't you store it, or are you never coming back from spain???
i doubt you'll get the money it deserves
market value? ... $4000 ?

Not for a few years at least - I'm not a kiwi so don't have anywhere free to store it. I can ship it to the UK for storage but can't road register it over there with the fibreglass tank.