OK... so I have changed gears a little bit during the winter.
I got a 1972 Honda CB500 for a Cafe Racer project! The Cafe Racer movement is from the mid-70s where riders began modifying standard production motorcycles into so-called "cafe racers" by simply equipping them with clubman bars and a small "bubble" quarter fairing around the headlight. They were going for a super clean stripped down look.
There is also a new show called "Cafe Racer" on Discovery http://www.caferacertv.com/ if you are interested in what the 'professionals' are doing.
I have had a blast with this project and will for sure be doing another in the future!
Below is the process I went through to create my custom Cafe Race. Let me know what you think!
When she first rolled in the shop. What a bute!
Strip down begins.
Yes the entire bike was this dirty...
They are cleaning up good...
New frame cleaned up and primed! Ready to start putting it all back together.
Frame painted flat black and getting dressed back up.
New wiring location under the seat to open up the frame.
This CB750 SS tank looks much better than that stock bubble shape.
Lets get started on the seat and bump.
I used the rubber stand-offs from the original seat and left a recess in the bump for the new location of the battery.
It fits!!
New Clubman bars and air pods!
PAINT! Now its starting to look like something.
I think it still needs a number on the tank...
I'll let you know when it gets running good and post some more photos after I clean it up.
Running Great!!!!!!
You amaze me bro!!! Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteTres way cool, mon ami.
ReplyDeleteLooks awesome!!! Do u still have the old seat?
ReplyDeleteSorry, the seat was 'deconstructed' during the design of the new seat...
ReplyDeleteI just found a CB500 on my local Craigslist for $500. I sent him an e-mail about it and while waiting for a reply started looking for CB500 cafe projects. That's when I found yours. You're doing a very nice job on your CB500! I like the wood seat. I was looking at fibreglass cafe seats but I must say I like your better! I'm going to steal your design with one modification, I'm going to incorporate the tag and taillight flush mounted in the rear of it. I was also thinking of building an intake manifold and replace the 4 carburetors with a single Holley-Webber two barrel progressive stage carburetor. This will be done to improve fuel mileage, not performance. This will become my daily rider so I want to keep fuel costs as low as I can.
ReplyDeleteThanks Scott!!
ReplyDeleteThis was a very fun project and I hope to do another in the near future. I would love to see how yours comes out.
Good Luck!