JB's '76 Cafe Racer Build Thread

[JonBeast]

Been a while since I made a build thread...I'm knee deep in this build, so I figured now is a great time to post up!

I've been obsessing over Cafe Racer builds for a while, and decided to pull the trigger on a bike about a month ago...and the rest is history...

1976 Honda CB550

Here is my photoshopped vision for the bike:

Started out with this little guy:

Immediately started tearing it down:

Brought it down to the frame...which was not a pretty sight:

Chopped/ground off all of the old tabs, seat loop, support bars, etc...prepping for a monoshock conversion...more to come on this:

Painted and wrapped the exhaust:

Forks were pretty rusty under the stock headlight mounts...so I went to work on them:

Next up was cleaning up and painting the motor:

New tires, Continental ContiGo's:

Painted the wheels gloss black:

Then Mooch made some tire letter decals designed with the Continental race font, and a custom swoosh...and we sprayed them on:

Now, back to the frame...I ordered a new seat loop, and dual monoshock rear suspension conversion from Kinetic motorcycles...very nice kit:

Went down to CT with Mooch and met up with Mike Barbalinardo...and went to work:

Mike droppin dimes :coolman:

The results of the weekend:

Some more pics from the weekend:

Next we painted the frame:

Picked up a sick Pitbull rear stand:

I put the motor back in a couple days ago:

Mocked up the wheels:

More progress...forks back on, wheels on...its rolling:

Started working on the tank...stripping off 40 years of nasty paint and body work...I'm doing a flush mount gas cap, and shaving the side emblems...should be clean.

Thats all for now! Hoping to have everything done in the next couple weeks...I'll update as I go along :beer:

 

[WutApex]

That's badass! Love me some cafe racers

 

[scott_0]

dude!!!! I ****ing love it! very cool build, thanks for sharing, cant wait to see it finished! I have to ask, are the plastic/nylon zip ties temporary on the wrap?

 

[BlackHrtStang]

Man thats turning out aewsome!

 

[JonBeast]

dude!!!! I ****ing love it! very cool build, thanks for sharing, cant wait to see it finished! I have to ask, are the plastic/nylon zip ties temporary on the wrap?

Thanks man! The plastic ones in the first pic were temporary, the ones you see in the second picture are steel ties :beer:

 

[7998]

That is sweet. Great vision.

 

[Ghoust]

What a cool thread! Keep up the good work!

 

[jsd512]

I wish I had some skill. Looks great man.

 

[JonBeast]

That's badass! Love me some cafe racers

Man thats turning out aewsome!

That is sweet. Great vision.

What a cool thread! Keep up the good work!

I wish I had some skill. Looks great man.

Thanks guys! This is my first bike build...and its actually pretty easy, and extremely fun :beer:

 

[oldmodman]

That is exactly the bike I wanted to build in 1976.

I had just ridden a friends Honda 400SS and it was like riding an electric magic carpet. Smoothest running engine I have ever messed with.

But your 550 looks just right in that frame. Those tire reverse decals are fantastic! Do you have any idea how well the paint lasts? That is something I would love to try.

Can't wait to see how it turns out.

 

[Mr. Mach-ete]

In for final pics! Great build, you got some skills.

 

[tnuce10]

Awesome work so far OP.

I'll definitely be keeping an eye on your progress.

 

[CobraBob]

That's quite a nice build. I know you said it's an easy build, but way out of my league. LOL. I'm looking forward to seeing a photo when it's complete.

 

[JonBeast]

That is exactly the bike I wanted to build in 1976.

I had just ridden a friends Honda 400SS and it was like riding an electric magic carpet. Smoothest running engine I have ever messed with.

But your 550 looks just right in that frame. Those tire reverse decals are fantastic! Do you have any idea how well the paint lasts? That is something I would love to try.

Can't wait to see how it turns out.

Thanks man...Not sure on how long the paint will last yet...this is the first time ive done painted tire letters, so time will tell.

In for final pics! Great build, you got some skills.

Awesome work so far OP.

I'll definitely be keeping an eye on your progress.

That's quite a nice build. I know you said it's an easy build, but way out of my league. LOL. I'm looking forward to seeing a photo when it's complete.

Thanks a lot guys!

 

[mooch29]

Can't wait to see it all done man :beer:

 

[MTBSully]

Bike is gonna make so many panties wet at MW16

 

[50 Deep]

That's sick. What is the background on cafe racers?

 

[CobraRed01]

Wow, seeing your original 550 takes me...waaay back. I had a 76....in 76. Stripped it down with bobbed, painted fenders...drag bars...progressive springs and a nice black lacquer paint job. Very clean. Never got the 4 into 1 exhaust I always I wanted though. Seeing all those parts up close again...brings back fond memories. Staying tuned.

Lineage of cafe bikes...they were/are stripped down lightweight street bikes setup for handling. The concept was big in Britain and Europe. They pre-dated the original 1970's Superbikes...which started - if I remember correctly - with Kawasaki 900. (If you don't count the original 2-stroke Kaw 500 & 750 flexi-flyers) Those we the days of AMA Superbike racing. Then came bikini fairings...full fairings...and an explosive increase in performance...as we see in the 150+hp rockets of today. Cafe bikes are the stilhettos of the bike performance realm. Again...if I remember correctly.

 

[JonBeast]

Can't wait to see it all done man :beer:

:beer:

Bike is gonna make so many panties wet at MW16

Dripping

That's sick. What is the background on cafe racers?

Thanks man

Wow, seeing your original 550 takes me...waaay back. I had a 76....in 76. Stripped it down with bobbed, painted fenders...drag bars...progressive springs and a nice black lacquer paint job. Very clean. Never got the 4 into 1 exhaust I always I wanted though. Seeing all those parts up close again...brings back fond memories. Staying tuned.

Lineage of cafe bikes...they were/are stripped down lightweight street bikes setup for handling. The concept was big in Britain and Europe. They pre-dated the original 1970's Superbikes...which started - if I remember correctly - with Kawasaki 900. (If you don't count the original 2-stroke Kaw 500 & 750 flexi-flyers) Those we the days of AMA Superbike racing. Then came bikini fairings...full fairings...and an explosive increase in performance...as we see in the 150+hp rockets of today. Cafe bikes are the stilhettos of the bike performance realm. Again...if I remember correctly.

Awesome man, very cool connection...I absolutely love this bike, I can't wait to finally get it on the road!

 

[JonBeast]

Made some more progress tonight.

I picked up a used front fender off ebay for about 50 bucks...I'm going to chop it down a little bit and paint it black. It should look clean.

Here's how it came stock:

I removed the supports, and mocked it up:

Found the markings I want...going to cut it down:

Didn't get a chance to cut it tonight, because I wanted to start working on my seat/cap.

Since my seat hoop is a custom length and has a bend to it, I couldn't really buy anything that would work for a seat/cap...so the solution is...make it!

I hit up West Marine, and bought some resin, and fiberglass...and picked up some foam from Lowes to shape the cap. I'm going to shape everything and then fiberglass and paint it.

I made a template out of cardboard:

Then I transferred the template to MDF board:

Then I started working on some foam for the cap:

I started shaping the cap...I want to get it a little more aggressive, but this is where I have it for now. The foam that you see on the seat is just a template and will not be fiberglassed. It be replaced with nice foam when I take the seat to get upholstered.

Thats all for tonight! :beer: