Some pics of my 76 cb750 cafe racer project: PIC HEAVY

[devildawg712]

Newby here. I've been lurking for a little while now and I figure I might as well show what I got. I bought the bike about 2 and a half months ago and it was already in Ok condition, but I still did a few things to it cosmetically to make her my own. She runs well, but has a few things that need to be addressed come winter time. I plan on taking the engine out of the frame and replacing the head gasket and whatever else needs tending to. The only issue I have right now is a poor starter or maybe even the rectifier. Can't really solve the problem. All I know is that my electronic push ignition is very unreliable. If she doesnt crank over the first or second time then I run the risk of draining the battery so I turn to the kick start before all hope is lost. Anywho. I look forward to being a part of this community in the future. Any criticism is welcome. Good or bad I dont mind. To each his own.   Anyways-- Here's the Pics

Cheers! JR

When I first got her



And the build begins. Took the tank and seat apart for paint while and cleaned up the frame and engine area to also be painted a mixture of matte and gloss black.

[devildawg712]

Waiting for the tank and seat to get painted. Parts started flowing in and I began my test fits. I didnt know I had to take the whole damn forks off just to install the fork boots. damn Fairings painted in an offwhite/ cream tone Tank, seat came back. I had them painted in Sepang Bronze off of the E60 M5. Test fitting the grip end mirrors

[devildawg712]

She's just about done

[TOOLS1]

Welcome to the forum. Bike looks great. Very interesting color choices. Why do, you want/need to change the head gasket? Is the engine weeping oil between the fins?
TOOLS

[Daddyman]

Really like what you have done with it!  Color is great to, I went with a color close to that on my Shadow.

[devildawg712]

Thanks for the warm welcome and the kind words. Yea, at the moment I'm leaking a very minimal amount of oil due to a slight break in my head gasket. For the meantime I just went ahead and used some RTV to seal the small gap and she works just fine.

[devildawg712]

Thanks man!  To tell you the truth it was my every intention on simply painting the parts black, but I felt that was just too bland for me. The premise behind my cafe racer theme was a modernized version of a classic motif and the Sepang bronze seemed to encompass that pretty well for me.   But man, I'm seeing a lot of folks here have SEVERAL bikes. I'm so preoccupied with just this one, but I can understand why though. It's soo damn fun!

Cheers--JR

[TOOLS1]

If it is that weeping between the fins, that's not the head gasket. It's the head bolt covers. They are little round discs that cover the holes where the head bolts are sunk down into the head ( vintagecb750.com has them). You only need to remove the camshaft, and camshaft holder to replace them. However, you could do like I do. I just stick a piece of cotton clothesline rope between the fins, and replace when it gets dirty.

[devildawg712]

Ahhh. Ok. I think I may have just improperly identified the issue. I'm still pretty much a newby  however, the leak is in fact coming from the fin area. Like right in the middle. If you take a quick look at the earlier photos you can see exactly where its coming from. But like I said, I put some RTV in that area and for right now the problem seems to have ceased.

Thanks for the reply. I appreciate all the help Tools

[TOOLS1]

Sure. No problem. You would be surprised how many head gaskets have been needlessly replaced because of this.
TOOLS

[shinyribs]

Beautiful bike man!Love the colors!Very nicely put together.  How do you like the dropped clubman bars compared to the flat bars in the first pics?Which do you prefer?

[shinyribs]

Oh yeah,love the new seat.Looks great!

[devildawg712]

Thanks for the kind words man. To be honest, I 'm a bit unsatisfied with the clubman handlebars. I wanted to have the grips as low and close to the tank as possible, but since I was essentially a newb when I was buying my parts I hadn't really thought it through. Looking back at it now I shoulda shelled out the extra $ and just bought the clip ons.

Aside rebuilding the carbs and updating the points Here is a list of all the things I did in the order I did them:

-First off, the only thing that the bike had functioning electronically was the headlight when I got it. There was no speedo, tach,  turn signals, horn, and no functioning brake light so I had to do a buttload of snooping around in order to ind the right diagram for the wiring system.  luckily the wires were still hot so i cleaned them all up and VIOLA! We're good to go =)


-painted the entire engine area a mixture of matte black with gloss black accents in high temp paint. (I think I may end up wrapping the exhaust)
-Airbox delete- added pods
-increased the main jet size
-swapped out the drag bars for the clubman bars
-replaced the old run down chain for a SROZ O-Ring EK Gold Chain
-Vintage "balloon" grips (brown rubber)
-Vintage Firestone Deluxe Champion Tire - 325-19 (front)
-Vintage Firestone Deluxe Champion Tire - 400-18 (rear)
-installed fork gaitors
- did a little custom coloring on the tires with a gold paint pen and colored in the FIRESTONE LOGO
-custom horn

-removed the decals and emblems off the tank and had the indents welded and sanded down for a smoother finish.
-Painted both the tank and rear fairing in Sepang Bronze off of the BMW e60 M5

-replaced old headlight for one purchased through CB750cafe.com that had a speedo inside
-pruchased some Lightweight Black Headlight Brackets
-grip end side mirrors
-Alloy Biltwell Registration Tube (attached onto the front fork)
-front and rear Mini Oval Turn Signals
-seat professional reupholstered by a local upholstery shop-=added a headlight visor
-tinted the front headlight a yellow film purchased from Lamin-x

My total tally on the bike and build a bit shy over 4k.  Some may say thats a lot while others will actually say thats not much. I'm happy with the progress thus far and I think I'm just about done.  I think a few other trinkets will be purchased here and there and I'll just about done.  One thing is for sure and that's that cafe racers are very rare in my immediate area so this puppy turns heads like crazy.  

[Peterwh]

Shiny ribs - that reminds me of something I'd been meaning to say for a couple of days - why don't you put clip ons on your bike?

[Piute]

  Hello
 Not many Cafe in Fremont,can't say I've ever seen-one there,

Lived on Master Court  the park was just over  back fence.
  4K not bad at all to have what you wont in the end,When mine is even close to that I may stop putting into it
 Grew up there in the bay off n on ,Milpitas,Sunnyvale,last was San Ramon in 89 I think it was,The women worked at A.T.nT.there and I was in Pacifica.
  Thanks for the old thoughts,just had a reunion in RedWoods (June)
     Piute
 Only been on sight and bike for couple months,
having a great time here

[devildawg712]

Yea. Im actually quite happy I went this route as opposed to purchasing the bike I originally intended. I actually wanted a nightster, but once I started venturing into the cafe scene I saw how much cheaper this route ended up. Looking back at  I genuinely feel like I made the right decision.

Back in the bay in 89 huh? man that was some time ago. Nice meeting you and your bike looks really nice as well.

[Piute]

 Funny
  Iwas thinking the same but never liked sportster,have had a few H.D.s last (05)(f.l.s.t.c.i.)was stolen in 09
and short on cash ,but always wonted a 750-4 had the 650 and women the 450 reb So very happy with my choice But turn into a cafemaybe after a bigger bore .
  Sure miss the ocean badhwy1 up into ore. (medford and up the rogue)
    Piute

[shinyribs]

Peterwh wrote

Shiny ribs - that reminds me of something I'd been meaning to say for a couple of days - why don't you put clip ons on your bike?

Two reasons Peter:
1:i think handlebars look more old skool
2: i already own mine

Devil Dawg,Which do you prefer between the clubmans and the flat bars,as far as riding go?Not particulary just in the looks department.    I was also wondering,is your seat leather or vinyl?

[Half-Caf]

Did you paint the frame / engine without completely disassembling? I am interested in painting as well and the idea of stripping the frame bare is rather daunting...

[devildawg712]

Hey Shiny ribs,

If I had to decide between the drag and the clubman bars I would say the latter. Though they both force the rider to lean forward the clubman, to me, is a bit more comfortable because I feel like although im leaning forward I get to rest my body weight on the grips due to them being angled and position lower.  And to answer your 2nd question my seat is leather.