The Water Buffalo-Seemingly never ending cafe project

[shinyribs]

Okay   my girlfriend is not here to assist so if the pictures show up i'll be shocked. My good friend and racing buddy, The Incredible Tommy Jackson,GAVE me his old bike when i told him i was looking for a winter time project. I didn't even know he had this thing. My original idea,because im a speed junkie,was to find an older bike like this,not change the looks at all,but install a motor out of a crotch rocket in it. After looking at this bike i LOVE the look of this engine!!! Cant wait to make a cafe out of it!! My Dad owned a bunch of CB750s when he was younger so i think its very cool that i was able to stumble onto one myself. A million thanks to everyone that has already given me so much helpful advice already.And thanks Tommy for my new toy!

Here it is as i picked it up   sitting since 2004

Looks much better stripped   IMO

What is this?
Can anyone tell me what kind of pipes these are?  I love the looks of them,hope they sound and look good!!

[shinyribs]

HEY! The picture worked!!

[TOOLS1]

Sometimes you surprise yourself You definitely have the right bike, for a Cafe project. Those pipes are the kind that belong on the Bob-a-matic
TOOLS

[shinyribs]

HAHA  The bob-a-matic?!?!   Everybody here knows what their parts are called im just like...uhh  i got one of these...   haha   im getting there   having a blast learning something new     been drag racing cars too long   need a change of pace

[Daddyman]

Its a Super Sport!!! Cool!

[cb shwank]

so whats the difference between the super sports with dual front discs vs a single?

[TOOLS1]

They stop better
TOOLS

[shinyribs]

HAHA   i would imagine so.  I have noticed that ,too.  Some have two and others one,good question.  And yes Daddyman,it is a super sport,  and i hope to get it looking as good as yours !!!

[Daddyman]

I like the look of the dual disc, I'm going to do that to mine.

[shinyribs]

Here is some new parts i picked up today. I told a buddy of mine,Jesse,what i was working on and if he saw anything cool to grab it for me.  He has a knack for burning up some yard sales and always comes out good. I hope i can use the drag bars. I know they look killer,but being 6'3" i might be hard for me to reach them. Maybe once i lower the forks in the clamps and get my slim seat built it will even out. The tank have very little rust inside almost zero exterior rust,but doen't fit my bike.  Sat it on there today and see how i can esily get it ti lay level and re-mount thr rear rubber but the petcock is going to hit the #1 carb.  Dont want to do all of welding on a good tank that someone can use. I also prefer the longer look of the Super Sport tank,but the flip top filler is very cool. And got the cool tail light,too.Not exactly cafe style,but i dig it. All in all i think i came out alright  He picked up everything for  $40 and i gave him $60 so...



Cant decide which tank i like more. I like the flip cap and the sloped look of this one but i also like the long look of the ss tank

[shinyribs]

IT LIVES!!! Part the carbs back on about an hour ago and set the new tank i just got on it. I havent changed the plugs or anything and it fired up in the first touch of the button!   It wont idle below 1200 rpm and it stumbled when you try to flick on the throttle but it seems to idle pretty smooth. I love the sound of these pipes,too!! If you bring it up to about 2000 rpm and snap the throttle it usually responds pretty well,sometimes it will stumble a little bit,but it never popped or spit back. The more it ran the better it got. wasnt sure about heat so i turned a box fan on it but turned it off once the oil tank got good and warm.Probably 100-120 degrees in about 6-8 minutes of run time  Since it has been sitting i didnt really want to rev on it much but snaps up to 4000 rpm quicker than i expected.  Starts on the first kick every time,too. Runs about 55-60 psi oil pressure at 1200 rpm  and seems to go to 90 psi almost instantly and stays there.Gonna change the oil and filter again tomorrow and go ahead and put these new plugs in it.   i am so excited you guys have no idea!!!  Thanks for all your help guys,you have been a ton of help!!  Guess those old ads are true..."you meet the nicest people on a honda"

[Daddyman]

Man I'd weld the top piece around the cap on to the top of the super sport tank, that would be sweet!

[shinyribs]

My SS tank is rusted thru allll the way down on side   just pinholes really  but all the way    if i can save it,and i think i can thats exactly what i'll do    best of both worlds i think     of course if i cafe the tank then welding is in order for the knee dents anyways               you know...i was excited to be away from cars on this project and not have to do alot of body work...oh well        if it cant be bought , it must be built    right?

[Daddyman]

[shinyribs]

OK  having a hard time staying in the garage today    got ahold of a bad piece of fish last night and keep running for plumbing   Just stuck a fresh set of plugs in     didnt seem to help much     off idle stumble is noticeably better but it still doesnt want to rev      seems like it laboring to get to 4000 rpm but when you let off the throttle it revs up about 5-600 rpm     im sure its in the carbs so im not too worried about it until they get a real good bath instead of the once over i gave them      oh i only checked #4 plug but it sooted up pretty bad for the short amount of time it ran   5 minutes or so     any suggestions welcome!

[shinyribs]

Oh yeah    does it matter that im running without the airbox during all this?   No worries of dirt getting sucked,took care of that,just wondering how much it affects the jetting

[TOOLS1]

I thought, you would like this video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ou-1adqRyVU Check it out. I think that tank is off a CB 360, or CB 175-200. It would be cool to put the flip top cap on the SS tank. Those Maltese Cross taillights bring pretty good money from the chopper guys. I think your buddy did pretty good.
TOOLS

[shinyribs]

Thanks for the video Tools !    looks simple doesnt it haha     figured i need to weld up my holes and acid out the rust first      i just hope my tank i solid enough to take the hits    if not...english wheeli hate the english wheel

[shinyribs]

i didnt get to work on bike much today     my buddy has a race coming up and we had to tune his rear suspension     finally got to use my secret weapon and really clean the carbs good     i need to get some new o-rings for the t-joints and i noticed that one of my needle seats was missing the aluminum washer that it seats on     anyone know where to get one?something that fits from a hardware store maybe?     also  want to double check my float levels because none of them matched       how do i measure it and do i need to push the inner spring loaded part of the needle in when i measure?or let it fall naturally?   also.... my idle air screws were all exactly 3 turns out     is that any where near close? i thought initial adjustment was 1 turn out        help please!!!


But on a good note   i picked up some bling today    when setting up my buddys suspension i picked up a set of breathers to use as air cleaners    he owns the local speed shop here    they run $12.99 each,fit perfectly and have a neat little chrome cone that i think looks cool


Also,as far as my secret carb cleaner   i use 5 parts water and 1 part "the works" toilet bowl cleaner.  $1.50 at dollar general and wil clean probably 40-50+ carbs with one jug    BE WARNED   IT WILL DISCOLOR AND RUIN CHROME PAINT POLISHED AREAS OR ANYTHING NOT BARE METAL   i have never seen a plastic or rubber hurt by it  i clean brass part(jets etc...) at full strength,ONLY BRASS AT FULL STRENGTH  let brass soak until clean,then add water and continue to soak brass with the carb main body  AFTER CUTTING WITH WATER    but dont let carb soak real long,even in reduced mixture    the next pic shows my carb that soaked for exactly 30 seconds and you can see the difference    no scrubbing or wiping   just dip it in then flush in a bucket of clean water    thing i like about it is that it fizzes so it really flushes out the little passages of a carb body real well    works great!!!

[TOOLS1]

I love those breathers. Tell you what. Send me a set, and well call it even, for all the answers The 3 turns sounds reasonable, but I would start with 2. I just adjust my floats to level. Do not compress the spring while adjusting them.
TOOLS