Sights Set on the Open Road

2011-08-17T11:48:00.000-07:00

Saturday Aug. 8th 2011 log from Westondc:
(Lincoln NE --> Okoboji IA) 300 miles

Our Nebraska riders left Lincoln at 8am for a foggy ride 50 miles to Bellevue where we met Zac (Grasscutter) on our way North to Okoboji IA. The other riders along with us were Joel (ImPaler) on his 1976 CB750, Eric (Deceptibong) and his girlfriend Princess riding on the back of Erics 1972 CB750.

As we crossed the Missouri river into Iowa we were impressed to see the massive flooding along its banks. Once in Iowa we skipped the Interstate and headed along HWY 92 toward Treynor IA. I was leading the pack at the time when I noticed Zac disappear in my mirror. The group turned around to see if there was a problem. Zac slowly came into view on the side of the road pointing to the front brake caliper on his 1982 CB650 which was dangling to the side. The mounting bolts had worked their way out and dropped somewhere along the highway.

Now we were stuck in Treynor, less than two hours into our 250 mile trip to Okoboji. Of course all the hardware stores in the small town were closed. After some deliberation we decided to bungee the caliper to the bike and backtrack to Council Bluffs IA in search of some metric blots. Low and behold AutoZone had just what we needed and we were back on our way ina short time with our fingers crossed.

The ride up HWY 71 through Iowa was a straight shot with the same corn covered rolling hills passing us mile by mile. We stuck to 80 mile runs between fillips and met some nice locals at each stop who told us about the old Hondas they used to ride. Our Nebraska crew logged 300 miles when we reached Okoboji without any other issues along the way. The weather was great and the view of Lake Okoboji was a nice change from the scenery of our recent 6 hour ride. Princess snapped a few pictures of us before we went in search of a campsite.

We setup camp at the West side of the lake and unloaded our gear. I remembered seeing a small Mexican restaurant in town and it didn’t take much convincing before we were all on our way there for margaritas!

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After finishing dinner and our delicious drinks we walked to our bikes where we met a nice fellow and his wife standing by them. He introduced himself as “Wild Mad” Steve Milton of Milton Cycle. He walked us to his yellow 70’s van were two SL350 race bikes were sitting inside. We all talked about our passion for vintage bikes and swapped some stories. We told him we were in town for a relay and he asked,” is it the SOHC4 relay I read about in Motorcycle Classics? I had no idea you guys would be coming through here.” So we swapped some our numbers and agreed to meet the next day for the SOHC4 hand off in town with the Minnesota riders.

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Sunday Aug. 9th 2011 log from Westondc:
(Okoboji IA --> Lincoln NE) 250miles

The next morning after breakfast we met "Wild Man" on his 1971 Cb750 along with some of his friends.

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They lead us on a nice ride to the beach were we passed some time as Vance and the fellow riders from Minnesota made their way to Okoboji. After about an hour we walked to our bikes and I noticed a few guys pull up on motorcycles. One was riding a 1970’s CB750 so I told him and his friends about the SOHC4 relay and asked them if they wanted to join us for pictures. Well, they did and our crew of SOHC4 riders grew a little bigger. The group of us pulled up to the Okoboji meeting spot not long before Vance, Accolay, Cbrrudy and NateMinn pulled into town from Minnesota. There ended up being about thirteen of us hanging out and looking over each other’s bikes. Some people from around the area walked up to see what all the commotion was about. They asked, “Is there a bike show today?” No not really, just some Honda lovers passing around a plastic Godzilla, ha-ha.

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It was great meeting everyone there and we all had a great time. Unfortunately we had to make it short and sweet in order to get back to Lincoln NE at a decent time. Accolay, who had rode from Minneapolis, decided to ride along with us to Lincoln Nebraska. So we received the relay handoff, said our goodbyes and strapped in Godzilla for the ride. We had a nice ride back to Lincoln with no problems and even beat the rain by about 15 minutes.

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[b]More updates and pictures to follow…[/b]

2011-08-04T20:21:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since we've updated the blog.... but we're about to get some new ride and project posts up soon! This weekend Eastern and Western are leaving Lincoln with a group of friends for the SOHC4 relay handoff at Okoboji IA. Check back soon.

Update: CB750 resurrection and continued progress on the little red monster.

2011-03-10T08:50:00.000-08:00

The CB750 got a badly needed make over. It may be hard to tell from the photos but we did quite a bit of work. Some of this work included, new rear tire, new O ring chain, installed stock intake, new battery/battery box, new handlebars, repaired some wiring issues, synced the carbs, and scrubbed the engine as best as I could to clear out the gunk inside the fins. All this work should make the bike run better, smoother, and (hopefully) faster!

The CA160, on the other hand, is still a work in progress. We still haven't dug too deep into the motor, however it did run pretty well last fall. The current focus is still removing as many polish-able parts as I can. We are getting down to the last few pieces that don't include the engine and I'm getting excited to see what it will look like when it's back together. She looks to be in sad shape at the moment but it will make a world of difference once she's all reassembled.

Winter Projects...

2011-02-13T06:33:00.000-08:00

I used the time spent indoors this winter to clean and polish a few different parts for both the CB750 and the CA160. For the 750, I spent some time on a stock air box that would replace the individual air "pods" that are currently installed. Switching back to stock air should require me to "rejet" the carburetors. Upon removing the carbs and pulling off the bowl it appears to have jets marked with "120". DA didn't think we needed to rejet but we would see how the bike ran. The airbox took plenty of cleaning and the rubber boots that connect it to the carbs maybe to too hard to use and ultimately needs replacing. Here is a photo of the airbox. A boring addition to the blog indeed!

I also worked on an old rusty battery box that I had laying around. This box was hardly in "good" shape when I started but the previous owner of my bike did a pretty idiotic thing by cutting the old one in half in order to get a larger battery under the seat.

Here is a photo of the old battery box. pretty lame...

The new battery box was in pretty poor shape when I started but once it was sand blasted, primed and painted, it looked pretty good considering how bad it was and how long it rolled around in the back seat of my car.

I also did quite a bit of work for the CA160 too. I spent some time and removed a couple of parts that were made from solid aluminum. I removed the front wheel and completely took the break drum and the spokes out of the rim. The original rim was too rusted to use but I still had that blue CA90 that had good rims. So with a little musical motorcycle parts I came away with a complete wheel that looked really nice. Unfortunately the break drum wasn't going to shine itself, so I spent many hours wet sanding and finally polishing the parts. Included with the wheel I also wet sanded and polished the handlebar mounting bracket and the speedo mechanism. I think they both came out looking really nice and I plan on removing the rear wheel and some other flair and doing the same thing. Its slow work but I find it relaxing and rewarding.

Very shiny now. Better than chrome because you can always re polish it...

New Project "Little Blue"

2010-12-14T20:02:00.001-08:00

Just a quick update to let yall know what Western has been up too...

I picked up a Polaris atv last year for some trail riding. It needed some work as do most 20 year old quads. This 250cc atv is a 2 stroke with a CVT (automatic) transmission. The thing ran great until a friend of mine buried it in the mud and rev'd the engine too high. 2 stroke motors are made to run at high rmps but this engine was made in 1990 and still had the original piston and crank bearings. The stock piston broke apart inside the cylinder and that was bad news. Well I decided to rebuild the entire motor myself since the repair cost would be well over $500. This would be the first time I've ever opened up an engine for repair. I've already come pretty far on the project but I plan to recite some of what I've done.

Here's a look at the shattered piston after removal. I've replaced the original piston with a Wiseco brand forged piston along with new crank bearings and seals. The new piston is much stronger and much better quality. The second pic is of the engine after rebuild.

The quad with some new decals, patiently awaiting its rebuild engine. 1194 is the perfect compound for gluing the cases (engine halfs) back together.

The bearings are located on both sides of the engine case. I had to pry the to halfs of the engine apart very carefully. The crankshaft runs through these bearings as it spins from the movement of the piston. The bearings were badly worn and contained fragments of the shattered piston. I had to push the first hearing out with a hammer and punch. After it was removed I washed the engine case in solvent. The other bearing was still attached to the crankshaft itself which you can see in the pictures below. In order to install the new bearing into the engine case I had to freeze the bearing in a freezer and heat the engine case with a heat gun. As metal warms it expands and as it cools it becomes smaller. The bearing then fell easily into the case and as it warmed it expanded into the engine case causing it to remain in place.

I had to use a bearing separator and puller to get the old bearing off the crankshaft. After it was removed I froze the crankshaft and warmed the bearing in order to place the bearing on. It's the same idea as listed above.

Heres a look at the crankshaft with the bearing installed. Next I put the crankshaft in a freezer again and headed the opposite case. I had to move quickly as i placed the 1194 gasket maker on each side of the engine case, placing the crankshaft in between and pushing the two sides together. Next I would install the new piston, rings, gaskets, and engine head.

Spirits from the Past are calling me....

2010-10-20T13:55:00.000-07:00

zen......

Wrenching on the Benly (trying to find its original shine)

2010-10-14T05:52:00.000-07:00

The red one needs some work but it's nothing a little elbow grease and a parts bike can't fix.

Work done so far: replaced handlebars/reran wiring
replaced throttle cable
replaced tank rubber
replaced battery
fixed some wiring problems (not all)
replaced headlight

Work yet to be done: WAY to much!

Also, I had to include a picture of the Red Dragon Del Norte. Riding that downtown Lincoln after a Husker game is as exciting as any motorcycle ride.

New Shop!!

2010-10-13T11:57:00.000-07:00

I moved to this new apartment with a few friends of mine. Came with a garage and the old lady that lives downstairs doesn't use it because you have to lift the doors by hand. We quickly took it over.

New Project. CA 160 Honda Benly

2010-07-20T05:22:00.000-07:00

This bike is so full of style! Ive been looking for one for a while now and I think I've finally found the right one.

I will update more as we tear into this thing. Currently looking for parts and a time to take it up to the shop.

Scouting out Colorful Colorado

2010-07-13T07:17:00.000-07:00

So i took a short trip to the Denver and surrounding areas with my friend Kelly to do some biking and hiking. While I was not on my Honda motorcycle, the car I rode in was a newer Honda Fit. They are great cars by the way. It was great on mileage and with the hatch back, combined with the bike rack on top, it easily carried all of our gear. I didn't get as many pictures here as I would have liked but the ones I did get were really great.

Missouri Madness (Lewis and Clark in reverse)

2010-06-10T13:49:00.000-07:00

This would be the first leg of the 2nd trip (first trip was to Long Pine, NE). We spent a day after getting back from Long Pine trying to decide what to do about the bent rim and bad tire on the 1972 Cb500 and another day working on the alternative. As you may have noticed in the picture under the HWY 2 bridge into Iowa, we are now riding two CB750s. The one i have is the 76 project bike that we bought.

We took a nice ride along the loess hills along the Missouri River in Iowa. These paved roads were great for riding. Lots of winding roads, bluffs, trees and wildlife. I think we had more than a couple close calls with deer in the area. Definitely a ride i plan to take again this riding season. the 76 CB750 didnt have a luggage rack so i was difficult to get the pack to sit straight without tipping from side to side in the wind. After about 300 miles i perfected the technique. The first picture was taken at the Rock Port exit in MO while i was debating whether to buy some illegal fireworks and pack them on the back. At the gas station i decided to buy some food and supplies for our stay at Big Lake that night. I best things i could come up with here was a bottle of BV and a few dusty cans of spam and spagettios.... yum

We made it to big lake that night just before dark. I was a nice place to camp with running water and free indoor showers! we cooked our Delicious spaghetios and spam over the fire and washed it down with a plastic cups of Black Velvet and coke. i decided i would do i once over look of the bike i was riding. oh wow, i was missing part of the master link on the O ring chain! not good. not sure how it managed to stay on during the last 300 miles. good think i was prepared and brought an extra chain and master link. after inspecting pre-opened "band new" box the parts came in i noticed that it was missing the clip that i was missing on the bike in the first place! thanks alot ROD you ass (of Rod's powersports) Eric had to make a 3 hour round trip the next day to St. Joe MO to pickup a $9 master link for the chain... and were off

here are a few more pictures of the camp site at Big Lake. Eric made a healthy breakfast of trailmix, powerbars and mulberries.

Nice view of the country side from the county hwys and roads. word of advice for those riders looking to get the most from there motorcycle trips, STEER CLEAR OF THE INTERSTATE AND MAJOR HWYS.

Well we ran into our first sign of bad luck at this point on the trip. We decided to save time by jumping on the interstate on our way past St. Joesph MO. i nearly lost my pack and almost ran out of gas because i was paying more attention to not getting ran over by the crazy interstate drivers. we pulled over for gas and as i was adjusting my pack the bike rolled off the kickstand and fell into the gas pump. the bar end mirror broke and the pump itself didnt fair to well. i asked Eric if i could borrow his other mirror in the mean time. about and hour later the bike fell over again and broke the new mirror. 7 X2 years bad luck is the last thing we need. never again will i trust that kickstand.

We are jumping forward here with these pictures of Harry S Truman Lake. We endedup riding late into the night the day before. we had trouble finding a place to camp so we settled on a small lake near Harrisonville? i think that was the place. anyway it was a great spot to meet the cream of the crop locals at 2 in the a.m. at one point a car pulledup and Eric and i went to check on our bikes. we chatted with the couple who were a bit under the influence and ready for some drunk nookie until we so rudely interrupted. after a long night with cars and locals constantly stopping by to skinny dip and get it on, we hit the road destined for Clinton MO. It was a long hot ride getting to Clinton but we decided to press on and here we are at HST Lake at the headwaters of Lake of the Ozarks.

After a few hours at H.S. Truman lake we decided to see his dam. It was a hot day somewhere in the mid 90's and we refuse ride in shorts and go shirtless like those incompetent crotch rocket riders. This wasn't much of a problem until we reached the lake bridge under construction. It was a long wait under the hot sun... on a bridge... in the middle of a lake. Eventually we did endup in Warsaw and met some friendly people with some back woods accents. We discovered some nice wooded and windy roads in the area that were great for riding.

Harry's dam was a neat place and we made it minutes before they closed the gates to the observation area. We were only there a short time out of fear that we might get locked in. That was our day at the headwaters of Lake of the Ozarks. We decided to try to make it all the way to Lawrence KS before dark to meet some friends of Eric's. It would be a long ride, but with Speed Racer leading the way we were bound to make it there by night fall. Here's a picture of a sign we saw when entering Kansas. Great, I was in need of some new muck boots!

It was a fast paced ride through Kansas but the paved county roads were great. Once we reached the final straight shot to Lawrence we took advantage of the no helmet law. It was fun for about the first 10 minutes until i realized how much I enjoyed the safety of a brain bucket over my noggin.

It was a good night in Kansas sleeping with a roof over our heads in the air conditioning. We were on our way back to Lincoln Nebraska with 200 or so miles to go. The ride through Topeka was nice and we avoided the toll booth and interstate on the way there. We didnt catch any scenic roads on the way and the area was starting to look more like Nebraska. Weather was on our side for the entire trip, well exept for the heat. The wind was blowing hard from the north west when we reached Nebraska and it was taking its toll on me and my lack of a windshield. About 45 minutes from Lincoln I had to pull over and take a break. It was rough going but we made it back and had a stop at the Silver Spoke Saloon.

The Long Road to Long Pine

2010-06-07T14:14:00.000-07:00

So we spent several weekends, tuning and retuning our bikes. It was a lot of work and when it came time to hit the road we decided it would be better to camp for the weekend in Long Pine. It would give us a chance to really take our bikes out on the road and see if there are any real serious issues. Up until this point, we have only really been taking our Hondas out to places that were under an hour away.
Long Pine was four hours away and if there was a serious issue, we were certain that we would see it on the way up or the way back. Jared followed us up there with his Jeep and trailer, providing moral support.

We spent the first evening bar hopping the one and only bar in Long Pine. We had the whole place to ourselves, including the beer garden. Later that night we went racing around in the country with the Jeep. I told Jared that I felt like we were on safari.

The next day we had a few things to do to the bikes. I had to install a spring for my oil filter. Wes, on the other hand, had to track down a place to replace a bald spot that seems to be forming on this tire. We stopped into the Long Pine museum for a quick look at how the town was long ago.

After the chores were completed, we floated down the little stream that runs near Long Pine and through Hidden Paradise. That place is great! The people were fun and the whole atmosphere was very relaxed.

We were going to find this other bridge in a neighboring town but Storms roared through the area that evening and brought lots and lots of rain. I would guess it was over an inch. Wes and I desperately tried to cover our bikes as best as we could and I think we did a good job of covering them up.
The next morning, we put our bikes out in the sun to dry off and after a large breakfast we packed the bikes to head back to Fremont. When we returned, we found that the small bald spot on his rear wheel had become a very large bald spot. Upon closer inspection, we realized Wes’s rim was bent slightly. This was awful news because now Wes’s bike was grounded until a new part could arrive. With the holiday it would be days before the new part would ship out. It was looking like our road trip was busted before it even got started.

Total miles: 465

Total ride time: 9 hours

alternate destinations: long pine, lake of the ozarks, lawrence ks

2010-05-24T15:35:00.000-07:00

Here's an update, might be the last one before we head out on our trip. It's crazy that we leave for Austin at the end of the week and we're currently trying to workout some bike issues at the moment.

1. my CB500 needs the front and rear sprockets replaced along with the drive chain. The current "old" chain stretched and caused a few teeth to break from the rear sprocket. Its not currently safe to ride over a long distance. I was able to order the new parts in time and they will be installed on the motorcycle the day before we leave.

2. erics CB750 is dead due to a random electrical issue. we plan on checking the wiring and other electrical connections this week. hopefully its nothing major and can be fixed without ordering special parts.

Dealing with these problems just before the trip is stress full, but its something we need to me prepared to encounter on the road.

For anyone interested, you will be able to follow our trip updates through my facebook page. add me as a friend and you will be able to see picture and status updates from us on the road.... thats if the great motorcycle gods get us through this predicament and grant us the opportunity to begin our journey.

UPDATE:
well, Eric's bike is running after a quick electrical fix and my sprockets and chain have arrived thanks to Z1 Enterprises. the CB500 repair day is Friday; Saturday morning is the start of the trip (fingers still crossed).

UPDATE:
Sadly we will not be going to Austin this time around. We endedup going to Long Pine Nebraska as a "shake down" ride before Austin. Long Pine was a great time as usual but we ran into another bike problem. my rear tire was loosing tread in one spot. as i rode more the spot got bigger and covered more of the tire. luckily my brother noticed that he rear rim was bent causing the tire to rub more in one spot against the road. there is not a quick fix for this problem so the only option we could come up with was to get the 76' CB750 ready for the trip.

UPDATE:
it took an extra day to get the 76' CB750 ready and were short on time. eric came up with a new trip itinerary that takes us to Lake of the Ozarks. looks like the Austin trip is on hold for now.

Tune up and then Ton up

2010-05-17T10:37:00.000-07:00

Back at the shop once again this weekend for another tinker party. Got all kinds of things adjusted/built/installed on my ride. Here is the list:

Fri.
New Luggage rack
New Bag mounting system
Rear Turn Signals light up now.
Installed a set of gauges and cables.

that ran until 3:30am

Sat/Sat night
New oil
New oil filter
Spent over an hour driving around looking for a specific wrench. (no luck)
Adjusted the timing
replaced two tappet covers
adjusted the valves
synchronized the carbs

after cleaning up, i was up till 4:30 that night.

All and all I had a blast and I love doing this kind of work. Wish I could do it more! Here are some photos.

and the trip planning begins...

2010-04-26T14:24:00.000-07:00

START: LINCOLN NEBRASKA ----------------------------------> ARRIVE: AUSTIN TEXAS
800+ miles one way, over 1,600 miles round trip

Sights and routes along the way:

KANSAS

So what could there possible be in Kansas for two motorcycle nerds to checkout?
How about some vintage motorcycle museums... thanks to SOHC4 member sallen for the advice

KANSAS MOTORCYCLE MUSEUM & BRITISH MOTORCYCLE MUSEUM

http://www.ksmotorcyclemuseum.org/

The Kansas Motorcycle Museum is home to over 100 vintage and rare motorcycles of all various makes and models. It also has numerous motorcycle racing memorabilia, photos, posters, and much, much more!

Steve's British Motorcycle Museum is just one block south of the Kansas Motorcycle Museum on Washington Street in Marquette, KS. This museum exhibits over 40 British, BSA and Triumph motorcycles and other memorabilia. The Museum is run by Steve McGee of Salina. He does motorcycle repair work and he carries hundreds of NOS parts for BSA and Triumph motorcycles. If you're in need of a unique motorcycle part, Steve can usually help you find it.

Flint Hills National Scenic Byway K-177 Highway

The Flint Hills National Scenic Byway stretches 47.2 miles across the Flint Hills of Kansas on K-177 between Council Grove and Cassoday in east central Kansas. It is a beautiful drive year-round showing off the panoramic vistas of the tallgrass prairie. The Flint Hills National Scenic Byway is a two-lane, paved road easily reached from the Kansas Turnpike (I-35) , I-70, U.S. 50 and U.S. 56. Tourist amenities are available in the towns along the route including historic restaurants, hotels, antiques, artisans, and other facilities. A scenic overlook site is located just south of Cottonwood Falls with a raised bed of native wildflowers, interpretive signs and a panoramic view of the surrounding area.

Thanks to SOHC4 member hiwayman_750 for this route:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=100468595351988172205.000485ce9d8ae5f1f4fc0&ll=37.709899,-96.734619&spn=3.050386,7.042236&t=h&z=7

Here is a map through Kansas. Its the most direct route without using interstate or 4-lane. Some of the roads are straight and flat, some are hilly with nice twisties. Not sure what your schedule will be, but there is the Cassoday Bike Run on the first Sunday of the month, and this route will take you through there. I tried to find a few lakes in the area, and most of this route follows the Flint Hills, which is a very scenic area.

OKLAHOMA:

This is a stop intended more for mr. Eastern http://www.okc.gov/Parks/skatepark/index.html

Admission to the Mat Hoffman Action Sports Park of Oklahoma City at 1700 S. Robinson is free. Hours are from dawn to 11 p.m., year-round. The park is a skate- or ride-at-your-own-risk, non-supervised facility designed for skateboards (34” maximum length), in-line skating (four wheels maximum per skate) and BMX freestyle biking only.

Historic Route 66

The historic Mother Road, Route 66 treks through more than 400 miles of Oklahoma's diverse communities and countryside. The route has two end points in the state, one in Quapaw in the northeast, and the other near Texola in the southwest. Travelers ride through a diversity pastureland, hilly wooded areas and semi-arid prairie. All the while the visitor is discovering recreational opportunities and cultural attractions along the way including: tribal sites, museums, vintage bridges, motels, festival sites and historic architecture.

TEXAS

Thanks to SOHC4 member meriggi for these routes and sights:

The Highland Lakes area of Texas, it is just northwest on Austin. It is the Colorado River that has been dammed, creating several nice lakes amoung the beautiful Hill Country, great for camping, swimming & fishing! It eventually winds through Downtown Austin so following it down from N. Texas may be a great route [and better than I-35 from Dallas].Here is one suggested route:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=100468595351988172205.000485ce9d8ae5f1f4fc0&ll=37.709899,-96.734619&spn=3.050386,7.042236&t=h&z=

Here is a guide with all parks within 200 miles of Austin:http://www.wildtexas.com/parks/results.php?nearby_cities=Austin

Here's a list of 50 bars to get started [most have live music EVERY night]:http://events.austin360.com/search?srss=50&st=venue&swhat=&swhen=&swhere=&venue_type=1&srad=5

Weekend update

2010-04-25T13:45:00.000-07:00

I spent a few evenings working on the 76' cafe project over the weekend. Things went smoothly for the most part... that's until i took at look the the wiring issues! The previous owner had an interesting way of dealing with the wiring malfunctions on this beast. I removed a couple useless dangling wires, switches and a wiring harness. The electrical schematic i printed off for this bike was rendered pretty much useless since the original colored wires werent there anymore. I installed and wired new signals and a tail light, which are working perfectly. This cleaned up the tail section of the bike very nicely. The seat cover arrived in the mail and i was anxious to get it on the bike. the aftermarket cover was glued to the seat pan since the original seat cover had a plastic band around the bottom which held it in place. i didn't want to glue this new cover on so i went with an alternative i discovered on the SOHC4 forums. i bought a long strip of bendable spikes that i riveted into the seat pan along the bottom inside edge. i removed the 2 inch deep cotton padding that the P.O. installed and pulled the new cover over the seat. i used a heat gun to warm the vinyl so i would stretch for a good fit. I secured it to the seat pan with the spike strips and used car door trim from Auto Zone in place of the old chrome strip. it turned out rather nice in the end. Also installed a cafe mirror, mounted the rest of the handlebar hardware, adjusted the cables, and gave the bike a nice wash.

The Cafe makeover

2010-04-21T13:58:00.000-07:00

It's been decided that the 76' CB750 will become a cafe racer. I believe we are going to go with a mild cafe build, keeping it in a condition that will allow it to be converted back to stock in the future. We might be missing the main point of really cafe'n a classic bike. First off, I should explain what a "cafe racer" is to those who may be following our blog and aren't familiar with the motorcycle jargon.

A café racer,is a type of motorcycle as well as a type of motorcyclist. Both meanings have their roots in the 1960s European counterculture group the Rockers, or the Ton-up boys. Rockers were a young and rebellious Rock and Roll counterculture that wanted a fast, personalized and distinctive bike to travel between transport cafés along the newly built arterial motorways. The goal of many was to be able to reach 100 miles per hour (called simply "the ton") along such a route where the rider would leave from a cafe, race to a predetermined point and back to the cafe before a single song could play on the jukebox, called record-racing.
The cafe racer is a motorcycle that has been modified for speed and good handling rather than comfort. Cafe racers' bodywork and control layout typically mimicked the style of contemporary Grand Prix roadracers, featuring an elongated fuel tank and small, rearward mounted, humped seat. A signature trait were low, narrow handlebars that provided more precise control at high speeds and allowed the rider to "tuck in" to lessen wind resistance. These are referred to as either "clip-ons" (two-piece bars that bolt directly to each fork tube) or "clubmans" (one piece bars that attach to the stock mounting location but drop down and forward). The ergonomics resulting from low bars and the rearward seat often required "rearsets," or rear-set footrests and foot controls, again typical of racing motorcycles of the era. Distinctive half or full race-style fairings were sometimes mounted to the forks or frame. The bikes had a raw, utilitarian and stripped-down appearance while the engines were tuned for maximum speed.

New seat cover
cafe style tail light
bullet style signals
Clubman bars
new ignition switch
new shortened cables
single gauge bracket
4 to 1 RC racing exhaust

The Black Sheep

2010-04-13T14:55:00.000-07:00

I took this picture of the 750 next to some cruisers at work today.... i think the bike is the black sheep of the bunch.

The project shop

2010-04-13T14:38:00.000-07:00

My brother Jarad just bought a new house with his girlfriend Kate near Fremont. It just so happens that this house comes with a kick a$$ workshop! I met up with TJ and Eric there on Saturday and we started tearing into the Hondas. Even with the beer drinking and BS'in we managed to get something done. Swapped the 76 CB750 pipes with Erics 4 to 1, pulled the luggage rack and removed the leftover oil cooler thanks to TJ's motorcycle maintenance techniques. theres a wiring issue with the CB500 so the 76 CB750 will be my daily rider untill Black Betty is up and running. Jarad even got his pocket rocket ready for summer.

New bike day, 76' CB750

2010-04-13T14:19:00.000-07:00

Eric and I checked into a craigslist posting last Friday that we just couldn't pass up:

1976 HONDA CB750 K CLEAR TITLE 39500 MILES GOOD CONDITION RUNS GOOD EVERYTHING WORKS NEEDS NOTHING
The guy said he bought it a year ago with the intentions of using it for a cafe or chopper build. he only road it around the block then parked it for a year. it started right up for us with some gas and a battery charger. we split the cost and rode it 100 miles home without a hitch. so the next sohc4 project begins, now where to start....

oo00h my, look at that exhaust!

Side Covers for my 750K

2010-04-02T05:43:00.000-07:00

Ive been struggling to find a nice set of side covers for my bike. The previous owner used some cracked ones and tried to repair them the best he could but it just wasn't up to par. I wanted to take what I had and smooth them over with bondo, prime and paint. After 40 mins wet sanding just one side cover, I decided to look for other options. Lucky for me someone molds replacements that have the smooth look that I was looking for. (www.maier-mfg.com) They aren't expensive at all and the old plastic tabs are replaced with actual bolt on hardware. I thought this would be way better for longevity.
I was having some trouble finding ones online that weren't too expensive but not too beat up either. Even non-cracked originals that are in good shape go for over $60 on ebay, and that was just one side. I figured this was a very nice alternative. The staff was very nice and they had both side covers in stock. They shipped out yesterday. I can not wait to see how they look. E

It sure was windy!!!!

2010-03-29T12:16:00.000-07:00

TJ gets a Superhawk!

2010-03-25T07:46:00.000-07:00

TJ sends me this text a few days ago about seeing a craigslist ad for a 1966 Honda 305 Superhawk for sale over in Iowa. I told him not to pass it up because it's a really good price. So the next day I'm meeting TJ at his place and taking this truck for a spin.

We head over to Avoca Iowa where we meet an individual named "Johnny Lightning". A very interesting fellow indeed and had a few neat bikes from a few different makes including a Russian Dirt bike. He shows the Honda and proceeds to tell us everything he knows about that Honda. For being somewhat crude, he seemed like a nice enough fellow.
When it came time for someone to take it for a spin, between me and TJ, I was the only one with the license to ride. Being very very nervous I started out as easy as I could. I definitely did not want to scratch up this moving antique, and I also wasn't wearing a helmet. haha
Shifting through all the gears and back down again, I tried to really get a feel for how this bike rode. I must admit it didn't handle like newer bikes, but truly was a great feeling to ride it even though I was freezing cold.

We got the bike loaded up with the help of another individual named "Big Dave". Big Dave had two things going for him, he had ramps and could lift the bike with ease. Very helpful when loading.

The unloading once we got back was a concern of mine. We only had 2 guys to unload it, instead of 4. We also didn't have a set of ramps like Big Dave had. The way back we brain stormed on how we are going to get this bike off this truck. Using a thick piece of plywood and the little lip just outside the garage we backed the old Honda off the truck. Little by little, inch by inch we eased her back into her new home in TJ's garage. A much more fitting home for that monster rather than the dirty shed it was living in before. I was very glad to get it to Omaha and into our possession.

TJ tells me he is hoping for a complete tear down and rebuild. I really can not wait to see that completed. E

A nice evening for a HighLife at the Silver Spoke Saloon.

2010-03-23T07:10:00.000-07:00

Wes and I rode out to the Silver Spoke last night for a test run. The sun was out and it was just warm enough to get riding without being chilled to the bone. Both bikes sound and run great! There are still a few issues to be worked through but I'm confident we will have these beauties road worthy within our scheduled time frame. First big adventure will be at the end of May through the first week in June. We hope to take a few shorter trips before hand so we can get a good feel. Here are some photos outside in the parking lot. E

More photos from last summer....

2010-03-22T14:24:00.001-07:00

All these photos were taken by my friend Heidi. She has awesome talent. Her photography website is heidihoffmanphotography.com

Thanks for looking! E

Betty is ready for the road!

2010-03-21T13:55:00.000-07:00

It's been a long winter and finally I finished the bike and took her for a spin. It was bit cold on the highway but the 65 mile ride was worth it. Snapped some pics of Betty in her finished state.

First post from Western, The CB500 "Betty"

2010-03-20T04:47:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine was harping on me to help him find an old Honda to work on over the winter. i rode my CB350 up to visit him a few hours away and parked it out front of the bar to talk motorcycles over a few brewskies. the next day when i was taking the last turn before the highway toward home i saw a CB500 four outside at a yard sale. well my first thought was "awesome, i found a bike for my friend". i parked my 73 CB350 in front of the house and walked up to the bike. a man on the porch shouted "we wondered when you would stop by to checkout this bike". hu? how did this guy know me. he went on to explain that he was at the same bar last night, saw my bike, and the group of them agreed that if anyone was to buy the 72 CB500 i was going to be me. he explained that it was his brother's bike which he had purchased new in 1973. sadly his brother passed away a few months back so his estate was being sold. i offered him 1/2 what he was asking since i'm a broke college grad, he gladly excepted saying his brother would be happy to know that the bike was in good hands. it started right up after some idle adjustment and my friend & i rode both bikes back to my place. while filling up with gas a guy got out of his car and said "whoa, i just stepped into the 70's! nice bikes guys, good to see somebodies keeping these classic bikes going." needless to say i kept the CB500 and sold the 350 twin to my friend. first things to go: two-up seat, big crash bar, rear lowering brackets. here's some pictures of the bike from 10/04/09. Its gone through many changes since then.

How my CB750 was... (Eastern)

2010-03-19T10:57:00.001-07:00

(1972 Honda CB750)

This is my Honda as it stood last summer. I had a great time touring the many different lakes and parks that surround Lincoln NE.

I need to make a list of all the maintenance and aesthetic chores I plan to invest in my bike in order to prepare it for the miles ahead. As they are completed, I'll cross them off. Consequently, Ill be adding and editing this post from time to time.

E

Maintenance:

Adjust the clutch
Adjust the timing
Adjust the Cam Chain
Adjust the valve clearances
Rebuild the barrings (front and rear wheels)
Replace the spark plugs
Replace the spark plug boots
Adjust the air-idle screw on one of the carbs
Reinforce Hard bag brackets

Aesthetics:

Replace Stator Cover
Chrome Headlight Bill
Paint for Tank
Paint for Side Covers
Paint for Hard bags
Chrome Plating for Bag Cages
NOS Exhaust (2 of 4)
Replace clubman bars with eurobars
Add bar end mirrors

Intro

2010-03-17T13:25:00.001-07:00

In the spring of 2009 my good friend TJ found a listing for 1972 Honda CB750. I did not know, at the time, that this Honda would be the finest thing I own. I hope it can be the trusted steed and travel companion I need to get me through this chapter in my life.

Wes on the other hand already had red Honda 350 which he sold so he could upgrade to his current Honda cb500. Wes is much more mechanically inclined than I am but the great thing about these motorcycles is that you can really tinker with them yourself and come away with a great running bike. I hope with persistence and a little guidance, I can easily maintain this wonderful motorcycle.