Head light mounted and fiberglass seat attempt

The Harley has been my main focus as of late, but I got a great deal on a headlight braket for the Honda on ebay. So of course I've got to install it when it comes in.

I also attempted to make a fiberglass seat. It's pretty simple to do but I lack experence to make a nice peice. The materials are cheap enough so if I have to try a couple times, no prob.

I also ordered a carb kit off a Canadian company on Ebay. $35.00 delivered for apair of kits. I just might get her fired up soon.

I'll post some pics soon

Progress

That side cover shined up nicely.

Motor Goes in From the Right Side

i'm glad I figured that out before I painted the frame.

Mock Up Part I

I've started some reassembly. My plan is assemble the bike and see how every fits. Also, it would be nice to get it started and make sure every thing works before the paint and final assembly.

That sure is an ugly seat. Makes the stock one look like a million bucks. The left side rearset is off of an 89 Honda Hurricane CBR600. $20 on EBay. I haven't bought the right side yet.

A nice distraction

I've done zero work to the Honda in the last two weeks because I've been busy with my other project bike. This is an 88 Vulcan 1500cc. I think I paid 200 bones for it and I remember at the time that I wasn't sure if I wasn't just throwing away money. It ran bad, the cluch slipped, it overheated and it looked like someone pulled it out of a lake. Here's some before and after pictures.

Shiny Tree Top

Looks much better then crummy black paint.

Frame fixed

Put a little pach on there. It took my guy about 30mins to do. Stronger then new. It'll look better after it's painted.

A Shocking Exeperiance

I went to Lowes and got a polishing wheel and compound. So I started by cleaning and polishing my shocks. They cleaned up very nice.

I thought I was gonna need new shocks for the rear because the chrome was chipping off on one of them (you can see that well in the right side picture of the bike when I got it home)

The before shot of the rears was after I took a wire brush to the springs to remove the rust.

They dont look new but they're go enough for this budget biker.

Each shock took about 30 minutes to clean up.

The Work Continues

No frame, no problem. I just got the handle bars in so let's tinker with the front end.

After some research on line I though that the forks were 35mm. I purchased some used clipons but they were the wrong size. Turns out the forks were 33mm. I'm on a pretty tight budget, so $75 for clip ons seems daunting, however, I got these 7/8 Clubman bars new for $32 shipped.

More surprises. The forks will need to get new seals, that's no surprise, but as I was assembling the front end I found one fork was full of rain water. About 8 ounces of it!

I wanted to invert the risers and put the bars behind the forks and under the tree. It didn't quite work as assembled. Notice how the riser ends come out of the tree. I'll have to start chopping and grinding.

One last surprise, the front tire was mounted backwards, the rotation is in the wrong direction. Just a few more reasons why this was a free bike.

Frame Issues

I may have solved the frame issue with a little help. The frame pictured hasn't made it to the welder yet but I was lucky enough to find another frame. Someone in Oregon is parting out a CL350 and for what I think will be less then the cost to repair the frame, I'll get another one. Thanks Sheri.

Disassembly Part 3

There it is, as naked as the day it was born.



I was cleaning it up a little when I found this surprise underneath. I don't think it's a mortal wound, but I'm definitely in need of a welder.

Disassembly part 2

I was having fun up until this point. The motor fought me the whole way.

Loot at all the snot on that motor, yuck!

This thing is gonna need all new wiring. Where's Vinnie?

Daddy's Little Helper

Disassembly Part 1

Here's some pics of various stages of disassembly. I have found it a challenge to find time with the new baby, but when I find time I get a lot done in a shot amount of time.

The design of this bike is so simple, it practically comes apart on its own. I got the back wheel off in about 15 minutes and the front wheel and forks in less then an hour.

Nothing made me happier then taking off those ugly blue fork covers.

TIP: Remove front fender before removing the front wheel. It'll save you some grief.

I've hit my first snag, I thought the forks were 35mm so I bought some 35mm clip on bars off Ebay. Turns out the forks are more like 33- 34mm. Measure twice, cut (or buy) once.

bringing it home

The guy I got the bike from listed it on freecycle and I was lucky enough to receive it, but I had to pick it up that day. So against my better halves wishes, I got my friend, rented a truck and brought it home.

The guy told me that it was a 1979 CB 250 with no title. Turns out it was a 1970 CL 350 and the title was in with a box of stuff he gave me. Humm....

Anyway, I got it home OK and but I was in the doghouse. Note: first child is 5 days old at this point. (Baby Austin born 31 Jan 07)

Well, so far I'm into this bike, $20 to rent the truck and some turmoil in the home :)

Here's some pics. If you look close enough, you might see the mouse turds!

Inspirational photos

Here is some of the bikes I've found that I'll use for inspiration. Unfortunately, I cannot give credit to the creators of these racers because I didn't record where I got these pics from. The red and grey one was built by ohiocaferacers.com, I recommend their site.

Here's a link to the yahoo group:

alt="Click here to join OHIO_CAFE_RACERS">
Click to join OHIO_CAFE_RACERS

Introduction

This is the first posting in my first blog, I thought it would be a good way to keep a journal of the motorcycle project I'm starting and I imagine that there are some out there, like me, who may benefit in some small way from this experience.
I recently acquired a 1970 Honda Cb/CL 350, with plans to get into running condition in order to teach some family and friends who want to learn to ride. After doing some research, it turns out that many people are making cafe racers out of these bikes, so I decided to do the same.