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Honda CB 750 -79 Cafe Racer -project from cold Finland

The bike already has OEM electronic ignition. 'TPI' or transistorized pointless ignition. It is NOT CDI.

The Dynatek Dyna S are well known for fragging out very early, the electronics there do not like running in hot oil at all and lots of failures. Even their top of the line Dyna 2000 had issues as well and well known for sudden unexplained failures. The company was willing to work hard to try to cure them but never did the last I heard on it.

A few have used these......

http://www.ignitech.cz/en/vyrobky/tcip/tcip.htm

...but not well known as they are Czech in origin. The users swear by them though there are no long term reports of durability that I know of. Useful as the ignition advance can be toyed with and the bigger DOHC engines need that badly as they ping very easily. Used with the OEM pulsers.

The twin shocks picced a bit back (post #54) look snazzy but definitely are junk-cheap Chinese crap. If for show bike use only and one never wrung out hard they may work though. They are not quality pieces in any sense of the word, you have for instance no idea of the spring rate and the same used for a hundred different bikes. They appear to be reservoir versions of the same cheap Ebay Chinese standard type no-reservoir shocks that ride hard as a rock with just enough damping you can say they 'work' and sarcastically, BTDT.
 
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The bike already has OEM electronic ignition. 'TPI' or transistorized pointless ignition. It is NOT CDI.

The Dynatek Dyna S are well known for fragging out very early, the electronics there do not like running in hot oil at all and lots of failures. Even their top of the line Dyna 2000 had issues as well and well known for sudden unexplained failures. The company was willing to work hard to try to cure them but never did the last I heard on it.

A few have used these......

http://www.ignitech.cz/en/vyrobky/tcip/tcip.htm

...but not well known as they are Czech in origin. The users swear by them though there are no long term reports of durability that I know of. Useful as the ignition advance can be toyed with and the bigger DOHC engines need that badly as they ping very easily. Used with the OEM pulsers.

The twin shocks picced a bit back (post #54) look snazzy but definitely are junk-cheap Chinese crap. If for show bike use only and one never wrung out hard they may work though. They are not quality pieces in any sense of the word, you have for instance no idea of the spring rate and the same used for a hundred different bikes. They appear to be reservoir versions of the same cheap Ebay Chinese standard type no-reservoir shocks that ride hard as a rock with just enough damping you can say they 'work' and sarcastically, BTDT.

I will check that ignitech :thumbsup:

For twin shock... I'm aware of those and that they aren't quality parts. Although I have heard lots of good opinions about them after you have made fully service to them.
I'm going to try with those.

I'm not going to ride this bike on a track, so we will see
 
UPDATE!

As I told in my previous post, the bike was in a workshop for exhaust modification and to plug tachometer hole.

Around 1,5 weeks ago, I found used carbs from Germany. Those should be much easier to adjust/set/tune to work with pods.
I called to the seller and we talked several times. Carbs are in good condition and straight from the bike, so they haven't been laying down for long.

I paid upfront and crossed my fingers, that the package will arrive and it includes right items :D

Finally, I got the package and these beauties were inside:
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From 1985 Suzuki GSX-R Mikuni VM29SS Flatslide carbs
The package included 6 sets of different size jets.

I delivered carbs to the workshop as fast as I could.

They changed the distance of the carbs to each other, so it could fit.
They also made sleeves for intake rubbers to fit them.


Yesterday I picked up my bike and I think the work they have done, is brilliant :thumbsup:

Tachometer hole was blocked by detachable piece.
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Carbs
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While they made this fitment, they checked the condition of the carbs. Everything was good. The only thing they fixed was twisted choke rod.
Still, have to clean outer shell of the carbs.

I ordered new pods, although those velocity stacks look really good :thumbsup:


What about the exhaust?
Firstly I wanted 4-2 exhaust system with two exhaust tips.
We put that idea aside because the chain was so low, that exhaust tip on that side would look terrible...

Also, we needed as much ground clearance as possible because the bike is way lower than original.
The 4-1 system would have so huge connector that I didn't want it.

The workshop suggested that we do 4-2-1 system

First pictures of connector pipes:
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Here are the pics:

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I know this thing will not be the quietest bike in a hood, but the silencer will have a tube, wrapped in silencing fabric, so will see if it makes a difference...
If not, I have to buy a real silencer

This Friday I am finally able to move in the new garage and can get to the business!
Three most crucial jobs are to get chainline corrected, make a new bracket for rear shock(s) and to fabricate rear cowl.
 
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Things happening in my garage and summer is coming fast!

My own deadline that I set to myself is 1st of June (yes, this year! :laugh:)
If I don't face any major problems, I think I can finish this before June

I'm pretty sure I mention in my previous posts that I have to move my garage to new location.
It happened two weeks ago.

Found a new place and I'm sure that I don't run out of space :D

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Recap of whats going on

Bought new rear sprocket and chain. The chain is 530 X-ring and rear sprocket is Snell's 40 tooth.

We've been fighting with the chainline to long. Finally I can say it is straight! Problem was solved with that offset front sprocket.

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It helped a lot when I bought chainlining tool. It doesn't looks bullet straight in this pic, but should be

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We replaced rear chain tension bolt, because old ones were damaged and they had very small head
I have ordered new wheel bearings also.

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First time ever, I was able to fit seat to the bike with tank on.
I like it a lot and I was able to get more riding feeling when I sat on the bike.

(Please, do not note that awful rear cowl :wink2:)

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Still able to find few "cafe racer" twists or touches from this bike

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I like the lines in this pic

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Some of you notice earlier that I might have a problem with my fuel petcock.
That because it is located in back of the tank and tank is leaning forward a bit.

So will it work? Do I get enough fuel out of it?

We tested this out:
Capacity of the tank is 15 litres
Petcock in On-position -> 11 litres came out easily
After that, petcock in Reserve-position -> 3 litres came out

Overview:
Basically there is 1-2 litres fuel that cannot be sucked in the engine.
I think that 12-13 litres is okay. I'm used to fill up my tank when I'm running around 50% of capacity of the tank.
And we are not building touringbike :thumbsup:

New licenceplate holder came and minor modifications have to be done.
New ignitionswitch came and I already figured out, where I want to locate it


Next week I'm planning to do smaller tasks, because I'm waiting my new rear shock to arrive.
(I'm not going to use those two cheap china shock I ordered)

I'll get back to you, when I have something more to share :rolleyes:
 
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Just fixed all links to pictures, that disappeared few days ago.
Problem with picture host...

Update coming later this week
 
Solved few big problems...

Rear shock.
Original GSXR1000 rear shock had a gaschamber and it was way too close to the carb, so I couldn't fit the pods.
Finally solution was to buy a new rear shock

YSS MZ456-305TR-28X. Model is made to fit in Honda CB600 and length of it is 305mm.
uusi_jousi.jpg


Only problem was that this shock had loop-style lower end and I needed fork-style lower end. Also this shock doesn't have interchangeable lower end.

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Original fork-style lower end

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New shock with loop-style lower end

After some googleing I contacted YSS seller in Finland and they said straight away: "Sure we can change it" :thumbsup:

Sended shock to them and after couple days they had switch the whole lower body and center arm. Lenght extended from 305mm to 320mm, which was better than great to me!

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Ready to rock!

Now rear shock is attachted. Shock is just right length and has great stiffness, so when you sit down, the rear end doesn't get much lower than in the pics.

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Stance is great! I like size of the gap between rear wheel and rear end of the bike


Shipment from the states
4into1 send me a package. It contains new pods, sidestand spring and exhaust gaskets.
Pods look and feels good and finally they have enough room to fit in. :thumbsup:

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Parts keep coming, but I think I can finally see end of this buying period :D
Last purchases
- Kawasaki Z750 -06 clutchlever setup
- Shorty-style clutch- and brakelevers
- New front and rear brake fluid reservoirs
- Rubber bits for fastening the tank etc.
- New throttlegrip
- Fuel hoses and filter
- Brake fluid hoses

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kytkinkahva_shortylla.jpg

Z750 clutch setup and new lever

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GSXR1000 brake setup and new lever

Still to come:
- New battery
- Wires and electricparts
- Leather wax for the seat
- New mirrors


I also bought Por15-set to coat/seal tank from from the inside.
More of this later.


Next huge thing is to settle wires and start this beauty for the first time in 18 years. Fingers crossed!!
First step for the wiring is done, but lets get back to that later

alk_per_johtosarja.jpg

Original wirings


Months ago I bought bar end mirrors and turn signals.
Just like I thought, I can't install them at the same time because they both use same kind of fastening.

I really want mirrors and turn signals to my bike, although legally you could leave turn signals and one of the mirrors to the garage.

So we came up with this plan:

peili_vilkku_alku.jpg

From the factory this is the set-up. Lens -> threaded rod -> rubber -> washer -> nut.
By tightenin the nut rubber will expand and when you push whole thing inside of your bar, it should stay there.
(same set-up with the mirrors)

This is what we did.
I bought same size threaded rod but longer piece. Drill it through, so it became threaded tube and pull the wires through.
Rod to the lens -> fabricated metal sleeves(?) for the mirror -> mirror in -> nut to tighten mirror to the lens -> Rubber piece (will buy longer one) -> washer -> nut.

Pics:
peili_vilkku_asetelma.jpg

Exploided set-up

peili_vilkku_valmis.jpg

Finished set-up

This way I got what I wanted.

Clip-ons has to be modified. Have to drill a hole to get wires out.
Wires will come out to the original "box" where all main switches are. Then from there in same route that all the other switches wires goes.


Thinking the future... Wiring, start-up, rear cowl and paint.
Have a good weekend! :wink2:
 
All the parts for the first startup is now ordered and should arrive in next week.

I ordered a new neutral switch, an oil pressure switch and a small diode for the main wiring.
All the hoses, filters and wires has already arrived.

New coils, sparkplug wires and -caps
coils.jpg


All main wires are connected. (battery->ground / battery->starter relay / starter relay->startermotor)


I have red from multiple forums about regulator location.
I'm going to move the regulator from the tray to outside to get some air.
Have to figure out where to put it...


Location of the licenceplate... Well had to make decicion and the plate found place side of the bike.
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Workshop machined 1/3 off from the bracket so it have a step in the bracket and can be locked to end of the rear swing.
licence2.jpg


Licenceplate lights
licence3.jpg

plate.jpg



I was bored so I made these carbonfibre plates to cover front fender fastening points.
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I picked up my clip ons from the workshop.
They drilled inner hole longer and made hole to the side so I can get front turn signal wires out.
drilled.jpg

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This is the final setup
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For the final setup we changed few things:
I made new metal sleeve that goes straight through to mirror. To this sleeve we made threads so it can not rotate.
Also we drilled the locking pin through mirror and that sleeve, so the mirror can not rotate on the sleeve.

At this point it might work :thumbsup:
 
Fuel lines done

Fuel line from the tank -> fuel filter -> carbs.
It was little tricky to figure out where and how to put fuel filter without too much "uphills" and turns to the hose.

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I used pipeclamp with rubber insulation to hold fuel filter in its place

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Coating the tank

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The fuel tank is old and has little rust inside. When I filled it with water, it was all over rust-colored when I poured it out.
Also you could hear little crumbles rolling around at bottom of the tank.

I bought Por15-kit.

First I have to say you all who are planning to do this: the process is from hell and takes huge amount of your time :thumbsup:

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First instructions advice you to flush the tank with fresh water to get bigger particles out straight away.
Remove every removable part (petcock, fuelcap etc.)

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After that you have to clog all holes excluding filling hole.
First issue comes at this point. As you may know or guessed, these duct tapes doens't hold when you are going to use hot water...

My advice to you is to fabricate pieces from a sheet metal or something that you could bolt tightly to cover holes.

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1. step in the real process is to put Marine Clean in. Add same amount hot water.
This will remove grease and other not-wanted-stuff.

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After that seal filling hole and pray it will hold :D

I shaked the tank about 15 to 20 minutes and after that I let it stand 10 minutes on its each side.
Finally flush it with fresh water to get all cleaner out

2. step is to put Metal Prep in. It will prepare metal to receive coatingliquid.
Same process again. Clog holes, metal prep in, seal the filling hole.

I shaked the tank approx. 20 minutes and after that let it stand 20 minutes on each side of it.

Finally flush it good with fresh water. Even the last drop of metal prep has to get out.
After this you should get the tank 100% dry and fast as possible.

I took the tank outside to the sunlight... (its been crazy May in Finland. Temperature between 24 to 28 celsius. Normally we would talk about 15 celcius)
I shaked most of the water out and finally put hot air blower to heat up. (you are not allowed to use compressed air)

Last phase its coating

Before you clog holes one last time, you should put bolts in, because coatingliquid will coat up threads also.

You should not shake the canister, because it would produce some air bubbles and you don't want them. Although you have to stir it well before using.
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Liquid in, seal holes and gently rotate tank all around.

Many times I thought will this work and will it cover all edges and sides of the tank.
Apparently liquid is pretty "smart" and will expand all over the tank.

After rotating 15 minutes I poured excess liquid out and cleaned outside spills asap.
You should use gloves because this stuff will be in our hands atleast two weeks :doh:

It will dry 96 hours and after 7 days you can put gasoline in.

These pics are after two days of drying and as you can see, some air bubbles formed during the last phase.
Surface looks good
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I'm not sure did I post picture of this already, but my friend from the states dropped me cognitomotos gearlever adapter.
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In these pics adapter is in wrong way because gear selection order is upsidedown.



What comes to wiring this beauty, new diode arrived...


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...new neutral switch...


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...and new oil pressure switch.


We are now going through wiring and this picture shows my mood atm
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This wiring sh*t is not my cup of tea.

But will see...
 
Two and half months since last post...
Positive progress has happened but lately some negative things also

Wiring this bike was pretty difficult for me and finally I made a decision to buy a m-unit with goodies

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Set included m-unit V.2, m-switches and m-button

With these great items I figured out wiring and also made it very easy.
Finally bike was ready for her first start up

I might have told you but this bike hasn't been running since year 2000.
Its 18 freakin' years!

Well that day came and after long time period of trying, it finally came alive.
I was so nervous but happy after everything.

Here is a short video of its very very first start up.

https://youtu.be/mvBoKwl0aLY


What about those negative things...

Time. As you all know, time is one of the hardest thing to control.
This project should be on the road if you ask me, but our time is limited and first thing where you see it is here in this project. Unfortunately.
It was greatest summer in Finland that I have ever lived, so I was more in to other things than this project.

Next big thing is location. Bike is currently in my parents house 18km away from my home or from my work.
You don't just go and do few things for a hour.

By now it looks like this bike is not going to be driven this summer/autumn, so I think I will have my own garage opened again in autumn.
After that it is easy to take few stairs and go to do something.

New problem came when we noticed that lower cylinder gasget is leaking a lot.
tiiviste.jpg


This mean I have to open the engine again and change that gasket.
Motivation level just dropped to zero :D

Someone could say "this is motorsport" and I think that someone would be right.

Also two carbs was overleaking and we found out that needlevalves were faulty. Ordered new ones and changed them. Doesn't leak anymore.
neulaventtiilit.jpg


My to do -list is simply and ready so I know exactly what to do and everything is already planned.


p.s.
Do you know any companys around Europe that could make customlength cables for throttle and clutch?
Not feeling right with original long ones.
vaijerit.jpg
 
ONE YEAR AND FORTY DAYS LATER...

It's time to bring this project thread back to life.
A lot has happen during this time.
My garage is now renovated and I can finally use it. I bought new bike for summer to kill my need to ride.

As always this project got hidden under dust but now I'm ready to finish it.

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Day when I got my garage back from builders

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Huge amount of dust after renovation

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I painted my garage floor white and still need to sort my tools

Tomorrow I will make a new to do list and see what to do...
 
Finally tools and other stuff has found their spots in the garage.
As you can see, bikes has been multiplied during this week :D

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Have to move other bikes, if I want to work with the project, but its just a small thing to do

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Engine has arrived and it's now in perfect condition. Faulty gasket and all other gaskets has been changed and should run smoothly

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Just finished to-do-list and now all I have to do is work, work, work...

I made a promise few weeks ago, that I don't make any other deadlines to this but summer 2020.
Well... I just made a promise to finish bike externally to Finland's biggest bike show on January 31. - February 2. 2020.
This is third time I promise bike to be ready for the show, so maybe this third time is the right time :thumbsup:
 
Interesting build, just read through all of the posts, any recent progress? Thanks for posting your build experience, by the way, I've enjoyed reading it!
 
I made a promise few weeks ago, that I don't make any other deadlines to this but summer 2020.
Well... I just made a promise to finish bike externally to Finland's biggest bike show on January 31. - February 2. 2020.
This is third time I promise bike to be ready for the show, so maybe this third time is the right time.


"Promise is a promise"
...Well not always :doh:


Project is still a project and there hasn't been any progress.
Although the bike has moved 2 meters in the garage.

I got a few PM's about this project and how it's going, so here is a little update.

My motivation for this project has been totally 0% for some time now.
This summer motivation dropped even more when I bought bike that I have dreamed for years.

Ducati 899 Panigale

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I have worked with Ducati for some time now, installing huge load of carbon parts and other cool parts.

Ducati should be ready in few weeks and I was thinking finish my CB build.


Time is right, cause everything is closed and I can't do anything else right now.

Hopefully this all will fade away soon...

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Situation atm

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Like I wrote in my last post before this, engine is completely rebuilded.


Overall this project is something like 75-80% finished.

Most of the parts are ready for paint. Few mods to do before that.


I will activate and put my gloves on.

This time I will not promise anything :D
 
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