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This is my first build and it all started over 2 years ago. This bike has seen me change jobs, move from Cali to TX, and meet my girlfriend, fiance, and now wife. I'm learning something new all the time, I'm always tempted to go back and improve the things I did a year ago, but I'm ready to ride so those will have to wait. The bike is currently about 3 months from first test ride, but I just found this awesome site so I wanted to bring yall up to speed as quickly as possible. Enough talk...let's go.
First ride...strong engine, squishy brakes, leaky front forks, and slipping clutch
I wanted the bike to low, loud, and scream $%^! off. So I bought some material and made a poor man's frame jig. Then started the frame design going from wood, to cardboard, to rebar, and finally to the real stuff.
So good news is the hard tail was done...bad news I didn't like the way it looked for a few reasons: not low enough, too long, and skinny rear didn't look right to me...I think because the 4 banger is so wide. And the gas tank looked way too big. Anyways, it was hard to throw away months of work, but it had to look right. So I chopped the hardtail, lowered it to a height I liked, and temporarily held it in place with rebar until I knew how wide of tire I wanted.
Finished hardtail
First look...eh...not quite
I hate this picture, but one of those learning moments. Also picked up a new gas tank from a salvage yard.
For the rear tire I wanted to fit a 200mm. I bought a Harley rim and a hub from a Honda spoke wheel. Lacing them together took some effort. I bought some spoke blanks on ebay, cut them to length, and threaded the ends. More trial and error, but happy with the end result.
Honda hub laced to the Harly rim
That's more of the look I'm going for
Definintely need to widen the frame, but loving the look
Took a 6 month hiatus from the build while changing jobs, states, and marital status. First thing I did when I got back was fit the bike with a springer. I needed to figure out the front before I finalized the rear. Fitting the springer involved machining some bearings and a sleeve to mate the Honda neck to the Harley stem. Next I was able to finish out the frame. I machined slugs and pieced together the hardtail section.
Picture says it all...busy times, but springer looks awesome
Finishing the hard tail one piece, slug, and rosette weld at a time
Alright...that's up to about March...got some more but I need to get back to work. Let me know what yall think, or any questions; went through that fast.
Bike looks killer man!! I dig 200's, they're as wide as I'd ever go, and a spoke 200 looks great. personally I think a 17 in the front with a wider tire would look better than the 21, but my opinions usually suck, hahaha.
Solid work. I'm working on an 80 CB750 that I hardtailed. I stayed with the skinny rear tire so far, but may change that out eventually. I wish I would have left mine sit a little higher just based on the fact that the oil pan sits lower than the frame rails. Not sure if you've found it but there is a site called http://deuceswild.yuku.com/ that is dedicated to the DOHC 750 Hondas. Good advice there for motor work and such. I kept the C model tank also but cut off the rear mounting tab, and put a piece of flat stock across the bottom of the tank and on the frame to mount it onto so it's all hidden. Keep it up. Makes me want to get out to the garage and get cracking on mine. It's been 4 years in the making.
Bike looks killer man!! I dig 200's, they're as wide as I'd ever go, and a spoke 200 looks great. personally I think a 17 in the front with a wider tire would look better than the 21, but my opinions usually suck, hahaha.
That was a tough decision man. Borrorwed my dad's wheel from his street glide for a test, but decided on the 21" spoke. Definitely a toss up...but I'll stick with tall and skinny for now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rustrocket84
I wish I would have left mine sit a little higher just based on the fact that the oil pan sits lower than the frame rails. Not sure if you've found it but there is a site called http://deuceswild.yuku.com/ that is dedicated to the DOHC 750 Hondas. Good advice there for motor work and such. I kept the C model tank also but cut off the rear mounting tab, and put a piece of flat stock across the bottom of the tank and on the frame to mount it onto so it's all hidden. Keep it up. Makes me want to get out to the garage and get cracking on mine. It's been 4 years in the making.
The oil pan scares me too. The bike had Kerker 4 to 1 headers that hang lower than the pan...I'm hoping they provide some protection if something does happen. Yes, I've lurked around dueces quite a bit...good info. I also went back with the stock tank! It's flippin huge, but looks good and I mounted it pretty much the same way. I'll see if I can find a pic.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SARR001
Damn good looking bike. Where in TX are you at
Houston, west side. Doesn't seem like many of us around here unfortunately.
So next on the list was a seat. I love working with wood so I figured I'd give a go at a wooden saddle (form>function for this build). Took a lot of trial and error, but finally got a seat that looked awesome and was surprisingly comfortable.
I machined some bungs, a hinge, and attached some 2" springs to the bottom
Here's a shot of how it meets up with the stock tank...5 gallon tank and a wooden seat doesn't sound like a good combination
To fit the 200 out back I had to make an offset sprocket. This turned out to be more difficult than I thought...machining case hardened sprockets and welding them without cracking took some engineering and lots of patience. Trick was using an EDM to rough cut the sprockets, and preweld/postweld heat treating to avoid cracking.
The forward control linkage also had to be custom made for the fat rear tire. The left side for the shifter was alright, but the right side getting back to the drum brake wasn't. Had to modify the lever mechanism to fit inside the bushing where the swing are used to go. More patience paid off.
OK. I think that's pretty much it up to this point. Went through that crazy fast.
Currently I'm tackling the gas tank. Don't like where the bung is and want to make my own gas cap. I'm thinking something like this. Hope to start machining this week.
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