Nice looking basic cafe 900f pic off the net....

Posted: Fri Nov 26, 2010 3:43 am

Just came across this one. I wonder if anybody else has seen this bike or if it belongs to a member. Pretty basic stuff, but nice mods nonetheless. Just thought I'd share.

http://www.vintagebike.co.uk/pictures/1979-honda-cb750f-2/

-S.

Red CB1100F Joined: Jul 19, 2010 Posts: 6420 Location: Ct

Cool bike. I have not seen it before. I would ditch the little fairing, but whatever. The title says 900f but under the photo it says it is a 750.

Posted: Fri Nov 26, 2010 4:57 am

that's a Do The Ton sticker on the side cover. Maybe one of the boys over there?? Can't remember seeing before, but it does look nice.

Posted: Fri Nov 26, 2010 11:13 am

ctluba wrote:

Cool bike. I have not seen it before. I would ditch the little fairing, but whatever. The title says 900f but under the photo it says it is a 750.

That fairing is what makes it a vintage cafe bike. That look is what started YOUR look.

Posted: Fri Nov 26, 2010 11:55 am

Thanks for posting the link. Brought back a lot of memories.

Dan

Guest

The silver motor, and single piston brake caliper says it's a 750 to me.

Posted: Fri Nov 26, 2010 3:19 pm

The fairing looks really decent IMO, however the sloped back of the tank combined with the raised tail looks like the bike caved in in the middle.

I think this look could be adopted to our bikes quite easily, I really like the tail on this one:

Posted: Fri Nov 26, 2010 9:38 pm

dwarf717 wrote:

The silver motor, and single piston brake caliper says it's a 750 to me.

Not necessarily. We had silver motored, single piston 900s over here.

cheers
ian

Posted: Fri Nov 26, 2010 9:47 pm

Well, here's the same bike same photo titled 750:

http://www.vintagebike.co.uk/pictures/1980-honda-cb750f-cafe-racer/

As well as another by the same Klassic Garage - 900:

http://www.vintagebike.co.uk/pictures/1979-honda-cb900-cafe-racer/

Posted: Sat Nov 27, 2010 1:25 am

I like it....although I would like it better with the stock side covers and a
front fender that didn't look like an afterthought......

Posted: Sat Nov 27, 2010 6:19 pm

I like the fairing but the seat......? I'm fighting the seat on my cafe build as we speak. I don't like the break in the seat plane. It's counter cafe.I have three options on mine. at this time I am tring to find time to work on a metal panned king queen seat chopped in a few pieces and I may try to make a bucket for my seat and use a 78 rear fairing to give me a flat spot to mount a led clear lite and plate. Who knows it's in progress.

Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2010 4:02 pm

What's the definition of Cafe?

if the A. is downgrading a bike w/ older than manufacture year parts, yes is a cafe then I don't like cafe racers

(fairing, brakes, sides, seat(?) are older hence downgrading an F = no Merit)

peace

Red CB1100F Joined: Jul 19, 2010 Posts: 6420 Location: Ct

origin8or wrote:

The fairing looks really decent IMO, however the sloped back of the tank combined with the raised tail looks like the bike caved in in the middle.

I think this look could be adopted to our bikes quite easily, I really like the tail on this one:

Sweet bike!! Very Happy

Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2010 8:05 pm

This Comment on the first bike posted.

I love Cafe's. Seems like the owner spent alot of time getting the engine looking nice, I like the exhaust. The front fairing looks really cool.

That being said......Look closely where the tank, seat, side cover come together. Bizarre angles, makes it look hacked together IMO. Maybe it's still a work in progress.

http://www.vintagebike.co.uk/pictures/1979-honda-cb750f-2/

Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2010 9:14 pm

Fella's;

I think I'd like the silver/black/red bike better without the belly plastic. I really do like the way the angle of the bottom edge of the fairing matches the bottom line of the tail.

Posted: Fri Dec 03, 2010 8:14 pm

Is that second bike an F? The frame and what-not, well pretty much everything looks different. Would be possible to make an F look like that, but the subframe and swingarm pivot area would have to be chopped up and welded back together. Not such a bad idea when you think about it....

As for the other one, you can tell the displacement by counting the fins on the barrel. Can't remember the number though. I think it's got an 18" front wheel, probably an '82 GL1100 item. The sidecovers definitely leave something to be desired. Though I like them more than the stock ones. Seat looks like a CR type, and I think the fairing might be an airtech one either their generic half fairing, a rickman type or a ducati 900ss one. I've fanasized about those fairings a lot, and I think it's the former.

I've got this spare tank I butchered, cut in half top to bottom to hammer out some deep dents, and I got carried away and rounded out the whole thing. Just gotta weld it all back up. Anyway, this photo has me thinking I ought to do something more about the lower boughts where the sidecovers used to hook up. This guy went so far as to cut off the "peirced earlobes". I need to do more.

-S.

Posted: Fri Dec 03, 2010 8:34 pm

http://www.caferacer351.com/pages/cafe-vulcano.php

Down at the bottom is the Norton/Laverda hybrid that once graced the cover of "motorcycle classics". I wonder if there's anyplace to find out whether that's a 160, 170, or 180 rear tire. I've been hovering over the decision that it's ten bucks more for a 5.5"x18 rear rim than a 4.5"-er. Probably it's more the price than anything that's screwing with me. But the rims are a great price. Harley items, and just a little bit of a "deep drop center" on them, so I'm humming and ha-ing. When you can get a rim for under a hundred bucks, my ideas about carving out three spoke types and drilling them are moot. Anyway, the laverda norton bike has got some sort of deep drop center looking things. It's just the whole thing about chromed steel vs alloy. I'd be an idiot to pass over these harley rims. I'm pretty sure they've got a 3.5"x18 for the front that's even cheaper. But damn. My "Silas Killer" home-made rims would probably wind up costing a lot more. The "Norton Ala Verda" (the name of this bike) looks to have steel rims. Gotta wonder what the weight difference on steel vs alloy rims would be on these sizes. Gotta be about double, judging from the steel and alloy spoked rims I already have. I figure my home-made things would come out somewhere in the middle due to extra thickness.

Yeaaahhhh, wellll. I just thought I'd share another pic of a cool cafe with you fellas.

-S.

Posted: Fri Dec 03, 2010 8:45 pm

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140418751168&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Okay, phuket. I figure, if only six of you steal the idea out from under me, there might be one rim left over for me. Whaddya think? A freaking steal of a deal. Probably because the seller mostly sells bike memorabilia, such as the "Men and Machines" calendar. (Hint-hint.) At worst, a Harley rim would probably need bigger nipples, due to the man boobs.... Ha ha I mean they use different spoke nipples. Buchanan's sell a spoke set for my hub (KZ1000 type) that have bigger nipples, and I think this is why. Which would indicate it's do-able. But then, I want to use my stock spokes and not have to pay an extra hundred and twenty bucks, you know? I am hoping go have my stock front spokes cut down by buckanans for twenty bucks and that about kills the whole budget as it is. I figure I'll run it without tires for the first couple years while I save up. Anyway, this has got to be the best budget rim I've seen. And the side mounted valve stem doesn't even bother me. So long as I don't use the stock KZ rear disc, 10 3/4" as it is, it won't get cut off. Maybe even the deep drop center is a good thing for doing a tubeless conversion even, not that it's essential. But for high speed use, the tube would heat the tire more.

-Sigh.

Posted: Fri Dec 03, 2010 9:25 pm

Hey sigh,

Do you have a build thread yet? I do not mean one of your threads about a specific part. I for one would like to see what you are talking about. Call me imagination challenged or whatever, I would love a pictures rich build thread. Though your bike is not what I may desire, I have been intrigued by some of your ideas. Cmon man, a build thread, with actual pictures, not links.

Grant.

Posted: Sat Dec 04, 2010 5:25 am

Well that would mean actually building my bike. Ha ha. No, but seriously. I've got a photobucket account where I've posted some of my mock-up builds, and some pics of my wheels, bondo seat-pan, extra tank, fork cap mods, etc. If I had about a grand to sink into the thing I figure I could be done in a couple of weeks. Like most of us, hey?

Not what you may desire. No, this isn't the kind of bike that elicits envy, unless you mean from the scrap metal traders who hope to cash the thing in at the smelter's for a few hits of meth. I keep them at bay by giving them copper water pipe from out of the walls.... Damn bike flippers always see a non running bike in a driveway and stop by to offer "a couple hundred bucks". Man, I am always such a pussy being nice to them just because they too are interested in old Jap bikes. Yeah, interested in parting them out on fleabay. Anyway, no. Not the type of bike that is anybody's "cup of tea", certainly not in it's current "junk pile" style. Like "Cafe", "chopper", or "super-eff", this style is predicated upon the choices of suspension, seat, tank, indicators lights and electrical stuff. Or the lack thereof.

I've been working on my clip-on bar project tonight. In spite of the fact I just got some free clubmans in the mail from Surfernick! What a guy. For some reason, I am still gonna finish the clip-on project. Will have some good detailed pics of that soon I hope. Along with these instructions: Fill out fast food job application, mop floor, pick up check, buy most expensive clip-ons available, thereby save some time and money.

I promise I will throw the whole thing together into a build thread. But honestly, it would be so boring, the pace I have gone at. I mean, should I have started the thread years ago and had updates about my divorce, my impending next divorce, the many times I've nearly abandoned the bike when moving, the times I've stripped it down to fit into a van, and perhaps a few updates about all the spine "specialists" who've wasted my time? 'Cause that would be a ten year old thread by now. I parked the bike and decided to "work on it", whatever "it" was, back in '03.

Trust me, little project topics are a much better, saner way of looking at the whole thing. One day at a time, as it were. But I do promise, if it doesn't look like money is gonna fly out of my ass by New-Years' Day, I will throw the wheels back together, polished, as Honda, Kawasaki, and their subsidiaries, intended them to be.

Hey, by the way. Just to show you guys what an indecisive shit I am, I ought to show you the auction I caught the last hour and a half of. Yep, you guessed it, I spent that time sending a question to the seller about shipping costs and like a fool not bidding at all. What a putz. The guy's like, just on the other side of the border from me. Not that that makes shipping cheaper. Probably could have stuck it on a Greyhound for twenty bucks or so.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250731470127&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

-Sigh.

Posted: Sat Dec 04, 2010 5:39 am

SoyBoySigh wrote:

I promise I will throw the whole thing together into a build thread. But honestly, it would be so boring, the pace I have gone at. I mean, should I have started the thread years ago and had updates about my divorce, my impending next divorce, the many times I've nearly abandoned the bike when moving, the times I've stripped it down to fit into a van, and perhaps a few updates about all the spine "specialists" who've wasted my time?

It would be your thread!

Besides, lots of us have taken the time to look at your album vis a vis linky poohs. You want a boring thread? Find my build thread on F2 upgrades. I'm still rockin out my stock as set up, just way more abused than when I got it. Giver rigger!

Grant.

Posted: Sat Dec 04, 2010 9:26 pm

Looks like these French guys made a little series of the things. Either a his/hers / his/his / hers/hers / mine/mine matched set, or perhaps an abortive commercial enterprise, ala cb750cafe. Somebody ought to do these babies up for the market, a limited edition set for sale to the mechanically challenged, maybe if they had every last damn mod done on this site in one form or another, they'd seem like a primo special and not a warmed over second hand bike. People are doing it with just about every other classic bike, you know.

http://www.vintagebike.co.uk/pictures/1980-honda-cb750f/

-S.

Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2010 12:39 am

poor job on the seat. that's bare frame showing between the seat and tank as well as under the seat in the rear. not pleasing to my myopic old eyes.

Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2010 2:03 am

Yeah, the horizontal section over the sidecovers shows and it's fine, but the upturn under the tail looks like crap. Probably a CR seat made for a narrower frame, or the cross brace is too high on our frame, likely both. Still, it does show what you can't do with catalogue parts. My paper mache mold bondo ideas are looking better all the time. Do you have an idea in mind for your sidecovers G aka M, I mean, Grumpy Mike? I've got some blocks of wood I laminated together and sort of cut to overall shape, but haven't sanded down as of yet. Saw a good article in classic motorcycle mechanics about making replica sidecovers for old scooters, using a plaster mould with wax for mould release. Makes you wonder how they charge a hundred bucks a side for replica sandcast sidecovers in primer grey with no emblems. Man. There are folks who sell those emblems for an arm and a leg. But I found one seller who's got C77 badges, stuff like that, for twenty bucks. Dunno if they're replicas, but that's cheap as stickers are. If you don't shop around, people will rape you on the price. Lucky for us though, nobody even makes odd sidecovers for these bikes. You could try something off another bike, or a flat plate like the french cafe builders did. What sort of style are you going for?

I think this is the fairing on that first bike. French company, UK dealer, dunno what's available here. Nice application though.

http://www.twinshack.co.uk/prods/295.html

-S.

Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2010 4:35 pm

i pulled the seat and mount on mine as I'm going to machinist mon or tue to look at rear hub and some more professional spaces but i solved that problem with my seat. Ther rear hump/strut remains but was only altered at the flat spots where the stock seat rubbers hit. Tails aft of the shock brace/mounts were bobbed but no structural material was removed

Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2010 11:29 pm

The fibreglas pan I made hooks on really tight around that raised rear brace part, enough that you wouldn't even need to use any hardware. If you want the pan off, you tip it back from the front where it hits the tank and it slips off. Still, I think it wouldn't work that way if I had pleather/naugahyde wrapped under the sides, so it will probably need to move up a bit so the seat cover will fit without pinching against the frame. So I was thinking of modding the same flats you did. But I will probably just change the seat pan, seeing as it only cost me ten or twenty loonies to make. If I can make it work with rubber dampers, a cover, etc, then I think I'll do up a removeable hump cover for over that rear seat portion.

So Mike, are you going to leave the frame rails open at the end, or are you going to cap them? I've heard that the aft part of the frame is open to the elements anyway. Or not. But a large circular hole would be a great place for rain to infiltrate. Conversely, also a good place for some signals that fit as rubber bungs, if there's any way that you can see them from behind.....

-Sigh.

Posted: Sat Dec 18, 2010 12:52 am

for sure gonna cap mine when i weld the tabs for the tail/turn/stop lites on. it's possible i will build in a myd guard at back tubes but for now have a K mud guard in place.

Posted: Sun Dec 26, 2010 12:27 pm

Hey, maybe you haven't looked at my photobucket (same handle, SoyBoySigh) I put most of a KZ rear fender into a ct down bit off the F's metal bit from the plastic fender. Dunno whether I will keep it. It was what I had on hand. But, it's a good way to see that you can put on just about any mudguard you want on the F, and still have a solid connection.

-Oh, by the way happy holidays, Gawd bless us every one. Spent Chr'Eve and the big C with my ex and the kid. So there is a Santa Claus. Next year I will have to be a little more adamant that I will only accept gifts in the form of carefully selected bike parts for the F. But, I am hawking some socks and underwear to anybody who wants to swap some stuff. Any Takers? Kidding, of course. These folks could give me cold boogers, and I'd probably frame them and stick 'em on the wall. Next to my collection of un-framed, flicked boogers. I could do some really nice shadow boxed frames with an acid free mat-board....

-S.