Story so far...

Welcome to my cafe racer research/ebay scouring/build project blog.  I am going to be detailing my cafe racer build as I modify a 1981 Honda CB750K into a lightweight stripped down sport bike.  The build theme for this bike is "If Honda designed a cafe racer using the 79'-82' CB750K base." 

Skip to the next post to get into the build. 

The story so far...

I've always wanted to build a cafe racer, but I really didn't know the first thing about them, let alone motorcycles in general.  After searching through many cafe builds, my favorite of them being Japanese base bikes and BMWs, I finally found a picture of a cafe build that sold me on finally doing it. 

Hookie Co. 1981 Honda CB750K(Z)

Hookie Co.'s numerous cafe racer builds were just about perfect in my eyes.  The lowered suspension, the completely stripped frame leaving only the necessities visible (especially the entirely empty triangle behind the motor), the large wheels with the fat tires, jetted carbs with pod filters, rear sets, 4into1 exhaust, etc.   Honda CBs were suggested to be some of the easiest bikes to convert since the parts were so readily available.  I liked the tanks most on the 77'-78' CB750's but the oil reservoirs were built into the side covers making them challenging to relocate.  Having an empty triangle and an open engine was important to my vision so I decided to go with a 79'-81' CB750k which has an integrated oil reservoir on the side of the engine. The only thing I didn't like about them is that the tank is shaped to flow into the side covers, which makes it looks a little awkward with the side covers removed, but that was minor to me.

I started my search for a 79'-81' CB750K.  I wanted to get a bike in decent condition since I needed to learn how to ride before I started turning it into a cafe, so barn finds and incompletes were out.  My *plan* was to modify each piece independently so I could always keep the bike in a drivable condition (don't worry I learned my lesson.)  

My first bike: 1979 Honda CB750K

I found a pretty good condition 79' CB750K.  My friend Wes came with me to come test drive the bike since I didn't know how yet. It wasn't perfect and it wasn't completely stock, which was okay for me at the time, I was just going to strip it anyway; but what was stock was in great condition: no rust, great chrome and paint, clean engine etc.  We loaded it into the back of Wes' truck and headed back to Charlotte.  

There I am with the bike strapped in the back of the truck, full of hope and innocence and an intact body.  No one in my family was excited to hear I bought a motorcycle...  I, on the other hand was excited to get home and start learning everything I could about the bike so I could get it running great. 

Wes' dad hooked me up with a new battery so I could get the bike started reliably.  It was clear that the bike wasn't running on all cylinders; one of the exhaust pipes wasn't measuring the same temperature as the other three.  Step one is usually rebuild the carburetors, so thats what I did.  That's all it took to get the bike running great.  So since it was running, I learned how to ride by taking apprehensive trips around the neighborhood and eventually side streets.  I signed up for a motorcycle safety course to which I got a perfect score on the written and driving portion of the test.  *queue dangerous overconfidence*  I quickly got my license and on my first ride back from the safety course...

Grade V AC Ligament Tear 

I wrecked.  The brakes locked up prematurely trying to slow down quickly for a turn and I went down.  I could have avoided this by releasing the brakes and keeping straight, but I panicked and made the wrong decision to continue braking.  It was a rather low speed wreck, but I landed in the exact wrong way that caused my AC ligaments in my shoulder to completely separate.  It was extremely painful and I will be getting surgery to get it fixed.  

I was pretty confused as to why I wrecked though; it didn't seem like I was braking hard enough for the brakes to lock up like they did.  After I got the bike back and inspected it, I saw that the previous owner bent the brake lever adjustment and never fixed it, leaving the rear brake messed up.  The way he had it rigged effectively made the brake lever useless until the very last bit of travel which would lock up the wheel.  I never really used the back brake until I learned to in the safety course (kind of ironic), so that's why this happened my first ride back.   

Repaired 1979 Honda CB750K

I fixed the rear brake by bending the adjustment bracket back into place and replacing the lever spring.  Looking over the bike, it was barely damaged; everything was easily repairable.  The tank wasn't even scratched.  I replaced everything effected by the wreck with stock parts.  I had even replaced all the aftermarket parts with stock parts; front turn signals, reflectors, headlight, striped and repainted the badges, etc.  It was looking and running better than ever.  By now I had fallen in love with this bike in stock condition and was really uncomfortable with the thought of turning this into a cafe racer.  It was worth more in stock condition than it would ever be modified, so I decided to leave it alone. 

So I never did a cafe race build, the end. 

Jk, I bought another bike.