the rebirth of Beergood's 750 cafe

[beergood]

Alright, 95+% done

Here are some pics. I am going to let them do most of the talking:

[beergood]

[beergood]

[beergood]

*puddle not from bike

Still to do:

Chain conversion
Snap-on seat cover
New rear tire
Spoked Rims (someday)

[jed.only]

nice scooter, sir.

[GS750cafe]

How are those EMGO pod filters working performance wise? Seems like most folks on here prefer the K&Ns or the box...

[ChicagoBob]

Beergood, can you post some pics in a GSR album? My office blocks Photobucket, so I can't see any of them now.

[beergood]

America will universally agree on the "Ground Zero" mosque long before this board will reach a consensus on box versus pods.

Here are my thoughts (for what they are worth):

Box proponents usually claim that the box is easier to maintain and the bike performs better. After dealing with carb issues, electrical issues, oil leaks, brake problems, broken clutch cable, exploding wheel bearings, broken studs...etc. if I were interested in ease of maintenance, I purchased the wrong bike long ago.

Also, if you have had to get at the carbs as often as I did the first few years, you would develop a deep hatred of that air box. Wrestling that thing in and out ate at least half the time I spent working on the carbs. And unlike most other work that have had to repeat on the bike, it never got easier. I never figured out a trick, it just didn't like to go in or out. So sayonara a-hole.

As for performance, there is a period of adjustment to get it right. So if you are shy about rejetting and carb tuning, keep the air box. But once it is done correctly, I feel that the bike is quicker. I cannot back this up with any hard numbers, and any perceived performance gain could exist entirely in my mind, or be the result of other mods.

Finally, considering the final look of my bike, the stock box was just a non-starter.

Onto the K&N versus Emgo debate.

Are the K&N filters better? Yes. Yes they are. Armani also cuts a pretty nice suite. I've driven a Ferrari a couple times, it wasn't too shabby. I hear first class is a nice way to travel. The bubbles in a bottle of Dom are nice and small.

My point is, I spent $600 on my bike, and I have maybe put another $500 into it. I might put 1000 miles on it a season (I use it for around town driving). It's also not my only hobby/responsibility, so dropping $120+ on a set of filters that will last forever (as opposed to my Emgos, which will probably only last a decade at current use levels) just doesn't make sense. I just can't justify my filters being worth 10% of my bikes gross worth. I've never had a set of K&Ns on it, so I can't say for sure, but I don't believe any real performance gains would justify the price. If I could find a set for around $50, then I would probably go for it. I wouldn't say that I am a cheapskate, but I am frugal.

[beergood]

[ChicagoBob]

Very nice, inspired GS build. I like how you handled the tank with the filler door removed. I never liked that door, but couldn't think what to do with the space left when it is removed.

May I ask what you used for throttle cables? Did you shorten yours, or use cables from another model?

[beergood]

I tried to live with that vindictive little filler door in harmony for over three years. In the end I just couldn't make it work.

As for the cables, they are stock, I just played with the routing a lot.

[Octain]

If I could find a set for around $50, then I would probably go for it. I wouldn't say that I am a cheapskate, but I am frugal.

Agreed!
And thats just what I did. Fellow on ebay had a brand new set with bad shelf ware that had absolutly nothing wrong with the filters that were inside the worn out boxes. I think I got em for around 60 bux.
I also have a set of cheepies that I also got from an ebay seller. Had em on the bike just for grins and can not tell any bit of difference.

[GS750cafe]

One more question: how do you like the ride position with the clubmans and stock footpegs (i.e. no rearsets)? I'm 6'2" and pretty scruntched with out moving my feet back...

I like the blue paint for sure.

I kind of speed read much of the build (the old thread and this one). Maybe you mentioned it, and I didn't see it, but why didn't you use the stock rear cowling vs. fabbing one out of fiberglass? Curious because I'm at that stage with my bike and I really like the look of the original tail, just trying to figure out how I'm going to shorten the seat and put it all back together.

Cheers!

[beergood]

I'm 5'10" and I find the riding position to be tolerable. It might be better with rearsets, and I think about getting them from time to time (or more likely fabbing some from a junked pair). But I don't suffer much from it. I also ride road bikes (pedal bikes), and both riding positions are pretty close (arched back, feet directly below knees).

I actually made two tail sections. In the first I used the stock ducktail as a mold for the fiberglass. I liked it, but it was flawed and overly heavy. The tail that is on there now utilizes the stock tail bolted to a steal pan that I made. I think I go into some detail on the second seat somewhere in this thread (bottom of page 4 in this thread).