My 77 750 Cafe finally sees a little road time..

[Guest]

And by that i mean a LITTLE. I took it up the street and back, before realizing the rear tire was nearly flat. Bummer. But, she IS running, and the motor is running SMOOTH. The carbs seem pretty responsive, tho i still think i am a hair rich maybe. I will play with it some more soon as i can get the tire filled. Im happy that she's running and street ready tho! Ignore the paint, its still a work in progress, and some of the smaller things need worked out, like my rear pipe hanger, and i need to upholster the seat, and get my tail-light/license plate hanger on it. But all in due time.

[mriddle]

Wooo hoooo!

[makenzie71]

VERY nice bike...just not feeling the exhaust hanger. I'm hoping I'll be able to find some spokies like that in 17" when it's time for mine.

[TheCafeKid]

VERY nice bike...just not feeling the exhaust hanger. I'm hoping I'll be able to find some spokies like that in 17" when it's time for mine.

Thanks man! Im not feeling the hanger either, its a temporary measure untill i can get something welded up to the frame thats less visible and a little nicer looking. But, I cant stand waiting around, and i had it running, so i just rigged it up so i could take it for a spin.

[marvinsc]

Naked = without clothing

Nekked = Naked and up to something.

That bike is Nekked!

[makenzie71]

I'm much the same way...if it runs I have to ride it. It's gonna get me in trouble sometime I'm sure because I've always got a customer's bike in my garage...right now there's a GPZ750 Turbo out there...

Why'd you stick with the fork boots? They look out of place all squished. I'd trim them up a bit or ditch them entirely. But that's me

[TheCafeKid]

I'm much the same way...if it runs I have to ride it. It's gonna get me in trouble sometime I'm sure because I've always got a customer's bike in my garage...right now there's a GPZ750 Turbo out there...

Why'd you stick with the fork boots? They look out of place all squished. I'd trim them up a bit or ditch them entirely. But that's me

They arent stock. I put them on, but then lowered it in front in anticipation of eventually putting clip ons on it. I just havent trimmed them up yet. Like i said, lots of little this and thats, but im stoked that its running, as it was my first full top end job on a motor, and full on rejet by hand of the carbs. Looks like, thanks to Dardoonk, i'll have a set of velocity stacks to put on it soon, so might have to jet up a lil more.

[doctorgonzo]

God that is already BEAUTIFUL! Finished it's gonna blow people's minds.

[PAULYBOY]

Thanks man! Im not feeling the hanger either, its a temporary measure untill i can get something welded up to the frame thats less visible and a little nicer looking. But, I cant stand waiting around, and i had it running, so i just rigged it up so i could take it for a spin.

Hey, Josh, your right side footpeg is held on with 2 bolts. Why not run a small bracket at an angle from the rear bolt so it misses the brake rod, and connect it up to a saddle type affair around the can closer to the peg than the one you got now? It would be much smaller and a lot less obtrusive.

[makenzie71]

^I've gone that route before and it's not a very good one. You really need a triangulated mount for hold the exhaust up if you're going to go that route.

What is that swingarm from?

[Joe C]

Awesome looking bike! Very cool!

[TheCafeKid]

^I've gone that route before and it's not a very good one. You really need a triangulated mount for hold the exhaust up if you're going to go that route.

What is that swingarm from?

Swinger is from a GS1100E. For the GS1000's its a bolt on mod. For my 750, i had to drill out the frame boss for the pivot. I could have had some bushes made with the ID of the stock pivot, and the OD of the stock swingarm, but this ended up being easier and much cheaper, seeing as how it cost me the price of a drill bit.

On the bracket, what Pauly is talking about might actually work, seeing as how the VH pipe simply has a lil tab with a hole welded to it. There is not alot of weight hanging back there, so its more for stability than anything. I might give that a shot Pauly. Thanks for the idea. Welding something would work, but it would add something to the frame that may not work down the road when i decide to change the pipe to something else, which, being a cafe, Im sure i will. They are NEVER finished...lol. Still to come, over the winter i plan to build a pan to hide all the electronics under the seat box there, and ditch the side covers. I have ordered a 1/4 turn R1 throttle sleeve, and i need to do something about fabing up some rearset brackets, and also do something about a kicker arm that wont interfere with rearset brake pedal. I have a couple of tanks that ive beaten knee indents into, just gotta decide which one looks better and get the bodywork done on it. I plan on installing one of those lil headlamp visors, just cos they look cool and period for the design im going for. Id like to eventually find a black pipe, or a pipe that i wouldnt mind painting. The one on there now looks too damn nice to paint. Its practically brand new. If i were able to find another pipe for the cafe, id use the one on it now on my 1100G. Lots of other lil this and thats i plan on doing too, as i said, its never going to be done. And when it is, I may sell it. Who knows.

[TheCafeKid]

I got air in the tire and took it back out, tho again just up and down my street. Gave it some whip and its breaking up a bit when it gets into the needle and beyond. Not sure if the needle is too rich, or if the main is. So i still have some tweaking to do.

[Nick]

God that is already BEAUTIFUL! Finished it's gonna blow people's minds.

it's making me blow more than my mind...

[TheCafeKid]

it's making me blow more than my mind...

You shouldnt be doing that to your goat man... besides, i think there are laws about that :P KIDDING!!! Sheesh... Thanks for the compliments everyone! Its been alot of work, and the most enjoyable part of it is that I did it myself, or with a lil help from freinds who wanted to get their hands dirty too. To some, it may be an ugly hack job. She's certainly no show bike to be sure, but thats not what i was going for. I was going for exactly what I wanted it to be. A true to life vintage type cafe racer, using as close to period mods as i could. I wanted it to be pretty minimal. Think ive gotten close. And as said, she's not done. Still a few more mods to do. And at some point, I have another motor for it that im looking for a 79 850 jugs and piston set to drop on it. But im in no hurry to do that. Eventually, I will get around to having her painted up all pretty and pro, I think Dardoonk, when he has time, is going to help me out with that (his paint job he did on HIS 750 is beautiful) But for now, i just want to get the carbs dialed in, work out any bugs, and ride her for the rest of the season. Then come winter, a slew of things still on my list will get done, and i'll have a garage to do it in, instead of having to break it all down and do it in my basement like i did last winter...lol! Its been alot of fun, alot of frustration and cussing and wrench throwing. But she's almost where i want her. And for the most part, im pretty happy with how she's turned out so far.