The Beginning

Today I have done two things which I had never done before: I started a project to build a cafe racer and I tried to design a blog about it.  I have a feeling that both experiences will be more time-consuming than I had originally anticipated.  But hopefully, when both experiences are complete, I will be proud of my work and satisfied with the results.

The idea for a cafe project began a couple of months ago.  I was already the proud owner of a 1976 Honda CB750 Super Sport which had been restored by the previous owner: the great folks at Flying Tiger Motorcycles in Maplewood, Missouri.  With a bike so cleanly preserved, I couldn't bring myself to start changing seats, handlebars, or paint.  The 750 is perfect just the way it is.

So I began looking around for a smaller motorcycle which, while mechanically sound, had enough aesthetic issues to justify alteration.  Fortunately I have a very supportive and beautiful wife who was willing to let me fund and undertake a cafe project even though I already have a perfectly functional bike that I love.  I proposed a budget and started checking the internet for a bike that would work as a cafe racer.

I told the great people at Flying Tiger that I was thinking of taking on a cafe project and they pointed out a 1976 Honda CB400F which had recently been brought into the shop for some routine work and which the owner wanted to sell to fund his own restoration projects.  

As soon as I saw it I knew it would make a great cafe racer.  It has the same flat profile as my larger 750 and a similar engine.  In fact, it looks very much as if someone has thrown hot water on my 750 and it shrunk by about 20%.  Moreover, Flying Tiger informed me that it has no mechanical or electrical problems.  It is a perfectly running bike, albeit with some aesthetic issues.  There is a tear in the seat and the decals on the gas tank are starting to peel off.  It needs a new paint job and there is some rust spotting on the fenders and chain guard.  In short, this bike is exactly what I was seeking.  I contacted the bike's owner, we negotiated a purchase price, and we completed the sale after a test ride.

If I have learned anything from motorcycle and car customization shows (not to mention late-night diet pill commercials) it's that when you start a project like this you have to take "before" and "after" photographs.  The pictures you see below are the "before" photos.  This is how the bike looked at the time of purchase and how it looks at the time of this writing.

The plan is to change the look of the bike without changing the structure of it.  It will get a new paint job and new graphics on the tank and side cover (which won't be Honda graphics).  It'll get a new seat and tail section which will probably include a new tail light.  Lastly, it will get new handlebars to complete the cafe racer look.

I would like to have this done by the Spring and I think a target date of April 30, 2012 is reasonable.  But as I said at the start, it will probably take longer than I anticipate and I'm interested to see what challenges arise.  Whatever the challenges, when it is done I expect that it will be a sleek and nimble cafe racer.  Most importantly, it will be my cafe racer.

I will continue to take photographs and write blog entries as the project progresses to document each step.  For now I feel like the bike and project need a name other than "the cafe project."  I was thinking of calling it "little sister" since it is so closely related to my CB750.  Any other suggestions?