1976 HONDA CB750 FOUR F1 CAFE RACER PROJECT

by Imam Sadikin (http://otomotif.org)

Not much that I can give to you. Just publish a custom motorcycle and there are no targets, at least once a week. At this time, it would be a great honor for me! It’s absolutely perfect and this is very special. Because, this bike is already sent by someone who led a large forum that I highly respect.

The owner of this bike is René Tollkühn. He is the admin of the largest cafe racer forum in Germany. When most people build a motorcycle to win the trophy in a custom show. Not the case with René, he build a beautiful bike is not only to be a window-dressing. He did it solely through his own effort and then to be ridden by himself.

What inspired you to start building the bike? I love the classic racing bikes from Honda, but I wanted to pursue my own ideas. True to the motto “Less is more”, a phrase from the Robert Browning poem “Andrea del Sarto, also called ‘The Faultless Painter’” published in 1855.

Where did it come from? I bought the bike from an older man. It was at the time no longer in their original condition. The plan is “Minimalism” and had a clean cockpit. The concept: only black color (frames, tires, rubber parts), bare metal and brown leather. That would make it look perfect.

What did you do to the bike? The firts process, rear frame section has been cut to obtain the desired length, then proceed with painting. As already mentioned above the concept is only black color, the previous frame color is green. And then, do the same with Rico Pardeyke, start ordering aluminum tank, seat, side covers, fenders and chain guard to Friedhelm Lammers. I let him to do the job because he’s the best.

Then the wheels, get a used bike is a job that requires extra time, and even can be said to build from scratch is complicated. What I do in this section is renewed spokes and polish it. Not only that, some small aluminum parts were polished. For an example, as you can see on the clutch cover of the engine.

For the braking part, which is not yet visible in the photo. Major changes were made on the rear brake. René said he had installed a product from Classic Tube, it’s StopFlex® stainless steel braided hoses and according to some opinions it will increase of braking performance by doing away with the soft spongy brake pedal.

On the front brakes have done some adjustments. For the rear brake if you pay attention to this part, the rotor has been drilled. Why did you do that? I think it was quite successful to get the right settings were adjusted to StopFlex to get the best braking performance.

For this CB750 Four F1, the chassis has been optimized, and eccentric bearing has been repaired. For the swingarm, it using KONI shock absorbers for Honda Bol d’Or. For the front forks, it using progressive fork springs that designed for touring motorcycles that need the adjustability for varying load capacities.

I do the installation for an instrument that will make the cockpit had a classic look. It is a Motogadget Chrono Classic Instrument. Top yoke ordered from Dime City Cycles. The outside part of cockpit made shiny, this is the perfect touch combined with clip-on handlebars. You know, it’s a Cafe Racer.

Some changes also have been made on the electrical part. It is an attempt to return it into normal “engine can run as is”. The main thing, LiFePO4 battery has been installed. Engine has been revised and the displacement has increased to 836cc using Wiseco piston kit.

Some of the standard features that can be found here, but it’s still interesting. Use of Mikuni flat slide carburetor TMR-fitted with K&N air filter and the usual things that are still popular is the use of polished open line 4-into-1 exhaust system. This makes the bike more sparkle and make you feel good-looking when you ride this bike.

The final result for ’76 Honda CB750 Four F1 Cafe Racer Project, this bike has been stripped-down 36 kg originate mainly from the upper part of the machine and thus the entire focus has shifted noticeably down. It rides really great. It is very handy and the conclusion is I’m very happy after rebuild this bike.

Why I decided for a CB750 Four? Primarily because the motor characteristic, the appearance and frame geometry. She also has the incomparable sound of the classic Honda racing machines of the 60s and 70s lasting impression and infected. It is raw, pure and genuine. I love it and want to enjoy it.

If you have any questions about this bike. Please add René Tollkühn as your friend and chat with him.

DIGGING DEEP: A RUSTY CB750F2 FROM OUTSIDERS

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Rusty bikes seldom garner a second glance. But this new offering from Outsiders Motorcycles warrants close inspection—because there’s a lot more at play than a little patina.

Outsiders is based in the ancient city of Groningen in The Netherlands. The shop is run by couple Bert and Jene, with help from their apprentice Lex, and this Honda CB750F2 is their seventh build to date.

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“About a year ago, we got a call from our client Lars,” says Bert. “He’d just bought a 1978 CB750F2, and was looking for a shop to upgrade it. So we met in Amsterdam and talked all night about the bike.”

Most of Outsiders’ customers walk into the shop with a clear plan and budget. But Lars was happy to sit back and let the crew do their thing—as long as they ran any big expenses by him first. “He’s a graphic designer by trade,” explains Bert, “so he knows it’s important to let a certain ‘flow’ take over a project. The best stuff happens when you let go.”

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Bert loaded the CB750F2 into his van and hauled it back to his shop. The engine was in a bad state so the cylinders were honed, the heads ported and the valves resurfaced.

New rings and valve seals were installed, and everything was put back together with stainless steel hardware. At Lars’ request, the starter motor was removed: this CB is kick-start only.

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Outsiders also installed a rack of Keihin CR carbs with K&N pods. Bert’s old boss was roped in to fabricate a set of stainless steel, four-into-two exhaust headers—terminated with a pair of Spark mufflers.

Some of the ideas from Bert and Lars’ first chat included clean bars and an empty frame under the seat. The frame went into a jig to be de-tabbed and reworked. The subframe is all new, and includes redesigned exhaust and passenger peg brackets.

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The under-seat oil tank had to move though, so a new one was made from scratch. It’s now located underneath the fuel tank—along with a Ballistic Evo2 battery and most of the electrical components.

For the cockpit, Outsiders installed a set of bars found at a swap meet. To keep the cockpit minimal, Bert built an internally-routed throttle and a cable-actuated front brake—with the master cylinder hidden under the seat. The bars are capped with a pair ofBiltwell Kung Fu grips.

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Lars is pretty tall, so Bert wanted to increase the CB’s ride height. A Honda Transalp front-end was grafted on, complete with dual disc brakes. Out back, Bert fitted a set of custom-made, 395mm shocks from Bitubo—now hooked up to a CB550 swing-arm.

The CB’s original Comstar wheels gave way to a set of Excel rims—a 19-inch laced to the Transalp’s front hub and an 18-inch laced to the CB550 rear hub.

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When it was time to coat the frame, Bert had some ideas of his own. “Lars wanted the frame black,” he explains, “but because he was so quick on the ‘OK’ with everything else, I secretly went to the coater to test a piece of brushed scrap metal.”

“Once we saw the result, we went for it: a sand blast, wire brush, acetylene, clear powder coat process. I didn’t know exactly how it would turn out, but Lars was OK with it right away.”

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The fuel tank was an equally interesting process: Lars had taken it to a painter for a matte black job with gold leaf detailing—but once it was on the bike it felt out of place.

“We have a lot of old tanks lying around the shop,” says Bert, “and one night we slapped some random tanks on the bike, out of desperation. A rusted-beyond-repair BMW tank looked really good on the spotless bike.”

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Bert selected a CB650Z tank to replicate the roest effect. After modifying it to accommodate the electrics and new oil tank, he sent it off to the paintshop FutureRelics. They coated it white, red and then green, before sanding down and clear-coating it. A rust ‘goo’ was then applied; a combination of metal shavings and epoxy, treated with various acids.

On went a custom-made, brown leather seat, aluminum fenders, a small speedo and new lights. Every last finish was carefully thought out; the black housing of the Bates-style taillight was sanded and clear coated, and even the ‘CR’ logos on the carbs were changed to rusty orange (because “red looked wrong on the bike”).

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“Lars is not your ‘here’s a picture from Instagram’ type client,” says Bert. “He gave us really good feedback, and because our jobs are similar we had good discussions about a lot of stuff we normally don’t ask clients.”

“He upped the ante. It was a steep learning curve, and I grew big-time as a builder.”

As the project drew to a close, the bike was scheduled to appear at The Bike Shed event in Paris. Then disaster struck. Bert had sent the rims off for powder coating (to cover up the yellow ‘Excel’ logos), and the coater had lost them.

With no option but to order new rims, the Outsiders crew put in over 100 hours a week to get the bike done in time.

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“We were exhausted, but Paris was a complete blast—what an awesome event! Lars and his girlfriend booked tickets and came to see the finished bike for the first time at the show.”

“I think he liked it.”

Outsiders Motorcycles | Facebook | Instagram | Images by Klaas van der Laan Photography

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via BIKEexif