750 F2 Cafe racer project 2011

[Bryanj]

In my reducing "stash" of part i have a chromed, standard Honda disc brake swing arm which i can be persuaded to sell for a reasonable price, postage might be a bugger but depends exactly where you live as i might be driving past one late night! If you want pics PM me with your e-mail addy and I'll get some done

[bobthebuilder]

Looking at photos of your handlebar polishing and noticed Rabid Rabbit in background, is it a footballer as well.

Cheers Jock.

[UK Pete]

Looking at photos of your handlebar polishing and noticed Rabid Rabbit in background, is it a footballer as well.

Cheers Jock.

Yes Jock he plays for Man U reserve team , but has a hamstring injury at the moment so is resting up at the moment

[kaceyk2]

I totally dare you to put rabbit down the front of your leather jacket (with his head poking out) when you take the cafe racer on the road for its first spin, and get someone to take pics....
After all he deserves it, what with all the help, moral support, and polishing he's done.
Actually,
why is the rabbit there ?  Is it like Donny darko? (hums the tune; all around me are familar faces, worn out faces, la la etc)

[UK Pete]

More progress on some smaller parts


I polished up the other handlebar switch and clutch lever, i can see a few spots that need re-doing, but as it is all reassembled so i think i will leave it alone now






Another bit that was bugging me was how i was going to get some rearsets to fit, then i came up with the idea of adapting the existing peg hangers
although it all looks real simple it took me ages to come up with this, especially as i was using bits from my parts bin to do it
The other side with the gear change is almost done , i just have to get a long piece of ally bar to extend the linkage






Another bit of fabrication was needed on the frame where the rear mastercylinder reservoir mounts, the original bracket was rusted away so i made up another and bolted it on,
job done now my  reservoir is mounted,

[z1100r]

Wow...loving that switch gear, hope you dont mind me copying your Idea.

[UKROBK7]

Really enjoying this thread - can't wait to see the end result!

[UK Pete]

Some more pictures and progress


I got a rolling chassis a few days ago and was running through a few options, i think my PRR tank looks fantastic on this so i am going to use it on this project




My trusty helpers are really moving this project on for me, i dont know what i would do with out them






Bottom end of engine in



Note the lovely HD studs, i was lucky as they came with the bottom end when i bought it as a job lot, half of them were fitted the others were not, so i had a go at removing the original ones that were left in, F--K me they were stubborn to say the least it took me the best part of a day just to remove the old studs, anyway i succeeded without any breaking off           FEW!!




Also i made up the gearchange rearset so thats another task out the way





And finally i made the frame conversion, enabling me to build the engine in the frame



You may also notice the front light is now on it is the chrome version of the original i am just playing with ideas at the moment

[UK Pete]

Today i thought i would have a go at making a front mudguard (fender), as this is a parts bin special, and i do not have any money to spend i thought i would make something from old bits i have hanging around the workshop
I found a dohc f2 front guard hidden away so i dug it out and set to work removing the very badly rusted fixing mount



Next i cut it up a bit as it was looking far to bog standard and bulky



Ok so i lied the rabbit done all the hard work and brought it over to me on his back when he was finished trimming it



Next i needed a new mount, something that is strong like what was on there before, as i suspect it also acts as a bit of a fork brace
So in true bodge it up out of what you can find fashion i found a piece of strong galvanised metal, only problem was that this bit of metal was currently in the shape of a heavy duty timber joist hanger, so out with the hammers , grinder and wooden blocks i set about  beating it flat then beating it into some sort of shape that would fit under the guard









With that done i can now proceed to prepare the whole lot for paint, but first of all i am not sure which way to have the air deflector ridge either at the front or at the back where it should go, i suspect to deflect air on to the oil cooler, which incidently i will be putting one on this bike









Also i might trim the back a bit more , kind of tappering it off to thin it out a bit

Pete

[UK Pete]

Hi to all those who are watching and enjoying my cafe racer build, the project has really been going flat out , everyday i am doing bits, and am progressing real fast, this has been due to lack of work, hence i am doing everything i can on a budget, this being built almost totally out out of parts i have ammassed over the past year and a half, anyway the pace will slacken off as i have picked up a few jobs so i will only get limited time to do things to it
Anyway in true tradition of using whatever i can i decided to make a seat base ,using sand cement plasterers scrim tape, cling film and fibreglass
all the above cost me nothing so watch in amazment as i build a seat base for nothing

First make a mould out of sand cement and the scrim tape







Mould now made , so i smooth it out using neat white cement





Next i mix up some resin, and fiber glass over the mould while the white cement is still damp






Go to next post to see more

[UK Pete]

Following on from the last post


i use a hot air gun and quickly cure the glass resin and break out the sand from the newly made base



Then i clean off all the cement and decide it needs a coating of resin to fill any voids and seal it all up, then i had a brainwave why not tip in a bit of my 2K black gloss to the resin, so thats what i did , and painted both sides




Forgot to mention i built in the mounting studs so i can utilize the original seat hinge and lock






so here it is trimmed up and ready to fit



Wow it fits like a glove








So there you have it a perfect seat base, when i get my tail piece i will have a final  fit & trim of the base, the next thing will be to make up the cover, the only thing i am still researching is where or how to get the perfect shaped foam, i dont want to get flat foam from a furniture shop, i have tried that before and it looked shit
Anyone have any suggestions on the foam?

Pete

[AshimotoK0]

On the Cafe racer program, they used the rear of the fuel tank as a mould for the seat hump.

Like your style Pete!!

Cheers

Ash

[UK Pete]

I have 3 options for the tail piece, as it happens i do have a spare tank that i could chop up, i saw someone on the us forum use the back of a tank as a tail unit and it looked real good
Pete

[MIKE550/4]

just noticed this what a brill build, really envious

well done mate love the tank as well , would love to have the skillls to build a cafe

[Rozabikes Tim]

Lovin the build Pete. Fast or what??

Just can get time to even start my project. Think I will get the guys below in!

YouTube - Rebuild a Jeep under 4 minutes