CodeName Clara - my winter project

**JamieKerr** · 8th November 08, 05:25 PM

Well I'd been wanting a motorcycle for some time. I got a great new job this past May, and so I began looking for the bike I wanted. I'm really not a fan of new bikes, or new...anything really. I'm all about the vintage stuff. That classic styling and reliable build, gotta love it. I already knew the bike I wanted, and when the exact bike I wanted popped up at a good price at the beginning of September...I bought her right on the spot! Behold! My 1975 Honda CB550 cafe racer in progress. Her name is Clara!

The seat cowl and tank will be sand blasted. Seat cowl will be repainted silver (it's fiberglass), and the gas tank will be left unpainted. I'm going for the polished steel-aircraft look.

My desired goal is to open up the space under my seat. To do that I want to relocate the battery to under the seat cowl. The wiring would be attached to the bottom of the seat, and the air filter would be removed in favor of racing style air filters which would attach to each carb. I don't yet know if its possible to do that with stock carbs, or if I'd need racing carbs. Hopefully not, cus a set of racing carbs is about $1k. If anybody knows anything about it, let me know.

Tank will be sandblasted and remain as unpainted polished steel. The Honda tag will need to be repainted, probably in black

Lots of rust and discoloration to go over

I already have clubman bars installed. The grips need replaced though. They don't seem to want to stay on as well as they should anymore. I love the headlight, though I'll have that sanded and leave it unpainted to match the polished steel of the rest of the bike.

I have a gas leak and I plan to replace all of my gaskets. After I do that I'll go over everything with chrome cleaner and a tooth brush.

What a mess. A lot of wiring that'll need replaced, half of it's held together with electrical tape

New chain is badly needed, mine's pretty worn out. Also will be replacing my rear sprocket, and probably my suspension as well

Hoping that I can equip my carbs with individual racing style air filters. Dunno if I can do that with stock carbs or not. If anybody knows, enlighten me.

**Sionnach** · 8th November 08, 05:31 PM

Looks like a great bike. Great project. Too bad you're not in neighborhood, one of my neighbors is a parts manager for a local Honda dealership. I ride BMW but he has been able to get some parts for my bikes even, andat a discount. But have fun, post some pics when you get done.

Regards

**JamieKerr** · 8th November 08, 05:41 PM

I've put almost 1,000 miles on her since I purchased her. The only other bike I've ridden was a Kawasaki Ninja. My CB550's transmission seems iffy at times, and I've found she seems to shift and take off kind of sloppily from a dead stop. I'm told the old school CB's had notoriously bad transmissions, so I'm guessing that's what it is.

**Sionnach** · 8th November 08, 06:04 PM

I'm guessing there are Honda boards that can answer a lot of your questions. If you haven't, you might want to take apart the petcock to check how clean it might be, given the age of the bike you might have some rust on the inside of the tank. Looks like a fun ride.

**JamieKerr** · 8th November 08, 06:13 PM

I'm a total motorcycle, well...vehicles in general....noob. I have been checking out a few boards, but most of those guys seem so far beyond my knowledge that I feel like a royal idiot asking questions at the moment. But I did buy my clymer manual this week, so I'm going to read through that and see if it'll help me form better questions.

**Sionnach** · 8th November 08, 06:52 PM

I think you will find that lots of those guys and gals will extend themselves to help you, first because they are good people and second because you have a vintage bike- they'll go nuts. Don't worry about the noob status- we all have to start somewhere. Clymer is a good place to begin as well. I've seen past threads about bikes here, too, so I am pretty sure you'll get some good advice XMark motorcyclists or bikers (whichever they consider themselves to be.)

All the best

**beloitpiper** · 8th November 08, 08:26 PM

That is a hot bike. I love those cafe racers!!!

**Mr. Kilt** · 8th November 08, 09:22 PM

Very nice bike!! I hope you upate us with pics as you do the restoration.
One suggestion though...I wouldn't sandblast the fiberglass parts, just sand them down by hand. Sandblasting could destroy them unless you're very experienced.

**JamieKerr** · 8th November 08, 11:14 PM

Originally Posted by Mr. Kilt

Very nice bike!! I hope you upate us with pics as you do the restoration.
One suggestion though...I wouldn't sandblast the fiberglass parts, just sand them down by hand. Sandblasting could destroy them unless you're very experienced.

Touche. I meant to say I'm having the gas tank sandblasted. The fiberglass parts will be done by hand. I have zero experience doing sandblasting. I have a friend who works in a machine shop who will do my gas tank for me! And rest assured mates, I will be posting lots of pics and updates!

**JamieKerr** · 2nd January 09, 08:06 PM

I finally have had some spare time this past week. So I began to disassemble my bike. So far I've removed the gas tank, seat, and carbs. I've sanded down the seat, and have sent my gas tank off to a friend (who lives in town) for sand blasting. I have taken a number of pics this week, and will be posting them later this evening! Right now, though, I'm picking up some paint