early steps in bike restoration.

once again im thinking of blowing money away and either making a streetfighter or somthing more interesting, and since i KNOW its a waste on the 250.. ive perked up about the simplistic easier idea of a cafe racer from an old bike in need of TLC.

just wondering whats the typical progress in restoration, and what you can do yourself, im thinking that the majority of work can be done by myself apart from the trickier bits like the engine, forks and chroming / powdercoating.

so i was looking at some simple bikes such as this honda CB450
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Honda-CB450-and- ... dZViewItem

somthing thats not got alot of body parts and tonnes of fiddly electrics, somthing simple and easy.

since the frame looks small would the best start be documenting everything then stripping it right down and sending the frame off to be dipped, checked and powdercoated.

along with getting the forks rebuilt and powdercoated / cleaned up too.

as for paint, its a cafe racer, so, matt black and checker square racing stripes would suffice, no sexy paint.

engine wise... is there any models of bike that would be reccomended as having common engines especially in other models that would be possible to find a second hand motor in good condition? or would rebuilding be one of my only options *obviously done at a shop since i wouldnt have the tools or experience*


any ideas and help would be appreciated, im thinking of starting a project when i get back form america in july... somthing that i can build up until my ninja 250 dies.

......so i was looking at some simple bikes such as this honda CB450
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Honda-CB450-and- ... dZViewItem

somthing thats not got alot of body parts and tonnes of fiddly electrics, somthing simple and easy.......

DANGER WILL ROBINSON *waves arms around frantically*

That thing on e-bay is neither simple OR easy. You would need a very good working knowledge of old Hondas, as what is offered is 2 totally different bikes - an older 4-sp drum brake model, and a 5-sp disc brake model. The cost of parts for either would send you broke within 6 months.

A good project bike would be something like a mid-70's Z650. Parts for these are still around, there are several clubs with classified sections where parts can be found, and they are a simple and easy bike to work on.

Anything from the 60's is gonna be way harder and take a lot longer and cost a shitload more than just about anything else.

If you really want this old Honda, then join the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club straight away. They are a great source of info for anyone building or restoring old Jap bikes .

well that was only an example of what i was looking at getting, id prefer a kawasaki, but anything with abundant parts will suffice.

Ages ago i bought a cb250 that was a right old ratbike. i had started to write about it, but i kinda got busy at work and didnt get to submit it :-\.

Aannnyhoot. I bought a old cb250 (from about '71-'72 or so) and did my best to get it up to scratch. I got it running ( as per here ). but as i didn't have quite the mechanical knack to know wtf was up i melted a piston because it was running lean from an airleak from the carb boot.

If i could do it all again, and had the time space and resources to do it, fugg oath i would!! oh that is except for the melted piston part...

Last edited by mike-s on Sat Feb 17, 2007 9:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Have you considered a smoker ? A good old RD350 would make a *phat* project as a streetfighter, and when you buy old RD's, they normally come with lots of spare parts ....

Have you considered a smoker ? A good old RD350 would make a *phat* project as a streetfighter, and when you buy old RD's, they normally come with lots of spare parts ....

id prefer 4 stroke for the fuel and oil effeciency, also cause id be using it regularly on the road and need a bit more reliability. and less DING DING DING SEIIIZE

i WOULD but im a bit scared of 2 stroke for a regular ride.

Cool , thats very understandable....

Well, for some basic tips on a restoration.........

A twin is twice as easy to restore as a 4-cyl (eg Cb400/4, z650 etc), as far as engine parts & cost are concerned.

Try and stay with a popular model if you can, normally parts are *way* easier to find at wreckers for these. Things like XS650's for example, you can still buy brand new repro parts from the US for these, cheap and over here within 6-8 days after ordering.

Try and get one with as good bodywork as possible. This is the one thing that can make or break a a rebuild. Things like fork sliders can be rechromed, rear shocks can be replaced, but finding the right-colour LH side-cover in good nick with the proper badge, for anything built before 1970, can be murder .

Good luck with your project.

yeah sounds good. ill keep my eyes out for UJM's from the 80's that suit cafe style.

and as for body work, it will have as little as possible and be almost ratty. flat black with some checker racing stripes and maybe a bit of airbrushing from a friend. thats it.

I have always wanted to drop a XR650/KTM620 motor into an RG 250 frame (for example) now THAT would be wicked

Wot Gos sed.

Or get good at plastic repair and spray painting real quick. Get something with a good tank, too.

I rebuilt a VF500F from scratch a while back. Still haven't got around to finishing off the paintwork 'cos I got sick of not riding it. The tank's off it now due to some rust - I've lined it, but still have to repaint it. There's about two days' work left, but it runs and rides sweetly (when all together!).

The VF's NOT a popular bike. It took 4 months to get some required parts, and others are expensive enough that I'll either not bother or make my own. I was fortunate enough to pick up a second bike for parts, which made things a bit easier. They're not the easiest bike to work on, either - adjusting the valves on the rear two cylinders is a shocker. At least they're screw and locknut, 'cos they need adjusting every 10k.

10 000 k's o_o

oh well with my riding habits tats about 6 months

heh, took me 4 months+ to get the cb250 into an operational state. Operational in the fact that the engine *RAN*. Not nessecarily in any fantastic way.

Heres hoping if you buy one you don't get one that had a meltdown in your wiring like i did, all because some past owner/braniac cbf figuring out what the actual problem with shorting the fuse was, and TAPED the two ends of the fuse together. Man that was messy, wasted half my time just sorting that f*ked up loom out.

lucky bastard, no, seriously .

.....because some past owner/braniac cbf figuring out what the actual problem with shorting the fuse was, and TAPED the two ends of the fuse together. Man that was messy, wasted half my time just sorting that f*ked up loom out.....

jeez that brings back some memories !! fair dinkum, there are people out there who should *Never* be allowed anywhere near a motorcycle for *maintenance* purposes !!!

*nods* and the funny thing is the guy i bought it from had it huddled in the corner of his garage for 10 years, wanted madly to restore it, but never had the time. 10 years later his mrs was giving him the hurry on to free up garage space. This same guy seemed to know a bit about its history, but i suspect would have been one of the instigators of its demise.