| Cafe Racer Magazine Project Bikes |
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| Cheap, rusty and in need of some TLC, our Project Fighting CB at the start, August, 2008. |
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| Project Fighting CB
What it is: Our 1977 Honda CB 750F. Purchased for a song from some poor kid who had inadvertently knocked-up his girl. 10,400 miles, ugly aftermarket bolt-ons, only 50 rear wheel horses and more leaks than a rouge C.I.A. field agent.
Status: Completed with 498 new miles on clocks.
The Results: Airtech fiberglass bodywork shed 12 pounds; Mac four-into one exhaust and open-mouth 29mm Kehin carbs add much-needed juice; 2009 Honda CBR 1000RR tank badges vulcanized from friend's crashed sportbike; Raask rearsets and adjustable Clubman bars; Omar's DTR sprung-to-weight shocks and Race Tech forks and Red Wing shocks from Omar's DTR make for modern handling; didn't require a re-mortgage to complete.
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| She's a looker, but our we're after go as well as show. |
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Moto Guzzi V7 Classic Cafe
What It Is: The good folks at Piaggio USA were groovy enough to lay one of these cool, retro-styled babies on us last fall. "Take it back to your workshop," we were told unambiguously, "and go do, that voodoo, that you do so well!" OK, or something like that. No small challenge this. The Europeans may be lucky enough to have a factory cafe custom V7 available in their Moto Guzzi showrooms, but us Yanks are faced with doing things the hard way. No worries- team CR will make this modest commuter into something that could stop a line of Teddy Boys dead in their tracks.
Update: Guzzi V 7 has so far received: Emgo reverse megaphone exhausts with heat wrap; Race Tech heavyweight fork springs and fluid; Fat Duc 02 Manipulator for improved midrange fueling and six additional top-end horsepower; drilled airbox; bar-end mirror; custom-made rearset holders with Loaded Gun knurled rearsets; T Markus custom paint; Raask adjustable clubman handlebars; replica Lucas taillight with mini Tucker Rocky turn-signals; rubber fork gaiters; alloy exhaust hangers; 900 miles of saddle time.
The Results: Handles better thanks to re-sprung Race Tech forks; definitely louder and more exciting in midrange; Raask handlebars offer perfect compromise between looks, control and comfort.
Yet To Come: A set of adjustable shocks to even out the damping on the V7's rear end; a quarter-fairing for the front end and a seat cowl borrowed from a Triumph Thruxton to fill out the seat unit; new taillight and some stickier tires before it squares off against the Fighting CB Honda in a top-speed test.
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| We've taken this stock Moto Guzzi V7 Classic.... |
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| And turned up the volume and power and looks. More speed? Indeed! |
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| Salvage-Yard Sally, our 2005 Triumph T-100 Bonneville, showed up looking like she'd gone a few rounds with Kimbo Slice. |
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| Wreck To Winner Bonneville
What It Is: Living proof that Hinckley Triumph Bonnevilles all don't have to look the same, even when customized. We're also looking to prove these 55-horsepower twins can be made to run like scalded gorillas, even within the modest parameters of Everyman's budget. Like all the best project bikes, ours started in a junkyard, where low-mileage machines like this can be found in repairable shape for a fraction of what you'd pay for a non-salvage title machine.
Status: After completing the Bonnie's first stage for CRM issue #8 where we'd added alloy bodywork from Scotland's Tank Shop and a D&D TT style full exhaust, we shifted into overdrive with stage II, currently underway.
What's On: magnesium 17" wheels from a Honda CBR 600 F3 along with a complete, F3 front end; super-sticky Pirelli Supercorsa trackday radials; 41" mm alloy clip-ons; full Race Tech Gold Valve kit and heavyweight racing springs and fluid in the forks; CBR 600 dual, four-piston calipers with Venhill braided brake lines and sintered racing pads; Arrow full two-into-one stainless steel exhaust system; Triumph Thruxton rearsets; Race Tech G-3S shocks with remote reservoirs; CBR 600 F3 cush drive, master cylinders and rear sprocket; D.I.D. chain; all work by CRM Road Test Editor Blake Kelly who also raced the Wreck to Winner Bonneville at the AMA's Vintage Motorcycle Days meet at Mid-Ohio last July. The results and details of a whopping 20% weight reduction are in issue #13.
Yet To Come: A Wiseco 904cc big bore kit along with a set of Kehin round-slide, big bore carburetors from Sudco International; K&N pod filters and a British Customs airbox eliminator kit, cam re-rind and head overhaul including porting, polishing and larger intake valves; should see somewhere in the region of 70-80 horsepower. Or more.
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| And, nearly done, is a bleedin' stunner! |
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Going Commando
The concept: Take a basket-case, non-running 1973 Norton Commando 750 and make it fully modern. And fast.
The Brief: Project started in CRM issue #16 with a battered, abused and fugly, metalflake Norton. During post-purchase inspection, we found a set of stock exhaust pipes rusted to dust on the bottom side, a frame and engine serial number set that didn't match up and oh yeah, a massively crooked headstock. Engine has compression but rust visible inside cylinders.
The Solution? Look for our various fixes and cures in upcoming issues as we re-create Norton's last big bike using some of the best aftermarket parts available.
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