Week 14-17: June - July 2008 - 07/31/08
After much deliberation with the BCR crew, we decided to change the set up of the wheels and tires, the finishing touches of the front end, clip-on set up and the exhaust set up as well.
We came up with a new look in the front end. We wanted the front end to have a clean, somewhat stream line look. So we decided to make a fork covers that would go all the way up to the upper trees. We got rid off the rubber gators and came out with a stainless fork covers where even the upper portion of the forks will be covered, and even a section of the lower trees. We are still using clip-ons but we are going to use stainless to match the front end. We stripped the powder coat on the lower tubes and upper trees, then polished it. Having the fork covers in this set up will make the front end give that bulky aggressive look that we want.
The front shouldered wheels we had on didn't look good. It didn't have the look that we wanted, so we changed the front to a 4.5 x 19" and slap some 110/90 we had originally. Then we got a 6.5 x 18 Excel aluminum rim for the rear, and slap a 160/60 tire. We could have just slapped some 16 Harley in the rear, but we want that big uniform look on the wheels.
The exhaust, we wanted it to stand out but not to take over the look of the whole bike. We wanted the exhaust to be short for a change, like Moto GP bikes. We decided to make it a 4 into 4 system so people we'll know we mean business. In making the 4 pea shooters, we used 18 gauge SS to save weight and we made the tips removable so we could repack the fiberglass in the future. The inside perforated pipe is 1 3/8" and opens up to 2" at the tip. It'll give a deep open sound at open throttle but will be quiet at idle.
We also we decided to take apart the engine again and get the cylinders bored out to 835cc. We are also changing the cams to a stage 1 street cams.
Week 12-13: December 2007 - March 2008 - 03/03/08
For the past 3 months, we've been busy lately with custom ordered parts, other BCR project bikes (el Poquito, lightning racer, etc), and coming up with new products, that the "trixie special" project was put on hold. We are still behind schedule from the customer orders and other projects, but spring is coming and we want this project up and running. That's why we are back on this project and hopefully things will be rolling (fingers crossed).
The Overall shape of the tank and seat.., well it's more organic, round, curvier, long and stretched but not long that it extends out to tires . Its more of a Nortonish, Egli-vincent look, than a boxy dunstall, CR look.
The tank and seat in the pics are just master mold. We finished the master mold for the tank and seat way before we got the frame powder coated. The master model mold is made of metal and smoothed with plastic body filler. Making the model is like making an actual tank and seat, except the functionality and internals are different. You are only after the external shape of the tank and seat when you make a master mold. Some builders starts off in making the master mold out of foam, but we opted to use metal. Foam tends to warp as the fiberglass mold dries. It's all because the resin use in making the fiberglass mold gets hot as the resin dries. If you have a warped model, you'll have a warped mold, and in effect the final product will have high or low spots.
We test fitted the master mold to see how it will look on to the bike and to see if there will be any clearance issues before we make the production mold and the product itself. We also checked how will the tank and seat be mounted. Plus fitting the model tank and seat on to the bike will somewhat give us the push that we need to finish this project. After seeing the profile, and looking at it at different angles, we are happy with the lines so now, off to make the tank and seat.
Now some backgrounds of the tank and seat and explanations how did we come up with the shape. The length of the tank, well its all because when we look at the bike from the side we want to see the engine to be in the center of the tank. Having the engine in the center of tank gives the engine a gem, center of attraction look. The height of the tank, its all because we wanted the top surface of the tank higher than the upper trees, giving the bike a dominating road racer look. Good example of the same tank height profile would be most Ducatis and Norton's Manx. Width of the tank, well we wanted to make it narrow than the engine so when you look at it from the front, the engine is bulging giving the bike a powerful muscle bike look. And the shape of the tank, its round and organic in front and tapered towards the back thanks to the aggressive knee cut outs. If you look at it from the top, it looks like a speeding comet with a long tail. If you look at the tank from the side looks like a bullet train w/ fading tail from the tremendous speed its doing.
The seat, we wanted to have a reverse effect of the tank, but we didnt want the seat to dominate tank. We just want the seat to follow the lines of the tank and somewhat support the look and have the lines flow. The edge of the seat where the seat pad will go, is rounded off similar to the "pinas 550" seat. The only differnce would be "trixie special" seat has a somewhat pulled back look where the front is straight but the back widens as the lines hits the tail hump. We based the shape of the tail hump from the arch of the knee cut outs of the tank. We wanted the seat the same arch as the knee cuts so when you look at the bike from the side, its balance and proportional.
The tank and seat will be in carbon fiber but we will add some stainless and aluminum details to give the bike an old school cafe look with somewhat modern minimalist look. The bottom contour of the seat will be wrapped around the lines of the frame, and will have space under the tail section for a tail light and electrical components. The tank will be secured with stainless strap, and will be divided into two tanks, one side for gas and one side for oil. To prevent the heat of the oil from travelling to the whole gas tank, we decided to make the oil tank a separate unit and have it tuck inside the gas tank with insulation. To cool down the oil, we decided to add an intake air scoop in the front right side of the gas tank, and finish it off with stainless grill. Not only will the air scoop be functional, it will also add detail to the tank and to the whole bike itself. We are happy with the sexy lines that the tank and seat will give the bike. So now, next on the agenda for this project build would be to make the actual carbon fiber tank and seat. To be continued.
Week 11: December 3-10 2007 - 12/11/07
Week 11 is all about making the aluminum panels to cover the underneath of the sub frame, mounting the controls, switches and grips. In making the panels to cover the sub frame, we used 16 gauge flat sheet aluminum with thin high density foam so the panels won't rub against the frame from the vibrations and secured them with stainless fasteners. We are using old style grand tourismo grips with soft center and secured them with stainless steel wires. I learned this technique from my MX years. Plus they add some detail to the grips.
Week 10: November 10 - 18 2007 - 11/19/07
Week 10 is all about front tires, controls, BCR's dual brake scoops and dilling the rotors. After getting the front wheel laced, we slapped on the 110 tire and got the bike standing on its front wheel. We decided to set up the front brakes with dual disc, and drilled both rotors to save some weight. We didnt want to go crazy with the holes and make it look cheesy, so we decided to just go with the simple 2 and 1 hole pattern. Less is best. Less holes means less work for us. We used AUTOCAD program to get the pattern, then transfered it to the rotors. We used a 3/8" drill bit, then tappered the holes to look cleaner and to add more detail. After drilling the holes, we got the center of the rotors powdercoated in black. We want a somewhat an all black look yet have detail. We even got our BCR brake scoop powder coated in black, but will use a stainless screen mesh so it'll highlight the shape of the brake scoop. We took apart the controls, engine chain tensioner and brake master cylinders and polished it until it gives a somewhat chrome look. Since the clip-on handle bar that we made were powder coated in black, we had to stripped a section to bare metal so the throttle tube would more freely.
Week 9: October 1 - 15 2007 - 10/16/07
We just finished buffing the alluminum wheels that we are going to use for this project, and now off it goes to get it laced with stainlessl spokes. The hubs where cleaned and got some gloss black powder coat treatment to give a more detailed vintage touch to our " trixie special " project. The front shouldered wheel measures 19" x 3.5, and the rear measures 19" x 4.5. We bought the front and rear aluminum wheel in Ebay. The front came from an early Harley sporster, and the rear came from a norton 70's commando. We didnt want to follow the trend of using 16" harley wheels in the rear. We wanted the 2 wheels to be uniform and wanted a level stance on our project. Once laced, the front wheels are getting 120/90-19 tires, and rear will be getting 200/80-19. We made a custom swing arm to accommodate the 200 tire and offset the sprockets. We wanted a fat look on the tires to give the bike a bulky aggressive real custom cafe look.
Week 7-8: September 17 - October 1 2007 - 10/02/07
Its been awhile since we worked on the trixie special project. Though all the fabrication and modification is pretty much all done, its just the assembly that is left. We've been busy lately trying to catch up with customer order parts and just havent have time to work on our own project. We are so thankful that our customers have been so patient waiting for the parts that they ordered.
Anyway, week 7-8, this is what our trixie special project looks like. We rebuilt, clean and assembled the forks. We had the lower fork tubes, triple trees, headlight/tach bracket, and our own rendition of a clip-on cafe/board racer bars powder coated in gloss black to match the frame. We added an aftermarket hydraulic steering dampner for safety, and to add detail to a performance look. The upper aluminum clamps were gutted-out. We grinded off the stock gauge brackets, and shaved off some of the stock handle bar clamps without weakening the clamp.
The engine is safely inside the frame, the original bolts that was used to secure it will be replaced with stainless allen bolts. The long stud that was used to hold the factory foot pegs will be shortened, threaded and will be chromed to add detail.
We also decided to use fork gators to give the bike the retro cafe look. We also made our own headlight/gauge bracket to expose the upper forks and to give a floating look on headlight and tach . The stance of a stock cb750 has a high front, low back touring look. We wanted to lower the front of the bike, more like a modern super bike, so we decided to use a much shorter cb550 forks.
Week 6: September 9 - September 16 2007 - 09/17/07
"Trixie Special" Frame Modifications Decoded
There isn't really any new developments this week for our CB750 " Trixie special" project. So this week, we thought we would decode and share the modifications we made in the trixie frame. The frame has a new seat frame, rear set brackets, a new location for the battery box, side stand and upper shock mounts. We also added a mounting bracket for the hydraulic steering dampner that the bike is getting. We relocated the upper shock mounts to raise the back of the bike to give the bike a more level, if not a higher rear stance for that aggressive superbike, classic road racer look that we want. We also eliminate the tabs and brackets that the bike no longer needs. We moved the side stand to the front to get the clearance that we need for the custom exhaust, and the shifter lever. We also made a new tubular seat frame that wraps to the bottom contour of the seat and mount it on a slight up angle to push the rider towards the front of the bike and have that racing, tucked-in, ass up seating position. For better handling, we also decided to mount the battery lower to the bike (where the center stand use to be mounted to) to get a lower center of gravity.
Week 2-5: August 12 - September 8 2007 - 09/09/07
Because customer orders being our priority, the assembly of trixie special was put on hold for a couple of weeks. But little by little, the engine was finally put together and it is finally time to put the engine back to the frame. The engine has new seals, gaskets, rings, timing chains, guides, and bearings. We decided to keep the engine stock internally. We just wanted to revive the stock bullet proof CB750 SOHC engine and give it some cosmetic details. The engine has vintage design technology and i think punching it out would just be pointless. Our point in making this build is not for race, its more of having a bike that looked different yet vintage, eye catching, original, functional, appealing and kick ass.
To avoid the frame and the engine from getting scratch while mating the two together, we lay a high density rubber matting on the floor and lay the engine on its side ( points cover side), and slowly slide the frame in. We also decided not to install the oil pump, oil pan, and other side covers yet so it'll give us a lot more clearance to slide in the frame. Once the engine was secure and bolted on the frame, we placed it on the motorcycle lift and lay on upright and secured it with tie downs to prevent the frame from falling off of the lift.
Week 1: August 6-12 2007 - 08/13/07
We got all the parts back form the powdercoat (cylinder head, cylinder, frame, bars, etc..), done with the modifications to the frame, made all the body parts, moc-up, and now its time to put trixie back together. We decided to start the assembly by taking the engine apart and take a look at the inside. We did a couple of tolerance test (specs according to Honda service manuals) on the engine bearings and everything is still up to specs in the short block. We looked at the cylinders and found some deep scratches in number 3 cylinder. Maybe its caused by long term storage and non use, or even maybe abuse from previous owner. We decided to get the cylinder walls cut. We think that honing them will not work. So we got the cylinders 2 cuts, and bought an oversize rings for the piston.
While waiting to get the cylinder block back from the machine shop, we decided to lap the valve seats and replace the valve seals. and do some tension test on the springs before putting everyback to the cyliner head. We also decided to put the triple trees back in to the frame and update the steering head bearings with tapered bearings.
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