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Cafe pacer


Lushman

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Ok so tonight I bought a bike for this years LDU challenge.

it was originally a 1991 Honda cb450dx that someone has modified. 
the engine runs well and he chucking in a van load of spares. It needs an mot which is something I will look at first.

it cost me £500 so under this years budget, meaning I have £100 to spend on sorting it out excluding the mot
After the mot, my first thing is to make it more comfortable, so I will probably remove the clip ons and replace with normal handle bars. I will fit mudguards to reduce spray I have some old ones lying about that I will look to use.

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Out of likes but I do actually like that. I'm guessing as a 450 it's a descendant of the old superdream. Which was horrible but that looks lighter and at least has a half decent front end, like a 1st gen cbr 600.

You'll not be rinsing fuel and those tyres are very much up to the job. Fun asymmetrical exhausts too!

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SteveLynn is gonna love MoTing that 🤣

He had a good laugh at my Turdpot

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I like it, it's got the left leg warmer for when/if needed , but, those small zorsts will mean VERY good earplugs needed for 2k miles of riding .. Or lifelong tinnitus, you chose.. 

If you haven't got good neck muscles beforehand, you will by the end of it 👍

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6 hours ago, Herr V. said:

SteveLynn is gonna love MoTing that 🤣

He had a good laugh at my Turdpot

Lmao I haven’t told him he will have to mot yet lol

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20 hours ago, hawkati said:

Out of likes but I do actually like that. I'm guessing as a 450 it's a descendant of the old superdream. Which was horrible but that looks lighter and at least has a half decent front end, like a 1st gen cbr 600.

You'll not be rinsing fuel and those tyres are very much up to the job. Fun asymmetrical exhausts too!

Yeah it is super dream descendant has 45bhp so more than my cbr500r lol. It has new tyres and chain and sprocket. Here is a screenshot of the original advert.5DB351AF-45AE-4176-A2CD-C3457E2340C5.png.fc1550544e0dff4c740d06a1700a647b.png

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Ok quick update, 

I took the seat off and wiring is a mess. I am looking to see if I can relocate some of the components. The battery is underneath the bike but needs replacing as it doesn’t hold much charge when it is not running. It has some sort of homemade oil cooler underneath the engine. I will post videos on YouTube for the build process checkout LushmanTV for vids.  I have fitted a front mudguard and removed the clip ons, so 
I will be fitting some flat bars this will give me more travel on the front end. 

in my garage I have loads of spares including handle bars along with old fashioned bulb indicators that I will use on this bike to keep me under budget.

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Edited by Lushman
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8 hours ago, Lushman said:

Ok quick update, 

I took the seat off and wiring is a mess. I am looking to see if I can relocate some of the components. The battery is underneath the bike but needs replacing as it doesn’t hold much charge when it is not running. It has some sort of homemade oil cooler underneath the engine. I will post videos on YouTube for the build process checkout LushmanTV for vids.  I have fitted a front mudguard and removed the clip ons, so 
I will be fitting some flat bars this will give me more travel on the front end. 

in my garage I have loads of spares including handle bars along with old fashioned bulb indicators that I will use on this bike to keep me under budget.

B5D6793D-5C47-41C1-B7F2-394E2DECF993.jpeg

Is that copper pipe?

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7 hours ago, Thunderbolt said:

Is that copper pipe?

I think it is. I think the previous owner was going for a steam punk theme cafe racer.

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I would but it might blow the budget. I do have a spare petrol hose though, so may replace that.
However I do like the look that they used someone’s plumbing on a bike and it gives a bit of steam punk vibe.

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22 minutes ago, hawkati said:

I'm pretty sure I've got a cbr400 oil cooler somewhere in the stable - yours if you want it?

Thanks I may take you up on that. 👍👍

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36 minutes ago, Lushman said:

Thanks I may take you up on that. 👍👍

Just gimme a shout whenever...

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I bet you you could sell that copper pipe to the scrap man and he'll give you half the cost of a real oil cooler.

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Did the original motor even use an oil cooler?

I bet that motor doesn't even get close to producing enough excess heat to cook a few litres of oil.

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8 hours ago, Damnthistinleg said:

Did the original motor even use an oil cooler?

I bet that motor doesn't even get close to producing enough excess heat to cook a few litres of oil.

Yes it did, up high above the exhausts and below the tank, mounted on the down tubes.

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29 minutes ago, Thunderbolt said:

Yes it did, up high above the exhausts and below the tank, mounted on the down tubes.

It probably used the heat from the exhausts to warm the oil up 😂

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Update, baffles fitted still loud.

straight bars and different top yoke fitted. Replaced the horn for an old one I found in my shed. It works. 
the front brakes definitely need attention. 
I test fitted the original tank but the seat no longer fits.

fitted a rear mudguard to try and keep some water off the electrics. But I may try using a lunch box under the seat to keep them dry. 

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I also created a YouTube channel called LushmanTV where I will post my progress and Lushmangb on Instagram

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  • 1 month later...

Ok I have to pull the plug on the cafe racer. It just needs so much work that will push it well over budget.  So I have purchased a totally different kinda bike. This is something I have not ridden before. A bmw flat twin. I got this for £600 off a fellow rider who is unable to attend the event this year but I have agreed to sell it back to him so he can use it next year on the event.  It is heavy and I struggle to put it on the main stand. However riding it it feels positive.  Looking at it the mileage shows in some places but it is comfortable as I found out riding it from Honiton back to Cambridgeshire on Saturday.

Edited by Lushman
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Forgot to mention, it has over 100,000k miles on it. I took it out on Friday and the headlight is pretty good. But the side stand spring has stretched so I will have to fix that.

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