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'83 Honda GL650 - Cafe

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Jeffro93

Jeffro93

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OK. I've been playing around with this forum for a while, and did my first Pie Run this past weekend, so I guess I'll "strut my stuff" and show you my project bike.

It's an '83 GL650 Interstate. When I got it, someone had taken off the fairing and tried to convert it to a "naked" style, but didn't appear to have finished the job. The bike was a mess. I knew I wanted something a little different, and this fit the bill. Actually, I bought it without any sort of plan except to get it running and start riding (if I hadn't have bought my SV650 this summer, it would have my first running bike). Eventually, I settled on a cafe theme, mostly because I hated the factory seat.

I replaced the tank with one from an '80 CX500 (much better form, in my opinion) and "taught" myself how to weld on the seat frame/pan and the back half of a '76 CB360. I replaced the crapped out Pro-Link monoshock with a Hagon shock and added Progressive springs out front. Exhaust is Emgo shorty reverse cones.

I've been working on it for 2 years as of October, and finally got it running about 10 days ago, but I'm not ready to put it on the road just yet. I'm hoping to get it in "runner" form to work out the kinks, and then work on finer details and paint. I hope to be "complete" sometime in Spring 2011.

Photo Album:
http://rides.webshots.com/album/580096741CQBSuG

Start-Up video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VypgPPWLJTg
 
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very cool :thumb:
I've been wanting to do a cafe bike for a while now, I just seem to have too many other projects.

Can't wait to see what you do with the paint
 
I've seen a bobber Goldwing, which I have to say looks very good. Stripping that massive bike down to cafe will make it feel like it has wings.

I'm curious about a few things since I'm about to do something similar.

Did (will) you modify the tank at all? What'd you use to fab your seat pan and cowl? How'd you shape the cowl? Did you find lights to fit your cowl, or have to build around a set of lights? Did you do anything with the front end (sorry, I don't know that model at all), or is it mostly stock?

Will you paint it, or have it done? Painting is about as mysterious to me as shaping aluminum.

It looks great!
 
I'm curious about a few things since I'm about to do something similar.

Did (will) you modify the tank at all? What'd you use to fab your seat pan and cowl? How'd you shape the cowl? Did you find lights to fit your cowl, or have to build around a set of lights? Did you do anything with the front end (sorry, I don't know that model at all), or is it mostly stock?

Will you paint it, or have it done? Painting is about as mysterious to me as shaping aluminum.
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Mr. Whoa:

The tank is from an '80 CX500, which I think has a more vintage "cafe" shoebox shape. The seat is 1/2" steel tubing with a sheetmetal pan. I really overbuilt it - just new to fabrication, so it weighs too much, but I'm not going to change it. The rear cowl is the back half of a '76 CB360 and the tail light is an '80 BMW K100S, which had a similar rear cowl from the factory and was an easy fit. The turn signals front and rear are aftermarket vintage style incandescents, but smaller than most stock units. The headlight is a CB750 reproduction. I've got Daytona bars on it now, but may play with Clubmans - haven't decided yet.

I will probably have it painted - I painted my car in high school, and it looked good, but I don't have the gun any more. By the time I buy a new gun and all the paint, etc., I'll be about half-way to what it'll cost to get it done, so I may as well bite the bullet and know that it'll be quality paint. I hope I can get a good price from the same guy that stitched the cover on the seat.

I hope to take it around the block for the first time this weekend and start "dialing it in". From there, I'll have the tank and cowl painted while I clean up the wiring as much as my expertise will allow. Should be able to cruise around on it this spring!
 
I like what you are doing with that ride. Cafe, it is wear it has always been.
 
Have you seen the Cafe Racer build (HD Theater Discovery Channel) on the similar styled CX500?

It was started in Episode 4 of Season 1.

Yours is looking good, keep after it!

Cheers, Tom
 
Awesome! I've been hooked on cafe racers for a very long time, and hope one day to get one. Yours is sweet...

Cheers! M2
 
M2 said:
Awesome! I've been hooked on cafe racers for a very long time, and hope one day to get one. Yours is sweet...

Cheers! M2
Click to expand...

Since about 1972, for me. Never had one, but I've always like them.

This bike is cool; sort of a poor man's Guzzi! :sun:
 
This bike is cool; sort of a poor man's Guzzi!
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I totally agree! Glad that you guys like it. I've been kind of stalled out on it lately - just haven't been able to put significant blocks of focused time on it. I hope to make more progress over Christmas/New Years. However, my list of other important things to do is growing.

I'm about ready to take it for it's first ride, but that's more to motivate me than it is evidence that I'm nearly there. I've still got a lot of work to do on it...

I'll keep you posted...
 
Glad you like it. Your comment reminded me that I have a new video to upload!

On Christmas Day, I took it for a few spins around the block (actually a few miles through the neighborhood). It's nowhere near complete, but I needed the motivation that came with riding it successfully. I LOVE the sound of the reverse cones - a lot more than I expected to.

I've since taken the seat, tank, gauges and headlight off. I'm in the process of cleaning up the wiring (modifying the electrical box to fit behind the headlight, this was a fully faired back in its day). I've ordered smaller, cleaner gauges and have a few coolant leaks to take care of.

Oh, and I ordered a set of clubman bars. It won't be nearly as comfortable, but it'll look great.

Still need to work on the getting ready to paint the seat and tank. Plus probably a hundred other things, but it's still fun! :rider:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P72PZ8M67AA
 
stayers said:
Did you have to mod the tank for it to fit?
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Just barely. The "tunnel" on the bottom side of the tank is wider than the stock GL tank, so the ears are too wide for the rubber stoppers on the frame. I welded bolts to the end of the rods that hold the rubber bumpers, and used spacers (large washers) against the frame to hold the rubber bumpers in the right position. The tank is actually a little longer than the GL tank, too. I welded a metal plate to the bottom side of the flange at the rear of the tank and drilled a new hole to line up with the hole in the frame that the tank bolts too. I did not use the rubber mount/isolater at the rear (didn't have one), it's just metal to metal.

Are you working on a GL?
 
Yeah. I just bought one at the start of the year. Looking to "cafe" it out. And thats when I came across your bike.
 
When I was riding "despatch" in London (Apollo & Pony Express, hardest days I've ever done) the GL was the go-to-bike of first choice. They seemed to go on for ever even with the abuse heaped on them by city traffic, English weather and riders paid by the drop.

Yours looks so much nicer! You have a great imagination, it's easy to picture a cafe out of a lot of bikes but looking at your picture #1 I see nothing remotely salvageable.
 
That is so cool. I gave away two of those a couple years ago. My buddy has two of the turbo bikes, running, and 3 of the non turbo.
 
Very nice, and very cool.

About to start a similar build and will be blatantly copying some of your work.
 
gospeed81 said:
Very nice, and very cool.

About to start a similar build and will be blatantly copying some of your work.
Click to expand...

I've heard that's the best form of flattery, so thank you very much! I'd love to see your progress...
 
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