CB250 Cafe Racer

[wbrown343]

Thought id start a thread for my cafe racer project

CB250RS - condition awful, talk about regrets i have them but god loves a trier

Beside my mates Suzuki GS650 that hes also modifying over winter!

Got stuck in after a brief rip up the road the night after we got them home. Leaking oil got worse after getting a bit of heat into the engine, identified as a crack in the side cover. Took it off and found one of the coils was broken off the stator and after looking for ages for the right stator and cover, decided to buy a full engine which should be here on monday! Fingers crossed its not a lemon too

Bought a seat i liked the look of and cut my frame to suit using 2 90s and a length of 30mm pipe, i think its a nice proportion to the tank. Bought clip ons as well for the low, tucked front end style i think im going for

Then decided the tank was too round so just cut the end off it to weld it up, was a small hole from rust at this end anyway so thought why not, worst welding job ever

Decided to plate up my frame instead of using the standard plastic mudguard, will seam seal before paint. Mini taillight recess welded in as well as mountings for my battery to sit under the seat hump

I wanted to mount my key and barrel in the frame so i designed and cut gussets at work to fit in the triangle of the frame! Unnecessary but i think they look cool and kinda retro.

This is how it sits currently. Bits and pieces are away for blasting and zinc plating. Bought the 5 spokers as i kinda like the style of the 80s comstar wheels so ill have options on what to run as well! Will update this as i get more done

Suggestions on colour for tank and frame etc welcome! Im thinking the same green as my s8 with matte black everything else

 

[wbrown343]

Got my stuff back from blasting and got it primed and some of it painted. Meant to be matt black but every time i spray matt it ends up satin, havent quite mastered flash off times with it yet i think. Finish is ok but its a frame so not too worried about being absolutely mint! Excited for the build up stage now after i get the rest of the black sprayed and my other stuff back from zinc.

Running clip ons so i took to grinding the handle bar mounts off flush, didn't intend on going right through but i think it looks really cool

Spare engine landed and long story short ill be using my original with the stator and cover from the new one. The new engine had a helicoiled sump plug and there was dust inside the cam cover so thought it wasnt worth the risk when i know my original is a runner! Have resealed it and will be spraying black and changing some plugs and bits covers for either polished or stainless.

Thinking now on going goodwood green for the tank! Think a flat green would be more suitable to the age and style over the pearl racing green. Still undecided on which wheels to run so gonna spray them both so i have the option

 

[fabiostar]

nice project and they are a good we engine but die without regular oil changes... cafe style? has to be spoked wheels for me im afraid. more in keeping with the cafe era.

 

[wbrown343]

Engine and few other bits painted last night, very pleased with the finish on the engine and the brake drum but definitely not matte black probably look better in satin anyway realistically

Painted the spoked wheels as well but im not happy with the finish, they were a real curse to paint too, theres a lot of texture in the barrel of the wheel and thats the part of them you see so might end up sanding and repainting. Will order sprockets and tyres for them in the meantime, that might up the motivation to tackle spraying them again

@fabiostar agree on the spoked suits cafe style, i just really like the look of the comstar wheels. And definitely regular oil changes! The only filter is a mesh screen fitted inside the clutch cover so hoping very much that i wont have to split the engine again now after painting

 

[fabiostar]

or slip a wee naughty XL500 engine into it, it was the go to mod back in the days of mullets and black an white TV

 

[wbrown343]

@fabiostar you find me one and i'll do it!

 

[roverspeed]

Wow, one to follow.

I went to see A CBX250RS near Killinchy back in the summer. I wanted to do a similar project, but I found it to be an excessively big and heavy feeling bike for a 250. So I'm gonna hold out for a cg125 after Xmas. I want something super light and I'm not overly concerned about outright performance

 

[wbrown343]

Working away on this while waiting on bits and pieces coming for my car! Got my stuff back from zinc and blasting and very pleased with the finish even if i did forget a few bolts Parts Restore NI in Ballymoney if anyone is needing any plating etc. done!

Tank will need a bit of filler work but good to get it primed before the rust starts on the bare aluminium - love the finish of bare primer

Built up the front end and set the headlight and speedo in place just to gauge what they'll look like, very pleased with them. Thought it was actually gonna be too black until i built some bits on now im loving the look! Excited to see it with wheels on. Set the engine in last night as well which is where i discovered I hadn't sent 2 engine bolts must get them left up some time for plating. Pleased with how it looks so far! Especially the clip ons which had to go above the top yoke to suit me

Next stage is try to get the twin calipers to work with my forks, this i'll need to modify my disks or get new ones with a lower offset and continue the build! Not particularly looking forward to the wiring but will be stripping it down to the bare minimum and hiding as much as a physically can of it

 

[roverspeed]

Really looking forward to seeing (and hearing) this once it's done.

I wouldn't worry too much about the writing, I imagine it's a very simple loom.

Are you gonna stick with the 2 into 1 exhaust or go duals?

 

[wbrown343]

@roverspeed they actually come dual exhaust which is strange with them being a single cylinder engine but I've bought a 2 into 1 collector I was going to use. They say they lose a bit of power from exhaust scavenging but I doubt it'll have a massive effect!

A few bits and pieces done to this over christmas but no pics. Dual calipers are going to work out a bit of a headache. Does anyone know where I can browse bike disks by dimension? Struggling to find a 240mm disk with a lower offset to clear the fork legs

 

[Todd]

Class, i love these Cafe Racer builds. Keep up the good work!

 

[wbrown343]

Plugging away over the holidays with this and the car! Car gets priority but this ends up taking more time annoyingly. Got a pair of straight Harley rear discs im going to try make fit my front, will be a bit of trial and error. Defo gonna be overbraked for a 250, they're 320mm

The comstars have been a bit of a headache to fit. Its a different axle same diameter front and then a heavier axle in the rear so I've had to modify my swingarm to suit the axle. Seeing the beefy tyres on the comstars convinced me that was the route i had to go, the tyres on the spoked wheels are tiny in comparison!

Next problem is rear wheel alignment. Pic above shows 650 axle and spacer fitted to my swingarm which is obviously no good. Few adjustments to the hub should get me line with the sprocket and then hopefully close to in line with the frame. Stuck the tank and seat on for a bit of extra motivation!

Looks quite cool in primer I thought! Be good to see the seat pan the same. Cut a couple of brackets for rear sets I got on eBay, seem reasonable quality but I'm sure they're not made to last. Look cool tho! Starting to take shape!

 

[fabiostar]

The rear sets, chuck the bolts that come with them and use decent stainless and loctite, they come loose and leave you stranded,, dont ask how i know this lol

 

[variant]

The grey tank not make you think a nice coat of Morris Minor grey would look great with a subtle black honda badge

The spoked wheels would be my preference too but the comstars are far better now in black than I imagined

I've never had a motorbike in my life but I reckon a 125 or 250 like this will be my next midlife crisis once I get a bigger workspace.

 

[wbrown343]

@fabiostar Haven't been working on this much lately but unsure if the sets are actually going to work for me the clutch side is fouling on the stand so its gonna require a bit of rework on my brackets, might even have to incorporate the stand into my rear set bracket, I just need a spare evening to work it all out!

@variant Grey is a very common colour in a café racer is my only gripe! Gonna stick to my guns and go racing green to match my car. Absolutely do it, the brief spin I got on this before we stripped it would definitely put ya in the notion of getting the test. If I was doing it again id start with a 125 actually as well

 

[noLUCKcivic]

I'm nearly 100% sure I was standing outside a chinese on the Longstone Street in Lisburn few months ago and seen this in the back of a pickup, must have been you couldn't be too many CB250RS in the back of pickups lol

 

[wbrown343]

@noLUCKcivic I think thats fair to assume that theres not can go nowhere

Mini update time! Got few brackets designed and cut, handy programming a plasma for work

Dual calipers brackets - refinished in cerakote by @EF Ian. Very pleased with how these turned out, will plumb with braided lines hopefully through the steering tube but unsure how to do this if anyone has any pointers! Do you need a bulkhead swivel type fitting or just a plain fixed 90 etc with slack in the line to the reservoir to allow full steering travel?

Rearset brackets v3 - decided to do away with the adjustment plate that comes with the eBay kit and mount them onto my bracket instead. I've tapped both sets of holes so i can mount my stand on the rear side of the left hand bracket, to clear my gear linkage. Happy with how this worked out as well. Surprisingly the supplied gear linkage was actually a straight fit, will just require some fine tuning. I will have to come up with something else for the brake rod though, probably just m8 threaded bar in the meantime. Very undecided on the kick plates that come with the kit, sometimes I think they fit perfectly and sometimes I really don't like the look of them. I have carbon ones I won on eBay but I don't think they'll look right either. Starting lever also clears the brake lever which was a very happy coincidence

I then made a start on my exhaust, this is the only pic I have but the collector will be below the engine and take an S bend out to the right hand side where ill pick up the tapped hole on the rearset bracket for an exhaust hanger. Torn between a short cone and a normal length, think the shorty would make it a bit more sporty The downpipes will be re-blasted, coated with VHT and then heat wrapped as I love the look of it.

Also rolled it outside and just like that it started spitting with rain but definitely ignited a bit of motivation to get this thing on the road for the spring!

 

[wbrown343]

Update time! Finally got some paint on my tank and hump. Audi racing green metallic the same as the car. Stuck it on and though nah this is way too dark but the more i see the pics the more im starting to like it. Thought I should have maybe done the wheels silver but sure can always do them again! Very pleased with the finish on the hump and i got one run on the tank, not bad for such an awkward shape.

Got an m10 heim ended turnbuckle to use as a brake rod as well although it does look a bit ignorant there's absolutely no feel with the brakes but maybe id need to be moving to know if they're actually working. Also designed a wee 3mm steel bracket for my headlight and gauge which has worked out fairly well! Need some form of adjustable steering stop incorporated into my lower triple cause the switchgear will hit the tank and I cant have that on a nice painted surface!

Finally, stuck the tank and hump on just for a few pics after it had cured a bit and rolled her outside again! Really pleased that its finally coming together now. Might end up doing the wheels silver at some stage but we'll get the thing going first.

Now waiting on my muffler coming so I can weld up the exhaust and then ill have a bit of wiring to do and hopefully that'll be it ready for the road. I have most of everything else ready to fit its just getting time to fit it is the main issue! Roll on the better weather

 

[wbrown343]

Mini update time! Finally getting round to working on this after the car taking priority for Dubshed and getting a new daily. Muffler landed from Mad exhausts Holland, seems really good quality and perfectly sized for my bike. Had my mate with the 650 over to TIG it and he got it welded in a couple hours! Turned out really well with only slight pulling so will have to slot the hole for the hanger just. Close to the swingarm and brake rod but should clear it

Got all the rest of the brackets I made painted black and fitted ready for wiring as well. Also made a fork brace to replace the standard mudguard which I'm pretty undecided about think it would be useful to keep the brake lines away from the tyre if nothing else. I also started wet sanding my tank ready for fitting once the wiring is complete! Definitely closing in on it now

 

[Nickyyy]

Unreal would love something like this but sadly lack any sort of talent to do it.

 

[wbrown343]

@Nickyyy Its not so much about talent, I just get stuck in and see how it goes best way to learn!

 

[fabiostar]

Thats turned out proper nice.

 

[Apis]

Looking lovely, well done.
Hope you don't mind me saying; you could try some stainless bolts with flange head for the heel plates and the rear brake rod bracket.

 

[wbrown343]

@fabiostar Thank you!

@Apis I dont mind and theyre only on for handiness! The original bolts have been redone in gold zinc but its a lot lighter than fresh zinc and my camera seems to pick it up as nearly silver. Promise its not as glaring a difference in person

Mate with the 650 was over, thought id share a pic!

 

[Apis]

@fabiostar Thank you!

@Apis I dont mind and theyre only on for handiness! The original bolts have been redone in gold zinc but its a lot lighter than fresh zinc and my camera seems to pick it up as nearly silver. Promise its not as glaring a difference in person

Mate with the 650 was over, thought id share a pic!

Nice bike. I have the slightly older generation Suzuki, the GT550.