....and decided to build a Bonneville T140 Cafe Racer from scratch.
Back in the UK I owned a 1958 Triton but didn't do much to it beyond basic maint'- I had a man to fettle it for me. I've just finished a Honda CB750 cafe racer project (Currently for sale on Ebay, plug, plug) but feel I didn't go far enough with it. Hence this decision.
I've never built a bike in my life but have worked on engines a little. I can't paint or weld- that will be done by professionals. I can bolt things together. And I can soda blast but not polish.
Having got a frame (1979 OIF) I bought a 1975 T140V engine. I'm currently stripping that down and then will rebuild it replacing what needs replacing. So far I've replaced the barrels, valves & springs, valve guides, con rods and pistons plus other bits and bobs.
This isn't going to be a factory rebuild, it's my vision and may horrify some of the "pureists." (Frankly I'm not even sure at this point that I'm going to like it when it's finished)
I've bought one of the light weight lithium batteries and that'll go under the seat hump and I'll proberly tuck the coils under the seat where they were in the original set up but horizontaly (sticking with 2x 6 volt coils). I've bought a great custom modular wiring harness from centech (
http://www.centechwire.com/catalog/cycles/cmc1.shtml ) and I'm going with an Acewell digital instrument set up.
Mostly everything is going to be powder coated including the rims, hubs, barrels and even the tank.
I stole an idea off one of the other builders on here and my rear sets are from a Yamaha.
I'll try and stick some photos up next week- a lot of the engine is laid out on tressle tables in the dining room (where else!)- perhaps I should say I'm divorced so I'm allowed to do that kind of thing....
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