The Project Begins . . . Finally

And so after 6 years I actually began work to restore the bike. I set myself the goal of having it completed by December. Something I felt was achievable as I now had money to put into the project and of course now had my great workshop to do it all in. 

I decided to swap the engine out of the last bike I had purchased as although it was not running at present it was only due to an electrical fault that I would look at later. The bike had been used as an off road bush basher so as you can see the engine was pretty dirty and required some work to clean out years of built up grease and dirt to make it presentable. I had abandoned my plan of a showroom restoration and decided that not unlike a rat-rod project, i would simply put everything back together and get the thing back into working order. Asthetics and beautification could take place later except for a respray of the tank and side panels.

I tried a few things on the engine block including chemical cleaners that 'restore' aluminium to its pre shining glory however, found them to be a waste of time and money. A good stiff brush and a few containers of degreaser did the trick. Whilst I didn't have a sparkling bright engine, I certainly had a cleaner one ready to be fitted into my frame. 

So with the engine degreased and fitted into my frame I was now ready to get started on the tank and side panels and finally my project seemed to be taking shape!

I spent about two weeks preparing the tank and panels for painting. My tank had a small dent near the top where it had been whacked by a handlebar at some stage. This required some body filler work to smooth out and after a fair bit of sanding and rubbing back I was able to prime them with a can of spray putty filler.

I must admit for hand held spray cans these actually do a pretty good job. The trick being to put on lots of light coats, allowing the paint to fully dry between coats and then give each coat a light rub with 1500 wet and dry paper too. 

I was finally seeing some progress on my project! Next update will be the paint job and all the shiny new bits I had bought to put on it.     

    

The Project Bike

How quickly our dream bike becomes that "project" hidden somewhere in the back shed between the lawnmower, the box of junk you have been going to sort through when you have a spare weekend and the numerous other items that only seem to escape out of the shed once a year or so.

Of course it always seems to come up in conversation at the odd family gathering here and there, a friends barbeque etc "Oh, I'm into motorbikes too." "Yes, I'm currently working on a project bike. It's a cool 1974 Honda." Which of course translated into real terms means; "I have a heap of motorbike parts in the shed that 1. If all the bits worked and 2. I was able to actually put them all back together it would somehow resemble something that once was a motorcycle.


Hence, my restoration motorbike became nothing more than a rolling frame and a collection of boxes that moved from one shed to another over the next 6 years until I built myself a 6m x 5m gabled steel clad workshop. Now I finally had the space to restore my beloved bike. Well, at least that's what I told myself, and my wife, even if it was to justify why I had just purchased two more bikes! 

To be fair, I purchased one for a bargain $180 as spare parts and then the weekend I had put aside to go and pick it up bought a trading newspaper and found another that I managed to get for the even better price of $100. However, my wife didn't seem as excited as I was when I brought home the trailer with TWO additional motorbikes on it. 

So as at August 2008 my "project" now consisted of three 1974 Honda CB200's with 4 engines (one came with a spare) and I am no further along in putting my original project together however, I can finally begin.....                

Intro and Background

Hi and welcome to my blog. You are probably reading this as either a fan, or current or previous owner of a Honda CB200 or similiar so I hope you find this blog of interest. I have started it as a bit of an incentive to help me finish my project and maybe get some advice from others or provide some helpful tips I have learnt along the way.

I bought my first CB200 back in early 2002 whilst living a few hours south of Perth. As I now had a family a little bike was seen as 'safe' for me to own and ride around so this seemed to fit the bill!  

My brother went and looked at it for me, bargained the price down to a measly $400 (licenced) and brought it down to me on the back of a trailer. Unfortunately I only got to ride it once as something seized inside the motor and from that point in time it became my project bike. 

The bike had been 'touched up' by a previous owner to perhaps somewhat resemble a militiary bike. Anything silver or chrome was a nice faded and peeling flat black with the tank and side panels a horrible shade of green. 

I saw all of this as my golden opportunity to strip down and restore the bike to it's full and shining showroom condition glory, of course without really thinking at the time that that will require a substantial amount of cash.....something someone buying a $400 bike in the first place obviously did not have! But hey, you don't think about logistics whilst dreaming of these things! 

I took to pulling apart everything that would come off and out of the bike, including the engine. Which despite never having attempted before I was able to pull apart and completely strip quite easily. Putting it all back together again, well that's another story and part of the reason that engine is still in about 324 pieces and I now own three cb200's!!

So there you have it, the background and beginnings to where I am today. Finally a lot closer to riding the darn thing, but still not finished. I now have three 1974 Honda CB200's to thieve and interchange parts from and this blog to get me over the final finishing hurdle. 

I hope you enjoy my story and updates and of course the final finished product.