It followed me home!!

Not being a lover of the Honda cb750 single piston front brake I decided to upgrade it
This is what I've come up with so far
It's very awkward working on such narrow forks
I fitted a Yamaha 320mm disc and and a nissin 3 pot caliper sliding type
I'm not a lover of sliding calipers but there's hardly any room
It's definitely work in progress because I may change the whole front end

This is the brake it came with

Owt’s better than that ‘orrid ‘onda job mate !

Anyway… I thought this was being put to the back of the shed and left for the time being ?!?

Fast Eddie said:

Owt’s better than that ‘orrid ‘onda job mate !

Anyway… I thought this was being put to the back of the shed and left for the time being ?!?

Click to expand...

Ermmm
You know how it is

baz said:

This is the brake it came with

Click to expand...

Hi Baz, I have the same forks on my featherbed 750, but with an AP caliper, T140 hub, honda disk


Not sure if that link will work, but pics here:

AndyDMC said:

Hi Baz, I have the same forks on my featherbed 750, but with an AP caliper, T140 hub, honda disk

https://www.accessnorton.com/attachments/35252afb-8b60-4f24-a4d4-f4fb79cbeca6-jpeg.95530/

Not sure if that link will work, but pics here:

Access Norton High Beech meet?

Just wondering if anybody in or around London fancies a meet at the tea hut, High Beech on the 22nd May ? I'll be in the U.K. but bikeless unfortunately. For those unfamiliar with the location... https://what3words.com/adopt.decreased.string...

www.accessnorton.com

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That's a really great setup
I'm guessing the t140 hub is slightly narrower than the Honda?

I'm not sure, it wasn't my initial build, a very skilled man put it together initially. It has honda yokes, so I think the T140 hub was to allow an opposed piston Lockheed (ap) caliper.

Can give measurements if you like, but I think easier just to get a look if you are interested?

AndyDMC said:

I'm not sure, it wasn't my initial build, a very skilled man put it together initially. It has honda yokes, so I think the T140 hub was to allow an opposed piston Lockheed (ap) caliper.

Can give measurements if you like, but I think easier just to get a look if you are interested?

Click to expand...

Thanks but I'm still not sure what route I'll be taking with this bike
It may well end up with a complete t140 front end
I'm fairly happy with the bike but not the brakes
I haven't tried it at high speed yet so it could all change
The offset of the Honda yokes is greater than the oif yokes so the trail is reduced somewhat
It could be a bit lively at higher speeds

baz said:

Thanks but I'm still not sure what route I'll be taking with this bike
It may well end up with a complete t140 front end
I'm fairly happy with the bike but not the brakes
I haven't tried it at high speed yet so it could all change
The offset of the Honda yokes is greater than the oif yokes so the trail is reduced somewhat
It could be a bit lively at higher speeds

Click to expand...

The offset issue would be enough to convince be to go with a Triumph front end personally.

Is "eerrmm" a north country thing then?

My neighbour (Lake District) does it!

robs ss said:

Is "eerrmm" a north country thing then?

My neighbour (Lake District) does it!

Click to expand...

No it's "ermmm" with one "e"
It's an old Essex colloquialism

Fast Eddie said:

The offset issue would be enough to convince be to go with a Triumph front end personally.

Click to expand...

I'm wondering if the increased offset is deliberate to quicken the steering?
The bloke that owned it was a racer
It's not really a subject I understand,I know when I increased the trail on my commando it became better (for me) to ride at any speed
When I first tried it I ran a bit wide on the first couple of bends then I was fine

baz said:

I'm wondering if the increased offset is deliberate to quicken the steering?
The bloke that owned it was a racer
It's not really a subject I understand,I know when I increased the trail on my commando it became better (for me) to ride at any speed
When I first tried it I ran a bit wide on the first couple of bends then I was fine

Click to expand...

Maybe wait n get some more miles on it before deciding?

Fork length and shock length all effect trail as well as offset. Yes, this could have all been worked out deliberately and correctly, then again, it could have been built using what was to hand. Sadly, you cannot confirm in this case.

If it rides well then fine. If not, I’d start looking at what’s a departure from standard.

I finally took a legal ride on my r3 today
It ran really well
It seems to have a bit more fire in it than my t160 when it gets above 6000rpm
It also vibrates more
The carbs are pretty much dialed in from what I can make out
There's no flat spots,you can cane it and pull up at the lights and it just idles no problem
The things that aren't good are the clutch,the brakes,and it's leaking oil
The clutch is horrendously heavy
I need to find out exactly what has been done to the clevis on the clutch actuator
Because I can't get the cable off to change it
And I want to re adjust the clutch
The front brake hasn't worked as well as I thought
But the disc seems greasy so I'll degrease and fit new pads but I'm not that hopeful
The engine could do with a top end strip and new gaskets and seals
None of these issues are a problem on an old bike such as this
Even with a baffle in that northy exhaust it's got quite a voice on it!!!

Fast Eddie said:

Maybe wait n get some more miles on it before deciding?

Fork length and shock length all effect trail as well as offset. Yes, this could have all been worked out deliberately and correctly, then again, it could have been built using what was to hand. Sadly, you cannot confirm in this case.

If it rides well then fine. If not, I’d start looking at what’s a departure from standard.

Click to expand...

Out on it today I'm not sure I want to change the forks or the offset
It shows no signs of doing anything silly despite the reduction in trail

baz said:

Out on it today I'm not sure I want to change the forks or the offset
It shows no signs of doing anything silly despite the reduction in trail

Click to expand...

Probably worked out deliberately and correctly then

I managed to force the fitting off the end of the clutch cable photographed here
Looks like a bit of thread welded to the nipple
Then cut to allow the cable to fit
I just can't imagine why?

So I've made a new one from some brass 5/16" bar

Managed to get a bit more work done on the r3
I have been trying to get the clutch a bit lighter to pull so I've been playing with different fulcrum point levers ranging from 7/8" to 1 1/4"
The 7/8 won't give me the lift I need despite doing the 15° conversion on the actuator back plate
And setting the large adjuster nut to almost zero
So as compromise I've used a Kawasaki adjustable span clutch lever that has a 30 mm fulcrum
With the actuator adjusted normally and the clutch lever set to no2 span it's just about ok
I also had a new venhill Featherlight cable running straight up and over the tank with a gentle sweep to the clutch lever
The heavy clutch I could normally live with but I tripped over about a month ago and bent my wrist up
I can't for example at the moment pick a dinner plate up with my left hand without severe pain
Once this has healed I'll be ok with the clutch
The other thing I have done is drill the top yoke and fit handlebar clamps and a raised set of bars
I've also had to degrease the front disc and fit new pads
This has made a massive difference to it's stopping power
I can't believe how much better this OIF handles compared to my t160
It's so flick able and the road holding is superb
It revs like hell and when it hits just over 6000rpm the exhaust note changes and it just wants to go!
I noticed when I got back today after around 40 miles that the compression has come right up
I wish I knew the history of this motor it's very quiet mechanically,it's possible it's not run in yet!!
It's also very oily around the top end mainly from the pushrod tubes and exhaust rocker box base by the looks of it
I'm really enjoying this bike but it's begging to be converted to a 5 speed
I have a compete cluster waiting to be fitted on the shelf when time allows

baz said:

Managed to get a bit more work done on the r3
I have been trying to get the clutch a bit lighter to pull so I've been playing with different fulcrum point levers ranging from 7/8" to 1 1/4"
The 7/8 won't give me the lift I need despite doing the 15° conversion on the actuator back plate
And setting the large adjuster nut to almost zero
So as compromise I've used a Kawasaki adjustable span clutch lever that has a 30 mm fulcrum
With the actuator adjusted normally and the clutch lever set to no2 span it's just about ok
I also had a new venhill Featherlight cable running straight up and over the tank with a gentle sweep to the clutch lever
The heavy clutch I could normally live with but I tripped over about a month ago and bent my wrist up
I can't for example at the moment pick a dinner plate up with my left hand without severe pain
Once this has healed I'll be ok with the clutch
The other thing I have done is drill the top yoke and fit handlebar clamps and a raised set of bars
I've also had to degrease the front disc and fit new pads
This has made a massive difference to it's stopping power
I can't believe how much better this OIF handles compared to my t160
It's so flick able and the road holding is superb
It revs like hell and when it hits just over 6000rpm the exhaust note changes and it just wants to go!
I noticed when I got back today after around 40 miles that the compression has come right up
I wish I knew the history of this motor it's very quiet mechanically,it's possible it's not run in yet!!
It's also very oily around the top end mainly from the pushrod tubes and exhaust rocker box base by the looks of it
I'm really enjoying this bike but it's begging to be converted to a 5 speed
I have a compete cluster waiting to be fitted on the shelf when time allows

Click to expand...

Does the R3 have the same quadrant as the T160 , Mines got a large thrust bearing in it , my clutch is quite light . Cheers