Build progress: '82 CB900 (finally!)
1982 Honda CB900 - in need of TLC
It’s been 3 years since I bought this tired old 1982 Honda CB900. When I first purchased it I thought I would dig into the build right away, but for various reasons it’s simply been sitting in the back of the shop waiting for it’s time. It wasn’t completely forgotten about though. Over this time I’ve (mostly) designed and thought through the direction I want to take this project and gradually sourced a lot of the parts and conversion components, ready for the right time to officially break ground.
It felt great to finally get it up on the stand and start stripping the filthy old girl down. The first stage of the build was to get the front and rear end swaps done so that I could plan the rest around her new, modern stance.
New rear end on the CB900 - with Ohlins shocks!
Front end swap: CB900 with R6 forks
Front end is from a Yamaha R6 and the swingarm is off of a Suzuki TL1000S (opted to keep stock dual shock set-up, but went for the Ohlins upgrade). I hunted around for wheels, not wanting the “typical” CBR / sport bike wheels that end up on these bikes and managed to pull together a set of new Braking B-One wheels, which I think suit it perfectly. She’ll get some sweet new CR carbs, completely re-worked and updated electrical system and much more… Lots more to do, but it’s coming together nicely so far.
Front end swap: CB900 with R6 forks
Still working out the bar mount situation, but have it mocked up with an old GPR steering stabilizer from a KTM EXC (hence the orange) and liking this setup.
Carb porn: CR Special Carbs for the CB900
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34 months ago
Hey man I just picked up a 80 CB900 and this is pretty much exactly what I wanted to do with mine. I love the new style classic bike. Have you fully finished the bike? What did you do for all electronical?
88 months ago
Hi nick ..I see you put an r6 front end in your cb 900 .how was it for ground clearance pkease ? Cheers eggy c..eggyracing@hotmail.co.uk
92 months ago
That is amazing
92 months ago
Hey, although that stitching on the seat doesn't appear to be stock, it's still the stock seat shape, (my guess is it was recovered). On a recent cb550 build I'm almost finished with I redid the seat in a way that used the stock seat and seat pan but greatly improved its look. And with the seat being such a major focal point it makes a huge different and is cheap and easy to do. Here's a short story I posted about doing this exactly.
92 months ago
@Teramuto Thanks Paul! For the R6 swap I got a new steering stem from Cognito Moto - pressed into stock R6 tree worked great. Fitting the swingarm... a bit of material machined off the front of the swingarm and the back of the engine case in order to fit, custom pivot bolt spacers, custom offset front sprocket (10mm offset to get chain line correct - ordered this from a company in Germany), shock mounts (setup to use stock length shocks), rear wheel is intended for an R6 so spacers to make that work and rear brake stay (R6 rear brake setup).
92 months ago
Hey Nick....Looking good. Did that R6 tree drop right in or did you have to have the stem modified? Also, what was involved in fitting that swingarm?
93 months ago
@alex
93 months ago
Very cool. I appreciate you documenting and sharing the journey.
93 months ago
@OGSXR600 Thanks! I'll take a look at your post about redoing the seat on your CB550. I did consider clip-ons, but I think a more upright riding position will be more fun for this bike -- so, building to get the riding ergonomics I want rather than the typical cafe racer clip-ons.
I'm a sucker for a single sided swing arm on just about any bike, provided the swing arm suits the bike, of course 🙂 My main issue with a converted swing arm is when it's too long for the bike. I considered other swing arms and also going to a single shock setup, in the end I'm glad I decided to stick with the dual shocks and I think it's a good fit for the bike length wise.
93 months ago
Nice, I love the inverted forks on old CB's, I'm hoping to do that for my next vintage build. I'm in the final stages of rebuilding a 74 cb550, I posted a short thing about redoing the seat. I'd highly recommend you do the same. My technique doesn't require any fabrication work or welding and it looks really clean when complete. Again, looks great, the rear suspension is awesome and the flat tracker style handlebar is a nice touch. Did you consider clip ons? Also what're your thoughts on single sided swing arm conversions on these old bikes?