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Garage from hell

9K views 55 replies 11 participants last post by  LiLBull 
#1 ·
Hi everybody,
Great site jeremy, ive been enjoying snooping around in here. Just thought Id show everybody what ive gotten myself into. In the pic is a 1974 water buffalo project, A parts bike cb400f that im raping, hidden behind that is jays old Rd400 which ive decided is too nice to part. MAke a good street racer i think, and then my beloved cb550f that Im trying to put together for next yr. Anybody got any ideas?
Guy

hee heehee
 
#3 ·
Hey Jeremy,
Ya I know about the picture, Im pretty computer illiterate. I sent jason the pic in an e-mail hoping he would post it for me. You dont know where I could find a bigger garage. Im in this unstopable japanese bike frenzy and going over the edge. no, just kidding. Im going to cool it and try to get the water buff going. Ive always wanted to put one through its paces.
Guy

hee heehee
 
#5 ·
Hey everyone,
Now that ive started this topic does anybody need any parts? Ive got quite a few cb400f parts, plus a rd350 motor in need of help for sale or trade. My father has an 1981 GS850 that ive been threatening him with the Buffalo. He thinks hes unstopable with the Gs. Some guy responded to a post on one of the yahoo boards about it and says he owns both. Well I guess he gives the nod to the Buff. THing must screem!

Whens the wheel starts awhoblin...... need to finish that
 
#7 ·
Hi Chuck,
I have Three cb400f parts bikes that i have been stripping for sale on Ebay. A 1975,1976,1977 Not a whole lot left. I would like to get rid of one of the frames at least, One has a motor that turns over but is iffy. Im supposed to have a running cb400f by the end of next week. Some guy broke his back on it a couple of days ago and I found it on back of a wrecker. It actually looks pretty good. Amazing how these things come out of the woodwork.
Not much for cb550 parts yet but im looking hard.
Theres a supposely running 550 on ebay right now. Dont know of any yamaha rd engines around?
Guy

Whens the wheel starts awhoblin...... need to finish that
 
#9 ·
Chuck,
What do you have to trade,
Im in need of an 550 4into one exhaust, rear blinkers for an 550 honda, tires, just some ideas.
Yamaha rd400 motor
I probable can come up with a decent chassis between two of them.
Guy

Whens the wheel starts awhoblin...... need to finish that
 
#10 ·
Ill loo for the blinkers, i might have a few good pairs. I dont have an rd 400 motor but I do have a few 350 motors with a stripped frame. I also have a set of ts 250 carbs for the rd stuff. I found a bunch of big bore kits for 500 fours that make them a 594cc. The come with 4 sleeves, pistons with rings,clips and wrist pins and base and head gaskets. All brand new.
 
#14 ·
Ive got at least one good frame, two motors that turn over, wheels, swingarm, forks, Im trying to think of the definition of an rolling chassis? I would probably have to end some fo my auctions early,
Guy

Whens the wheel starts awhoblin...... need to finish that
 
#20 ·
Naw guys on a more honest note, Ive never raced on a track but have to say at thirty four and overwieght I wood consider it. Ive been biking off and on since about 11 yrs old. GRaduated all the way up to a GPz 750 back in the early 90s. MAn that thing handled awfull. AS an beginner would a rd 400 be too much? How much money too get into it?
Probably just dreaming cause I have too kids. but who knows.

Whens the wheel starts awhoblin start thinking about stopin.
 
#22 ·
i hear kyalami is a sweet track. the bike can be preped dirt cheap for the racing school. you'll want to start with some good tires, race compound tires arent required for school. good brakes and everything should be tight. swing arm should have no or very minimal play. steering head should have the same as well as no leaky fork seals. no oil should be comming from your bike anywhere. there is some safety wiring you have to do. you'll need a drill, lots of drill bits (tiny ones) a spool of stainless wire, and a 20 dollar twister. take off the headlight and all of the turnsignals. you'll need some kind of number plates. real ones are cheap and available.

now for the expensive part.

you'll need some decent leathers. they should be onepiece or 2 piece zip together. all of the way around your waist. no flesh should be exposed. they should have some good armor. i buy the best. i have a 2 piece vanson custom suit with all of the armor and a seperate carbon/kevlar back protector. aaron uses the same but a one piece. you'll need some gloves and a snell 95 helmet or newer i think still. also some boots that cover your ankles at least. you can get used suits from vanson for just a few hundred bucks (if you can find your size) or spend the big buck and have one custom made. 1000 and up. aaron, jeremy and anyone else here who has hit the track hard will tell you you need the best gear you can buy. ive seen guys race with 50 year old ww2 leather bomber suits. (a really really dumb idea)

the school i think if you have all of the gear and dont need to rent anything, they'll rent you a bike boots gloves leathers etc.., is about 200 bucks. and it gets you a free race against the other students in the class the next morning. (if you do the penguin school) check out
http://www.penguinracing.com
for school details.

also check out the uscra at
www.race-uscra.com
there is an online rule book that outlines everything you need to have safety wired for racing. i thnk the penguin site has a bike prep page too.

the racing school was one of the high lites of racing for me. it was such a blast to finally get on the track and have sooo much fun. you should go to the local track and check it out a few times before going to the school on it. thatd be louden for you.

there is also a guy in the club who runs a school in june just for vintage racers. probably worth doing. getting buzzed by some guy on a gixxer 1000 or busa @ 175 mph is kinda fun but not all day long! i used my 350/2 for the school and during the follow the leader sessions (everyone gets to be the leader for a lap then rotates to the rear of the pack) i was getting left behind so badly the following class was passing me! after you survive the school, you'll have a license to race with any club in the country. most of the time its just a matter of paying for the club membership then paying entry fees. uscra fees are generally about 80 bucks for the 1st race then about 30 for each additional. we all usually camp at the track.

health insurance is HIGHLY recommended. the uscra will not let you race unless you have it. i think you can take the school without it though. i have racing specific insurance through the ama and it basically provides a box to put me in if i get hurt racing. in 4 years i have never needed it or been to the hospital from crashing at the track although some of us have better luck than others, right jd?
thats not to say i havent crashed though. we all have i think, its definitely going to happen. unless you go really slow the chances are pretty good.

an rd400 is a good bike to start on for you. the uscra has an rd only class. just run it rich. if youre good with 2strokes, you shouldnt have any problems. i highly recommend a 4 stroke cb 350/360 twin or a 350/4 the 350gp class is 90% box stock 350/2 hondas. thats not to say we havent done some really great work to our bikes though. they are worked pretty well. the only real stock part is the motor. the nice thing about the honda 350/2 is that it has alot of potential. there are guys getting almost 50hp out of them for the next class up the ladder. thats a hp jump of about 40%! but thats big money. im running a 350/2 with a set of 550 trees, 750ss tubes, a 450 drum brake on the front. i have a modified dyna ignition. total loss system. alum rims custom racing brakes 520 chain with alum sprockets clip ons racing clutch custom pipes etc etc etc...but i started out on basically a rat bike with drag pipes. (some people still hate parts of my bike!)

dont worry about being a fat guy on an underpowered bike. thats what the majority of vintage racing is!!! we're the few sknny guys and even im pretty much a fat bastard. 5'10-170 every year i have to diet around april 1 to fit back into my leathers. (hey, hip expanders, now theres an idea!!!) the real idea is to get out there, ride fast have fun and maybe beat a bunch of guys. hell, if youre lucky and pick a class with only like 3 bikes, you might even win a championship like aaron did!! (when you can do it with a grid with like 25 bikes regularly i'll have more respect for you aaron, and john!....just kidding) get out there and have some fun with us. now is the time to start planning. if you need help or direction, this is a great place to start. we have an absolute blast. unless someones knocking aarons bike over, then the whole weekend is spoiled for all of us.

:)

was that long enough??

jc
 
#23 ·
Wow!!
I really couldnt have expected a better reply. I think the first thing is to do what you said and go to louden. Maybe I could tag along with somebody? What is everybodies idea of me using an rd 400 that I have? Is the rd class too competitive for a beginner? Wsh it was spring now.
Guy

Whens the wheel starts awhoblin start thinking about stopin.
 
#25 ·
i dont know if decamps is cheaper or not since ive never taken it and it seems like its impossible to get any info about it, but he runs a vintage only school, which would be nice for a slower less performing bike. i know fast rick randall has taken it. the rd class has all sorts of people in it i think. its as competitive as 350gp because its the 350gp 2 stroke version. there are fast and slow guys. i think in f-rd they run the 350's with the 400's. i dont know much about it though really. youd have to look and see what the bump classes are too. that might be period III middle weight supervintage which is up to 500cc 4 strokes i think. then i dont know what the other bump is. and im pretty sure you basically have to run a stock motor.

the bottom line is for racing, if you ride a generic enough bike, like the rds or cb's you'll find a person to race with. there are enough people on the grid that there is always someone fast enough to catch you. thats a nice way of saying slow enough to catch. id say if youre interested, get to louden early in the spring. check out the road course. get there early, or stay late and take a walk around the track and see it all. either that or corner work for a day at one of the lrrs races. but definitely check out the track before you race on it. you'll have a blast. once you lay out the initial dough, you can slowly build up a really nice looking bike. the actual racing is fairly cheap.


see you at the track
jc
 
#26 ·
JD.
Those big bore kits are for the 500/550 and are brand new they pretty much come with everything, barrels, pistons, and gaskets and they bring the compression up from 9:1 to 10:1 and a displacement of 594cc
If you want one let me know I can get you one and ship it to you UPS
How is your racer for next year comming? Are you racing next year?
 
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