Bill -- Innumerable Thanks!
So you think I got enough crap on this bike? I'm still angling for the hydraulic steering damper......
Japan Meets Britain
To me, it seems like you've put a lot of thought into WHAT to put on it AND WHERE to put it. If I"D have done it, it would probably looked "Junked up". Yeah, I can see wanting to put a hyd steering damper on it. I'm considering THAT myself. Keep up the good work, Bill
Thanks Bill -- I'm trying, I'm trying!
Yes, I agree that there is a delicate balance between adding just enough stuff to make it interesting, and making it a jumbled mess. I just started with the premise of wanting a bike with 1960's British/Swinging London/Ace Cafe flavour (As a member of the Commonwealth, I hope I'm not severely mis-representing the era to my English brethren!). In a recent issue of Classic Bike Magazine, there was an article on the Read Titan, and I noticed that it had a couple of things on it that I have on my bike (most notably the Amal carbs), so maybe I was on the right track without even knowing it. I think the other thing I wanted to maintain was the ability to bring it back to stock if I or a future owner wanted to. I have all the original components - even the rusted/patched mufflers - so I don't think there's anything here that couldn't be undone.
Just logged over 1000 miles on the sojourn from Baltimore to Mid-Ohio and back, and the bike ran like a champ. Averaged about 55-60mph going out in the pouring rain, and about 65mph coming back in the sunshine, and got about 50-55mpg. Only maintenance required was one chain adjustment, and the low-beam filament in the headlight broke on the way back home yesterday.
Can't wait for next year!  Vince
As a brit who lived through the 60's (just) - I think that your bike captures the era perfectly. The only thing missing is the horrible elasticated seat covers that people used to put on their cheaper bikes :-) Generally, very few bikes back then looked as nice as yours but the flavo(u)r is just right. My brother's CB72 had 'goldie' mufflers on it and I have always loved those bikes. His 1969 CB250 on reverse-cone meggas could be heard over a mile away. I toyed with the idea of a CB72 -77 project but nothing has come my way. Bizarrely I have ended up with two CL projects instead. I am sorely tempted to turn my latest one into a miniature Laverda 750SF copy to repay the compliment that Laverda paid Honda in the 70s. I wonder if a 750 Lav engine would fit a CB77 frame...... Although the thought of a steering damper sounds great, for the true Cafe effect, I think that you should fit one of the aftermarket devices; the ones where the rod goes right through the barrel with an adjuster on the end. All of the 'big boys' had those. That would have more Cafe 'cred' and you could sell your spare one to me for my CL72 ...... G
G -- Thanks for the encouragement. I got most of my ideas from vintage photos, attending vintage British bike shows, and from watching 'The Leatherboys', so I hoped that I got most of the elements right. I even managed to find a vintage Stadium 'Perspex' shield that Dudley Sutton wears in the movie.
As far as the steering damper goes, are there 'vintage' aftermarket ones around? I'd probably not want to put a contemporary Lockhart damper on there, but if Stadium or Paul Dunstall or the Read Brothers made one, I'd be up for that! Did you see the article in Classic Bike Magazine a few months back about the Read Titan? Maybe you could do a treatment like that on your CL? Vince
Take a look at the bottom of this page. That's just how I remember them with the knurled knob for adjustment. http://www.clubmanracing.com/suspensionforksnorton.php G
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