Worked on my rear fender today

Today I worked on bobbing my rear fender. I cut out the center section & welded in some sheet metal to match the contour of the bottom of the seat pan. I'll cut some more off the front & weld in some mounts & smooth things out & finish in black.

Fishing for Steelhead on the Deschutes River in Oregon

Got my seat back from the Upholstery shop

I picked up my seat from the upholstery shop over the weekend. I think it came out great. I is exactly what I was picturing in my mind. One more thing down, lots still to do.
 I really like the upholstery job that New Church Moto www.newchurchmoto.com does, in fact that's where I got my ideas for this seat. They upholster the seats for Holiday Customs. I called and spoke to Ginger over there and she was really nice and is an artist at what she does, she is just out of my price range for my project. I was lucky enough to find a local upholsterer that was able to do exactly what I wanted and was very affordable.

How I acquired the two new bikes

About a year ago I told a buddy that I was looking for motorcycle to work on. He told me that he thought his dad used to have some old motorcycles that had not been ridden in years & that he would talk to him. I didn't hear from him for almost a year and a couple of months ago he called me and asked if I was still interested in a bike. I said yes & he told me that his dad had a bike & was looking to get rid of it.  A couple of days later he told me that his dad actually had two old Hondas, a cb350 & cb360. I asked him what he wanted for them & he said if I hauled them away, they were mine. One has a title & the other doesn't, it was lost but was titled to him.

I got much of my inspiration from many builders out there, Dime City, Lossa Engineering, Motovocation & Kott Motorcycles but much came from Jared Johnson at Holiday Customs. I really like the way he builds very raw but functional bikes. I spoke to Jared about a possible fabrication project for me, but he was very gracious and unable to do it for me unless I shipped my frame to him. The cost of that would have made it too costly. I was very impressed that he actually called me and wished me luck on my build. He builds great looking bikes. I am not building a clone, but a bike that incorperates the features of many builders as well as my own ideas.

My 1974 CB360G Build

Alright. I have decided to start a blog documenting my bike builds. I have 3 bikes currently, a 1975 Honda CB750k5, a 1971 Honda CB350, & my current project a 1974 Honda CB360G. This is a Cafe/Brat. I'll be adding pictures as they come. Wish me luck and any tips if you feel inclined. The first picture of the bike is how I found it, in someone's back yard for the past 20 years at least.

The Three bikes together in my garage.

My 1975 CB750 K5

Once I got it home, I cleaned up the CB360 a bit.

I stripped it clean.

 I removed the back of the frame so I could weld on a hoop & seat pan for a bratstyle seat made by the guys at Motovocation in North Carolina. Their website is www.motovocation.com

 I welded in the hoop & painted it just to get an idea of how it would look. It has since been sandblasted and ready for powdercoating.

 I made my own seat pad with several  layers of rebond foam padding, spray adhesive & an orbital sander and lots of patience & ideas from guys on You Tube. It came out pretty nice and is being covered currently.

I will add more pictures as I progress. Feel free to drop me a line at gilscafepage@gmail.com