Blue Racecars custom fabrications

Honda 750 engine

Just an example of some of the extra detail I'm adding. Each of the eight clamps on the rubber tubes that mount the carbs to the engine are hand made from five separate pieces of metal.

Honda 750 brake detail

I spent a lot of extra time on the details of the rear wheel mounting and brake mechanism. The kits clunky molded in plastic chain tensioner was cut off and a metal one fabricated. I also made the brake mechanism 'functional'. I cut apart the kits one piece part, hinged the belcranks, and added a steel cable connected to it that fits inside the rubber tube and will connect to the brake pedal. Inside of the wheel is (no, not brake pads. I'm not that crazy) a spring to bring the belcranks and brake pedal back to a released position.

The kits chain is made up of individual links so I chose not to paint it for fear of the paint gumming up the links. But according to my reference photos, the chain is all black anyways.

I replaced the kits oil breather hose with a more realistic one. I had problems with it not resting in the correct position. I thought if this were a real bike, I would just use a zip-tie. And looking at some pics I found online, apparently this is an issue on the real bike. One photo I saw looked like a bunch of rubber-bands were used to hold the line. So since I couldn't find any 1/6 scale zip-ties, I made one. I started with a scrap piece of styrene, a very sharp blade, and a micro drill. About two hours (and three failed attemps) later, I had it. No, it doesn't lock in place like a real one, but it's a tight enough fit the friction holds it tight. I have not decided if it will stay there or not. It's kind-of hard to see it in this pic (it's on the top of the frame, about in the middle of the bike), but it's also visible in one of the handle bar pics.

The best way to simulate realistic hardware is to use real hardware. I replaced all of the molded in plastic hardware with real nuts and bolts. I also made the throttle grip so that it would rotate and installed a little return spring in it. I hinged both the clutch and brake levers. The brake lever has a return spring in it and the clutch lever is attached to a steel cable that runs down to the clutch lever on the engine. The grips were also detailed to match the reference photos. (The zip-tie is in the bottom RH corner.)