1974 Aermacchi Cafe Racer

[dmw56]

1974 AMF Harley Davidson Aermacchi SS350 I bought at the 2012 Mid America Vintage Motorcycle Auction in January. All original runs great. Almost a shame to turn it into a cafe racer. All the work will be bolt on so it can be turned back to stock.








Installed some Clubman bars and 7" headlight and mocked up the fairing to see how it fit and what I would need to mount it.






End mount mirrors for the bars.


I found some mounts that clamp to the forks and bent up some tabs the go from the fairing to the mounts


I used some plastic covers for license plate frames to cover the screws on the fairing

[dmw56]

I found a tank at the salvage yard that was similar to Rickman, Dunstahl or Norton Manx tank but didn't cost $400. I will need to shorten it 2.5" and narrow the rear ro fit the race seat better. This is from a mid 80's Yamaha Seca.




Here's the seat I originally got for it.


I cut about 2.5" out the tank and just bent the flap down to make a flatter end on the tank. I also cut slits on the bottom ao I can push the side in and make it narrower.




The tank is just sitting on the frame right now so I can see what else I need to cut out and then I need to make front and rear mounting tabs on the tank. I need to move the sides in about 2" on each side remove the curve at the back








Trimmed and tacked up the right side of the tank.




Going for this type of tank look. Dunstall cafe racer tank. These go for $400 for fiberglass and $1000 for steel/aluminum.

[dmw56]

Welded on some mounting tabs to the tank. Tapped the tube that weld the original tank on so I can bolt the tank on.


Finished welding up the tank and ground the welds down.


Slapped on some filler and body putty. Ready to finish sanding and spray.




Finished the tank and started to prime it last week. Too cold this weekend to finish it. No it's not going to be flat black. Gloss Black and Orange.


Removed the front and rear foot pegs, shifter, starter and brake. I will install rear sets for the shifter and rear brake. Mocked up the rear pegs. They will need to go back a few more inches.








New seat came in today. Got one that fit a little better.

[dmw56]

Started on mounting the seat. I wanted to make it open and latch using the factory mounting hinges and latch.
Made some hinges.




Made the front cross brace for the seat. I still meed to attach it.






Finished up the seat frame and latch and got it mounted to the seat pan.




I'm going to mount the rear set where the rear foot pegs were. They seem to be OK in that position. I still need to get a brake cable made for the rear or flip the crank on the drum and run a rod.

I also need to modify the shifter into a crank and flip it upside down and make a rod for that.
What else, wire up the headlights, front turn signals, remove the rear fender and new tail light.

[dmw56]

Got some new mufflers for it.


Got the shifter hooked up. I had to make a shift arm for it out of another shift lever and shift arm. I just cut the splined mounting piece of the lever and the arm off the shift arm and welded them together.




Did a quicky paint job on the frame and added some stickers.







Got a couple of coats of orange on the seat pan. I'll wet sand this and add one more coat before I paint a black stripe down the center. Tank will match this.

[dmw56]

Worked on the rear brake cable. I had to make a bracket to hold the end of the cable.




Just need to get something to crimp the cable to hold the clevis.




Mocked up the muffler. I need to legthen the pipe a couple of inches to clear the brake pedal.


Adjusted the shift pedal.


Sealed the fuel tank using the Eastwood motorcycle tank sealer kit.
Finished painting the seat pan. A friend of mine does vinyl graphics so I'll have him make some stripes for me instead of painting it and screwing it up.






Put on some flush fairing turn signals. I like them cause they don't stick out.

[dmw56]

Sprayed the tank with some orange enamel I had laying around for a base color coat.




I'll color sand it with 1000 grit and put some acrylic enamel on it and then the racing stripes. Final coat will be clear urathane.




Sticker for the tank


Still need to connect the rear brake cable and stoplight switch and even out the mufflers.

[Ken Cormier]

Never thought I would say this about about a sprint Wow that bike is cool . lol

[dmw56]

Going for the Aermacchi racer look. Aermacchi's have a very successful racing history. Walter Villa won three 250cc and one 350cc World Championships for Harley in the '70s, and Aermacchis are credited with 16 wins on the Isle of Man (BSA has 13). A 350 Sprint took the IOM GP Classic 350cc race in 2010, at a race average of 101 MPH.

[Motor Mike]

Are those different oranges on the tank and fender?

[Glider]

Good job! You're going to have a lot of fun with that scoot.

Race you for pinks with my Ducati 250!

[dmw56]

Originally Posted by Motor Mike

Are those different oranges on the tank and fender?

Yes, that will be fixed.

[Goldy]

Really looking great...Keep us posted!

[Buellbomb]

I like it!

[whittiger650]

Wow, that certainly is one of the coolest Aermacchi's I have seen, excellent work !!

[Dan M]

Nice work!

[swooshdave]

This one was parked next to my bike at the last show. Needless to say it got way more looks, and deservedly so.

http://www.bikeexif.com/aermacchi-harley-davidson

[dmw56]

^^^^^^ Oh yeah, that's a beauty!

[BobAsh]

Looks like a ton of fun.

[Loffer]

Looks good.