Any clown with an adjustable wrench can take a bike apart (the term basketcase exists for a reason), and if you go in without a plan, that?s exactly how the next owner will take delivery of your abandoned dream?in boxes. But you do have to break a few eggs to make an omelet, and for our beloved $400 CB550F, we need to tear the bike down to its bare bones to see what we?re working with. And that means the custom diamond-stitch saddle, cruiser bars, cushy footpegs and other fragments from its past life have got to go.

While our CB will eventually be torn all the way down, that?s not my goal just yet. Instead, I want to declutter the bike as much as possible, reducing it to its core components. Having the engine, suspension and both wheels on the bike helps you keep the overall dimensions in mind, and lets you visualize changes in geometry and where to add or subtract ?visual weight? to keep the bike balanced. But in the meantime, try to look past the trashed paint and crusty old parts and fasteners while we square away our vision.
Your preferred method may be a pencil and paper, or maybe you?re talented enough to fabricate what?s in your mind from scratch. However, the average garage builder works with a limited budget and rarely has a wall full of parts to experiment with. You?re often working with a handful of carefully selected universal aftermarket pieces and finding the best way to incorporate them onto some old relic seamlessly.

Following that methodology, break...