Author Topic: cafe build '75 cb550f ...trying (Read 15289 times)

moosh · « **Reply #25 on:** April 04, 2012, 05:13:40 PM »

update. so im kind of waiting for some parts to come in and messing with some other parts and waiting to find some other parts... stock air box assembly and right side cover is what im lookin for. still gotta clean up the wire mess and fix some ignition stuff.
but i got directionals and the front ones i mounted at the base of the headlight bracket as opposed to the off the headlight itself. the rears are going out holes for the stock fender.
also been cleaning up some little details like cutting down the length of the bolts that hold the clip ons. they used to have like an inch of extra thread. painted the top of my forks so theyre black now.
still working on seat and tank. sanding and shaping and i primed them again cause after a while the different colors from bondo and fiberglass and everything else makes me loose the shape.
so heres kinda what some of that process is looking like.

moosh · « **Reply #26 on:** April 04, 2012, 05:23:14 PM »

giving me a hard time trying to upload

moosh · « **Reply #27 on:** April 09, 2012, 07:44:00 PM »

update. replaced some things. my directionals would turn on but wouldnt blink so i replaced the flasher relay and they seem to work now. also had the headlight working. waiting on the tail light to get here. replaced the throttle spring, the one i had was way to heavy. got stainless steel brake hoses, finally sorted out all the fittings and they seem right now. i still have the hard line and it needed a double flange so that got done to get everything fitting right. still sanding and smoothing tank seat and a couple little things out. put on the speedo, its a wireless bicycle speedo. small and not noticable, unfortunatley the og speedo cable is super stuck. the bolt was already stripped (sounds so dumb yea i swear it was like that when i got it) but its true and pb blaster shot after shot has not helped. oh and bar end mirrors came so ill put those on by next post. maybe have some pics of the pretty much ready to go front end.

moosh · « **Reply #28 on:** April 14, 2012, 05:52:25 PM »

Got my bike Insured! and registered! tail light came, workin on mouting it to make it fit. the bar ends i got had aluminum nuts for inside the bars and they suckkkkk, so working on replacing that part of them. painted tank, pics soon. hopefully get decals and such on it soon. got wiring starting to sort out, just gota clean it up and mount the ignition switch and starter button. think theyre gona be hidden underneath the tank just need to make a quick bracket.
starting to put it all together nice nice and get it ready to be driven

rb550four · « **Reply #29 on:** April 14, 2012, 06:59:17 PM »

Did you find the stock air box? I have a complete one in good shape from a 77k , not sure if it'll work on the 75 frame if that is what you are using. Your project is lookin good. Will you be painting or sending it out ? Sealing the inside of the tank might be easier before final paint, unless you already have that covered. nice project.

moosh · « **Reply #30 on:** April 15, 2012, 05:26:51 AM »

Thanks but yea i found one about 3 days ago just waiting for it to get here, im just missing a little clip in it, but hopefuly i can get it without it or make up something to make it work.
I painted the tank and it turned out pretty good. ill try and post some pics up in a bit

moosh · « **Reply #31 on:** April 17, 2012, 10:46:53 AM »

Update. Ive got a lot done in the last couple days. mounted tail light. it was an acerbis tailight. hooked up all the elec. hooked up air pods for now til the air box pieces get here. hooked up fuel lines with a filter. I put a bicycle horn on it for now and then once the inspection passes its comin off. Im having trouble getting mine to work, the horn works so its something in my wiring. either way its good for now. put the badges on the tank. still need to add some pinstriping. lubed my cables. having trouble with the throttle spring. the one i have now is pretty heavy and i tried 2 lighter ones and they were too light. so I drove it up and down the street. my headlight wasnt working looked through all my wires again and i had one broken wire, so fixed that up and its all good now. im having trouble with the battery. its charging while the bike is on, but its just standing pretty low while off, and its a brand stinkin new battery.
so anyways i drove it around and am getting the feel for it. it drives AWESOME. the steering head is a little tight so i need to loosen that a hair.
and i got a leaky carb. took it apart a hundred times and i think its float needle valve.
also want to remount my ignition switch somewhere else under the tank. and my killswitch set up isnt working so i gotta redo that too.
but its drivable. ive been driving it easy the last couple days. once i have more time to work on it this week and get a couple things i tune it up nice and keep it movin.

moosh · « **Reply #32 on:** April 17, 2012, 05:28:39 PM »

sorry heres pics...more comin soon

moosh · « **Reply #33 on:** April 23, 2012, 07:01:13 AM »

so ive been riding my bike around town all week, adjusting and fixing and tuning things as i go. awesome feeling finally riding it. got the killswitch working and relocated, also relocated the ignition button and the shifter lever to a more comfortable position, lots of little things like that. still need to find a good way to mount the switches better under the tank. theyre right on the tank now but im looking for a better way to make disconects for them.
also put on the bar ends, i think they look good and they work! no vibration and i can see everything behind me. i used rubber stoppers for inside the bar to hold them cause the aluminum shims that came with it suckkkkked and totally didnt hold #$%*.
finally put the airbox all together... what a pain in the ass that was. i had to take off the carbs and the manifold boots and squeeze and push to get it all together again. is there an easier way? there has to be. anyways already runs noticebly smoother all around especially at low rpms.
still need to fix the leaky carb, and sync all the carbs up good, ordered some stuff to do that so im planning on doing that sometime this week. also still need to mount the seat. got it strapped on with a belt right now and theres no padding on it yet. got the pad just waiting to mount and paint the seat.
ill post pics of it later today, just didnt now cause it snowed outside today! yuck. and i dont wana go out to the garage in the snow.... crazy though, 70s like 3 days ago and now snow.

Statenheimer · « **Reply #34 on:** April 23, 2012, 07:37:57 AM »

Very nice job so far, it's looking great. I also have a '75 550F. Right now that one is going to be more of a resto-mod, I have a '76 for full cafe treatment.

Auburn huh? I am from Red Creek, the folks still live out there actually. Sounds like you really lucked out with your buddy's barn, I need to find myself a place like that.

Very curious as to the method you used for your knee dents? I also have never done it and am nervous. I must say, they look great.

moosh · « **Reply #35 on:** April 23, 2012, 09:09:52 AM »

Thats cool i just got new tires for my car from someone in red creek like 2 months ago. and yea the barn saved me huge for some annoying to find stuff.
for the knee dents it wasnt that hard just made me nervous about breaking a seam.. i drew on where i wanted the dents to be on one side traced it to paper to trace it on the other side, then i used a flat rubber hammer started in the middle of where i wanted it and just hit it til it was the right size and depth working my way out and down.

moosh · « **Reply #36 on:** April 29, 2012, 07:33:58 PM »

fixed the carb it needed a new float bowl needle and seat. finished the seat, made bracket painted it and put a pad on it. i drew out a template then cut it out of a black yoga mat... hated shopping around for a yoga mat.. a black one was hard for me to find. right side cover came. painted those. made better more secure brackets for ignition button onoff switch and killswitch under the tank attached to bolts off the frame. so its keyless but i dont think youd find the switch unless youre looking hard, but still nice enough for me to get to easy.
still need to add black stripe on top of the tank, bleed the brakes again, change oil, get carbs nice and sync ( wanted to fix the leak so thats why thats taking so long to get to) and thats it really... need to eventually get new brake pads, new battery, and a couple small things ..

most importantly, ive been driving all week, rain or shine love riding it, rides great. smooth and i feel like i can throw it into any corner and it just goesss and then just cruising and it goesss and everything its just fun.

moosh · « **Reply #37 on:** May 07, 2012, 03:37:05 PM »

still adjusting things. got the clutch right, throttle, chain, steering head. added stripe on tank. washed and waxed it. changed the oil. pics to come soon, still getting it sorted out.
speedo is still off. like way off. gona try a couple things if not it was a super cheap one, ill replace it if i need to.
and one carb i thought i fixed is still leaking. thought it was the needle and seat, seemed like it was better... it wasnt. replaced the gasket. it wasnt it. ive messed with the float bowl level i think thats what it is, i just cant get it right, i either get no gas in the floats or more of a drip. so ill work on it this week along with a couple other things. pics to come soon, it finally looks done, just isnt actually done.

sniper1 · « **Reply #38 on:** May 07, 2012, 04:16:23 PM »

How did you attach the seat to the frame? Pics please,,,,I'm at that phase of my build now.

Thanks.

moosh · « **Reply #39 on:** May 07, 2012, 04:56:36 PM »

i built a bracket off the airbox bolts on the frame. i got a piece of steel from lowes for 4bucks. i measured from the airbox bolts to the underside of the frame. i bent it and cut it. it starts in one airbox bolt bends up then bends and goes across the airbox then bends down and then bends again to the other airbox bolt. i did the bends with a hammer and a vice. then i drilled two holes through the seat and the bracket. then i adhered nuts to the underside of the bracket. i shoulda welded them or something cause idk if the jb weld #$%* i used will hold. then i bolted it up, i used the fatest washer i had with a rubber washer as well. ill take a pic of the top of the seat for ya, im still a little anxious to take it off now because getting the nuts back on if the weld #$%* didnt hold will be super annoying. but im assuming because i got bolted up tight it should be good.

moosh · « **Reply #40 on:** May 07, 2012, 05:10:01 PM »

so heres a couple pics, hope it helps a little, if not ill try and get better ones later. also side note, the yoga mat is wearing away in the main spots. i think next winter im gona take off the mat redo it and the apolster it as well. and the tops of the forks those nuts are rusting up super fast.

moosh · « **Reply #41 on:** May 07, 2012, 05:12:53 PM »

forgot the pics ha

moosh · « **Reply #42 on:** May 11, 2012, 10:50:23 AM »

finally took some pics of my bike.. its not polished and up close not clean... its a daily rider, but anyways heres some pics... still not completely done.. dont know if it ever will be. still trying to get eveything sorted, the little things that come up now and again. next winter i think im gona redo th seat pad, apolster it. also maybe get some original decals. like the 550four one and the supersport one for the tank.. opinions? not sure if i want to, i dont want it to be to much.

moosh · « **Reply #43 on:** May 11, 2012, 10:51:30 AM »

moosh · « **Reply #44 on:** May 11, 2012, 10:52:14 AM »

moosh · « **Reply #45 on:** May 11, 2012, 10:53:25 AM »

moosh · « **Reply #46 on:** May 11, 2012, 10:54:05 AM »

moosh · « **Reply #47 on:** May 11, 2012, 10:54:59 AM »

moosh · « **Reply #48 on:** May 11, 2012, 10:55:55 AM »

sorry for all the posts it wouldnt let me post all the pics in one shot

CafeDawg · « **Reply #49 on:** May 11, 2012, 11:16:36 AM »

Looks good Moosh! Bet your psyched to have it on the road after all that hard work. I like the knee dents makes that tank look a lot sleeker, way better. The seat looks good too.

Respect
CD

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Author Topic: cafe build '75 cb550f ...trying (Read 15289 times)