Topic: CB550 Gulf road race build 592cc

[Dimitri13]

Making some progress.

Just brainstorming with this. I think it looks a lot better than the original cover.



Getting ready to degree the cam. Already have the DIY piston stop made.



Man, am I a genius or what? This works PERFECTLY. Yes, that's the gearshift lever with a piece of hanger on it.



Oh and this is what I do when I'm not working on the bike.



And after I finish the bike (read: get it rideable on the street), I have plans for the rest of my fleet.

Ranchero: The oil pump started to go bad or the dent in the oil pan messed up the pan-pump clearance, and I've driven it on low hot oil pressure for who knows how long, now it has a rod knock. Need to rebuild the engine. Also need to fix the rust in the window frame which is causing a leak inside. After that, I'll see where I'm at with it, and may end up selling it. I don't need a ute, because I have friends with trucks.

Vette: Radiator needs fixed ASAP, it's pissing coolant like a senile dog. AC needs fixed too, WAY too hot in there. If I sell the ranchero, I can do the interior, touch up the paint and decals, and maybe get new f/r bumpers, since the stock ones shrunk.

New project(s): First is a 94-96 Cadillac Fleetwood (LT1 RWD) Hearse. That's likely going to be a lowrider with a basic airbag setup, including a tank and compressor. Next, if I can get them to sell it to me, will be am 88-90 Cadillac Brougham Hearse. That will likely be a hoonmobile, getting stripped, new drivetrain, etc. Not sure that's going to happen though.

[Tews19]

I must have missed this but are you putting on a 650 head? I am curious how the splitting the cases went.... I want to do that to mine but people tell me to leave alone.

[Dimitri13]

Nope, didn't miss anything. I bought the 650 valve cover because it was cheap and has useable parts. My head is a nice MReick piece.

Splitting the cases went fine. I had them hot tanked, soda blasted, milled, and powdered. Since I had them apart for so long, I forgot how everything went, and I'm still unsure if I got everything in there properly

If you have no reason to suspect anything's wrong with the bottom end, I wouldn't split the cases. That'll just be more money you'll end up dropping.

[Tews19]

Head only thing not 550?;Whats the advantage?

[Dimitri13]

No, it's all 550 stuff. Sorry if I confused you. I bought the 650's valve cover to strip parts off of.

[Dimitri13]

Oh and here's an artsy-fartsy picture of my cam.

[K_Kalynuik]

 Dimitri, Whats with that valve cover that has the section cut out of the breather cover area?

[Dimitri13]

Access to the can sprocket bolts to adjust the cam timing.

[Dimitri13]

Just about ready to bolt on the valve cover... Dammit where are my pucks! I think I gave them to my friend, or I lost them. Both are equally possible. I'll be spending the week's wait time assembling the forks, getting the frame ready to accept the engine, and just generally squaring away the area so I can have a clean area to work on the bike when it's not on the bench anymore.

My SS allen bolt set looks nice and purty. Only weird thing is that the valve cover set came with regular sized washers for all the bolts, except the six breather cover bolts. Those have oversized washers.. They do fit, but they look ugly as hell. I'm not sure if I mixed something up or if they're blind.

[FrankenFrankenstuff]

Just tell me which one you want and pm me an Addy. The other one is for sale to whoever needs a tach hole blockerrrrr.

[Dimitri13]

I got dibs on the top one. Not sure why my PM didn't go out when I replied the first time. Might've been my phone or something.

[bwaller]

How did you make out timing the cam?

[Dimitri13]

I ended up doing it straight up for now, might be regarded a degree or two.

Or did you mean how did the cam compare to the timing card? If that, then the variance from the claimed specs were negligible. The biggest difference was the duration at 235° instead of 234°.

[Stev-o]

You find the pucks?

[Dimitri13]

Ugh no. I called them in on the 21st, which would've gotten em in by the first two business days of the new year. I called back on the 3rd, turns out they weren't even ordered. I like the shop and the guys there, but they really dropped the ball. They're usually on it, and this is the first mistake they've made with me, so I'll just chalk it up to forgetfulness.

Instead of going through them, I'm just going to go with the Vesrah or whatever aftermarket brand that's on DCC for about $11 shipped. Saving me over $15 on OEM, and it'll get here faster.

But I can't wait any longer. I NEED to get this engine buttoned up. I've read that people have used regular o-rings and other gasket materials in place of them with good results, so that's what I'm going to do for now. I'll need to take the valve cover off anyway for dyno tuning, so I can just replace them when I do. What can I use? I'll search, but maybe someone knows off-hand.

I've been super busy so I haven't even gotten around to assembling the forks yet. Add the fact that I need to replace the Vette's radiator ASAP so I can drive it; hole in the radiator finally got so big that it's affecting pressure and won't drive without overheating. Good news is that the replacement (aluminum 4-row, chinese, but good reviews) came in yesterday.

[Stev-o]

I remember that thread where the guy just used o rings instead of pucks. I looked, could not find it.

Don't overheat that Vette engine!

[bwaller]

Ugh no. I called them in on the 21st, which would've gotten em in by the first two business days of the new year. I called back on the 3rd, turns out they weren't even ordered. I like the shop and the guys there, but they really dropped the ball. They're usually on it, and this is the first mistake they've made with me, so I'll just chalk it up to forgetfulness.

Instead of going through them, I'm just going to go with the Vesrah or whatever aftermarket brand that's on DCC for about $11 shipped. Saving me over $15 on OEM, and it'll get here faster.

But I can't wait any longer. I NEED to get this engine buttoned up. I've read that people have used regular o-rings and other gasket materials in place of them with good results, so that's what I'm going to do for now. I'll need to take the valve cover off anyway for dyno tuning, so I can just replace them when I do. What can I use? I'll search, but maybe someone knows off-hand.

I've been super busy so I haven't even gotten around to assembling the forks yet. Add the fact that I need to replace the Vette's radiator ASAP so I can drive it; hole in the radiator finally got so big that it's affecting pressure and won't drive without overheating. Good news is that the replacement (aluminum 4-row, chinese, but good reviews) came in yesterday.

What's the plan?

[Dimitri13]

Eh I'll just wait for these DCC pucks to come in. Should be here end of the week. I work most of this week anyway, and any free time I have will be to work on the suspension/frame.

Brent, a local shop owner that's been racing (and still does) racing since the late 70s is going to help me with dyno tuning. Cam timing, ignition timing, advance curve, and jetting. He does mainly new stuff, like powercommanders for sportbikes, but still likes the old stuff.

Plan is to milk as much hp as possible (duh) but not so much that it entirely kills streetability.

[bwaller]

Well good for you having someone "take you under his wing". Things like ignition work & jetting is thought provoking and can take hours. This is rewarding & your engine will love you!

It's a time consuming job timing the cam once! Dyno testing different cam positions...man you're like Rob Muzzy or something, I'm jealous.  As you mention though, good streetability and peak HP can be two different targets. Maybe a test with an arse dyno after each setting would be wise!

Very cool, I'll watch for your report.

[MRieck]

Well good for you having someone "take you under his wing". Things like ignition work & jetting is thought provoking and can take hours. This is rewarding & your engine will love you!

It's a time consuming job timing the cam once! Dyno testing different cam positions...man you're like Rob Muzzy or something, I'm jealous.  As you mention though, good streetability and peak HP can be two different targets. Maybe a test with an arse dyno after each setting would be wise!

Very cool, I'll watch for your report.

That is a good thing.

[RobbyD]

you may have mentioned it but I couldn't find it, is your seat a legendary thruxton?

[Dimitri13]

I know I've mentioned it somewhere, but yes, it is a Legendary Thruxton seat and pads from DCC. I regret it, because if you notice, the seat tapers from back to front. I do not like that at all, and makes it hard to DIY mount if you're not skilled. I will not be painting it, and when I can find a nice one, I'll be using a street-tracker style seat. I have to do some measurements, but I think I'll be going with the GFTP XR750 tracker seat.

I still haven't had much time to work. What time I do have I always end up doing a small amount of work before I have to do something else. I JUST finished messing with the Vette. Got the 4-core aluminum radiator installed last week Monday, drove it for half a day, and realized it was pissing coolant again. Turned out I burned up the water pump bearing on the last drive with the old rad. Ran it hot and I guess low on coolant to get home in time for a meeting. I KNEW I should've replaced the pump when I had everything out. This past weekend, my dad and I put the new pump it. Sprayed it small block chevy blue, but it turned out to be darker than what's on the L-series small blocks, although I think it looks MUCH better. Of course, my luck says something has to go wrong, and it did. Took me almost two hours of searching and puzzling to figure out how the three brackets I had out went back in, even though I took them out less than 24 hours prior. Then the driver's side gasket turned during install and it was pissing coolant again. Took another hour or so to get everything (A.I.R. pump, compressor, alt, brackets, belts, etc), and it was a 2-man operation to get it fixed. One guy pried the pump away, the other guy triple-jointed his arm to reach the gasket with a 1' long screwdriver. FINALLY it's done. Now I just need to tackle the u-joints. Driveshaft first, hopefully it fixes the problem. If not, then on to the halfshafts, which are harder.

THEN I'll be ready for autocross. I've always wanted to start, and I was going to way back when when I had my Evo X. Somehow I never got around to it, then I lost it in a series of unfortunate events (that led to a crash ). Forum member Eric (boogiedude) just got a Fiat 500 Abarth and took it out last month, and that sparked my interest in it again.

Anyway, on to the bike

I finally got it completely bolted together. Just need to soak the clutch, install the points and rotor, adjust the valves, and set the timing. That's after I get it in the frame, of course. Oh and wire up HondaMan's transistorized ignition. After that it's just straightforward assembly.



I think one of the reasons I'm so hesitant/lazy about assembling the bike, is that I'm scared I screwed something up with the engine.

[MRieck]

Finish it and go. It looks perfect. BTW...the front tappet covers will not fit with those allen head screws.....you need button heads. Just went through it.

[Retro Rocket]

Dimitri, is that gold paint or anodize mate.?  If paint, what type..?  Looks great

[bwaller]

Don't forget that 6mm head bolt front center, one in the rear as well. I know you were just laying a trap for some bonehead to mention it!