Author Topic: 74 CB750 Navy Style (Read 80848 times)

Tsunami · « **Reply #275 on:** April 30, 2013, 02:47:54 PM »

I feel your pain and frustration but your not alone, many of us have suffered in the same or similar ways. Like Deafcaferacer said "The amount of work you are putting into the bike is going to pay off one way or another." We just need to remember were a special breed trying to keep an iconic motorcycle that maybe 40 +/- years old. Cheer up your getting close! I noticed when you pulled your engine the Big Red Hook you used to do so. Is that a one off or can they be had somewhere? The bike looks great.

Harsh · « **Reply #276 on:** April 30, 2013, 07:13:53 PM »

The hook is a one off, but there are a number of examples in the engine section.

Simpson · « **Reply #277 on:** April 30, 2013, 07:30:58 PM »

Hey! Fixed my oil leak finally. It was a pain in the ass. If your still in need of that oil hose, I have a spare you can have free. Keep your chin up, perseverance will prevail.

Harsh · « **Reply #278 on:** May 02, 2013, 07:24:02 AM »

Thanks for the offer, but I already acquired a new oil line. I just need to find the time to install it. I also received my new rear tire yesterday. They have sent no information requesting the old tire back, so I guess I will chop it up.

Harsh · « **Reply #279 on:** May 02, 2013, 01:15:32 PM »

Just checked the date on the new tire and it was manufactured the same week as the other one $:-\$
I was hoping for something out of a different batch.

SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan · « **Reply #280 on:** May 03, 2013, 12:45:49 AM »

Keep your fingers crossed.

MOONDOGNYC · « **Reply #281 on:** May 06, 2013, 05:58:42 PM »

Looking great

Harsh · « **Reply #282 on:** May 09, 2013, 06:50:31 AM »

Well it never fails. I feel I am so close to the end yet little things keep holding me up.

I have never fully torqued the axles since I am removing the wheels often to facilitate other work. I have just hand tightened them. Well I went to torque the rear axle and when it just got snug the wheel is locked. Loosen it up and it spins freely. So I have an issue with the wheel bearings. All spacers are there so I am not sure what the deal is. And it isn't just the rear wheel, the front has issues as well. When I tighten the axle nut the right rotor pinches against the caliper. I have a '75 GL1000 front end. Again not sure what the deal is with that. I am going to be highly pissed if the forks are bent since I have completley rebuilt and powder coated them. Not to mention I would have to buy another set.

It just seems like nothing is going my way lately.

Harsh · « **Reply #283 on:** May 09, 2013, 02:38:20 PM »

So I was able to fix the rear. The brake side bearing was ever so slightly proud. The center spacer just barely moved around. A few light taps seated the bearing and all is well in the rear.

The front still has a couple of issues. I attached a couple of vids.

I noticed when I spun the tightened wheel outside of the forks there was some notchiness in the bearings. You can see the speedo actually move when the notches rotate. So another set of new wheel bearings will be placed on order tonight.

I went ahead and released the forks and spun and moved them up and down through the trees. I set them again to the same height. Put the wheel back on this this time I installed the fender. It previously has not been installed because I have been cutting it down and removing a dent in it. Well I was able to get the rotor to shift over just enough where it isn't pinched against the caliper. However, I still have issues. All but three of the rotor button make contact with the caliper. In the video you can see and hear the noticeable movement. I had the rotors turned (flattened) by a buddy that is a machinist at NASA and placing them on a sheet of glass proves they are flat. I guess that only leaves the wheel (maybe the bearing causes it) to be out of true. I had the wheels trued, but I guess there is always the possibility that it is in fact not true or when the tire was mounted they pressed hard enough to warp the wheel. The shop the did the mounting did say they had a rough time getting the front on.

iron_worker · « **Reply #284 on:** May 10, 2013, 08:41:04 AM »

To check the rough trueness (is that a word) of the wheel take a ruler or something similar and hold it against the fork with the end of it just about to touch the rim. Then spin the rim and see how the space between the end of the ruler and the rim varies. If it's badly out of true you will easily pick it up like that.

IW

Harsh · « **Reply #285 on:** May 13, 2013, 01:22:01 PM »

Well I successfully registered the bike today. Of course since I filled out all of the paperwork before I went in and made sure to bring proper documentation it was easy. I have a temp plate until my custom plate comes in. I have a feeling it won't be here before the rally since the stickers they put on the temp plate are good through July.

Still waiting on the new front bearings and the brake lines. However I should be able to finish up the rest of the little stuff to get it road worthy that way when those parts arrive I can install them and hopefully take her for a test ride.

Sixgunsrattlesnake · « **Reply #286 on:** May 13, 2013, 05:26:20 PM »

Harsh,
I just stumbled across your build and spent the last hour or so reading it thoroughly. Hell of a good deal you have got going on there. Your attention to detail is astounding. Best of luck with what is to follow. Fair Winds and Following Seas, Senior!

SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan · « **Reply #287 on:** May 13, 2013, 06:02:49 PM »

Quote from: Harsh on May 13, 2013, 01:22:01 PM

Well I successfully registered the bike today. Of course since I filled out all of the paperwork before I went in and made sure to bring proper documentation it was easy. I have a temp plate until my custom plate comes in. I have a feeling it won't be here before the rally since the stickers they put on the temp plate are good through July.

Still waiting on the new front bearings and the brake lines. However I should be able to finish up the rest of the little stuff to get it road worthy that way when those parts arrive I can install them and hopefully take her for a test ride.

Finally, something going off without a hitch. Must feel good and charge up your batteries!

Harsh · « **Reply #288 on:** May 14, 2013, 04:09:26 PM »

Sixgun...Thanks for the compliments.

CRF...It does indeed. Now I can't find part of the wiring diagram I drew up on how to wire up the rocker switch I put in to turn on/off the headlight. The switch has three wires. I know where two of them went, but having a hard time figuring out the third wire. I think I actually wrote it in this thread so I have to go back and read.

The brake lines arrived today so I slapped those on and they appear to fit. Now I just need the wheel bearings to arrive.

Harsh · « **Reply #289 on:** May 14, 2013, 05:24:47 PM »

Figured it out.

Put all of the wires in the headlight bucket. What a fiasco that is. Made sure that things worked after I did that and they did. I guess all I need to do now is sand the tank and put a coat of primer on it, install the petcock, fill and bleed the front brakes, and replace the front wheel bearings.

brandEn · « **Reply #290 on:** May 14, 2013, 06:41:05 PM »

That headlight can be tricky sometimes. Its kinda like stuffing your closet to the roof and slamming the door before everything falls out.

Harsh · « **Reply #291 on:** May 17, 2013, 04:13:50 AM »

I decided to block sand the tank to remove the rough texture from when I wiped the tank with Prep-N-Etch. It is amazing all of the little depressions you find. It isn't a final sanding prep, but I won't have time to paint the tank before I head to Deals Gap. I just put a nice coat of primer on it to make it look OK and to seal it. I also primed the front fender brace.

I had a few parts come in. The gas cap pins arrived so I installed those. I got the ones off of ebay that come with the c-clips. They fit pretty nice, except the seller advertises them as coming with three pins and I only received two. One of the pins fit perfectly length wise while the other was about 2-3mm too long. I am not too worried about it though. I also installed the new petcock. Of course the screws they include were too short. They barely extended past the bottom on the petcock and would not catch the threads in the tank. So off to Ace Hardware I went to get some longer screws. Of course the heads of the screws were a fair amount bigger and would not fit inside the petcock so I had to shave them down on the grinder.

I drilled the bars for the controls and made a cable to attach the battery tender to the bike without having to lift/remove the seat.

The new wheel bearings arrived last night so I will install those today. Hopefully that will fix the clearance issue I have with the rotor/caliper. If not I will have to fabricate some sort of spacer. Once the new bearings are installed I will bleed the brakes, fill the tank with gas, and take her for a spin.

Harsh · « **Reply #292 on:** May 17, 2013, 01:13:41 PM »

Well there won't be a test ride this weekend. I thoroughly destroyed the bearing retainer trying to get it out. I drilled out the stake marks and it was good until it got about half way then it just locked up. I ended up having to use the dremel and a bit to cut through the retainer close to the threads then break the retainer into multiple parts. Not sure what happened as the threads were pretty clean.

Oddly the bearings rolled smooth once removed so not sure what was causing them to feel notchy. None the less I have new bearings so they are going to go in.

Harsh · « **Reply #293 on:** May 18, 2013, 05:26:36 AM »

Well I think I may have figured out why the bearings felt notchy. My distance collar has two different lengths on the tabs that help center it. I looked in the manual and at part fiche's but couldn't decipher anything. So I started looking at the hub. Inside the hub on the left side I could see some score marks in the casting. Looked odd so I put the collar in with the long tabs to the left side. Sure enough the tabs made contact with the hub. I flipped the collar over so that the shorter tabs were on the left side. Low and behold the tabs just fit inside the bearing seat and the longer tabs just fit inside the bearing face on the right side.

I believe I initially installed the distance collar the wrong way which caused the notchy feeling.

Harsh · « **Reply #294 on:** May 24, 2013, 08:38:54 AM »

I received the bearing retainer yesterday so I installed the bearing and put everything back together. The distance collar made no difference in the notchy feeling. I finally narrowed it down to the speedo gear. Packed it with some more lube ad it smoothed out a little bit.

WENT FOR THE FIRST RIDE TODAY!!!

I just took it down the street to check out a few things. The brakes still need some work. There is absolutely no quick stopping. They stop the bike, but it is slow. I don't know if the pads just need a little time to bed into the newly turned rotors or if I have an air bubble trapped somewhere.

The clutch needs some adjustment as well. It doesn't release until the very end of the lever travel. I prefer it somewhere in the middle.

And the rear shocks are very stiff.

No video because I was the only one home, but once I get the couple of issues sorted I will get some.

brandEn · « **Reply #295 on:** May 24, 2013, 09:06:26 AM »

Congrats man. The first ride is always fun. Just as an FYI, those speedo gears come apart real easy. Just pop out the seal with a screwdriver and then remove the spring clip and small set screw and it will all come apart.

Harsh · « **Reply #296 on:** May 24, 2013, 10:19:16 AM »

Yah I took it apart when I powder coated it.

deafcaferacer · « **Reply #297 on:** May 24, 2013, 05:46:31 PM »

Congrats on the first ride! That first ride is always magical, isn't it?

Harsh · « **Reply #298 on:** May 25, 2013, 05:14:35 AM »

The first ride was pretty sweet. Although a little nerve racking hoping everything worked. I adjusted the clutch some last night. Hopefully I got it to where I like it. This morning I bleed the brakes again. I got a few tiny air bubbles. Maybe the ride and vibrations dislodged an air bubble. Going to take it for another test ride here in a bit. If that goes well I am going to get it inspected.

Harsh · « **Reply #299 on:** May 26, 2013, 06:16:41 AM »

Well I have adjusted the clutch again and again and no matter what I do I can't get it to change the friction zone at the lever. It is at the very end of its travel. Very nerve racking. The cable is brand new. Of course the only thing I can think of is that the clutch discs are bad in some way. I reused what was in there when I got the bike because they measured within spec. I took a lot of care ensuring that I assembled the clutch pack correctly. I had zero difficulty with it thanks to making marks and taking a number of photos.

I was able to get a few tiny bubbles out of the brake lines, but nothing significant. The bike still stops like crap and the rear brake doesn't seem to do anything.

None the less I took a very gentle ride to the inspection station. Woot Woot she passed and for the first time the techs wanted to stand around and talk about my bike. One of them has a 76 GL1000 he is wanting to sell pretty cheap. Supposedly it is in pristine condition.

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Author Topic: 74 CB750 Navy Style (Read 80848 times)