Topic: 74 cb550 uber low buck build.

[stolle]

i have always wanted a "cafe" bike, then i came across this 74 cb550, it was in rough shape missing many parts. one of the previous owners "bobbed" it and didnt do a very good job of it, they cut off the stock upper shock mounts and welded a flat bar in place of the shock to make rear end rigid. among other things, like many self tapping screws ran in to the frame and a spray bombed engine, the thing is a mess. i cant complain though, i got it for no money out of my pocket.

first thing i did was cut off the flat bar on the swing arm, then i removed the horrible harley style rear fender. i dont have pics, i was so dead set on getting the fender off i wasnt thinking of taking pictures. then i stripped the frame, leaving the front end which brings us to these pics...

removed all the tabs and welded up the holes from all the self screws that were in the frame, i also cut off the stock upper suspension mounts.



i also pulled out a big dent in the tank by welding screws to the top and pulling cutting them off and repeating.


here is the new tail section, its acutally a handle off an old flat cut that i cut down. 


and an other shot, im going to shorten the tail quit a bit.


im gonna do a fiberglass seat, clubman bars, for paint i want to do a civic si, theme to match my car, lol, black frame, silver tank and tail, the seat will be black vinyl with red stitching. im sure things will evolve and change as i go, i dont have alot of money or time for this so updates will be slow. i only get to work on it after my wife and 3 year old go to bed. haha

thanks for looking!

[Mcwilliams570]

Will be watching this one. So you weld a screw on the tank then pull a bit cut rinse and repeat to get the dent out never thought of that good idea.

Matt

[stolle]

Will be watching this one. So you weld a screw on the tank then pull a bit cut rinse and repeat to get the dent out never thought of that good idea.

Matt

thanks, yeah, just tack the bolt on and pull, rocking them back and forth as you pull helps too. got maybe about a 4" oval shaped dent down to just a little ding. i doubt i will be able to pull the rest out cause there is a little crease, a little bondo should smooth it out. the bondo that was there before was almost an inch thick! on the frame, i was gonna try and use some bondo glazing/spot putty to smooth out some spots on the frame where the previous owner got a little carried away with a grinder. i dont know what grit he was using but there are some pretty deep gauges, some of them i had to weld up then grind back down.

[sinister902]

seems off to a good start. You wouldn't by chance you the screen name "stolle" on other forums would you? such as.....FocalJet?

[stolle]

seems off to a good start. You wouldn't by chance you the screen name "stolle" on other forums would you? such as.....FocalJet?

thanks and no, not on focaljet, i am however on many honda forums and also the admin for stlhondas.com. 

[cabrala]

So you (or the PO) ground off the upper suspension mounts, but what are your plans for reattaching shocks? Have you thought of a new mounting point?

I ask because of my interest in modifying my own mounts for a cleaner look, but am not sure in the remounting process...

[stolle]

So you (or the PO) ground off the upper suspension mounts, but what are your plans for reattaching shocks? Have you thought of a new mounting point?

I ask because of my interest in modifying my own mounts for a cleaner look, but am not sure in the remounting process...

the po cut off the studs from the upper mount, i cut off the rest, i didnt see anyway of salvaging what was left. im planning on using some 1" rectangle tube, its 1" by probably 2.5". im gonna make templates out of card stock transfer them to the tube and cut it, drill the hole and sleeve it so it doesnt crush when you tighten the bolt down. im planning on keeping the mounting point close to stock. i will document the process, when i get there.

[stolle]

found some issues with the tank will have to find an other one. 

[sinister902]

what sort of issues? I've just gone through quite a lot on my tank because I could not find a reasonably priced replacement and have had decent luck with what I did to solve some rust/pinholes/leaks/bad seam....

[stolle]

what sort of issues? I've just gone through quite a lot on my tank because I could not find a reasonably priced replacement and have had decent luck with what I did to solve some rust/pinholes/leaks/bad seam....

i ruined it, we will leave it at that. 

got the tail burned in, its not painted for real just sprayed it so it didnt rust.





i like the way it turned out, started making my upper shock mounts also.

[cabrala]

i like the way it turned out, started making my upper shock mounts also.

Show me the mounts! Show me the mounts! 

When you have some time of course...

[stolle]

i like the way it turned out, started making my upper shock mounts also.

Show me the mounts! Show me the mounts! 

When you have some time of course...

i will, lol, i can only stay up working till 3am so many times, i must be getting old  . haha, most likely will have something tomorrow evening.... i hope.

[cabrala]

Haha, get some rest old man. Obviously I am subscribed...keep up the damn fine work, sir.

-Alex

[stolle]

Haha, get some rest old man. Obviously I am subscribed...keep up the damn fine work, sir.

-Alex

thanks!

dont know if i will be working on the bike tonight, i told my buddy i would give him a hand jetting and syncing his carbs. i got a line on a tank too, there is a motorcycle salvage yard here in st. louis that is in a 3 story warehouse that looks huge they said they have hundreds of tanks, i found this interesting and very cool i never knew the place existed until today.

[Syscrush]

Watching with interest.

BTW - shouldn't it be "unter low buck build"?

[stolle]

Watching with interest.

BTW - shouldn't it be "unter low buck build"?

to be honest i have no idea. 

havent had much time to work, my garage was such a mess i was having a hard time finding stuff so i took the weekend to clean and put stuff away. last night i took a couple hours and made the brackets for the upper mounts, it was kind of difficult because of the angles, getting everything to sit flush and square. i forgot to take pictures, i suck at build threads, i get so involved in what im doing i dont take pictures of the process. when i get the mounts tacked in ill get some pics, thinking about taking the frame to a fabricator i know to have them welded, i am by no means a professional welder and shock mounts are something i dont want to fall off. lol

i got the crank and cam back from my dad, for his 1969 bmw r69us im working on, so i might be taking a break from the honda to put the bottom end together on the bmw. so updates will be slow until i reach a stopping point .

[stolle]

should also mention, i had time to tear in to the wire harness, it looks like its been on fire, lol so im gonna have to repair it. considering building my own harness.

[sinister902]

should also mention, i had time to tear in to the wire harness, it looks like its been on fire, lol so im gonna have to repair it. considering building my own harness.

if you choose to do this, make a wiring board......I recently made my own harness.....and I had a real heck of a time with it......wish I'd had made a board and laid it all out on the board to re-make.

[stolle]

should also mention, i had time to tear in to the wire harness, it looks like its been on fire, lol so im gonna have to repair it. considering building my own harness.

if you choose to do this, make a wiring board......I recently made my own harness.....and I had a real heck of a time with it......wish I'd had made a board and laid it all out on the board to re-make.

thats good advice, i have made a lot of wire harnesses, never one for a cb550, mostly just civics, never used a board, wish i had though then, like you said it would be a lot easier to re-make them.

[stolle]

the lack of updates bothers me, its been too hot to work in the garage here lately and its driving me crazy!

[stolle]

first it was the heat, then it was a lack of parts, after a few failed attempts at finding some parts locally, i picked up a tank and some rear shocks from a member here, super sweet deal! i ordered some clubman bars last night too! now that i have the shocks i can get back to making the rear upper shock mounts,  since my old tank is pretty much scrap, i think im gonna cut it up and try to make a seat out of it, thinking it should be perfect cause it should make the seat match the tank.

also, started stripping paint from the engine, which really sucks, cause i bet there is at least 5 layers of paint on it, most of which is flaking off, i really dont want to take the engine apart and have it blasted, but right now its an ugly mess!

[Syscrush]

since my old tank is pretty much scrap, i think im gonna cut it up and try to make a seat out of it, thinking it should be perfect cause it should make the seat match the tank.

I'm a big fan of this approach.

also, started stripping paint from the engine, which really sucks, cause i bet there is at least 5 layers of paint on it, most of which is flaking off, i really dont want to take the engine apart and have it blasted, but right now its an ugly mess!

You'll get there.  Fussy repetitive work is good for you - just pretend you're spending a bunch of money to send yourself to a Montessori school.

[Flying J]

I bought a soda blaster from H.F. If you plug up all the holes real good you can blast the motor w/o taking it apart. It worked pretty good.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Can you post some pictures of your soda blasting results?

[Flying J]

Here is the result after painting. I dont have any of the blasting but im sure you can imagine what it looks like. Soda blasting does not damage the aluminum and is water soluble as well. So you can blat it, rinse it and blow it dry.

back in the frame.