Author Topic: 1977 CB550F IDK (first build) (Read 176219 times)

goldarrow · « **Reply #400 on:** May 03, 2015, 10:58:03 PM »

What's your pipes look like? Rear wheel axle bolt goes through from right to left probably be just fine, but depend on what your exhaust pipe is like, it may interfere slightly when you have to remove the bolt to service the wheel

minimo · « **Reply #401 on:** May 03, 2015, 11:06:33 PM »

Good question. I don't have the answers yet but maybe there are some things you can tell me from these photos:

goldarrow · « **Reply #402 on:** May 03, 2015, 11:11:12 PM »

Looks like stock pipe with chopped off the tail end.

minimo · « **Reply #403 on:** May 12, 2015, 07:35:25 PM »

Anybody have experience/success/pointers sticking one of these bad boys - Koso T&T Multi-Function Digital Meter - on their machine?

SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan · « **Reply #404 on:** May 12, 2015, 07:47:45 PM »

Quote from: minimo on May 12, 2015, 07:35:25 PM

Anybody have experience/success/pointers sticking one of these bad boys - Koso T&T Multi-Function Digital Meter - on their machine?

I've been eyeballing one of those for a lower-spec future build (one not permitting Motogadget Chronoclassic goodness). Keep us informed.

I know that Jay LaRossa (Lossa Engineering) sells them on his site, but I haven't seen one installed yet on one of his bikes.

I like the particular model TNT-01 you have pictured that has the tach in an anolog meter with the speedo digitized.

I haven't perused the instructions: http://kosonorthamerica.com/instructions/BA035K00.pdf

minimo · « **Reply #405 on:** May 12, 2015, 07:49:52 PM »

Cool. Well then, lemme try to be the one to show y'all.

calj737 · « **Reply #406 on:** May 12, 2015, 08:22:22 PM »

Seth McAllister has one. Sent me a PM to help him rig it up. There's been others too

minimo · « **Reply #407 on:** May 12, 2015, 08:30:17 PM »

I went for the TNT-01 (not the 01S like Lossa has) because I like the idea of the needle moving more wildly with the RPM; speed is read digitally on the screen below w/ trip odometer anyway. I like the minimal look and keeping speed/tach contained within one piece.

minimo · « **Reply #408 on:** May 22, 2015, 10:45:50 AM »

Took the M1 written test today and PASSED! I also had to retake my Class C test (that I didn't study for) and also PASSED. Victory at the CA DMV!

Registering my 550 (probably smart to make it as stock as possible) will be the next big hurdle -- after finishing it first, of course.

SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan · « **Reply #409 on:** May 22, 2015, 10:56:46 AM »

I can't remember if you've taken the MSF course, but if not, it is worth it. If you pass the driving test in the class, you don't have to take it at the DMV -- and you get a discount on your insurance premium that ends up paying for the class. Plus it give you good habits.

minimo · « **Reply #410 on:** May 22, 2015, 11:09:08 AM »

I did take the MSF course and I totally agree that it is worth it. I didn't know about the insurance thing. I'll have to make mention of that when I go shopping for plans. Cheers!

SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan · « **Reply #411 on:** May 22, 2015, 11:27:03 AM »

Quote from: minimo on May 22, 2015, 11:09:08 AM

I did take the MSF course and I totally agree that it is worth it. I didn't know about the insurance thing. I'll have to make mention of that when I go shopping for plans. Cheers!

Many brick and mortar shops also offer discounts for gear with your completion certificate. I got a nice deal on a Vanson jacket.

minimo · « **Reply #412 on:** May 22, 2015, 11:30:29 AM »

Ohhh nice! Yeah, but some of the shops that are tied to my completion cert are suspect to pretty bad Yelp reviews :-/
Did you get a Vanson Model A? Which store?

SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan · « **Reply #413 on:** May 22, 2015, 11:45:29 AM »

Vanson MrkII Sportrider http://www.vansonleathers.com/prod-MK2_Sportrider-332.aspx?

I bought it at Irv Seaver BMW many years ago.

minimo · « **Reply #414 on:** May 25, 2015, 04:09:02 PM »

I will never want to know what you sound like so farewell turn signal buzzer.

minimo · « **Reply #415 on:** May 28, 2015, 01:24:29 AM »

More wildlife uncovered

Wiring has begun. I sorta psyched myself into thinking this stage was going to be some kind of huge and challenging headache but taking it very slow in my usual manner and so far it all seems pretty straight forward; even the wiring diagrams are starting to make sense - all the colors and stripes on the wires make it easy to follow and interconnect. I guess it also helps that I'm reusing a lot of the original wiring and harness too. But before any final mounting takes place, I want to see if this baby even kicks! Hopefully all the original wiring is still in good shape. I know I'll need to prepare the under-seat electronics tray business. Before I do though I need some extra connectors and extend some wires here and there to relocate the wiring location. While that's being thought about I'm caught in the middle of rewiring the fuse block and changing it to a blade-type one. I'm also going to try to reuse the condensers and old regulator and rectifier before working in the upgrades which I already have standing by, 'cos if it ain't broke... I don't want to sacrifice busting and burning out new parts until I know for sure that it's needed. I also I installed the Dyna coils and readying the spark plugs. Not to forget, while the access is there, I sanded down the powder coated area where the main ground wire goes (mounting bolt area of the coils). So while I wait for turn signals, brake light and a speedo mount to arrive, there's the rear fender and the seat fabrication to start thinking about too. Oh, and also have to figure out how I'm going to mount the key ignition.
Any others pointers or things to look out for at this stage? Right, the exhaust has yet to be mounted. I'll post some pics of the outcome of my elbow grease to rid of old grease/dirt/rust. Still feels like a long road ahead, but, there's a light...

minimo · « **Reply #416 on:** May 28, 2015, 11:16:58 PM »

Fuses for days

Checked off the list. Hope it works.

SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan · « **Reply #417 on:** May 29, 2015, 07:52:29 AM »

It's nice having spares. Even if you never use them.

minimo · « **Reply #418 on:** May 30, 2015, 07:53:31 PM »

Wiring has commenced. Here's a compulsory (bad) shot of the headlight bucket-o-wires:

The Koso TNT speedo is mounted using the bracket that it came with. Koso offers another speedo mounting bracket but I think it might require some minor fabrication because unless you want an offset speedo, you'll probably have to fab some mount for the mount if you want to use the existing screw holes on the top triple tree... I'll use the easy bar mount clamp for now:

I was also able to find a pretty good spot on the right fork (opposite side of the disc), right around where the factory speedo attaches, and used the existing screw hole to mount the speed sensor bracket. It lines up spot on with the magnets that stick to the metal flange on the hub; was able to stick all six magnets spaced evenly alongside the hub bolts. Adjusted and locked down the depth of the speed sensor so it nearly brushes with the magnets at the turn of the front wheel (recommended 3 mm or less clearance). Then I ran the sensor wire up and through the fork brace bracket, then laced through the lower triple, up into the headlight bucket, and connected the harness into the provided speedo wiring. Easy peasy.

Now I'm stuck at wiring the rest of the Koso speedo. I'm supposed to wrap the RPM wire around the spark plug wire and cap? What? Is the RPM wire even necessary for the CB550? Can anyone help me make sense of how I can use the existing stock CB550 wiring to adapt to this? http://www.kosonorthamerica.com/instructions/BA035K00.pdf

Furiously looking through some old Honda wiring diagrams and I can't figure out what BLACK/YELLOW wire is for - it comes from the turn signal/horn/hi-low beam electrics. I read somewhere that it's the Kickstand indicator? Huh? It also looks like it has room to take an extra bullet connector but I don't know which one. And there seems to be an extra set of BLUE/BROWN. Isn't that the turn signal buzzer that I've omitted? Does that line/color serve another purpose?

calj737, are you around? You mentioned giving Seth McAllister a hand at rigging one up... Help.

minimo · « **Reply #419 on:** May 30, 2015, 09:28:28 PM »

On the old Honda, the High Beam Indicator was represented by Green and Blue wires, respectively. Now, on the Koso, the High Beam Indicator is represented solely by a single Yellow wire. How do I connect this?
I know Green on the Honda represents Ground... Should I run the respective Blue line from the Honda to the Koso's Yellow and just rely that it all gets grounded by the Koso's ground (Black wire)?

Help.

calj737 · « **Reply #420 on:** May 31, 2015, 05:47:36 AM »

Yoo-hoo! I'm up, stop knocking on the door already...

Rev sensor for your Koso: I find it easiest/best to attach this wire to the Yellow wire coming from the ignition plate. I don't recall if you're using stock or aftermarket coils, but if aftermarket, there should be a screw where a ring terminal connector can used to attach the rev wire. Make sense? Yes, RPM info is needed on a 550. I would always want to know what my RPMs are under certain circumstances.

The BLK/YLW wire is from certain later model Fs, and if I recall correctly it's from a side stand switch. The purpose of that switch in stock condition was to kill the bike if the side stand was down, and you shifted into gear (prevents ride off with stand down). You can omit that wire if you choose.

High Beam: connect the Koso YELLOW wire to the dark BLUE wire coming from your stock control switch. When the HI beam is active, the Dk BLUE carries 12v and thus the indicator is activated. To confirm you have it right, voltage meter on the Dk BLUE, toggle LO then to HI. If Dk BLUE gets 12v in HI position, you're in business.

The stock wiring had a ground also (GRN) for the stock idiot light because individually it was required. The Koso has a "system" ground if you want to think of it that way. All internals, light functions, etc share a common ground for the Koso, so the extra or individual ground is not needed.

BLUE/BROWN: turn signal buzzer. What? You don't want that ringing in your ears?

Omit at will.

Speedo Sensor: just make sure you have no binding of the wire on lock-to-lock movement.

minimo · « **Reply #421 on:** May 31, 2015, 11:49:36 AM »

Quote

Yoo-hoo! I'm up, stop knocking on the door already...

Whoa-whoa-whoa! Thanks for answering my call, calj737

Quote

Rev sensor for your Koso: I find it easiest/best to attach this wire to the Yellow wire coming from the ignition plate. I don't recall if you're using stock or aftermarket coils, but if aftermarket, there should be a screw where a ring terminal connector can used to attach the rev wire. Make sense? Yes, RPM info is needed on a 550. I would always want to know what my RPMs are under certain circumstances.

Forgive my ignorance, but "rev wire/rev sensor" = Koso RPM wire, yes?
Koso supplied a couple of RPM wires so I soldered one of them (represented in the photo here as the blue/yellow line on right) and ran the line alongside the points assembly wire bundle, continued up and along the top of the frame to meet with the rest of the cabling in the headlight bucket. So then this blue/yellow then attaches to the Dark Brown/RPM wire from the speedo, yes? I assume yes because Koso has kinda crimped corresponding bullet-connectors on the ends of the Dark Brown and RPM wires so it'd be an easy click.

So far so good...

Quote

The BLK/YLW wire is from certain later model Fs, and if I recall correctly it's from a side stand switch. The purpose of that switch in stock condition was to kill the bike if the side stand was down, and you shifted into gear (prevents ride off with stand down). You can omit that wire if you choose.

Well, that's interesting because I imagine there'd have to be some kind of switch mechanism on the kickstand itself to make that all work; my 550 never came with one. I think I will disconnect these BLK/YLW wires. Thank you.

Quote

High Beam: connect the Koso YELLOW wire to the dark BLUE wire coming from your stock control switch. When the HI beam is active, the Dk BLUE carries 12v and thus the indicator is activated. To confirm you have it right, voltage meter on the Dk BLUE, toggle LO then to HI. If Dk BLUE gets 12v in HI position, you're in business.

OK, so Koso YELLOW to the dark Blue coming from the stock control switch... The only Dk BLUE I see comes from the 3-way on the headlight harness. This Dk BLUE one, right?
Meanwhile, as you suggest, before I connect anything, I'll try metering this.

Oh, and I'm sort of a newb to metering (gulp). Here's a cheapie I picked up at Harbor Freight.
What setting should I have on the dial? Obviously I touch one of the black&red meter leads to the Dk BLUE, but the other one? Should I touch it to ground?

Also, does it matter at this point that I don't have the battery connected yet? I'm just checking for continuity, right? Ugh, this will all make sense at some point.

Quote

The stock wiring had a ground also (GRN) for the stock idiot light because individually it was required. The Koso has a "system" ground if you want to think of it that way. All internals, light functions, etc share a common ground for the Koso, so the extra or individual ground is not needed.

So can the Koso's common ground connect to one of the freed up stock Grn wires in my bucket?

Quote

BLUE/BROWN: turn signal buzzer. What? You don't want that ringing in your ears? Omit at will.

Oh, hell yeah I'll be omitting that one. Ill be wearing the buzzer around my neck while I ride.

Quote

Speedo Sensor: just make sure you have no binding of the wire on lock-to-lock movement.

Copy and check.

Thanks, calj737!

minimo · « **Reply #422 on:** May 31, 2015, 03:10:18 PM »

Conjecture on the type of motor oil to use on a '77 CB550F in LA, where it'll reach temps in the upper 90's... Clymer says 20W-50 but the cap on my crank case says 10W-40... I figure if Honda went through the trouble of embossing the part, that must be what I should use.
Any opinions?

streak09 · « **Reply #423 on:** May 31, 2015, 04:07:58 PM »

Check out page 15, about half way down --> http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,122379.350.html.

Take it for what its worth. There are soooo many topics about oil choices, very few end up providing any useful direction, but I think there are pretty good suggestions there. I just put the Bel-ray in mine, but its not running yet so cant comment other than the fact that it looks like oil

. I went with 10W-40, I'm in Ohio and wont be running it hard or hot for a while.

Im gonna have to research that speedo/tach, I likie!

calj737 · « **Reply #424 on:** May 31, 2015, 04:23:05 PM »

In summertime and hotter climates, many members up their oil to 20-50. Regardless of what Honda said.

The rev/rpm sensor is for the tach feed, call it what they will...
When you check voltage on your meter, always RED to power and BLACK to ground. your meter is configured for polarity, and these lead colors matter.
Rotate the dial on your meter up to DCV 20 for checking 12v. It literally means Direct Current Voltage, 20v total. Plenty enough range to read your battery.

You won't get a voltage reading on the headlight circuit without a battery connected. But you could check for resistance by switching the circuit. Too much trouble to muck around with...

A little correction from my earlier post: that BLK/YLLW wire could also be your clutch safety switch. Your model wiring diagram differs from the one I have and the one you're using. You'll have power without it, but it may defeat the starter if left unattached.

Everything else you're spot on with!

News:

Author Topic: 1977 CB550F IDK (first build) (Read 176219 times)