Topic: 1976 CB500/550 Project "Squirrel"

[RAFster122s]

So, what are flight prices between Richmond and your area of CO like?

[RAFster122s]

You know HondaMan lives in the Denver area which is less than 2 hours away.

[RAFster122s]

True, HondaMan (Mark) isn't one to install Motogadgets on bikes he works on...
Not sure if Denver region sohc4 owners ever get together for a ride.
David

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

I'd say Cal is the resident forum expert on Motogadget wiring.

If you get stuck and need someone to help out in Colorado, I can call my buddy Wes aka Threepence in Denver and get recommendations.  I doubt Cal is traveling that far "West" but who knows.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Maybe if you buy the beer, pizza and scotch, he'll make the trip for you!

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Pizza sounds good. Espresso, please. Myers, no scotch (made a promise I intend to keep) 

If rum is your liquor of choice, have you tried Ron Zacapa Centenario Sistema Solera 23.  Damn good stuff.

[RAFster122s]

So no low brow Capital Morgan Spiced Rum with Pineapple juice?
   

[RAFster122s]

Amazing really how Captain Morgan for years was about the only spiced rum in America and now it is like craft beer science applied to rum with all kinds of choices.  Everyone pretty much resigned Spiced Rum to Coke or any rum not used in a mixed drink to go with Coke.
Until recently there were and I guess still are some spiced rums that didn't use real spices to flavor them.

Know what you like and enjoy it, no need to worry about others opinions as they are like a__holes, everyone has one.

Any particular types of beans you prefer for your expresso?

Have a good Thanksgiving Break from school Chris?  Get any fishing in over the break?  I presume you try to fish as much as possible until weather stops that activity in streams.

Cal, were kids all home for TGiving? I presume your son was home from design school/college.

 My brother's kids were, Ben is in Chicago and Rachel is just north of Boston and Josh is working on his engineering degree at Tenn Tech.   They all were able to make it in for Thanksgiving...so my brother and his wife were able to enjoy some time with their kids.  My sister's son, Matt was able to come up from GA on their school break, he's a teacher also, and their daughter, Megan, works in the area & still lives at home.

[riverfever]

Single piston caliper is all that's planned forget now. I honestly haven't ridden this bike all that much. Maybe down the road I'll be at a point where an upgrade will be worthwhile but I'm not even close to that point right now. I've considered drilling the stock disc this winter but we'll see.

My garage stays pretty warm as it is right now but winters are long and harsh up here so sometimes I do have to break out the heater but it's rare.

So, is it just the single piston caliper planned for now?
Do you intend to go to dual discs or consider a front end swap?  Or is that down the road now.  I think you can get HH pads now for the stock calipers.  It is a step in the right direction. 
Godffrey Garage, Jeff, can hook you up with thinned and drilled rotors, but the improved wet weather performance of slotted I do not know of any sources for that service.
But, a drilled rotor will do better in the wet than undrilled.  Not that you can use a lot of brakes in the wet...you would still like to have the best stopping available in wet and dry for a bike you do ride.  Just remember the cars around you can stop much faster than you.

I hope your build over this winter gives you the desired fun this spring and summer.  It is frustrating to be unable to enjoy the bike yet.

BTW, if you need heating in your workspace consider investing in Infrared heaters as they warm you up very well.  They will also warm your tools beneath a heater like that.  If you are working in an unheated space the rubber or foam mats will provide a thermal break to allow you to not have your heat sucked out through your feet or body in contact with the floor/ground.
A sheet of 1" blue foam can serve as a good thermal break if you need to be on the ground or standing outside in freezing weather.  Piece of cardboard above and below the foam can help the foam last longer.  Or use some contact cement  (3M 77 or 92 ) to glue the foam to the cardboard applying the glue to the cardboard.  It can eat the foam ( solvents in the spray)

I looked for your brake setup but only saw the stock photos and nothing to indicate different in last couple of pages.

[riverfever]

So, what are flight prices between Richmond and your area of CO like?

Cal has threatened to come out here and work out the kinks in this build after slapping me upside the head but I'm hoping it doesn't come to that. I know if I work slowly, ask questions, and take pictures when necessary that I'll be able to get it done. Very thankful to have found this forum and met the people here (some who are willing to take my stressed calls late into the evening) or else I might not have this bike still and, if I did, it certainly wouldn't be where its at right now.

[riverfever]

Have a good Thanksgiving Break from school Chris?  Get any fishing in over the break?  I presume you try to fish as much as possible until weather stops that activity in streams.

Thanksgiving was very nice David. Thanks for asking. Unfortunately, I did not get out over the break and, sadly, I just haven't gotten out much this year at all which is sad because I live within 20-40 minutes of multiple Gold Medal water areas. When I taught up here in town I fished 5 days a week. My job now is a 45 minute commute and much more difficult so I just don't have enough time. Weekends find me just wanting to friggin' relax too. Generally though, we are able to fish year round here. The South Platte areas (Spinney Mountain Ranch aka The Dream Stream, Deckers, and Cheesman Canyon) are all tailwater fisheries (below a dam) and that really keeps things quite interesting all year long. Trophy trout can be had in all of those locations in all months. It's very nice. The plan originally was to teach a few years and make some connections and then guide year round. I've had a few offers to make that jump over the last two years but it's a hard life and it can be very difficult to make it. Perhaps I'll go out this weekend for a walk.

Hope your Thanksgiving was enjoyable with your family. 

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Just ask Dr. Science aka Dr. Cal J.

Momma said, "If you're going to drink, don't drink cheap booze!"  I don't know if the Captain is a swill.  Black Seal is pretty good for spiced rum.  Any alcohol with a higher sugar content seems to require a bit more effort to process sans hangover.

[riverfever]

Don is that a bearded Soichiro??

[RAFster122s]

Capt Morgan was always a cheap rum, far better to make your own spiced rum from a good rum  than buy the cheap swill marketed.  It is like buying the cheapest beer you can find.  It can get you drunk but you are not going to enjoy the after affects.
When you have tasted nothing previously other than a cheap version you don't know better. That is ignorance.  It in part is linked to why are you drinking?  If it is merely to get drunk then your motivation is different than if you enjoy the taste or complex flavors along with the normal affects of alcohol.

[riverfever]

Since I was diagnosed with Celiacs my alcohol consumption has gone way down. I used to absolutely love good craft beer but now it's just not possible. Every year there is a local craft/cask deal here where all the breweries bring their exotic stuff and then I would spend days in the bathroom (it's been about 3 years since I was diagnosed and been to it). Kinda like you said David. I enjoyed the different flavors of some of the beers I drank. I do miss beer in general though. New Belgium has some gluten free beers now that are actually decent and there are a few others but I had to look at other stuff. Whiskey is hit and miss for me. Some are fine but others make me sick for days. Jameson is the only whiskey I drink. I started playing with martinis and love a traditional dirty one. When Heather and I were in Hawaii we toured a vodka distillery called Ocean and had a tasting and I love doing those kinds of things. They also do rum and both are fantastic. Tequila is also safe for me but I don't know much about it. 

[RAFster122s]

Don is that a bearded Soichiro??

I think it is Don's projection of Cal

[Restoration Fan]

Pizza sounds good. Espresso, please. Myers, no scotch (made a promise I intend to keep) 

If rum is your liquor of choice, have you tried Ron Zacapa Centenario Sistema Solera 23.  Damn good stuff.

If rum is your choice, you REALLY need to try Richland Rum.  I happen to be partial to it because it's produced in Richland, GA but it keeps winning taste test after taste test.

I don't generally drink Rum unless it's mixed with something but I'll drink Richland Rum straight.  Of course, it's about $60'ish per bottle so it should be good enough to drink straight. 

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Don is that a bearded Soichiro??

I think it is Don's projection of Cal

Not entirely.  I just thought of Cal as The Answer Man or Dr. Science when it comes to Motogadget wiring (and wiring in general).  When I Googled "ask Dr. Science," that's what appeared.

[riverfever]

Wanted to share this even though it's not related to my catastrophic 550. I haven't had any contact with my immediate family for well over 20 years so when I married Heather and met her family (particularly her father and her grandmother for some reason) it really meant a lot to me. We lost her mom and shortly afterwards her father. A few years ago we lost her grandmother who was just short of her 100th birthday and that one stung. We once hopped a flight to St. Louis on Saturday to sit and have coffee and cinnamon rolls with her and listen to her tell cool old stories just to hop another flight home and be back at work on Monday because she missed us. She used to own a bar down on 14th Street. When we were going through her estate we found all kinds of neat stuff (they all lived on the same property). I brought home all kinds of tools that I am honored to use. The coolest is an old Prentiss vice from the 20's. Most of the stuff was damaged and worthless from being in leaking barns for years. I found an old box of Lionel trains that was wasted. It was like that for most things. Anyways...I found this Falstaff sign and it was in bad shape too with water damage and spots where the mice had been chewing on it. I loaded it up without Heather seeing. I hid it for a few years and then finally started slowly working on it and restoring it. Tonight I got the lights taped in to see how they would look. I couldn't help but call her down to see it. Now I just need to install the lights and it will be done. This light is originally from the 40's. 

[RAFster122s]

Very nice, gotta be a good gift for her.  Or if it isn't her cup of tea then it could be sold and money put in something she would like that lasts.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Some inspiration - Cal's latest wiring job:

http://www.superbikeplanet.com/image/2013/motogp/cotamarch/thegreatwondell/i.htm

[RAFster122s]

No way, Cal would never have something that unorderly!
Besides, I thought he drew the line at Honda, BMW, and Harley.  Now the fix it in 15 minutes, sure thing!

[RAFster122s]

Cal, ever seen wiring in a rocket or supersonic aircraft?  Every wire is tethered to a coated metal guide rail every "x" inches/mm to withstand the forces involved during its operation. I picture your stuff similar to that with enough free play to disconnect a component without having to cut a connector block free to allow room for disconnect.

A project I worked on had normal rack builds of computer equipment that were suppose to withstand up to 6Gs of force in positive or negative direction in case the aircraft had to take evasive manuevers.  The people assembling a new rack of equipment was provided a step drill similar to Harbor Freight't to drill a hole in a fromt mount plate for a Dell 1950 or 2950 to replace the spring loaded fastener.  They used a thin washer to span a hole that was barely smaller than the washer.  I was banned from the site where assembly was done because I questioned the ability of the fastener of withstanding the load at 6Gs.

The 2950 weighs 59 pounds...multiply that by 6.  I was questioning the decision by the chief engineer of the group that drew up the specs, not the company I worked for...
I doubt they tested or even ran the calculations for it, bunch of seat of their pants cowboys.

You forgot MB Cal...  not that you have ever had to mess with electrical on those either.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Cal, ever seen wiring in a rocket or supersonic aircraft?
You forgot MB Cal...  not that you have ever had to mess with electrical on those either.

Yep, aircraft and submersibles too.

I didn't forget the Benz, you just don't ever need to re-wire them. They're plug and play with their modules.

An ex had a MB ML series (glorified minivan).  She didn't buy it with Nav and then wanted it later.  MB said it had to come wired off the factory line with Nav, and that you could not plug it in like a module (like on a BMW). 

[riverfever]

Last night I practiced crimping these open barrel terminals. Thanks to Joeyvans and Cal for helping me figure things out. Felt like a real moron while learning but I think I've got the hang of it now.



Got the picture hung tonight which is good because I have been wanting to finish it and get it out of the way so nothing happens to it. Really happy with how it looks.



And Don sent me a wonderful surprise in this Pro Taper clutch lever. With a new clutch cable it's a night and day difference. Thank you Don.