Topic: 1976 CB550F - making it good, one step at a time

[flatlander]

now's a good time to measure actual TDC.



i mark it off for both cylinder pairs. the factory markings are actually pretty accurate, but better to be sure.



you may have noticed that the points plate and advancer are already gone missing... that's because they'll be making space for the boyer micro power. now while we're accurately at TDC i install the boyer plate and align the rotor.



so that's that: static timing is done!



this will be the base for timing on full advance, with a strobe light. but a lot still needs to happen before then...

i put the dowel pins in the cylinder, and plonk the head on directly, without gasket. they were each only milled 0.004" off so i don't expect any trouble but it takes only a minute... indeed, head sits perfectly flush with the cylinder surface so all is good.



so the head can come off again, and i put the mls gasket underneath, then replace it. just like this for now as i'll use it later to check clearances, with the cam, and will need to lift it off again to apply clay to the pistons.



that looks already pretty real, doesn't it?



this is as far as it goes today. for the reast i'll need the cam instructions that come in a separate envelope by mail.

[Stev-o]

Looks very real! 
Appears there is no paint on the head, will it stay naked? And the cylinders too?

[flatlander]

yes i plan to leave it bare. i was thinking long about this but will give it a try. as it's not a daily rider and lives in the garage when not being used it should be ok. a bit of curing and condensation will occur but i generally do like the look of bare aluminium. i may regret it but won't know unless i try...

i might polish parts of the head to make a visual transition to the cover. that's something i'll decide on when i have it mocked up.

[strynboen]

mine are just blasted vith fine glass..it hold fine..4 years nov..i have only polished the top ..and some parts more bling then others to get some differens in the parts

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Everybody does it their own way.  After having Mike does his magic, I'm having my head painted to help keep it clean.

[flatlander]

i understand where you're coming from but i think i'll go down a similar route as strynboen. the bike as a whole won't look "new", it will be neither a back-to-factory restoration nor an extensive modification or update of the looks. alltogether, it looks just like an aged, well preseved original where a freshly painted engine may be too flashy. that's not do disrespect mike's work.
stocker on the outside - beast inside is more what i have in mind.

worst case i can still dismantle it a couple of years down the road and paint it if it turns out looking crap...

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

i understand where you're coming from but i think i'll go down a similar route as strynboen. the bike as a whole won't look "new", it will be neither a back-to-factory restoration nor an extensive modification or update of the looks. alltogether, it looks just like an aged, well preseved original where a freshly painted engine may be too flashy. that's not do disrespect mike's work.
stocker on the outside - beast inside is more what i have in mind.

worst case i can still dismantle it a couple of years down the road and paint it if it turns out looking crap...

I "get" you, too.

[Stev-o]

yes i plan to leave it bare. i was thinking long about this but will give it a try. as it's not a daily rider and lives in the garage when not being used it should be ok. a bit of curing and condensation will occur but i generally do like the look of bare aluminium. i may regret it but won't know unless i try...

i might polish parts of the head to make a visual transition to the cover. that's something i'll decide on when i have it mocked up.

The reason I ask is I just had my H1 cyl and heads bead blasted and bored too. Kawasaki did not paint them and compared to the Honda, looked odd to me.Thought it would be easier to clean if painted.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

If it's a VHT style paint properly cured, it should provide some stain resistance.  Not as much as PC.

[Stev-o]

If it's a VHT style paint properly cured, it should provide some stain resistance.  Not as much as PC.

What about cooling, Don?  I'm wondering if "naked" fins will dissipate heat better??

Sorry for the threadjack, Flat, prolly a good question on a new thread.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

I've never had heat issues on the cylinder, head, etc. with VHT or PC.  After all, the stock motor has clear coating on the entire motor, and the F black motors had paint on the entire motor.

PLUS modern motors are all now Powder Coated.

[calj737]

Naked! Naked! Naked! Oops, sorry, thought it was a polling thread...

Stev-o as Don said, the modern powder coats are mils in thickness and don't undermine the cooling habits of the motors. Flow is the key-

Motor looks brilliant Flatlander!

[flatlander]

Sorry for the threadjack, Flat, prolly a good question on a new thread.

no harm done. these are questions that also went through my head before i said "f*it i just leave it naked"

[flatlander]

Motor looks brilliant Flatlander!

thanks cal! actually i'm a bit dissappointed how shabby it looks in the pictures compared to normal lighting. it seems like the harsh flash makes it all look much rougher than it is.
or is this how it really is and i've just been fooling myself with my rose-tintend glasses  ?

[flatlander]

now it's the clutch's turn to go back on.
if you've been reading through all these posts you may remember that i had quite a gap between the plates, because that "damper plate" was missing. that one is hard to get and i don't think i want it anyway, so insert another pair of friction/steel discs which does not go without some modding to create additional space, as they are just a tiny bit wider than that damper plate.
brent - thanks again for your help and suggestions with this!

the extra space is created by a 1mm thrust washer that goes in the basket.



then the plates and discs go in. you see how the centre of the hub is kind of fresh and shiny looking? that's where 1mm was taken off to make it still fit under the circlip.



i asked the machinist to be a bit conservative with that 1mm off, because there had been a 0.1mm spacer under the circlip and if everything squared up i wanted to either use no spacer or that one, instead of having too much play.
that worked out well: with the existing spacer under the circlip i measuered 0.001" play. honda wants no more than 0.004. so that's pretty darn good, kudos to the machinist.

sorry for throwing inches and millimetres together. i grew up in continental europe, lived a substantial number of years in ireland, now  back on the continent... which made me accumulate tools in a strange assortment of measurements. so the dial gauge is in inches, for example.

anyway, clutch is back where it belongs - now stronger than ever with 8 new plates, new discs and new springs.



then it can all be covered up.
strynboen, you'll be able to spot that great adjustment screw that you made, at the bottom!



with every bit this is slowly starting to look like a motorcycle again.

[calj737]

You're putting that beautiful motor in that rusty frame! Shame on you!!!! At least clean and paint the upper rear motor bracket that contributes to a proper ground...

[flatlander]

yes the bracket is bad and needs to be sorted. the paint on the rest of the frame is actually in good shape, don't know how this one got so much worse?
i haven't removed the bottom end now so either i find a way to wiggle out the bracket on its own, or it has to wait for another time.

[strynboen]

vait to paint to Winter..seson are ON...

..and come to denmark so ve can take them to komerere a good running stock to a light tunet..i vill belive 175 kmt vith standart kaburettors..10 kmt more then a stock engine.. bore the karbs vill improve it to 180...is my gess

[flatlander]

you are completely right. that's why i'm in a rush to get this thing on the road!
i will definitely give you a shout if i go to denmark. have a friend in angelhom in sweden, up the coast from malmo. i could stop by both of you on a trip.

[strynboen]

alles klar..you can visit me....i meeet you at the germen border(to denmark) i dont have helth to drive longer..and ve can run over fyn,,by the lillebelt brigde....and later take to great belt brigde(i live on Langeland fyn) in mittel of denmark..them the main road goes to kopenhagen/and ørersund brigde to sveden..a fantastic trip through denmark..to get dovn to Langeland 3 brigde have to been driven....denmark are a vatervorld..a bit like dovn at you..

[flatlander]

a bit of a setback:
in one of the hardweld rockers, the thread for the adjustment screw is not good. i was wrestling with it for some time, trying to get one of the old screws through with brute force using vice and leverage but it doesn't clean up the thread  enough. and it seems to be some non-standard very fine thread for which the guys at my local shop here don't have a cutter.
guess i'll just have to send it back and wait for a new one... bummer 

[flatlander]

continued with the ignition. the boyer comes with pretty much everything you'll need. you might want to have some extra wires to extend the existing ones, and need to think about how you mount the coils.

here's what's in the package (i've already mounted the ignition plate and rotor at this point).



plug wires need to be cut to size and the female plugs attached that connect to the coils. i found them a bit hard to crimp as the copper core is a larger diameter than the normal electrical wires i've done before. to be on the safe side, i solder the connections.



here they are, hooked up to the coils. i transferred the sleeves from the old plug wires to the new ones. for the original looks, and i suppose they give some added protection. a squirt of WD40 makes them go off and on pretty easy.



the gill coils that come with the ignition mount differently than the stock ones. i figured out that if i connected the stock coils mounts with some rectangular aluminium rods i could get them in a suitable position without having to do any bigger modifications.



space is at a premium in this spot, especially on the left hand side where mother honda hides that little rat's nest of a box with electrical connections. but it all fits.



coils are mounted.



bird's eye view of loosely mocked-up wires from the transistor box.



before i finalise the connections i want to decide where to put the box. i have 2 candidates so far:
above the air box plenum, or under the right-side cover at the battery.
i might put it next to the battery for now. the battery is the standard yuasa one and i'm not to keen on having a plastic bucket full of acid in the bike, and will replace it sooner or later. if i get one that's smaller size than the original one then i should have a good spot here for the ignition box that's completely out of sight.

[Stev-o]

Nice work mounting the coils.  Highly recommend  an AGM battery.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

+1 on either an AGM or lithium-ion battery. 

[flatlander]

thanks guys! always good to get feedback and input, whatever it is. it really helps to have some people watch over my shoulder, so to say.

the good thing about the coils mount is that it can be removed and reverted to stock without leaving any trace. in fact, everything i've done so far can either be taken off or replaced if somebody in the future wants to go completely stock. well, i guess you'd need to replace pistons, head and clutch drum but that can be done...  )

regarding the battery, those types don't seem to be readily available in europe so i will probably have to import one. if i do that i might as well go for li-ion and knowing myself would probably review the whole charging system to make sure it's up to scratch. as i do have a working battery for now, this sounds like a project for the dark and cold months.