Author Topic: 1976 CB550F - making it good, one step at a time (Read 124771 times)

Scott S · « **Reply #425 on:** March 20, 2017, 12:02:28 PM »

I seriously doubt it. My frame is still at the powder coater.

flatlander · « **Reply #426 on:** March 20, 2017, 12:54:00 PM »

you're going at a good pace, though.

RAFster122s · « **Reply #427 on:** March 22, 2017, 10:41:14 PM »

Scott, I have seen more than one motor assembled on a motor stand with the exhaust attached and they test fired it that way... Just be sure you have it braced properly so any torque effect is not going to tip the motor on the stand.
So, you might be able to beat him if you could set it up that way.

flatlander · « **Reply #428 on:** April 01, 2017, 12:45:21 AM »

the package from spain arrived promptly as promised by enrique. equally promptly, i whisked off the stuff to be coated. now the guy sends me pics of them hanging out in the beauty salon.

time to pick them up soon

SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan · « **Reply #429 on:** April 01, 2017, 01:01:22 AM »

Love those curves.

Godffery · « **Reply #430 on:** April 01, 2017, 01:03:08 AM »

Bloody Nice Pipe work!

bwaller · « **Reply #431 on:** April 01, 2017, 06:54:34 AM »

You probably need two sets of those now, right Cal?

Stev-o · « **Reply #432 on:** April 01, 2017, 08:00:27 AM »

Is it Ceramic FL?

flatlander · « **Reply #433 on:** April 01, 2017, 10:34:22 AM »

yes it is. cerakote, glacier black. should be good.
i actually picked them up today still. now i want to remove the winter crud from the bike before i install them. it's not nice working on a dirty bike. besides, those posh looking pampered pipes would probably feel offended.

Scott S · « **Reply #434 on:** April 01, 2017, 03:16:53 PM »

I'm just gonna sit over here and sulk.

I did manage to get the top end buttoned up on my motor, and the frame is back from powder coating. If I can just get a day off, I can marry the two and get started bolting on all the other bits. Maybe by this summer I'll have mine on.

flatlander · « **Reply #435 on:** April 02, 2017, 12:48:12 AM »

cal to make you feel better: it's a real let-down that they're made in some non-descript mild steel probably scavenged off water piping from abandoned vacation villages along the spanish coast. just not right. on top of that the high-temp paint they came with is more than dodgy, you can scratch it with your finger nail. if you look up close you also notice that the welding could be nicer, totally destroying the looks for those that bend down and around far enough to scrutinise them on the installed pipes.
all in all, what a botch job. they'd really be terrible on your bike.

scott don't sulk. just get off the couch and stop making up excuses!
if it's of any consolation: i don't think i'll be hearing them this weekend, either.

Scott S · « **Reply #436 on:** April 02, 2017, 03:14:24 AM »

I wish I was sitting on the couch. This overtime is killing me.

I'm also interested in the dyno results, especially since you ended up with stock jetting on your other combination. And since you have enough a baseline for comparison. Might help with my jetting choices, too.

flatlander · « **Reply #437 on:** April 02, 2017, 08:31:13 AM »

yes i will dyno them. according to the hi-po guys an A/F ration of about 13:1 is best. so far, with the stock 4-1 i've had the stock jetting and it was a bit on the rich side. i'm interested to see where this gets me.

it's super nice spring weather today and we decided to go for a bit walk on the beach with neighbours and the dogs. so while i'm also not on the couch, i'm also not doing anything with the bike!

flatlander · « **Reply #438 on:** April 15, 2017, 12:49:21 PM »

well guys, the race for first firing up these pipes is not over yet. the headers don't fit on the left hand side of the bike. i tried all sort of things, looked up a bunch of stuff and traded a few mails with enrique. bottom line: he made them for a K and they don't fit the F with its different configuration of kick stand, centre stand and passenger pegs. the difference is too much to bend them in place myself.
that's disappointing as i very clearly stated i was mounting them to an F and pointed out the difference, even offered to send measurements. oh well... let's see what he can do. anyway, i won't hear them rumble just yet.

Stev-o · « **Reply #439 on:** April 15, 2017, 12:59:43 PM »

Sorry to hear that, fl. I just dragged home a 550K with no exhaust, how much shipped to Texas?!

Scott S · « **Reply #440 on:** April 15, 2017, 01:29:26 PM »

Quote from: flatlander on April 15, 2017, 12:49:21 PM

well guys, the race for first firing up these pipes is not over yet. the headers don't fit on the left hand side of the bike. i tried all sort of things, looked up a bunch of stuff and traded a few mails with enrique. bottom line: he made them for a K and they don't fit the F with its different configuration of kick stand, centre stand and passenger pegs. the difference is too much to bend them in place myself.
that's disappointing as i very clearly stated i was mounting them to an F and pointed out the difference, even offered to send measurements. oh well... let's see what he can do. anyway, i won't hear them rumble just yet.

That incredibly sucks.
But I'm pounding away at my project! Might beat you to it after all!

flatlander · « **Reply #441 on:** April 15, 2017, 02:13:33 PM »

thanks, that might be an idea. but let's see first what enrique says. bummer i got them coated already. should've tried them on first.

flatlander · « **Reply #442 on:** April 19, 2017, 12:16:42 PM »

after all my lamenting i guess you deserve a sneak preview.

here i mocked up how the pipes would roughly sit. the mufflers belong a bit lower, with the bottom one covering the view of the rear wheel axle.

and here's the source of the troubles.
the headers on the left hand side would perfectly flow around a kickstand mount that's at the front of the frame. if it's at the back like on mine, they're perfectly in the way and the pipes end up perfectly misaligned.

bottom view of the same thing

then there is the lever of the centre stand that hits the bottom muffler. this i should be able to remedy by switching to a stand from a K model where that lever is shaped differently to create more space for the 4-4 pipes.

and just for the hell of it, and for those interested, here's a pic of one of those curved baffles.

i have to admit, with the right hand side fully mounted i did fire up the engine. there was the annoying tac-tac-tac from the open header pipes on the left - and next to it a nice dark rumble. sounds promising. shame about the fitting debacle on the left. hope i can sort something out with enrique.

flatlander · « **Reply #443 on:** April 19, 2017, 01:12:06 PM »

that's all fine and i normally don't mind getting my hands dirty but these are custom made pipes at a premium price, and i specified clearly what bike/model/year i was going to mount them on, what components i was using, even sent a picture and offered to send measurements. enrique claimed they were going to fit fine.
i'm not impressed if i need to do all sorts of hacks to make something fit that was promised to fit this exact bike in this exact configuration.

SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan · « **Reply #444 on:** April 19, 2017, 02:49:37 PM »

Quote from: calj737 on April 19, 2017, 12:58:06 PM

Hack the side stand off, move it forward, and weld it back on. Heat bend the center stand lever. Pipes are much too pretty to let that frame conflict stop you!

Yes, why not just move the side stand mount?

flatlander · « **Reply #445 on:** April 19, 2017, 10:37:26 PM »

you guys are far too rational. my first reaction was to beat up enrique over it but your approach of letting it go and just sort it out is probably easier in the end.

flatlander · « **Reply #446 on:** April 20, 2017, 06:23:27 AM »

i agree, and i'd do the same myself. but i don't have my hopes up. will definitely bring up the topic, though.

flatlander · « **Reply #447 on:** April 21, 2017, 10:20:31 PM »

my stock seat cover was starting to show weakness.
i got this new seat cover from old-school-covers on ebay. it seemed the one closest to original, that's available.
they only have it in black, not the original brown colour of the 76 550F1 seat. that was ok with me as black goes better with the new glacier black pipes, anyway.
as a side-note, also my upholsterer confirmed that it was incredibly hard, if not impossible, to find vinyl in the brown that honda used on that seat and some of the goldwings. that explains why i had such a hard time searching...

the heat-pressed pattern is not 100% the same but very close:

texture of old-school-cover on left, original on right:

underside of the new cover

it's decently made and fits well. i had the foam replaced as well, and here's the finished thing.

the honda logo does not come with the ebay cover, it was added by the upholsterer.

flatlander · « **Reply #448 on:** April 22, 2017, 08:48:08 AM »

what happened today...

yep, i did as cal said and moved the side stand.
it was not quite as easy as it sounds a the existing one can't be hacked off and re-welded, there's not enough material/space left. also the tube that it's attached to is re-inforced which of course its new home isn't. so i had to make up a new mount making sure that all the angles were correct, and support it from the back.
also bent out the centre stand lever. that was the easy part. torch and pipe and done.

i'm lucky that i have a place around the corner where you can rent workshop space per day, and then use all the tools and equipment. wouldn't have been able to do this in my garage.

mocking up the pipes was promising. there's still some bending to be done on the headers but that i can deal with.
still p-d about enrique not making any efforts, he's not even been responding to mails any more.

Stev-o · « **Reply #449 on:** April 22, 2017, 10:12:06 AM »

Seat look great, fl, thanks for sharing. Hope the new pipes work out for you...I think in the end it will be worth the extra effort.

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Author Topic: 1976 CB550F - making it good, one step at a time (Read 124771 times)