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

[Scott S]

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!

[calj737]

Instead of bending them, slice a pie cut in them, not all the way through. Bend close the pie slice, then weld that up. It's a easy and reliable way to alter the pipes, and won't effect anything from a performance or durability perspective.

[flatlander]

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]

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.

[calj737]

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!

[flatlander]

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]

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]

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.

[calj737]

Bespoke often involves adjusting something else. I suspect his ignorance of the small disparities in levers, horns, and hooks is the culprit. Think of it this way, now you are responsible for him knowing they won't fit without modification. You're a wonderful chap to perform such a Public Service for us motorcycling geeks 

In seriousness, perhaps he could offer to reimburse you (ceramic coating) if you modify the pipe for perfect fitment, or, expense of frame modifications and new center stands. That would be VERY appropriate. 

[flatlander]

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]

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]

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]

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.

[flatlander]

yes i'm gonna make them work. sorry but they're not up for grabs any more, i'm gonna stick to them. will have to get them re-coated after all this butchering but what's one more thing at this point....

[Stev-o]

yes i'm gonna make them work. sorry but they're not up for grabs any more

No need to apologize, at this point I really want to see them on your bike....

[flatlander]

... and you will! just a bit of patience, please.
i was also losing my patience but at this point i'm all zen and just resolved to my fate.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

A more elegant solution (moving the side stand).  Well done!

[flatlander]

finally, the exhaust is on. still some fine-tuning to do, to get everything properly positioned and aligned but the hardest parts are done.

where the mufflers slip over the headers, they're attached with some clamps. enrique's crew cut out some slots so that the clamps could be tightened.
at the top of the slots, there's exhaust gas escaping. any ideas for how to seal this?

[calj737]

Picture isn't showing for me, but, you can often buy some exhaust "paste" to apply to the pipe seams and seal that joint.

If the slits are too long that they extend beyond the portion of the pipe they slip over, then you have other issues 

[bwaller]

Fit them, weld them together including the slots for a one piece pipe? Or mark where your clamps sit & weld the rest of the slot closed.

[flatlander]

tried to fix the picture. does it work now?
slots don't extend beyond the pipe. there's just a small gap between pipe and muffler that the gas blows through.

[Bankerdanny]

What he is saying is that you could weld that bit in the photo that isn't covered by the clamp.

[calj737]

2 things:
Could be the ceramic just curing somewhat.
That may actually be a drain hole. Check with Enrique. If so, rotate it to the underside.

[Stev-o]

2 things:
Could be the ceramic just curing somewhat.
That may actually be a drain hole. Check with Enrique. If so, rotate it to the underside.

It's not a drain hole, they cut the slots too long. I was thinking what Brent wrote, weld em. But then you'd have the coating to deal with.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

I might refrain from welding them completely, since this will make it more difficult to remove or replace if you have damage (later).  I would recommend filling the gap with a filler rod weld.  Just my $0.02.