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

[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?

[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.

[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. 

[SF]

Weld em and wrap with a little cloth?


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[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Wrap is for hiding ratty pipes!

[flatlander]

it's not a drain hole, and the mufflers can't rotated as they're attached to the frame and to each other.
i might try some exhaust paste first, see if that helps.
don't want to weld just yet, before everything has settled and i'm sure it's all in the right place.

[Stev-o]

Are you close to firing it up?

[flatlander]

i have fired it up! that's how i know that gas is escaping at the joints.
i am still doing some fine tuning with the bending an positioning, and need to seal those leaks. but getting very close.

[flatlander]

right, the damage is done.
had to bend the no.1 header pipe a bit, using a liberal amount of ratchet straps and brute force. but it worked. then i put it all back together using what seemed to me a huge amount of exhaust paste. i also bent the tongues/slots a bit in place to make the gaps even smaller. there are no more gas leaks now.

here's a try at a sound clip, not sure if it will work?
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5RVOSoI78N2c2RJSFA1VEtsSVk/view?usp=sharing

and here some crappy garage pictures but you get the idea:

[Stev-o]

Sounds friggen great!!!   Refresh my memory - stock motor? Congrats

[flatlander]

motor is 59mm wisecos, stage 2.5 mike rieck head with +1mm valves, 126-00 cam.

[Scott S]

right, the damage is done.
had to bend the no.1 header pipe a bit, using a liberal amount of ratchet straps and brute force. but it worked. then i put it all back together using what seemed to me a huge amount of exhaust paste. i also bent the tongues/slots a bit in place to make the gaps even smaller. there are no more gas leaks now.

here's a try at a sound clip, not sure if it will work?
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5RVOSoI78N2c2RJSFA1VEtsSVk/view?usp=sharing

and here some crappy garage pictures but you get the idea:

 Most excellent! I can't WAIT to get mine on! Sounds wonderful. Do you think you'll have to adjust the jetting?

[Fezzler]

Those pipes sound awesome.  Deep growl, not just being loud for loud sake.

[Stev-o]

motor is 59mm wisecos, stage 2.5 mike rieck head with +1mm valves, 126-00 cam.

Oh yeah!  The recipe for my future motor build! [for the 550K]  Thanks

[flatlander]

thanks guys!

scott i don't know yet... won't get her on the dyno before end of next week and haven't taken her for a ride yet. i expect that stock jetting won't be too far off.   

fezz,  yeah i hate loud for loud's  sake. these are by no means quiet and they can't be as the whole point is to have better flow. at least they do it with purpose and style

stev-o, it's a good recipe for a strong yet streetable motor. the full cooking instructions are somewhere further back in this thread.

[flatlander]

went for a shake-down ride today. on my local twisties it pulls vehemently through the whole range up to north of redline. so far so good. did not spend too much time there as there was some popping on decel which may mean it's a bit lean now. but can't be too much the way it was pulling.

as you heard in the clip, the sound is quite tolerable at idle and up to about 3k. when you open it up... there is nothing civil about it. little children will run crying to their mothers. and i am glad i did not pass a church yard because i believe it will make fallen heroes rise from their graves.
when you ride it urges you to crack that throttle open and charge those bends.

there are two spots where the exhaust goop was blown right out of the slots/holes at the joints, need to figure something out for that.

so that's all pretty good so far. still feel like i have an axe to grind with enrique, though. as a matter of principle.

[Stev-o]

Like your description of the loudness levels.  Popping on decel could also be an exhaust leak...

[flatlander]

indeed. and i do have some leaks still, where the paste was pushed out. will address that before coming to conclusions because it did not "feel" too lean.