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

[RAFster122s]

Flatlander and Scott, very nice exhausts...  sorry you have the frustrations with your pipes Flatlander.

Imagine Enrique isn't feeling charitable to you...probably communication prior and everything since and he is having other stuff go wrong.  The MotoGPWerks pipes became NLA, at least for a while, for the sohc cb bikes as a buyer ended up really taxing the patience and being unreasonable in his expectations.  You are not, but this guy was.

[flatlander]

scott, the kickstand is 23cm (9in) from top to foot, not measuring the little "lever" i.e. the thing  you grab with your toe to get it down.

here some more pics. hope they help, despite the #$%*ty quality. just took them this morning in the garage with my phone. give me a shout if you need anything else.







RAF, i don't think i know what incident you refer to with regards to motoGPwerks. anyway, the nice thing about enrique's exhaust is that the centre stand can be used, and the oil filter stays accessible. both are not the case with the yoshi replicas. but then... i imagine the yoshis are lighter. you always need to make a compromise somewhere.

[Scott S]

 Hmmm, that's a little longer than the old style stand. That would be nice, but I just ordered one of the old style last night.
 On second thought....any longer and it might start interfering with the 400F pegs.

 I'm excited about the pipes. I think they look amazing. And any time you get hand made parts, there may be fiddling involved in getting them fitted. I noticed that in the pics he sent me of my pipes being constructed, there was no kick stand on the frame. Maybe his "jig" frame was for a race bike? And despite being told yours were for an F, I can only assume that they used the same frame and tried to guesstimate what changes to make.
  I noticed that your mufflers have a slightly different curve that mine, especially where they attach to the headers. Almost like there's a slight, extra bend there.

[flatlander]

don't get me wrong, despite all the headache they caused me i'm glad i got these pipes!
the frame they used during production, i agree it could be a race frame or otherwise stripped-down one and they definitely used it for both yours and mine. i saw it in the pics they sent me.

enrique said he used to have a 550F and that a friend of his still had one, so he'd use that as a reference and didn't want measurements from me. but i doubt now that he measured or fit anything to the F, guesswork sounds more likely.
you know, i wouldn't say a word if he had said upfront that he doesn't know, that he needed specs from me and that he'd try as well as he could. then i would've been prepared for some extra work to make them fit, and would have done things in a different order. as it was, he claimed they'd bolt on directly with kickstand, centre stand and all being usable.

i noticed that bend, too. although it might just be an optical illusion from the lighting in the garage vs. that in  your photos. once i get the leaks plugged i'll clean everything up and take some glamour shots in daylight.

[RAFster122s]

I understand the frustration Flatlander...very irritating when you are told that it isn't going to be a problem and then it is...and all you get in reply is crickets.

The Yoshi pipe issue was probably 2 years ago and the guy totally pissed off the builder and he declared that was it, no more MotoGPWerks pipes for the SOHC bikes.  I think it was a 550...
There were a few issues but the guy buying/bought the pipe was being very much an entitlement attitude towards the builder if I recall correctly.  I think he has been building them since. There have been several more options in pipes for the SOHC4s thanks to several small shops and people like Kemp who I think worked with Hindle to get them to make a SOHC4 pipes for the 750/550/and 650 now.

There are lots of great guys in the business that have started or opened their doors in the last 10 years and with the hipsters not looking at these bikes as much we benefit by the boost they gave to the interest level.  Not to mention the anniversary of the CB bikes wasn't a bad thing either...

You have a gorgeous set of pipes, in the end it will be worth it to massage them into submission and get them fitting better.
You've paved the way for others to maybe be able to get these pipes as well.

Yes, the Yoshi pipes coming on and off for oil changes is a bit of work but the release system used is pretty cool for those pipes.  Not sure what kind of gaskets you need when pulling and replacing them.

David

[flatlander]

that's a bummer. but i think carpy also makes the yoshi replicas, no? you always get these types that think the universe owes them something...
enrique's pipes are well made and as you see in scott's thread, can fit perfectly without trouble if you put them on the right bike. problem with mine was that he made it sound like he knew what he was doing, and i relied on it without checking first.

[Scott S]

You have a gorgeous set of pipes, in the end it will be worth it to massage them into submission and get them fitting better.
You've paved the way for others to maybe be able to get these pipes as well.

 Um, hellooooo.....

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,161327.0.html

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,161158.0.html

[flatlander]

yes, the honour of finding the source goes to scott. i'm merely benefiting from his research.

[RAFster122s]

You have a gorgeous set of pipes, in the end it will be worth it to massage them into submission and get them fitting better.
You've paved the way for others to maybe be able to get these pipes as well.

 Um, hellooooo.....

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,161327.0.html

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,161158.0.html

Sorry Scott, you and Flatlander have shown how the 550 has two solutions...yours appears pretty painless...Flatlander didn't have that experience, more of the Life is Pain approach.

David

[flatlander]

on closer inspection, the exhaust paste didn't work out for getting a proper seal. after my trial ride, going through the whole rpm range, enough of the stuff got blown out to leave quite some leaks.
i removed that gunk. then went to get some wider clamps that cover more of the slotted area, and used high temp silicone sealant on about an inch wide area at the end of the header tubes, and on the inside of the mufflers just behind the slots.

then went for another ride. this now worked, there are no more leaks.
was playing with the choke during riding, and could keep it about half way. definitely need to go for a richer mix.

[flatlander]

never posted video before, so let's see if this works out.
click here for video of a few passes with the new exhaust.

[SF]

Sounds great !


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Stev-o]

Sounds great!

+1

[joeyvans]

Wow! I am in love.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Scott S]

 I heard mine run again the other day. Even took it up and down the street with no tank or seat on it. I was getting a video but the bowls ran out of gas (I had already unhooked my IV bottle) and the engine died. Hopefully, I'll be able to get a similar video for you guys soon. Very soon.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

That sounds unreal! Absolutely beautiful tones.

[flatlander]

made a trip to the dyno today.
as a starting point, my jetting was stock for the 069A carbs: 38 pilot, 2nd groove, 98 mains. that was way too lean on fully open.
i put in the biggest main jets i had, 105. that was better but A/F still 14:1, so still on the lean side (aiming for 13:1). need to order some bigger ones before i can continue.

scott: you may want to start out with 110.

[Scott S]

 Good to know. I've been talking to the shop that did my R6 conversion. They do dyno tuning. I have quite a few mains to choose from. I'm thinking about ordering some pilot jets. I'm at 3/4 turn on mine to make it idle properly and stock is 1.5 turns. It's a little harder to start that way, but idles great when fully warm. I haven't had a chance to really ride it yet.

[Scott S]

made a trip to the dyno today.
as a starting point, my jetting was stock for the 069A carbs: 38 pilot, 2nd groove, 98 mains. that was way too lean on fully open.

 By "fully open", you mean full throttle, not open pipes...without baffles...right?

[flatlander]

yes full throttle. and the baffles were in the pipes (man they're loud enough like that!).
i think i'll order some pilot jets, too. when you say 3/4, you mean 3/4 turns out from fully in, not 3/4 in or out from stock?

[Scott S]

 3/4 out from seated. That tells me it's too lean with the stock pilots. I think  I can tune it like it is, but it might be happier with a 40 or 42 pilot jet.

[flatlander]

got it, thanks! i noticed the same lean idle. mine starts and idles well now but hesitates taking off. will put those pilots in the order.

[flatlander]

this bike and 3 awesome others are nominated for BOTM july 2017: http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,166497.0.html
get over there and vote

[Godffery]

 The Bike is looking Great!

 BTW;
I supply updated Brake components & other bits if you looking to do that.
http://www.vinmoto.org/gallery/v/VinMoto-Garage/album03/Godfferys-Garage-123/  (In Parts & services album)

[flatlander]

thanks! i am aware of that, and have you already on my mental list. probably that's something for next winter.