Topic: 1975 CB550K1 - Stock-ish Restomod - More Mods

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

The quality of the machining on Devin's hub is incredible.  The hub is machined to tight tolerances with the cush drive.  There is absolutely no slop when the hub and cush come together.

[Stev-o]

Beautiful part.  It uses the stock Cush?

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Beautiful part.  It uses the stock Cush?

Yes.

[Restoration Fan]

Don,
We needed some of you young whippersnappers out there today.  The dirt bike class was great and taught me some nice techniques for bike control and counterbalancing but holy crap I had forgotten how much work it is riding dirt bikes.  Definitely a young man's game.  (Still didn't stop me from signing up for the adventure bike course in April though).

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Don,
We needed some of you young whippersnappers out there today.  The dirt bike class was great and taught me some nice techniques for bike control and counterbalancing but holy crap I had forgotten how much work it is riding dirt bikes.  Definitely a young man's game.  (Still didn't stop me from signing up for the adventure bike course in April though).

Ron,
That looks like a LOT of fun!
I've been thinking about getting a used XL200 for fun.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Rims, spokes and tires ordered!

[Stev-o]

Rims, spokes and tires ordered!

Details?!

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Had a nice surprise today.  My buddy Philippe at Beringer brought my 550 to the Corsa Moto Classica to promote Beringer Brakes.  Yoshi Kosaka (of Garage Company) put it in their show and it won a (respectable, considering the competition) podium trophy for Best Japanese Bike!

DSCF8779_zpsisyb3fgx by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

[flatlander]

very cool, congratulations! i'd say it deserves it.
lucky for you the judges didn't see the rust on the inside of your rear fender

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

lucky for you the judges didn't see the rust on the inside of your rear fender

Too true! 

[seanbarney41]

dat looks like a real fun thingy

[Scott S]

.

 I still think that is just a lovely bike.

[Stev-o]

.

 I still think that is just a lovely bike.

It is, love the blue.  Congrats Don.

[riverfever]

That's gotta be very exciting Don! Congratulations man. Bike looks tight.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Thanks, guys!

There were some truly fantastic bikes at Corsa Moto Classica , including a Britten V1000 (#10).

Added bonus, Wes Cooley in the flesh.  (Photo below with Yoshi Kosaka of the Garage Company, and Yoshi's Kawi  ZRX race bike)

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

I picked up my 550 aka sewing machine on Friday from Beringer.  The bike had been sitting the majority of the last 9 months since being used to prototype their brakes.  The carburetors were bogging at 6200 RPM and it had a faint valve ticking noise.

I took it over to my buddy Jay's shop and got to use his tools to clean the carburetors.  There was no visible varnish, but some funky looking white-greenish residue on the bowls.   The brass didn't look bad either.  I disassembled, cleaned and reassembled them, and surprise no more bogging.  I guess it only takes a little bit of gas turning to ruin your engine performance.  I also adjusted the valves (no broken tappets, Chris!).  2 valves were slightly out of spec, so no more ticking. 

IMG_1551_zpswkqlymrm by Donald Leonhardt, on Flick

IMG_1555_zpsetq6kmhg by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

I also decided to try some new bar-end mirrors.  I didn't like the ugly Emgo rectangle mirror, but I'm not so sure I like the functionality of the bar-ends (having to look around my arms.

IMG_1559_zps2oukdh2b by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

IMG_1557_zpsdwz0ethk by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr
The new Beringer brakes are a treat.  I'm going to change out my fork oil to something thicker to help moderate dive.

[nvr2old]

Just curious as to whether or not you also reversed your mirrors so that they sit above the bars as to help with seeing in them better.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Just curious as to whether or not you also reversed your mirrors so that they sit above the bars as to help with seeing in them better.

I'm going to gove that a shot.  That's how they are positioned (above) on my Thruxton.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Just curious as to whether or not you also reversed your mirrors so that they sit above the bars as to help with seeing in them better.

I reversed the mirrors so that they were above the bars instead of below them.  That worked MUCH better.  I took the old sewing machine out for a sunset ride yesterday.  Wow the Beringer brakes are amazing.  Now the bike has modern stopping power. 

I'm going to service the forks and maybe go with a thicker fork oil.

[seanbarney41]

Come on man, might as well pop those race tech goodies in there while your at it. Lol

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Come on man, might as well pop those race tech goodies in there while your at it. Lol

They (gold valve emulators and springs) are already in there.  The braking forces of the Beringer set up are way stronger than any stock brakes (even dual disc) so I'll likely use less viscous fork oil to compensate for dive.

[RAFster122s]

Most run whimpy ATF or 5W fork oil, throw some 15W and that'll stiffen it up.  Or go heavier at 20W if you want it really rigid.

You can actually blend to get inbetween numbers but usually most are not going to see the affects of the inbetween.
Do you know what fork oil you had in there previously?

Your weight or weight your bike will see in load also will impact your fork oil selection.  Running a front windshield or fairing would also influence this.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Most run whimpy ATF or 5W fork oil, throw some 15W and that'll stiffen it up.  Or go heavier at 20W if you want it really rigid.

You can actually blend to get inbetween numbers but usually most are not going to see the affects of the inbetween.
Do you know what fork oil you had in there previously?

Your weight or weight your bike will see in load also will impact your fork oil selection.  Running a front windshield or fairing would also influence this.

Replaced the existing fork oil with 15W (level was a bit low but no signs of leakage or bad seals) and it was much better.  I might end up going with 20W -- I have to ride it more.

[seanbarney41]

Most run whimpy ATF or 5W fork oil, throw some 15W and that'll stiffen it up.  Or go heavier at 20W if you want it really rigid.

You can actually blend to get inbetween numbers but usually most are not going to see the affects of the inbetween.
Do you know what fork oil you had in there previously?

Your weight or weight your bike will see in load also will impact your fork oil selection.  Running a front windshield or fairing would also influence this.

Replaced the existing fork oil with 15W (level was a bit low but no signs of leakage or bad seals) and it was much better.  I might end up going with 20W -- I have to ride it more.

hi, be aware that fork oil weight ratings are not necessarily consistent from brand to brand, so when tuning with fork oil always stick to the same brand

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Most run whimpy ATF or 5W fork oil, throw some 15W and that'll stiffen it up.  Or go heavier at 20W if you want it really rigid.

You can actually blend to get inbetween numbers but usually most are not going to see the affects of the inbetween.
Do you know what fork oil you had in there previously?

Your weight or weight your bike will see in load also will impact your fork oil selection.  Running a front windshield or fairing would also influence this.

Replaced the existing fork oil with 15W (level was a bit low but no signs of leakage or bad seals) and it was much better.  I might end up going with 20W -- I have to ride it more.

hi, be aware that fork oil weight ratings are not necessarily consistent from brand to brand, so when tuning with fork oil always stick to the same brand

Thanks.  I'll keep that in mind.  I used Race Tech's recommendation.