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

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Jeff aka Godffery back at it!  Sight Glass and Slave Cylinder mount all tig-welded in place. 

Untitled by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

Untitled by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

Untitled by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

Untitled by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

Next comes Glyptal sealing. 

[PeWe]

Look really good!
Fine craftsmanship to admire!

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Hydraulic Clutch Cover from Godffery complete!

DSCN3913 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

New silver glyptal coating

DSCN3914 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

Can't wait to install this and see how it works!!

[grcamna2]

Don,that turned-out very nice.I hope it is as smooth and progressive as can be and makes shifting great. 

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Don,that turned-out very nice.I hope it is as smooth and progressive as can be and makes shifting great. 

Me, too!!

[RAFster122s]

Very unique bit of kit and nice work.

[PeWe]

I like that too, will look as stock for non CB550 people.
A bolt on kit for more bikes would be fine. Or a gearing mechanism making a hard clutch softer.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

I like that too, will look as stock for non CB550 people.
A bolt on kit for more bikes would be fine. Or a gearing mechanism making a hard clutch softer.

With the Barnett springs on my 550, it's a pretty stiff pull.  It's manageable but not as easy to feather.

[grcamna2]

I like that too, will look as stock for non CB550 people.
A bolt on kit for more bikes would be fine. Or a gearing mechanism making a hard clutch softer.

With the Barnett springs on my 550, it's a pretty stiff pull.  It's manageable but not as easy to feather.

These are installed on your bike with the 550 engine,do you have that engine pumped-up ? 

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

I like that too, will look as stock for non CB550 people.
A bolt on kit for more bikes would be fine. Or a gearing mechanism making a hard clutch softer.

With the Barnett springs on my 550, it's a pretty stiff pull.  It's manageable but not as easy to feather.

These are installed on your bike with the 550 engine,do you have that engine pumped-up ? 

This motor is fairly stock.  I was getting some clutch slip at higher revs.

[algophobe]

nice one Don, always taking it a notch or two up!

[PeWe]

I like that too, will look as stock for non CB550 people.
A bolt on kit for more bikes would be fine. Or a gearing mechanism making a hard clutch softer.

With the Barnett springs on my 550, it's a pretty stiff pull.  It's manageable but not as easy to feather.

These are installed on your bike with the 550 engine,do you have that engine pumped-up ? 

This motor is fairly stock.  I was getting some clutch slip at higher revs.

-Slip with motorcycle wet clutch oil?
I often used car oils in the 80's.
It got Mobile 1 I thought should be good.
When I slammed in 5th gear at WOT, it slipped. Reduced throttle a little, WOT again it sounded like shifting to a needed 6th gear

A few years earlier (mid 80's) Castrol GTX2 that worked fine. Engine took some oil when riding fast all day long on Autobahn.

Easier today thanks to Internet making it easy to improve the knowledge and read others experiences.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

I like that too, will look as stock for non CB550 people.
A bolt on kit for more bikes would be fine. Or a gearing mechanism making a hard clutch softer.

With the Barnett springs on my 550, it's a pretty stiff pull.  It's manageable but not as easy to feather.

These are installed on your bike with the 550 engine,do you have that engine pumped-up ? 

This motor is fairly stock.  I was getting some clutch slip at higher revs.

-Slip with motorcycle wet clutch oil?
I often used car oils in the 80's.
It got Mobile 1 I thought should be good.
When I slammed in 5th gear at WOT, it slipped. Reduced throttle a little, WOT again it sounded like shifting to a needed 6th gear

A few years earlier (mid 80's) Castrol GTX2 that worked fine. Engine took some oil when riding fast all day long on Autobahn.

Easier today thanks to Internet making it easy to improve the knowledge and read others experiences.

Without getting into an oil discussion, I am using appropriate spec oil.  I was getting some slip at high revs under heavy load, so I swapped to HD springs and replaced the plates.  The pull of the cable clutch (yes I lubed the cable) is someone stiff so I wanted to do the hydraulic actuator.  I'm getting Godffery's new clutch cover/slave cylinder today or tomorrow, so I'll be installing it this week.

[grcamna2]

I like that too, will look as stock for non CB550 people.
A bolt on kit for more bikes would be fine. Or a gearing mechanism making a hard clutch softer.

With the Barnett springs on my 550, it's a pretty stiff pull.  It's manageable but not as easy to feather.

These are installed on your bike with the 550 engine,do you have that engine pumped-up ? 

This motor is fairly stock.  I was getting some clutch slip at higher revs.

-Slip with motorcycle wet clutch oil?
I often used car oils in the 80's.
It got Mobile 1 I thought should be good.
When I slammed in 5th gear at WOT, it slipped. Reduced throttle a little, WOT again it sounded like shifting to a needed 6th gear

A few years earlier (mid 80's) Castrol GTX2 that worked fine. Engine took some oil when riding fast all day long on Autobahn.

Easier today thanks to Internet making it easy to improve the knowledge and read others experiences.

Without getting into an oil discussion, I am using appropriate spec oil.  I was getting some slip at high revs under heavy load, so I swapped to HD springs and replaced the plates.  The pull of the cable clutch (yes I lubed the cable) is someone stiff so I wanted to do the hydraulic actuator.  I'm getting Godffery's new clutch cover/slave cylinder today or tomorrow, so I'll be installing it this week.

Don,are you going to have a larger piston in Godffery's new slave cylinder,and I imagine that will be a better ratio for your clutch master cyl. piston size(12 or 14mm?)to give it usable travel plus less resistance.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

I like that too, will look as stock for non CB550 people.
A bolt on kit for more bikes would be fine. Or a gearing mechanism making a hard clutch softer.

With the Barnett springs on my 550, it's a pretty stiff pull.  It's manageable but not as easy to feather.

These are installed on your bike with the 550 engine,do you have that engine pumped-up ? 

This motor is fairly stock.  I was getting some clutch slip at higher revs.

-Slip with motorcycle wet clutch oil?
I often used car oils in the 80's.
It got Mobile 1 I thought should be good.
When I slammed in 5th gear at WOT, it slipped. Reduced throttle a little, WOT again it sounded like shifting to a needed 6th gear

A few years earlier (mid 80's) Castrol GTX2 that worked fine. Engine took some oil when riding fast all day long on Autobahn.

Easier today thanks to Internet making it easy to improve the knowledge and read others experiences.

Without getting into an oil discussion, I am using appropriate spec oil.  I was getting some slip at high revs under heavy load, so I swapped to HD springs and replaced the plates.  The pull of the cable clutch (yes I lubed the cable) is someone stiff so I wanted to do the hydraulic actuator.  I'm getting Godffery's new clutch cover/slave cylinder today or tomorrow, so I'll be installing it this week.

Don,are you going to have a larger piston in Godffery's new slave cylinder,and I imagine that will be a better ratio for your clutch master cyl. piston size(12 or 14mm?)to give it usable travel plus less resistance.

I am not sure what the specs are on the Oberon slave cylinder (since the part is still in transit from the Post Office).

[Godffery]

I like that too, will look as stock for non CB550 people.
A bolt on kit for more bikes would be fine. Or a gearing mechanism making a hard clutch softer.

With the Barnett springs on my 550, it's a pretty stiff pull.  It's manageable but not as easy to feather.

These are installed on your bike with the 550 engine,do you have that engine pumped-up ? 

This motor is fairly stock.  I was getting some clutch slip at higher revs.

-Slip with motorcycle wet clutch oil?
I often used car oils in the 80's.
It got Mobile 1 I thought should be good.
When I slammed in 5th gear at WOT, it slipped. Reduced throttle a little, WOT again it sounded like shifting to a needed 6th gear

A few years earlier (mid 80's) Castrol GTX2 that worked fine. Engine took some oil when riding fast all day long on Autobahn.

Easier today thanks to Internet making it easy to improve the knowledge and read others experiences.

Without getting into an oil discussion, I am using appropriate spec oil.  I was getting some slip at high revs under heavy load, so I swapped to HD springs and replaced the plates.  The pull of the cable clutch (yes I lubed the cable) is someone stiff so I wanted to do the hydraulic actuator.  I'm getting Godffery's new clutch cover/slave cylinder today or tomorrow, so I'll be installing it this week.

Don,are you going to have a larger piston in Godffery's new slave cylinder,and I imagine that will be a better ratio for your clutch master cyl. piston size(12 or 14mm?)to give it usable travel plus less resistance.

I am not sure what the specs are on the Oberon slave cylinder (since the part is still in transit from the Post Office).

29.5mm

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

The Beringer MC is a 12mm.

[grcamna2]

The Beringer MC is a 12mm.

That sounds like an excellent match. 

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

The Beringer MC is a 12mm.

That sounds like an excellent match. 

Jeff aka Godffery concurs that it should be effective.

I cannot tell you how good this cover looks in person.  Jeff is a craftsman.

[Stev-o]

Looks great Jeff/Don!  What is the finish on the outside of the cover?

We are all impatiently waiting on hearing how this will look and perform!

[Godffery]

Looks great Jeff/Don!  What is the finish on the outside of the cover?

We are all impatiently waiting on hearing how this will look and perform!

The finish is a glass-bead blast, then washed with soap & water, Dried and heated to about 150° F for a final treatment of paste wax to resist corrosion and staining. (Additional wax treatment can be done with regular maintenance, as desired)

Here is a brand I've found that will Not leave a yellow powdery residue.
 

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

This glass bead finish looks very similar to the peened vapor blasting finish.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Clutch plates soaking in oil overnight for installation tomorrow!

[grcamna2]

Clutch plates soaking in oil overnight for installation tomorrow!

Going with fresh plates,a good idea.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Installed the new clutch pack along with the Godffery hydraulic clutch cover with oil sight glass.  Installation went smoothly and without incident.  Everything fitted up perfectly.  The glass-bead finish matched up great to my vapor-blasted engine covers with a freshened-up satin finish.  I also gave the brake lever a quick blast to clean it up. 

Now to plumb the new hydraulic line from the Beringer MC to the Oberon slave cylinder. 

IMG_0116 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

IMG_0117 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

IMG_0118 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

Fantastic work, Jeff aka Godffery!