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

[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!

[grcamna2]

That custom clutch cover from Jeff looks good Don,as you say the finish matches-up well with the rest of the engine.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

That custom clutch cover from Jeff looks good Don,as you say the finish matches-up well with the rest of the engine.

Thanks!

[Godffery]

 You'll have to let me know if anyone on the street (Non SOHC familiar people), recognizes that as not being a factory item.
I can't tell you how often I spend countless hours designing & fabricating something special, and only those who know, Know how special it is, or have the slightest idea how challenging it was to actually make it work. 
 That being said; the real satisfaction is in the performance of a finely tweaked ride.   

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Well, DGR is coming in less than 2 months, so time to get Blue roadworthy.  My Motogadget M-Unit took a dump a little over a year ago.  I sent it to Speigler and STILL over a year later no replacement or repair!

I decided to take the one destined for my 650 project and I swapped out the original speedo drive with a magnet pickup for a cleaner Justin Webster speedo-delete.  I'll have to remount the speedo pickup.

Untitled by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

Untitled by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

Next up: plug back in the wires and see if she fires.  Also need to plumb the hydraulic line from the clutch master the the slave unit.  Flush the fuel and clean the carburetors.

[grcamna2]

That bike is nice Don. 

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

That bike is nice Don. 

Thanks!  It's in need of a detailing.  It's been sitting collecting dust for the last year (waiting for Motogadget to send me a replacement m-unit ).

[tshrey]

You'll have to let me know if anyone on the street (Non SOHC familiar people), recognizes that as not being a factory item.
I can't tell you how often I spend countless hours designing & fabricating something special, and only those who know, Know how special it is, or have the slightest idea how challenging it was to actually make it work. 
 That being said; the real satisfaction is in the performance of a finely tweaked ride.   

Did you cut and weld in extra rod on the stock clutch actuator or make your own new one?  You happen to have the measurements (length)?  I will be doing this shortly.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Same rod as I recall.

[Godffery]

Same rod as I recall.

Yes, I was able to designed the 550 clutch conversion kit to use the stock push rod. Although it was rather tricky to do, and the 500 & 750 kits required a special built one.
 https://godfferysgarage.com/project/custom-hydraulic-clutch/

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

The hydraulic clutch appears to work great.  Unfortunately, the re-wire of the bike (and absence of timely warranty replacement support from Motogadget) has delayed ride testing.

[Godffery]

The hydraulic clutch appears to work great.  Unfortunately, the re-wire of the bike (and absence of timely warranty replacement support from Motogadget) has delayed ride testing.

Have you got any photos of the bike with the hydraulic lines installed?

Bummer about the electrical delays.  =/

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

The hydraulic clutch appears to work great.  Unfortunately, the re-wire of the bike (and absence of timely warranty replacement support from Motogadget) has delayed ride testing.

Have you got any photos of the bike with the hydraulic lines installed?

Bummer about the electrical delays.  =/

I was waiting to take some photos after I had everything buttoned up and I had the bike detailed.  Right now, its all shiny and clean, has the clutch plumbed, but the wiring is amiss.

[RAFster122s]

Look forward to seeing the photos...
Interesting project.

[grcamna2]

The hydraulic clutch appears to work great.  Unfortunately, the re-wire of the bike (and absence of timely warranty replacement support from Motogadget) has delayed ride testing.

Have you got any photos of the bike with the hydraulic lines installed?

Bummer about the electrical delays.  =/

I was waiting to take some photos after I had everything buttoned up and I had the bike detailed.  Right now, its all shiny and clean, has the clutch plumbed, but the wiring is amiss.

Motogadjet needs to do You Right Don;send you the replacement along with a few $ for the aggravation they put you through.     Sorry won't do when you want to ride.