Topic: CB500 cafe build- rust to ride

[tennesseebreeze]

I also got to work on the frame. I used an angle grinder with a cut off and grinding wheel to partially detab the frame and shorten the back. I'll be fabricating my own stabilizing loop to weld under the seat. I got rid of the center stand which is a heavy chunk of metal. I'm getting rid of the back fender and I ct the front one down. I thought the profile turned out well. I took a piece of sticky vinyl, folded it in two and cut half the profile. When I unfold it I have a symmetrical profile. I centered it on the fender and sprayed paint to give me a cut line. Then I used a Dremel cutoff wheel to do the work. I'll be painting the fender so the paint didn't matter.

[tennesseebreeze]

While most of the experienced on this forum are busy thumping on some poor misguided steampunk fanatic, there are some actual builds going on that are getting somewhere. I've gotten hardly any feedback on this thread. What gives?

[calj737]

You're doing great. You're moving so fast posting updates, not much for anyone to add. You don't seem stuck for advice, nor inspiration. Keep at it. When you get stuck or need some input, everyone will chime in.

Or, if you feel lonely, change the thread title to CB500: Rusty to Steamer and watch them all come running!!!,

[tennesseebreeze]

You're doing great. You're moving so fast posting updates, not much for anyone to add. You don't seem stuck for advice, nor inspiration. Keep at it. When you get stuck or need some input, everyone will chime in.

Or, if you feel lonely, change the thread title to CB500: Rusty to Steamer and watch them all come running!!!,

Haha. I'm going to make a cb500-powered Zeppelin.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Better than Cleveland Steamer

[tennesseebreeze]

I received my engine bolt kit. I'm really happy with it. Allen head, hand polished stainless bolts from Stainless Cycles on Ebay. 23.00 with free shipping. The best part was they were all organized, so no guessing about where they go.

[calj737]

Gotta love shiny hardware! Funny thing is, after all the restoration work, you'll not need to unscrew those pretty new bolts berry frequently 

[tennesseebreeze]

Here are pictures of how I perforated the front brake rotor. I plotted out my pattern on a program with CAD attributes. It took about 30 minutes to  get what I wanted- a pattern that looked simple, not busy, but also took away a good amount of meat from the metal. I printed the pattern at full scale, cut it out carefully and used spray glue to tack it to the rotor. It took 3-4 hours to drill through all the holes, starting with a smaller bit, then stepping up to 3/16". What I learned - use plenty of oil, go slow (don't overheat the bit), and sharpen the bits when it starts to wail.

[tennesseebreeze]

Gotta love shiny hardware! Funny thing is, after all the restoration work, you'll not need to unscrew those pretty new bolts berry frequently 

If I'm lucky!

[calj737]

Also make sure each hole is countersunk to prevent any surface burrs that will catch on the pads.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Also make sure each hole is countersunk to prevent any surface burrs that will catch on the pads.

Yes, chamfer the holes.  You do not want your pads going the way of a cheese grater.

[tennesseebreeze]

Also make sure each hole is countersunk to prevent any surface burrs that will catch on the pads.

Yes, chamfer the holes.  You do not want your pads going the way of a cheese grater.

I read a lot about it, with some saying to chamfer the holes, but others saying it wasn't as efficient at sloughing off water as holes with sharp sides. Either way, I'll be deburring it before I ride.

[tennesseebreeze]

Waiting on a friend to bend up this stabilizing bar. Once I get that welded in I'll be making tabs for the seat, a splash guard for the rear, and perhaps some custom side covers as mine are cracked in several places and don't exactly fit with the cafe seat I have on there. Looking for something a bit more minimal.

[tennesseebreeze]

That last picture shows a whole new front end I got sent from a member, along with two nice condition wheels. You can see how nice that perforated disc looks with the bike. As far as the tank, for now I'm keeping the paint. Eventually, I'd like to make knee dents and repaint it. I pulled a lot of the major dents out by putting hot melt glue on them, sticking the head of a claw hammer to it and pulling. Then you remove the paint by rolling it or adding a little solvent. Doesn't effect the paint and works pretty well.

[calj737]

An even better paint-safe solvent for the glue is Denatured Alcohol. Works flawlessly and is very handy in the shop.

[MoMo]

It's been a little bit since I posted to my project feed. I've gotten a good amount done the past couple weeks. I found a machine shop to recut my valves and valve seats. I'm very happy with how that turned out. The guy was a real old school machinist. For $40 he checked the head's flatness, cut the valve seats, cleaned and recut the valves, and even shortened the valve stem to compensate for it seating a little higher.

Holy valve job Batman,  for $40 someone did all that work? That is a fraction of the going machinist rate.  Keep on plugging, looks as though you're doing the old bike justice.   Oh yea, keep the patina...Larry

[tennesseebreeze]

Yeah, he honed the cylinders for $15. It's great. This is in Bristol, TN, near the Nascar Speedway. There are a lot of gearheads around here, and plenty of machine shops.

[tennesseebreeze]

It's been a long time since I last posted about my build, but I have been making steady progress. I managed to rebuild the top end of the motor with new rings, newly honed cylinders, and re-cut valves and seats. I have a few of the pictures here, but more are coming. I made my own ring compressors out of these nifty finger-cranked clamps and some galvanized sheet metal that I carefully shaped and filed the sharp edges off of. To compress the valve springs I used a big C-clamp and a piece of PVC pipe, cut to give me access to the end of the valve. I took my time, concentrated, and it worked like a charm. I also replaced all the gaskets and o-rings save for the head gasket, which is expensive. Mine looked good, so I reused it.

[tennesseebreeze]

Here is my solution to the valve installment.

[tennesseebreeze]

The frame is coming along as well. A welder friend bent up this pipe to conform perfectly to the custom seat. I've since welded it and the seat brackets, stripped the frame, and repainted it. I'll follow up with pictures of that process.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Well done.  Are you retaining the passenger mounts or cutting them off?

[tennesseebreeze]

If I'm not mistaken, the 4 into 4 pipes attach at the passenger mounts. At least for now I'm going to keep them. I wanted to do a four into one pipe, but the cost gives me pause.

[tennesseebreeze]

Welding and grinding.

[tennesseebreeze]

Making brackets for the custom seat. I think the seat pan was from a Yamaha.

[tennesseebreeze]

This weekend I got the swingarm rebuilt with new bronze bushings and some thick washers that I ground down to space out the gaps. The swingarm bolt and interior sleeve had seen better days, but I thought they should still work with  the improvements I made.