Topic: 1977 CB750 K7 Resto-mod, Knoxville

[Desert-SOHC]

Glad to see you got it handled, I will eventually do the swingarm bushing upgrade, but I don't think that it will be this year. If you change your shocks I need a set.......my left one is blown and leaking oil all over the place.

[AintNoEasyWay]

Glad to see you got it handled, I will eventually do the swingarm bushing upgrade, but I don't think that it will be this year. If you change your shocks I need a set.......my left one is blown and leaking oil all over the place.

Great. I'll keep you updated, Desert.

[Davez134]

If your budget allows, get those hagons. Much better than stock, love mine for a daily rider. There are better out there, but you will pay more too. For the price, they are great shocks.

[AintNoEasyWay]

If your budget allows, get those hagons. Much better than stock, love mine for a daily rider. There are better out there, but you will pay more too. For the price, they are great shocks.

Awesome. Thanks for the input, Davez134. I've been reading through threads this afternoon. It looks like a lot of guys on here go through Dave Quinn (http://www.davequinnmotorcycles.com/cgi-bin/webc.cgi/Hagon.html). Supposedly he sets the shocks up for you according to weight & riding style, & you can swap them out if you don't like them.

I'll take a look at my shocks again tonight. I rode for about a month last summer before having to tear my engine down & the shocks seemed fine. Then again, this is my first bike so I don't have anything to compare them to...

[Restoration Fan]

Ok, for reference, a few threads on removing old bushings:
- http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=102742.0
- http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,86931.msg977820.html#msg977820
- http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=115405.0

I didn't go through these threads but I can assure you that there is no easier way to remove old swing arm bushings than the one that Bill Benton showed me how to make.

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,141761.msg1638700.html#msg1638700

You can make one of these yourself or if you need to borrow mine, let me know and I'll ship it to you.  It literally took me about 2 minutes to make this one.  Then it took about one minute total to remove both old bushings.  Easiest thing we did on the whole bike.

[AintNoEasyWay]

Ok, for reference, a few threads on removing old bushings:
- http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=102742.0
- http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,86931.msg977820.html#msg977820
- http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=115405.0

I didn't go through these threads but I can assure you that there is no easier way to remove old swing arm bushings than the one that Bill Benton showed me how to make.

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,141761.msg1638700.html#msg1638700

You can make one of these yourself or if you need to borrow mine, let me know and I'll ship it to you.  It literally took me about 2 minutes to make this one.  Then it took about one minute total to remove both old bushings.  Easiest thing we did on the whole bike.

Ron, this is awesome & I totally forgot that you had done this. I cleaned up the swing arm last night with a lot of degreaser. Still need to get the grease out of the pivot hole though. My dad works in a carpentry shop, so I'm going to take the swing arm by there during lunch & we'll see if we can come up with a way to get the bushings out. I imagine we'll try something similar to the Benton Method®. But I don't think we've got any valve shims laying around. If it comes to it, I'll cover shipping & borrow yours for a couple days, probably end up making my own based on yours.

While we're discussing removing things, how'd you go about getting all the old bearings out of your rear wheel?

The sprocket side of the wheel has nuts that are tab locked in. Is there a standard way to get these tabs pushed back down so that one can turn the nut?

[Restoration Fan]

Nate,
You won't need valve shims.  Just find a washer or something that works.  I just measured this one and you need something with a diameter of 25 millimeters.  If you can't find something that works for you, text me your address and I'll overnight my tool to you.  I can always make a new one.

We didn't pull our bearings from our rear wheel.  The bearings had already been recently replaced by the previous owner so we didn't have to do that.  But I'm fairly certain I remember reading that you have to drill those tabs out to get to them.

[AintNoEasyWay]

Nate,
You won't need valve shims.  Just find a washer or something that works.  I just measured this one and you need something with a diameter of 25 millimeters.  If you can't find something that works for you, text me your address and I'll overnight my tool to you.  I can always make a new one.

We didn't pull our bearings from our rear wheel.  The bearings had already been recently replaced by the previous owner so we didn't have to do that.  But I'm fairly certain I remember reading that you have to drill those tabs out to get to them.

Cool, a few guys in the above threads mentioned using a thick washer. I'll update you guys after lunch. Knowing the diameter should be helpful! Maybe it won't be that difficult of a process. I haven't tried removing them at all yet.

[madmtnmotors]

But I'm fairly certain I remember reading that you have to drill those tabs out to get to them.

I haven't tried removing them at all yet.

ANEW mentioned "tabs on nuts". I think you guys are talking about two different things. The "tabbed nuts" hold the rear sprocket on. The rear sprocket does not have to be removed if you are only changing the bearings. If you are replacing the sprocket too, then just bend the tabs out of the way and remove the sprocket nuts. The tabbed washers can be reused a couple times before the tabs break off and require replacement, although best practices dictate that they be changed every time they are removed.

As for "drilling", this would be limited to the "stakes" on the bearing retainer rings. The stakes must be drilled in order to remove the bearing retainers on both the sprocket carrier and on one side of the rear wheel hub. There are three rear wheel bearings, one in the sprocket carrier and two in the wheel hub.

[Restoration Fan]

Ahh, good catch, Wilbur.

Yes, now we absolutely did remove the rear sprocket.  Those tabs are very easy to bend down so you can remove the nuts and get the sprocket off the rim.  And if you're careful, you can re-use those tabs a few times.

[AintNoEasyWay]

Great info. & yes, I need to replace my rear sprocket, so those are the tabs I was referring to. What tool would be best to bend them down with?

[madmtnmotors]

Great info. & yes, I need to replace my rear sprocket, so those are the tabs I was referring to. What tool would be best to bend them down with?

BFH!      

or a screwdriver
or a chisel
or your fingernail (if you're tough like me)
or a P-38
or nail clippers
or your wife's best pair of scissors
or a stout knife
etc...

[AintNoEasyWay]

Great info. & yes, I need to replace my rear sprocket, so those are the tabs I was referring to. What tool would be best to bend them down with?

BFH!      

or a screwdriver
or a chisel
or your fingernail (if you're tough like me)
or a P-38
or nail clippers
or your wife's best pair of scissors
or a stout knife
etc...

Haha, I started hitting at one of them last night with a mallet to a screwdriver, but I figured I'd ask before I do something I could regret. Looks like I've got a lot of options...

[Restoration Fan]

or your wife's best pair of scissors

TIL, Wilbur is a mean man who can get you in trouble.

(TIL = Today I Learned for those that don't know what that means!  )

[madmtnmotors]

 

[AintNoEasyWay]

TIL "TIL".

Also, my dad & I got the bushings out during lunch. Just a vice, a few washers he grinded down, & a punch. I'm amazed at how cheap these things look compared to the bronze bushings he's going to put in for me this afternoon. He'll do it in his shop with a hydraulic press.

[AintNoEasyWay]

Update: My dad already got the new bushings in. Damn that was quick!

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Those plastic bushings are one of the few things that even a concourse restoration should ditch in favor of the bronze bushings.

[Desert-SOHC]

or a P-38

I doubt many people know what that is...........

[madmtnmotors]

or a P-38

I doubt many people know what that is...........

I know more than one person will have to Google it! 

[AintNoEasyWay]

Alright guys, results are in. I was  worried when I started putting on the clear coat that this engine was going to turn out looking really bad. The clear coat was making it look like it had a cheap black spray can paint job (in actuality, I guess that's true, but it definitely didn't look like that when I first did the black paint). It almost looked like the grey primer was shining through the black or something? Anyway, when I first started putting the clear coat on, it looked like a cheap spray job, then it started to look like it had almost a blue tint to the finish.

I figured, what the hell, I guess I'll just try curing it in the hot box & see what happens. If I don't like the outcome, I'll redo it all. For the most part, all the worries went away when I removed it from the hot box. It's not perfect, but I'm pretty happy with it.

I'll let it sit overnight to cool down completely, then I'll replace all the fasteners with the new set I bought.

[Restoration Fan]

*standing ovation*
I like it a lot, Nate.  It looks really good.  Very well done!

[Desert-SOHC]

That looks AWESOME!!!

[AintNoEasyWay]

That looks AWESOME!!!

Thanks a lot, Desert. I added in most of the new fasteners last night. Some of them I have to cut down to fit properly. It even says this in the instructions that came with the set. Kinda lame. I would expect after paying for a set that everything should come cut to fit already. The new fasteners give it more silver & add some nice accents though.

[AintNoEasyWay]

What do you guys think of Dustin Kott's recent build covered by moto channel?

I really dig the oil tank & battery placement. Sounds like he's become a big fan of Works suspension too.