Topic: 1977 CB750 K7 Resto-mod, Knoxville

[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!

[calj737]

or a P-38

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

How do you spell that?


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

[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.

[calj737]

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.

Doesn't do much for me. There's quite a few inconsistencies in his execution if the bike was determined to "extract the utmost performance in steering and braking". Front end needs a brace, badly. Probably a damper too. The rear stock drum should have been replaced by a later year disc from a SS. The upper clamp looks to be missing some spacers/washers at the pinch. Front tire looks very tight to the fork lower, and thus his brake lines are all dangling. His throttle cables are too long and as a result, they loop down and in front of the headlight. Looks poorly though through.

If that bike is heading to Miami, then pods (and I like pods) are the worst possible choice. Way too humid, way to likely to be caught in a rain storm, and they will foul constantly. He definitely needed a different induction solution for the delivery location of that bike. Rear looks a bit snug to the tire for shock travel, but perhaps he's already calculated for that and it's fine despite its appearance. And nickel as a finish in a super humid climate? I hope the owner takes care of it properly. Personally, I don't think I'd ever stuff a battery under a metal tank. Dunno, just sort of hard for me to overcome the potential risks of arcing against a fuel cell.

Other than that... Sorry if that all sounded too negative.

[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.

Doesn't do much for me. There's quite a few inconsistencies in his execution if the bike was determined to "extract the utmost performance in steering and braking". Front end needs a brace, badly. Probably a damper too. The rear stock drum should have been replaced by a later year disc from a SS. The upper clamp looks to be missing some spacers/washers at the pinch. Front tire looks very tight to the fork lower, and thus his brake lines are all dangling. His throttle cables are too long and as a result, they loop down and in front of the headlight. Looks poorly though through.

If that bike is heading to Miami, then pods (and I like pods) are the worst possible choice. Way too humid, way to likely to be caught in a rain storm, and they will foul constantly. He definitely needed a different induction solution for the delivery location of that bike. Rear looks a bit snug to the tire for shock travel, but perhaps he's already calculated for that and it's fine despite its appearance. And nickel as a finish in a super humid climate? I hope the owner takes care of it properly. Personally, I don't think I'd ever stuff a battery under a metal tank. Dunno, just sort of hard for me to overcome the potential risks of arcing against a fuel cell.

Other than that... Sorry if that all sounded too negative.

No, that was an awesome analysis, thanks Cal. That's why I asked what you guys thought because there's a lot of vital things that I still miss looking at these builds. I want to eventually be able to be so critical so that I can understand how to work with these bikes on that level.

[AintNoEasyWay]

Alright guys, I worked on my rear wheel last night & was able to get the rear wheel retainer that has two slits in it out by using Hondaman's trick of 2 inch, 1/8" steel & a couple vice grips to turn it out. Had to do a little searching about the collar inside the wheel because his book doesn't make it clear that you can bend the tangs on the collar down to get it out of the way & have more access to the surface of the bearing to pop it out. EDIT: I should add that we drilled the punch marks on this retainer out & it wasn't to difficult to turn out after the fact.

Both of the smaller 6304 bearings are out, but I'm hung up on getting the retainer (the one with four small holes that requires the special tool) removed. My dad drilled out the punch marks on it & we started using the homemade tool pictured below to turn it. At first we were able to turn it, then it locked up. We started hitting the steel bar tool with a mallet & it'd move just barely with each tap. But eventually the steel bar bent from the mallet!

I assume it shouldn't be this difficult to get out. Maybe we didn't drill the punch marks out enough? Should we try to turn it back to its original position & drill more?

Let me know what you think. I don't want to do any (more?) damage to the threads in the hub. I'll work on getting the 6304 bearings in the other part of the wheel until I hear from you guys. Thanks & happy 4th!!

[AintNoEasyWay]

Tried building another tool to remove the rear wheel bearing retainer. Ended up bending more screws...

I went ahead & ordered a new retainer, but still have to get this old one out first.

Any thoughts guys?

[madmtnmotors]

Can you turn it back to where you started and make sure the "stakes" are drilled deep enough?

[Desert-SOHC]

Did you try grade 8's?

[AintNoEasyWay]

Can you turn it back to where you started and make sure the "stakes" are drilled deep enough?

I was at my Dad's carpentry shop & we tried turning it back to the original position. It will turn back some, but not all the way now.

One of the mechanics around mentioned that some of the shavings from us drilling out the punches may be catching in the threads. He suggested we cut the retainer near its 4 holes to possibly relieve some of the tension. I've bought a new retainer, so no issues with trying to preserve the original. We'll try it during lunch today & I'll let you guys know.

[AintNoEasyWay]

Ok, we've got the retainer out & now I'll just have to wait for the new retainer to arrive. I ordered from Dime City but they never send confirmation of when your stuff ships, so I've got no idea when it'll get here. Maybe this weekend?

Til then I'll work on getting the frame degreased & clean for the engine install. I'd like to have the back tire on when I install the engine, so if I can get the retainer in the mail & have the wheel ready, maybe this thing will be back together by end of next week.

[AintNoEasyWay]

Alright, rear wheel bearing retainer comes in this afternoon, then I can get the wheel back together. Here's my checklist of remaining things to do before I try to start this bike up:

- replace alternator cover gasket
- change out smaller sprocket in the engine
- maybe put permatex non-hardening sealant on the cam cover gasket, then retorque
- put new bearings in rear wheel, close it all up
- attach swing arm, attach rear wheel
- get windshield wiper tubing to use as drain tubes for carb overflow
- get the engine in the frame, reconnect everything

 

[AintNoEasyWay]

Instead of replacing my front forks with standard K7 forks, along with rebuilding with spring, seals, etc. I'm considering maybe switching over to a GL1000 front end once riding season is over. Do you guys just find these things on eBay or something? When I search for '76 GL1000 front ends online, I just get a ton of threads on the forum, nothing for sale.

Is it something you usually end up having to buy in pieces rather than being able to find the entire front end? Newb questions, I know. But very curious about all this.

[calj737]

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,149364.0.html

[AintNoEasyWay]

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,149364.0.html

Awww yeaaa. Right under my nose. Thanks, cal!