Author Topic: 1977 CB750k restore project (Read 34051 times)

calj737 · « **Reply #25 on:** May 12, 2014, 01:14:17 PM »

Replace your piston. It shows pitting along the top edge. Contact Godferrey for anew phenolic unit. He will also have the seal. The square groove that the seal fits in must be spotless.

Slingshot-cycles.com, use code SOHC4 for your brake lines.

The fork uppers look like they will polish. Try soaking aluminum foil in water, then rubbing those down well. Then, a good quality buffing tape or wheel should get those up. As long as the pitting is not in any area that passes the fork seals, you're fine. If not, new fork uppers from Forkings by Frank in IL.

The caliper bolts 10mm are a 1.25 thread. When re-installing them, use grey Anti-Sieze to avoid stripping those.

Remove the race at the top AND bottom of the steering head before installing AllBallz. And before Powder coat.

I would remove the bushings and bearings in the swing arm before powder coat and replace them with new bronze bushings. New bearings for the shock mounts too. They're inexpensive and make a huge difference fence in stability.

edwardmorris · « **Reply #26 on:** May 12, 2014, 01:27:53 PM »

Quote from: dgilling on May 12, 2014, 12:42:32 PM

Well I didn't get much done this weekend considering I had to fix the lawn mower and mothers day............

That was exactly my weekend lol.

Everything that Calj said, plus you may need to polish the caliper bore manually with super fine grit sanding paper. The groove of the caliper where the gasket goes it what is critical when it comes to cleaning. Low speed wire wheel on a dremel is generally sufficient to get it spotless.

edwardmorris · « **Reply #27 on:** May 12, 2014, 01:37:29 PM »

Quote from: dgilling on May 12, 2014, 12:42:32 PM

Last question is do i remove the old bearings from the swing arm before powder coat? What's the best method to remove those?

You mean bushings? Uncle Terrence did the lowers recently, check it out here http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=61168.msg1544752#msg1544752

There are other ways too, search on these forums, mayble look into the CB750K3F project for more ideas on the main bushings..

dgilling · « **Reply #28 on:** May 12, 2014, 02:08:43 PM »

Dang it! i already order from sling shot and missed the memo on the forum discount. Oh well.

I worked on cleaning the piston a little last night and i the rust seemed to clean up pretty good. I'm pretty sure it would work with a new o-ring. I'll probably stick with the better safe than sorry approach though and just replace.

How do you remove the bearing races from the steering tube? are they just pressed in? they kind of look threaded but I don't see a way to grab them to unthread.

Thanks for the help again as always.

calj737 · « **Reply #29 on:** May 12, 2014, 02:10:35 PM »

A brass punch or drift. Pound the lower out from above, moving around the circumference as you go. Invert the frame and do the top from underneath.

edwardmorris · « **Reply #30 on:** May 12, 2014, 02:11:47 PM »

Quote from: dgilling on May 12, 2014, 02:08:43 PM

Dang it! i already order from sling shot and missed the memo on the forum discount. Oh well.

I worked on cleaning the piston a little last night and i the rust seemed to clean up pretty good. I'm pretty sure it would work with a new o-ring. I'll probably stick with the better safe than sorry approach though and just replace.

How do you remove the bearing races from the steering tube? are they just pressed in? they kind of look threaded but I don't see a way to grab them to unthread.

Thanks for the help again as always.

You may be able to contact slingshot with your order number. I forget if the owner is a member here or not, but worth a try contacting them.

That bearing race looks different than what I hammered out of mine, so I'll let the experts weigh in on that one. For the stock ones, you can look at my build thread on how I managed to remove them safely, just to get an idea...

calj737 · « **Reply #31 on:** May 12, 2014, 02:13:02 PM »

Shawn (Pampadori) is a member.

SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan · « **Reply #32 on:** May 12, 2014, 02:18:05 PM »

Quote from: calj737 on May 12, 2014, 02:10:35 PM

A brass punch or drift. Pound the lower out from above, moving around the circumference as you go. Invert the frame and do the top from underneath.

If you are better with visuals, check out Dino's project build thread. He has videos showing the steps. I think episode 3 or 4 deals with steering and swingarm bearing removal and replacement. http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=135688.0

dgilling · « **Reply #33 on:** May 14, 2014, 10:35:12 PM »

Tonight was a night of "try everything, accomplish nothing". I tried to remove the plastic bushings from my swing arm. Those suckers aren't budging. I was about to cut them out but figured I'd ask first. Any ideas?

The lower swing arm bearings are completely seized and won't spin at all. I didn't even try to take them out yet. I'm sure that will be fun.

Once I moved on from that I tried to remove the front tire. Also seemed basically impossible. it's a tubless tire so the bead is just a much tighter fit. I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to take it to the shop to get the tires removed.

Once I moved on from that I started in on some of the wiring. I struggled really bad with the tiny little screws inside the lever bodies, but eventually got them. Then I dropped a ball bearing and spent 20 min on the floor. I finally found it though.

After that I started to clean up the rectifier, and I guess i'm not really sure what to do here. I tried some electronic cleaner and a brass brush, but I was afraid to really get in there and clean. I don't want to just replace it because they are really expensive. Whats the best way to clean this guy up? I took the center bolt out and it had a lot of rust and corrosion on it.

I then moved on to the fuse box but realized that it was melted through on the bottom fuse. I guess I'll just replace that one.

calj737 · « **Reply #34 on:** May 15, 2014, 03:23:01 AM »

Cut a slot in the swing arm hushing, then pry it out.

For the rear bushing, try using a socket where the OD of the wall is equal to the OD of the bushing. Then you can either press it out in a vise if you have one, or use a bolt thru the socket with a washer stacked on both sides of the his hing housing and a nut. Tighten it and it should pull it thru (you're making a puller). The bushings come out inside to outside due to a slight taper.

Those small screws (all original screws on the bike actually) are not Phillips, they're JIS. So fit is a bit off. But they can also be quite corroded. Pre-soak these in penetrating fluid. Then clean behind yourself with electric spray cleaner, and then apply some dielectric grease to seal them up.

Hondaman makes a plug-play fuse block that accepts modern blade fuses.

edwardmorris · « **Reply #35 on:** May 15, 2014, 09:50:04 AM »

A lot of people have had good luck with what Calj just described for the lower bushings, simple DIY puller.

If you're looking at a full teardown and rebuild, consider getting a set of good JIS drivers, this will save you a lot of frustration and stripped screw heads. Gordon/ilbikes here sells a great JIS driver set along with an impacta, you may want to message him. He also has other custom tools you may need down the line (big JIS impact driver, rotor puller, frame kit etc.).

+1 on the Hondaman's upgraded fuse box, much easier to find blade fuses and easy to carry spares.

edwardmorris · « **Reply #36 on:** May 15, 2014, 10:03:20 AM »

Just noticed you're in Colorado, why not just get the swingarm rebuilt by Mark/Hondaman? He's in CO as well, won't need much for shipping...

dgilling · « **Reply #37 on:** May 15, 2014, 11:03:03 AM »

What more will hondaman provide other than new bushings in the swing arm? However... A motor rebuild sounds a little more appealing. Is he in the denver area?

dgilling · « **Reply #38 on:** May 15, 2014, 11:19:17 AM »

Holy crap, he's in Lakewood! I live 10 minutes from the legend himself. Contacting for sure.

SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan · « **Reply #39 on:** May 15, 2014, 12:24:55 PM »

That would be like having Mike Rieck just down the road from me!

dgilling · « **Reply #40 on:** May 16, 2014, 08:45:03 AM »

I didn't have much time last night but I did accomplish some stuff. I removed the swing arm main bushings and the rear shock bushings. Those plastic pieces were a bear. Finally got them by hack sawing slits in them, then taking a nail and hammering down the sides. This broke them in half and they came out. The rear shock bushings I used the long bolt and socket method and pushed them right out. This worked really well. I kept the old bearings to push in the new ones.

I have a question regarding the engine mount bolt. One of my mount bolts on the bottom of the frame bent close to the threads. Is it possible to straighten?

I also called Woody's Wheel works here in Denver yesterday and asked them about spoke replacement and true. They quoted about $420 for custom stainless steel spokes and what they call a "superlace" that is supposed to make the wheel stronger. I saw Sohron do this in one of his threads. Does that sound worth it?

calj737 · « **Reply #41 on:** May 17, 2014, 05:34:00 AM »

$420 seems wicked high! Buchanans charges $2/spoke. 80 spokes x $2 = $160 for new spokes. Even if you had a shop do them for you, the labor to lace and true is usually about $45/wheel (wheel off bike, tire uncounted). That's $250. You could also add in having new wheel bearings installed, parts and labor less than $100.

What's the extra cost for?

Find a local Harley shop. Those guys tend to be very experienced with lacing. Woody's is rumored to be very good, but their prices seem really high.

Lacing and truing is very easily done. Tons of threads and YouTube videos on "how to". Definitely a place you can save $$$ by DIY.

You can order the spokes directly from Buchanans, or CognitoMoto resells them. Pricing is the same. Devin probably charges less on shipping.

dgilling · « **Reply #42 on:** May 17, 2014, 09:47:06 PM »

I guess the extra cost is for a hand full more spokes since they do a "Super Lace" and maybe they up charge on that too. Glad to get a perspective. I'll call around.

I started in on the air box last night.

Untitled by dustygillingham, on Flickr

Both of the through bolts had issues. This on the PO decided to glue shut but the bolt would spin on the inside. The other side would also just spin in place. I removed both of the them and all the other parts and started cleaning. The seal between the top and bottom has always been all screwed up and never fit well. I think the reason is the box is warped and doesn't fit well together. Any ideas on how to get the box to fit better?

Untitled by dustygillingham, on Flickr

See how things don't line up?

Untitled by dustygillingham, on Flickr

Untitled by dustygillingham, on Flickr

Something else I wanted to ask, I always thought the bike leaned way over on the side stand. Does this look bent to you?

Untitled by dustygillingham, on Flickr

calj737 · « **Reply #43 on:** May 17, 2014, 10:31:25 PM »

Not sure what makes it a "Super Lace" but extra spokes is not possible. Your hubs are drilled for exactly 40 spokes front and rear. Maybe there is extra labor they are charging with the removal of tires, bearings, etc... And then re installation?

Your kickstand mount does not look bent. They are oriented to the side like that. Perhaps the leg is bent or missing the rubber foot?

dgilling · « **Reply #44 on:** May 17, 2014, 10:43:24 PM »

Okay, maybe it was the custom spokes and the different lace pattern. I asked them for a price with just spokes and super lace. No extras. I shop around for sure. I have time.

Any thoughts on the air box?

calj737 · « **Reply #45 on:** May 18, 2014, 05:02:44 AM »

Regrettably no, I'm a pods guy

Sounds as though you need a new airbox though. From all the threads I've read, they need to be in really good nick when used, and if so, they perform exceptionally well. Some models, some years, the airbox is priceless as hen's teeth.

You might scour the For Sale area to find someone parting out a bike, or eBay, or DavidSilverSpares.com and get a repro.

edwardmorris · « **Reply #46 on:** May 18, 2014, 05:28:02 PM »

Contact Bill/Benton Racing, he has a batcave full of all kinds of hen's teeth, he might be able to find you a good air box.

dgilling · « **Reply #47 on:** May 27, 2014, 09:38:35 AM »

I finally have some progress to report. Between the sprinklers being busted, mountain bike getting stolen, and weekend travel the CB has taken second priority.

Anyways I got the tires off which was bear. The rims don't look too rusted on the inside. They will go to powder coat with the frame and everything else.

I got the bearings out of the front hub. These weren't too bad either.
If I order an all balls bearing for the front does it come with a new retainer ring? it says seal but they seem to be the same thing.

On the back hub I could only get the brake side bearing out. The others will not budge. I'll have to take them to someone with a hydraulic press. Side note, if you own a dewalt 4" grinder, the tool that comes with it fits the rear bearing retainer perfectly.

I took the air box completely apart and used some longer bolts with washers and wing nuts on the button to secure the box. This seems to pull the box together like it should be. The other bolts would spin in place so I couldn't get the box tight enough to pull things together correctly. I spent some time on it and the inner plastic fender cleaning and things came out pretty good. There is no longer a seal between the boxes but I might just try to make one by laying some rubber silicon in the grove.

I should be taking a bunch of items to powder coat this week, I just need to get the bearings out of the hub.

calj737 · « **Reply #48 on:** May 27, 2014, 05:10:16 PM »

Wheel bearing kits do NOT come with new retainers. Take care with yours or commence looking for a replacement

dgilling · « **Reply #49 on:** June 03, 2014, 09:15:28 AM »

Posting a quick update. I've accomplished very little with the project.

I busted the hub on the inter retainer ring, but found a replacement from a member so hopefully that will show up shortly.

Question on the hub, do people usually replace these rubber dampers inside the hub? mine are cracked, and I don' know the state of the ones that will show up.

I redid the main ground and battery cables with some left over wiring I had. Big nice 0 awg wires. I still need to come up with a protection boot for the connections.

I tried to get the pitting out of the fork tubes but the chips won't come out. I tried aluminum foil and water, sand paper, steel wool, buffing wheel and those chips seem to be there to stay. Should I replace the tubes or just do my best to smooth them out and call it good?

Do people typically replace the lower shock bushings in the swing arm? I haven't seen them for sale.

Fun stuff is approaching, I plan to drop off things to powder coat this Friday. I'll probably do everything but the wheels and do the wheels at a later time since I'll be waiting on the new hub. I also got in touch with Hondaman and sounds like I'll be dropping my engine off with him in the near future for a good Hondaman tune and look over.

Any thoughts on powder coat gloss? I was going to do a solid flat black but now I think I want a little gloss.

I'm looking for a set of good inexpensive rear shocks. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

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Author Topic: 1977 CB750k restore project (Read 34051 times)