Topic: 500/550/650's that followed me home

[RAFster122s]

Sorry to hear about your friend. I hope you continue to enjoy getting out for rides and enjoying it. The bike, Bourget Python, sounds like a boutique bike, not meant to really be ridden...
Is the Triumph Rocket tire the size you need or is it a weird size rear rim? Would be sad to not handle much better with a proper rear tire.

Look forward to seeing more updates...

[rb550four]

  why yes, it has a weirdass tire size for todays standards but a few years ago I found a motorcycle tire that was as close  to perfect.... of course that boat has sailed for what was in stock then ...not a popular size, I guess. It is easier to get a 18 inch super fatty today over a 17 in. anything over a 200/45 size. Been on the interweb for hours now talked to all the tire tecs from any place I found on the  web .
 Ended up with a pirelli 240/45 zr17 it's not as wide as I'd like it by 30 mm. but I have no choice, I need to ride that bike , the lazy #$%* has been laying around since 97 ,only put on less than 100 miles in it's entire existance. It's time to put out or get out for it , and  it 'll be going out in pieces this time . Tire should be here in 2 days. and we'll see how it goes from then on, I suppose. Even so , it's all still fun and games.

[rb550four]

  The Pirelli tire came in last night, it went on today ....sweating bullets about the fit, hoped my math was right. Didn't have much room under the fender , polished the wheel while it was off  and slipped it into place . It fit with a pinched pinky width to spare. It s a hardtail so no worry of much height expansion.  set the axle and disc brake  centered it all up and it even fit better tightened it up  and took it out for a ride. OMG , it road like a dream, even better than any of the cb's in my shop, I'll go as far as to say that it is the easiest bike that I have ever ridden in all my years. I can't help to think of all the pleasure that the original owner missed out on because he just didn't change that car tire off the back . So now it's got new tires, oil ,plugs , a clean tank , new fuel lines , petcock and an inline filter if I missed anything in the tank during cleaning and it runs like a bear. Guess what, I think that I want to keep this machine...no, I really want to keep this machine now. Shoot , a few days ago I was ready to part this bike out, not anymore. All these years wasted as  mancave art. who knew could have gone either way.

[RAFster122s]

That's great news RB and I hope it gives you years of smiles. You aren't going to see any others on the street when riding and odds are it will have tons of questions when stopped. Sad the original owner didn't experience it as it should. Fads like car tires are akin to tracker and brat running Firestone tires, merely for the look at the severe expensive of handling and safety.

[rb550four]

  And again it happened, I was on my computer when I noticed the answering machine flashing trying to get my attention. Most times I might wait until later on in the day to see who it was, I've been waiting 2 years for a friend of mine that I hadn't seen in almost 20 years to blow through town and give me a call, so I listened to it. It was just another sunny day , I was minding my own business , and said yes to Dirty Harry's question, " Do you feel lucky today?". and hit play before "well, do ya punk" .  Turns out it wasn't my bud from many years ago but it was a new friend that I was about to meet about a mile and a half from my house ,who has been the owner of a Honda 550 that was left under a tarp for years when he found it but didn't know what to do with it but give it shelter in an overseas box. He was in town checking out some of my bikes through the glass doors of my theater and thought it was  time to sell that 550 and gave me a call.  I went up to see it...... just the way I like them it was rusty, filthy, and after years of kicking it over to keep it free one day it wouldn't spin anymore  ( stuck valve) he wanted $200 for it and I wasn 't about to argue and then went inside to get the title . Oh, I'd pay an extra $50 for the title, so would $250 be alright ? He was pleased ,I was pleased and the 550 made it's way onto the trailer. it's downtown being dismantled  and removed pieces being cleaned and polished along the way.
   I have rebuild a 550 engine for the next 500 or a spare should one fail and its been sitting around looking pretty but had no place to go for a year or so... now it has a new home. I'll rebuild the stuck motor after this bike is finished so there will be another spare. Planning all the normal stuff for this one , go through the whole thing , new bearings, brakes, steering bearings, fork rebuild slave and master rebuild , blast and paint frame , check and grease the swingarm brass,
go through and clean the wiring harness ( I have a new one just in case) the pipes are good up to the mufflers those are shot but I've been saving some aftermarket NOS 4 into 2 mufflers for a years and this bike will get those.
  I shot the last bike that found me green and have some left over , this one will be green too. The fender chrome was wasted and I'm fresh out of them so I sanded them down and shot those fenders green so I would have to commit to 2 green bikes in the heard, they came out good, so green it is. Of course I lost the battery side cover on the way home with it  but I have one last pair from Frankenstuff that will be used. This has all been very exiting for me, since I joined the SOHC 10 step program, I have only been backsliding maybe 3 or 5 times or so when it come to bike purchases, but let's not dwell on these set backs and certainly not consider the experiment a failure...I may not be the poster child but I could be a halfways decent sponsor for others with this affliction.
   Any ways , I had a good old friend ( who rides) visit the heard and I, that I hadn't seen in 10 years, so I cleaned up the bikes and the shop for his arrival. It was a good visit, the next day I was there alone cleaning the rust and parts off this new machine  when I hear this voice from the front door " Hey man ,you should come out here, I'm sorry , but I backed over your motorcycle." . I could hear my blood pressure go up right away, but there was something familiar about this guys voice , turns out it was my long lost for 20 year friend that told me 2 years ago that he would be dropping by. It has been an in credable weekend.

[grcamna2]

I'm glad you found another good CB550 w/ Title  plus your friend from 20 years back came to see you.

I'm due for some enjoyable times myself 

[RAFster122s]

RB, you can spin a tale. Congrats on a great week!
Here’s to many more like them!

David

[rb550four]

   grcamna 2, It's summertime , we all had a long winter, and we all deserve to be basking in good times while we can get them. Hoping that good times will find all who need it.
   David, Here ,here on many more like them. 

[rb550four]

    So  the 76 550 has been dismantled, most  of the parts have been cleaned and buffed, I'm using a soft wire brush on a grinder to get the old paint and rust off  the frame.  why do that and not just use the sandblaster ? That's a fair question. Because it's faster than using my compressor and sand blaster on the whole frame, seems it always either out of air pressure or black beauty and time is always a wasting . But it will be used on the nook and cranny areas that are impossible or dangerous to attempt with a 4 inch soft wire bush spinning around at like a hundred miles an hour on a grinder with no guards.  There is no OSHA requirements in my garage but common sense usually prevails at least half the time .... okay sometimes. I'm hoping to have it all clean and painted next week. Been putting in late nights at work during the recent heatwaves and just haven't had the energy to work on it at night....I must be getting old or something, but focused on getting it painted and starting the reassembly part.
   I've been wanting to get some pics up, and I'm gonna do it dammit, when I remember how to do it , it's been a while....maybe longer.
This could take a while.

[newday777]

I know of the using a 4" grinder on the frame routine.....
Keep up the good work. 👍

As to posting your pictures, I have to screen shot my pictures to be able to post them as my phone takes great pictures but they are too large of files to be accepted to post directly to the forum, but when I do a screen shot of each picture and crop them it works. I know, it's a lot of work to do it this way but I haven't learned the new ways to get around to resize or host sites as I'm just an old hound dog....and it works for me. 

[Kelly E]

    So  the 76 550 has been dismantled, most  of the parts have been cleaned and buffed, I'm using a soft wire brush on a grinder to get the old paint and rust off  the frame.  why do that and not just use the sandblaster ? That's a fair question. Because it's faster than using my compressor and sand blaster on the whole frame, seems it always either out of air pressure or black beauty and time is always a wasting . But it will be used on the nook and cranny areas that are impossible or dangerous to attempt with a 4 inch soft wire bush spinning around at like a hundred miles an hour on a grinder with no guards.  There is no OSHA requirements in my garage but common sense usually prevails at least half the time .... okay sometimes. I'm hoping to have it all clean and painted next week. Been putting in late nights at work during the recent heatwaves and just haven't had the energy to work on it at night....I must be getting old or something, but focused on getting it painted and starting the reassembly part.
   I've been wanting to get some pics up, and I'm gonna do it dammit, when I remember how to do it , it's been a while....maybe longer.
This could take a while.

We blast outside of the shop. We lay out a really big plastic tarp so we can recycle the sand. We sweep it up and screen it back into the blast pot. Anything that will go through the screen will go through the gun. The sand we use is extra fine grey sand, it's $13.00 for a 100lb bag from White Cap Construction Supply.
Since OSHA can't find your house make sure to use a good respirator. I wear my leather welding coat, leather gloves and a HF sandblasting hood. The respirator fits under the blast hood.
The only solution for running out of air is a bigger compressor.

[rb550four]

  Yes Kelly , I use a cardboard box over a tarp to keep the granulates in one area so It can be screen filtered and reused again....don't want to be cleaning the black beauty out of the crushed stone the driveway here, makes an awful mess. wonder if baking soda could do the trick without the toxicity, but haven t explored it on metal, but it's supposed to be great for removing paint from fiberglass parts. Was looking at a two stage compressor with a giant tank a while back, but I couldn't  justify the expense for the amount of blasting that I do these days. It sure would be nice not having to wait for my shop compressor to reload some volume at full pressure, and it would be really nice not having to pull those pieces of wire wheel out of hard to get places anymore. Part of the fun and games I guess.

[RAFster122s]

2 stage compressors are so much nicer. Having sufficient air volume and pressure available really makes a difference when working with air tools a lot. If you can find a good brand at a good price, it is worth considering.

[Kelly E]

We only have to set up the big blaster for frames. We bought a blast cabinet big enough to hold a swingarm. It's nice to blast all the small stuff easily. You can see it behind the tractor.

[rb550four]

  I built a large cabinet out of plywood  to handle frames and small stuff, then the pandemic hit. Never used it as a cabinet, but the new chickens were happy. Last fall a young family up the road a piece  wanted to raise chickens.... well, I had my fill of free range chickens , torn up gardens, gotta watch where you walk, gotta let em out in the morning , gotta get them closed up for the night and trying to find them to save them from the hawks. They hide  pretty good  and are harder to find  than one might think.... anyways, that young family took it all and I was happy.
  Didn't solve my sand blasting issues but it did solve the chicken issue.
 
 

[Gurp]

One problem at a time ole buddy!

If I didn't have so much outside stuff I'd love to get a small goat.

[rb550four]

  I've seen goats in  action. Seen them chew off a vinyl roof off a Plymouth , eat the seats right out of a Ford Fairlane,  and eat everything in a yard that wasn't a weed and leave the grass high. They might stand on your cars hood in the morning and eat the seat off your motorcycle or your favorite pair of sneakers in the afternoon, and can't forget they headbutt your kids when you least expect it while you feed them in the evening.
  Just darling creatures they are. I'm sure that's why there is always mutton on a menu in Europe.

[rb550four]

Got the paint off the 76 550 frame with a soft wire brush wheel on a grinder, then backed it up with the sand blaster for the hard to get nooks and crannies . A blow and a decent wipe down and gave it 3 coats of gloss black  let it set for 2 days .
   Dropped in my last on the shelf rebuilt 550, the original  engine will be rebuilt when I get time and that will be the new spare engine. Roller bearings on the steering , new brakes , any thing that had grease in it got cleaned out and received fresh grease, new cables, fresh carbs, cleaned the wiring harness up  and plugged them all in the headlight, cleaned up original wheels for now they'll do. need to order new ignition switch, grips , and a few other little items. The bike came with a severely rusted crash bar but I  had a really decent one in the rafters that I actually put on, and I think I kinda like it for a change. Hope to get the carbs in sync this weekend.

[Gurp]

Laughing about the goats.


Sounds like a good and productive day!
I need to get one of my extra motors rebuilt. Or make time and space to do so.

[RAFster122s]

Saw video once of a kid who put on a football helmet I believe and he was head butting with a baby goat about his size. Crazy thing to watch. Guess the kid grew up around the goats and felt he could dish as good as he got...
Either that or he has a few too many blows to the head...

[rb550four]

   Some kids will do just about anything.... and some parents will film it for youtube. This has really turned into a strange world ,hasn't it.

[rb550four]

   This is what I started with.

[rb550four]

  One more

[rb550four]

After a little bit of work,

[rb550four]

  And a little more work