Topic: Patina Hyena - 550/650 674cc Hybrid Cafe Build

[DaveBarbier]

Hm, ok so a little snag perhaps. I bought springs from Dynomanperformance.com. Got the 30-4045 KPMI springs. On Dynoman's website it says it's for years 72-78 but on KPMI's site the same springs say they're for 74-76 and that they're high lift springs. KPMI also has the 30-3046 springs that say are 74-78 and are standard lift.

Do I have to return these and get the correct ones? I see that these I bought are a little longer than my OEM springs.


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1978 Honda CB550K

[DaveBarbier]

Bump for my two questions above.


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1978 Honda CB550K

[dave500]

the 500s and 550s had the same springs right through?high lift springs might be made from thinner stock to prevent coil bind so they start out a little longer,the inner spring should be fitted with the tighter windings downward,its a slightly progressive spring,even though they are new rub the ends on wet or dry on glass plate so they sit flush,make sure they have no manufacting burrs left.

[DaveBarbier]

the 500s and 550s had the same springs right through?high lift springs might be made from thinner stock to prevent coil bind so they start out a little longer,the inner spring should be fitted with the tighter windings downward,its a slightly progressive spring,even though they are new rub the ends on wet or dry on glass plate so they sit flush,make sure they have no manufacting burrs left.

Oh ok, thats good. No need to return them. Thanks Dave. And good tip with the wet or dry.


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1978 Honda CB550K

[dave500]

yeah dont over do it just look for tiny burred spots.

[DaveBarbier]

So I'm going to be sealing up the cases soon. I'm going to be using Loctite 518. Should I avoid running the bead near the transmission bearings or where the case flanges meet rubber seals? And what about the flanges with the bolt holes that the crank sits in? I don't want to have that 518 squeeze into where the bearings are, right?






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1978 Honda CB550K

[dave500]

i never use it on the bearing bolt areas,some say oil will wick down the bolt and leak,ive never had it happen,use some on the bolt head if you want to stop it there?

[DaveBarbier]

Just want to make sure this is installed correctly. The back of the motor is to the left, but I'm sure you guys knew that by looking at it. My concern is with the larger fork and the clip orientation. I took a bunch of pictures just not of this before I removed it. Doheth!




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1978 Honda CB550K

[dave500]

yep looks good

[DaveBarbier]

yep looks good

Thanks Dave. Crank and tranny are in. This is coming along nicely.


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1978 Honda CB550K

[DaveBarbier]

So I'm putting the valves, springs, etc. in and on one intake valve the keepers seem to be flush with the spring collar but on the rest of them they're recessed a hair. Is this an issue? There was no problem getting them in. Compressed the spring a little and placed them in and relaxed the spring. Is there a better technique? Maybe compressing the spring a lot and putting the keepers in with assembly lube to hold them in the proper place while I raise the spring?





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1978 Honda CB550K

[DaveBarbier]

Ok I just did that and a couple of them made a little "click" noise. That tells me that they're now good. I guess they all don't have to be exactly the same. Seems good to me. Thanks Calj


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1978 Honda CB550K

[dave500]

I drop a rag over the stem and rap it with a brass drift,itll settle the keepers and if one does let fly youll trap it in the rag,dont rap on the retainer.

[DaveBarbier]

Yeah I rapped on the stem with a plastic hammer. I don't have any brass drifts, only steel. They look good to me. On the questionable ones I took the keepers off and installed them again and they ended up being in the same position.

But right now I think I'm ready to seal the cases. Installed the bearings in the top case and cleaned both surfaces with denatured alcohol. Rag stayed clean so there isn't anything foreign on the mating surfaces.

I'm running through things in my head to make sure I didn't forget anything. Anything jump out to anyone?








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1978 Honda CB550K

[DaveBarbier]

Don't think this is a problem but I would hate this to be one after I seal the cases. I can make the tranny "lock up" with moving some of the gears around. My guess is that it's normal and I'm just putting the gears in a position that they will never be in during operation. But it just seems a little strange. Wanted to ask the experts.

Thanks


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1978 Honda CB550K

[dave500]

yeah if you select two gears at once itll try and pry the shafts apart,you can leave the shifter shaft out till later it wont get in the way or damaged then,once the cases are together you should be able to spin the shafts back and forth while twisting the shift drum and select single gears,plenty of oil all around inside before you close it up,get lots on the crank journals and shift drum grooves.

[DaveBarbier]

yeah if you select two gears at once itll try and pry the shafts apart,you can leave the shifter shaft out till later it wont get in the way or damaged then,once the cases are together you should be able to spin the shafts back and forth while twisting the shift drum and select single gears,plenty of oil all around inside before you close it up,get lots on the crank journals and shift drum grooves.

Ah ok, that makes sense. Yeah, I'm oiling the hell out of it.

Thanks


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1978 Honda CB550K

[DaveBarbier]

Some good progress today. Got it up to the cylinders. Waiting on the head gasket and rubber bolt puck things.



Loctite 518 is pretty nice to work with. And it smells a little like candy so that's fun. I know some people don't recommend to put sealer on the journal flanges but since there is some from factory I wanted to put a little. Picture shows more than is there, it's just a light tiny smear.



You can kind of see how much oozes out the sides. Outside is easily wiped off with a dry rag. No solvent needed.


About to put on pistons.

Pistons on and cylinders going on after I coated the cylinder walls with ATF. First time I forgot the gasket...back off then back on again. I first slid up 2 and 3 and then 1 and 4. No ring compressor needed.

This is as it stands now but with rags stuff in holes. It feels good when I rotate the crank. Some light resistance but smooth and unbinding.

If anyone sees anything terribly wrong...I don't think I want to know. Haha, just kidding, please let a brother know.

Thanks.


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1978 Honda CB550K

[Bootsey]

Looks good. You installed new orings and base gasket I imagine?
You might want to fit the cam chain tensioner now, I found I had to lift the cylindera back up about 1/2" or so, to get it to seat properly, otherwise it can tend to miss the slot, as shown below. Picture credits to Dave500

[DaveBarbier]

Looks good. You installed new orings and base gasket I imagine?
You might want to fit the cam chain tensioner now, I found I had to lift the cylindera back up about 1/2" or so, to get it to seat properly, otherwise it can tend to miss the slot, as shown below. Picture credits to Dave500

Yup, all new orings and new base gasket. And yeah, I remember when I removed the cam chain tensioner it wouldn't really come up without shimmying the cylinders.

Thanks dude.


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1978 Honda CB550K

[DaveBarbier]

Just got my head gasket and "rubber sealing" pucks. Might complete the rebuild tomorrow. We'll see.

Question: I've seen a couple posts with people saying they used Loctite on these 10mm bolts on the little curved fork shaft retainer and other little bolts in this area. Good or bad idea? And if good, blue or red?




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1978 Honda CB550K

[DaveBarbier]

Another question, I've been searching for priming the oil pump posts and it's a little sporadic. But do I need to almost "bleed" the oil system of air so the pump doesn't run dry? I was planning on just filling the pump as much as I can and slap it on the case. Along with soaking the oil filter and filling the cover as much as I can, too. Then just pouring a bunch (like a quart) into the head to make sure it goes down the oil galleries on the left and right. Is that enough? All other parts are covered in oil or assembly lube such as crank, transmission, chains and bearings.


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1978 Honda CB550K

[DaveBarbier]

You might want to fit the cam chain tensioner now, I found I had to lift the cylindera back up about 1/2" or so, to get it to seat properly, otherwise it can tend to miss the slot, as shown below. Picture credits to Dave500

So wait, does the bottom of the cam chain tensioner rest in this groove or does it "hook" on the part just below the groove? The top of the photo is the exhaust side. But I'm sure you can tell. Thanks




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1978 Honda CB550K

[DaveBarbier]

Another question, about to put the head on but the cylinders aren't sitting tight against the top case. There's a gap that's a couple millimeters. Is that just the orings keeping it slightly proud?


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1978 Honda CB550K

[dave500]

the tensioner drops into that little well,fill the oil pump and spin it in the direction it goes and refill it,then mount it,you can also fill through the pressure unit thread,you can soak the filter and fill its cover aswell,itll pick up oil straight away.