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

[DaveBarbier]

I mean, the ultimate goal is to have the pads fall square on the disc when they're clamped, right?


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1978 Honda CB550K

[DaveBarbier]

Only if you want to be a perfectionist and have proper braking... Geez, raise the bar why don't you, Dave 

All I'll get from over thinking this is proper braking? What a gyp.


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1978 Honda CB550K

[DaveBarbier]

Here it is. All...done? A couple things. First, there's a little leak in the splitter. Where the MC and right caliper lines attach. I keep trying to tighten the banjo bolt but I don't want to go too far. Mating surfaces were clean and new crush washers. Not sure what's going on. Second, the brakes drag slightly. The wheel won't spin more than a couple revolutions if I lift the front wheel. Both calipers were cleaned and rebuilt with new seals and phenolic pistons from Godffrey. I rebuilt one just a couple days ago and the other one about last year or so. The Nissin MC is only a couple months old and I have new stainless lines from rennsportautoparts.com. They seem really nice quality and the guy Raymond is easy to work with (slingshot cycles STILL not accepting orders, damn).

Those of you with dual disc, if you raise the front wheel does the wheel make a whooshing noise when you spin it? How many spins of the wheel should I be getting?

Here's a picture, still have to put the front fender on.



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1978 Honda CB550K

[DaveBarbier]

Went for a 20 minute ride. The splitter is leaking for sure and it's going to have to be fixed. I probably did something wrong when I made it. I cut down my 650 splitter to fit and made sure the mating surface was super smooth, but it may have been off. Rats. I just ordered another one off eBay from a Suzuki GS. Something small and simple. Anyone have any resources for small brake splitters?

The dragging brakes don't seem to be an issue. After my ride and braking hard a bunch of times I was still able to grab a hold of the discs with my bare hand. Probably due in large part to Godffrey's AWESOME rotor thinning and drilling. But in all honesty, I don't really notice much improved braking, haha. Maybe because I still have a 14mm bore MC, but I heard a lot of people still use that size with dual discs without problems. I don't know, I'm just rambling now. Might sell the 14mm MC if anyone's interested. First step, fix the leak.


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1978 Honda CB550K

[Tews19]

Godffreys rotors are awesome but I do not think there is a performance advantage besides lighter. Cool factor yes!

[DaveBarbier]

Godffreys rotors are awesome but I do not think there is a performance advantage besides lighter. Cool factor yes!

Oh right, I'm sure not a stopping increase from his rotors, but I mean I don't really feel better braking with the dual disc in general. But I'm going to fix the leak, then bleed the hell out of it and test some more.


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1978 Honda CB550K

[DaveBarbier]

Are aluminum banjo bolts ok to use? I'm looking for banjo bolts with holes for safety wire and only see them in aluminum. The way my splitter under my lower triple will be located it won't have any tangs to hold the banjo fitting in place. I fear that the bolt could come loose as the suspension moves up and down. So I'm thinking safety wire will prevent that. Thoughts?


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1978 Honda CB550K

[DaveBarbier]

It is fine. If the splitter is also aluminum, some thread lube is highly recommended. If you've ever tried to separate alloy screws from an alloy body after being galled, you'll never not use it every time in the future. Same goes for SS into SS. Nuclear fusion at a metallurgical level. 

Yeah, the splitter is aluminum too. Is any thread lube ok? Don't want to contaminate the brake fluid. I think the standard graphite anti-seize is petroleum based.


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1978 Honda CB550K

[DaveBarbier]

Hm, thread locker as a lube? I'll look into that, thanks Cal. Just trying to get my ducks in a row for eliminating this pesky leak at the splitter. Today I'm going to replace the copper crush washers with aluminum because I think they're softer. I'll see how that goes before anything else.


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1978 Honda CB550K

[DaveBarbier]

Loctite is a lube also. A thin coating protects the threads and insures torque remains afterwards. Since you're not dealing with a high torque, never separate situation, blue is perfectly fine. Also, because it has no tendency to liquefy or seep after curing, it's pretty well suited for this application.

Did you anneal your copper washers? Should be able to re-use them and get proper squish back out of them.

They're new copper washers, but for some reason it's not sealing. I guess I could anneal them to be sure, but I might just use the aluminum ones that came with the lines but they're like double the thickness and will make fewer threads actually thread into the splitter...which is why I used my copper ones to begin with.


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1978 Honda CB550K

[goldarrow]

That tool, motion pro is $7 on Amazon.

Mine was free and at my house.


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1978 Honda CB550K

Nothing is free if you really think about it

[DaveBarbier]

That tool, motion pro is $7 on Amazon.

Mine was free and at my house.


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1978 Honda CB550K

Nothing is free if you really think about it

True true, I only payed with time, supplies and burns for this one though.


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1978 Honda CB550K

[lajos]

Very nice bike! What forks are you using to get double front brakes?

[DaveBarbier]

Very nice bike! What forks are you using to get double front brakes?

I'm using the stock forks that came with my bike. The 550 came with mirrored forks even though it never had dual disc. Thanks!


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1978 Honda CB550K

[DaveBarbier]

Ugh, had the brake lever tied back over night and came out to a few leaks. No drips, but moist joints in three different places. What the hell is going on here? Could it be the quality of the new lines? They seem great, though. Maybe not as good as Slingshot but still really nice and definitely didn't expect them to leak. When is Slingshot coming back!?!

I need to simplify these lines and make fewer joints. I don't have the room for a double banjo at the MC so I was thinking of one line down to the right caliper then a double banjo there to go up and over fender to the left. These calipers can't accept banjos as they are, right? I'd need to pull out the flare fitting inside? What about the sealing surface on the caliper for the crush washer? Can that just seal as is?


Any other ways? Any other vendors for custom lines as good quality as Pompadori's?


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1978 Honda CB550K

[DaveBarbier]

Most likely can't use a banjo I these calipers. The lip you see in the above picture is smaller than a crush washer so it would deform a lot if I bolt it down with a banjo bolt.


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1978 Honda CB550K

[DaveBarbier]

Disregard that above post. I AM going the banjo in caliper method. Going to be pulling the internal flare fitting and maybe machining a flat surface for the crush washer.

What would be the best method for doing that? I'd need like a forsner bit for aluminum. Or an end mill? I obviously want a nice flat smooth surface and have never milled anything before. Advice on what to use?


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1978 Honda CB550K

[70CB750]

Yeah, mill it down to get flat, sealing surface.

[DaveBarbier]

Removed the pressed in flare fittings. A lot easier than I thought. Now just to find a machine shop to mill the surface down.



Pried up with needle nose pliers.




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1978 Honda CB550K

[GV1390]

Got my new clipons and they are perfect with my Nissin MC. They are really nice quality. I'd recommend them for sure.



http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=190714880810

I can move the MC all the way up the bar as close as I want to the forks without hitting the clipon pinch clamp. Will install this weekend and hopefully then be all set for the warm weather. Just need a haircut.


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1978 Honda CB550K

What MC is this?

[DaveBarbier]

Got my new clipons and they are perfect with my Nissin MC. They are really nice quality. I'd recommend them for sure.



http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=190714880810

I can move the MC all the way up the bar as close as I want to the forks without hitting the clipon pinch clamp. Will install this weekend and hopefully then be all set for the warm weather. Just need a haircut.


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1978 Honda CB550K

What MC is this?

Hey GV, I've seen it called the Retro Nissin master cylinder. Comes in different size bores. This is my exact one.
http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=151593590459&globalID=EBAY-US

Shows you how much more DCC sells things for.
http://www.dimecitycycles.com/vintage-caferacer-cafe-racer-bobber-brat-chopper-custom-motorcycle-brake-parts-black-aluminum-nissin-retro-hydraulic-front-brake-master-cylinder-717-654e.html

Hope that helps.


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1978 Honda CB550K

[DaveBarbier]

Damn, apparently it's a lot harder to mill these calipers than I thought. I called and stopped in to a bunch of local machine shops and they didn't seem too confident. They said it's the setup which would be difficult because the surface isn't squared up or easy to clamp in a vise. And they said it's going to be like $50 to $100 per caliper! I thought machine shops would have an XY vise with an ability to angle the jaws easily. And this is in Bridgeport, CT...home of the Bridgeport milling machine!

Any suggestions? I'm probably going to weld up a fixture for the caliper to bolt to unless someone has a better idea.


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1978 Honda CB550K

[Tews19]

Talk to Godffrey. He may be able to help you.

[DaveBarbier]

Talk to Godffrey. He may be able to help you.

Yeah, but that involves shipping them out and waiting, ha. I'd like to get this done by this weekend.


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1978 Honda CB550K

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

So while you figure out how to machine the calipers, how is the new 650 engine build coming along?  I was wondering where you are sourcing new seals and gaskets.  Dealership parts or a particular vendor?