Topic: Logan's Reward - CB500 and CB550 Cafe Projects

[Restoration Fan]

Many of you know that my youngest son, Logan, restored a 78 CB750K for his senior project in high school and I decided to keep that bike as my own bike to ride.  Well, now the time has come to repay the favor and build a bike for him...that he wants to ride.

We found out that he is interested in the cafe styled bike and he doesn't feel comfortable learning to ride on a 750...so we started looking for something smaller. 

Thanks to Bill Benton, we bought 2 frames, one set of carbs, a front rim, and a gas tank:
The first is a 1973 CB500 with a motor that won't turn over.
The second is a 1974 CB550F that's just the frame.

And thanks to Justin (aka justfours on this forum), we bought a complete but disassembled 550 and a complete and put together 500 engine that has compression and turns over.  Also, we got several rims (one is a 350, one is a 450, haven't checked the other 2 or 3 yet), plus about 4 boxes of parts.  Along with these parts are an extra set of cylinders, an extra head, an extra valve cover so I think we might be able to get the 500 engine that's in the 500 frame currently fixed in the long term as well.

Anyway, here's the plan:  remove the stuck 500 engine and replace it with the 500 engine that's running, get it running and learn how to do the lowered handlebars, a cafe seat and hide the wiring and battery.  This one won't have knee dents in the tank or rear sets to start off with.  It's the one that Logan will learn to ride on after he finishes his MSF class.  After he's comfortable with it, we'll put rearsets on it and let him get a bit of time riding that.  But this 500 bike will eventually be sold.  The money from that bike will be used to put the 550 back to life and that one will be tricked out like Logan wants it. 

The eventual goal for Logan's bike will be something that we hope to have look something like this one...which is one of the bikes that I believe Devin from CognitoMoto did:

[calj737]

Do you think you'll do the inverted forks too, Ron?

[Restoration Fan]

Do you think you'll do the inverted forks too, Ron?

cal, I love the look but I think the inverted forks are above my skill level.  On the first one, we probably will go with the single front disk as well but on Logan's bike, we'll do the dual front disk.

[Stev-o]

Sounds like a good plan, I'm in.  I think you'll like the 500/550's they are fun little bikes to ride.  And perfect for him to learn on.

[Restoration Fan]

I drove to Palatka, Florida all day on Monday to pick up the engines and parts and then we went over to Bill's today and got the frames and other stuff.  We haven't even had time yet to do a full inventory or sort and/or organize.

[Bill/BentON Racing]

Nice, I do have a complete CBR1000RR 2008 inverted front end! Bill

[Restoration Fan]

Nice, I do have a complete CBR1000RR 2008 inverted front end! Bill

Oooh....ok hold onto that one for me.  When we get around to doing Logan's bike, we might want to do that.  I think the look is really cool.  Especially if you have the front rim with the cool looking double rotors?

Have a safe trip, Bill.  Thanks again for taking the time out today to help me locate parts and stuff when you're getting ready to go on your coast-to-coast swing.

[danyo]

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[rb550four]

My , that's quite a pile of parts, a good start.

[calj737]

Ron - inverted forks are easy, actually. Devin @CognitoMoto makes it even easier. He sells steering stems to swap the new front end into the stock 550 neck, plus, he sells his front hub that is perfectly set up to lace a rim (17",18" or 19") to the front end and you use the donor rotors and calipers. Leave the rear wheel as is (stock hub) and away you go.

If Bill have the CBR front end, calipers and rotors, just contact Devin for the hub and stem.
http://cognitomoto.com/collections/fork-conversion-parts/products/cbr1000rr-2004-2012-hub-bolt-on-conversion-laced-wheel
http://cognitomoto.com/collections/fork-conversion-parts/products/cbr600rr-cbr1000rr-fork-on-honda-cb750-frame-conversion-stem
http://cognitomoto.com/collections/cognito-moto-originals/products/triple-clamp-with-monoscope-mini

That last link is a custom top clamp spaced for the CBR front end, with an integrated MotoGadget multifunction gauge and instrument lights (LED). OF course, you should also install a steering damper (and thats usually found stock on the CBR). (Call me, I'll drive down and we'll wire you up in no time.)

Easy as can be. Then Logan will have a "custom" bike, upgraded handling, braking, and fit his preferred style. The gauge is electronic, so you can abandon the stock speedo drive gear and stock mechacnial tach. Clip-ons are best suited for this application.

What else do you need? Rearsets? He's got them. Seat? Widely available. This bike should take less than a week to build now that you've got your list and suppliers.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

I agree. The modern fork swap is easy. You can take the money you'd spend on rebuilding the original forks and use it toward your fork swap. The modern stem may not need to be sapped since the front is a 550 (vs a 750).

[mkoski]

I agree. The modern fork swap is easy. You can take the money you'd spend on rebuilding the original forks and use it toward your fork swap. The modern stem may not need to be sapped since the front is a 550 (vs a 750).

Yeah, I wouldnt be concerned about the skill required! I am just finishing up my 750 and am now doing a 550 as well and I am looking to do a GSXR swap (inverted fork, swingarm) so I can skip the hassle of rebuilding the wheels, forks,ect. I think it will actually be more easily done and more quickly!

Its funny you posted that up, that bike is exactly what I want to do too! Good taste!

[Maurice]

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[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

It's a good thing that there's no shortage of modern forks/front ends!

[Maurice]

It's a good thing that there's no shortage of modern forks/front ends!

Problem is a lot of them are bent

[Justin]

Ron - inverted forks are easy, actually. Devin @CognitoMoto makes it even easier. He sells steering stems to swap the new front end into the stock 550 neck, plus, he sells his front hub that is perfectly set up to lace a rim (17",18" or 19") to the front end and you use the donor rotors and calipers. Leave the rear wheel as is (stock hub) and away you go.

If Bill have the CBR front end, calipers and rotors, just contact Devin for the hub and stem.
http://cognitomoto.com/collections/fork-conversion-parts/products/cbr1000rr-2004-2012-hub-bolt-on-conversion-laced-wheel
http://cognitomoto.com/collections/fork-conversion-parts/products/cbr600rr-cbr1000rr-fork-on-honda-cb750-frame-conversion-stem
http://cognitomoto.com/collections/cognito-moto-originals/products/triple-clamp-with-monoscope-mini

That last link is a custom top clamp spaced for the CBR front end, with an integrated MotoGadget multifunction gauge and instrument lights (LED). OF course, you should also install a steering damper (and thats usually found stock on the CBR). (Call me, I'll drive down and we'll wire you up in no time.)

Easy as can be. Then Logan will have a "custom" bike, upgraded handling, braking, and fit his preferred style. The gauge is electronic, so you can abandon the stock speedo drive gear and stock mechacnial tach. Clip-ons are best suited for this application.

What else do you need? Rearsets? He's got them. Seat? Widely available. This bike should take less than a week to build now that you've got your list and suppliers.

What a wealth of information, Cal. For my .02, I think it'd be worth it to do the inverted fork front end, given that it's roughly plug and play.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

For some members, they want to keep the bike true to stock or period correct.  Since Logan likes the aesthetic of Devin/Cognitomoto's 550 -- which uses a modern GSXR front -- it would make sense to take advantage of both a braking and handling improvement for his safety and allows some additional modern rubber choices depending on wheels used.  Provided an affordable donor front end (and it looks like Bill has one at the ready), it will save some time in rebuilding the stock 40 year old front, too.

[AintNoEasyWay]

Awesome. I'm in for another ride!

[Restoration Fan]

Any of you guys have a good recommendation for a small, good quality battery that would be easy to hide away on a cafe styled bike?  I want to go ahead and buy one to test some of the electrical components (starter, solenoid, etc) on the new 500 motor before I put it into the 500 frame.  I got the old one out last night and removed some usable pieces like the tach assembly etc but I want to test the oil pump and confirm it's getting good pressure before I put it into the frame.

I'm guessing that I'll end up going with a Lithium Ion battery from some manufacturer but I would prefer to get recommendations from people like you guys who have done this before before I go purchase one.  The Scorpion which was recommended for Stella has been very good but I'm looking for something smaller for these bikes.

[knottedknickers]

Looks like someone got bit by the bug--HARD! Go for it, guys!

[Maurice]

Ron I would not go with Li-Ion or anything similar (LiFEPO4 etc). Those batteries are not very good at staying a long time unused, handling deep discharges or high charge rates (granted, the latter might never happen on the CBs ). They have a fairly narrow charge window, outside of which the battery is simply toast. Sure it's nice and light, but you need a computer, a very steady source of current and regular use.

I'm no EE but I've toyed with these a bit, built a couple high-candle LEDs for night MTB.

I saw something very interesting once, using super-capacitors. Now that is something to be excited about. They charge in seconds and hold that charge for a week or so, much lighter than a battery and last potentially forever.

At any rate, depending on whether Logan is ready to ditch the electric start you can go real small with dependable SLA batteries. And cheap.

Logan is lucky. When I was his age the best I had was a trashed moped that I rebuilt to go to school, a rare Solex with the engine at the bottom. If the engine failed you could always use the leg-powered crank

[martin_uk]

Sounds like you are not wasting any time on the next project  , interested to see how it progresses

[calj737]

Ron - I could not disagree more with Maurice. Based upon personal experience, I use Shorai batteries in all of my bikes. they are light, they have 210+ CCA, they have 14Ah ratings, and they do (despite his posting) store exceptionally well.

I do recommend upgrading the Reg/Rec to solid state from Ricks though. They seem to prefer this. They are compatible with a quality charges as long as they have a mode to prevent desulfation.

I use the Shorai charger and its accompanying pigtail connector. Much simpler. The charger has a "Charge" and "Store" mode for long term storage. They cost about $150 but they offer advantages over  other types in terms of: vibration resistance, weight, and orientation.

[Maurice]

Fair enough Cal, I bow to your experience. With proper equipment, care and quality material (and if money's no object) then go for it. I'm somewhat of a (okay, a complete) cheapskate and only use the battery tender that is on the bike

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

No offense, Maurice, but your statement about lithium-ion discharge is completely incorrect. Lithium-ion batteries can sit for a year and if you disconnect the negative terminal, they will suffer little to NO drain. The also seem to charge faster.