Topic: The Hot Mess - 1975 CB550F1 Frame/1981 CB650 Engine

[riverfever]

Ohhhhhhhhhhhh. Soy Boy. Wait......what's the extra S? Sh!tty Soy Boy? Sasqatch SB? Serendipitous SB?

[riverfever]

I know we all can't have bad a$$ usernames like mine but....Sigh? Although that is precisely what I did as I scrolled through the one and only post I saw of his.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

I think my words when seeing one of his rants for the first time were: WTF did I just see??!!

[RAFster122s]

Catching yourself trying to read one before you realize who posted is the worst part thinking of the time you lost on his nonsense.

[Bootsey]

The last post of his I saw, I copied into a document - it came out at over 5000 words. The fella is wasting his skills here, clearly he's a budding novelist.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

I'm halfway curious as to what's going on with him.  I've more than once caught myself reading through a page of text (saying to myself, "Holy smokes, this is a long post. I wonder if it could be . . ." -- before panning up to see SSB!! 

Some of his information is interesting, but then it often goes off the rails.   

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

I called Megacycle.  Apparently, they just finished my cam and rockers so hopefully they will ship soon!! 

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

I previously acquired a very clean looking 1976 CB750F gas tank.  My plan was to cut out the filler flap and stock cap, weld a flat plate in its place and then install a vented Monza-style filler cap in its place, and have knee and bar/clip-on dents.  The look is inspired by a Raccia (Mike LaFountain) Kawasaki tank.

550tank_zps899ecda9 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

image_zps244d7392 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

I got the tank back from the guy doing fabrication yesterday.  He cut out the old filler, but did a crap job on the knee and bar dents, and didn't weld in the plate and new cap.  So now I'll have to see if my frame fab guy can do the welding on the tank, too.   

[RAFster122s]

So, you aren't eagerly awaiting those cams and rocker arms are you?   

The fab guy must not have done it before and I would go back to him and ecpress my dissapointment. Maybe he would refund some of your money.  I would make it known amongst other motorcyclist who build modified bikes his limitations.
If he weren't up front about it I would have been very upset. It is easy to do it badly. That's why bodywork today is full of a lot of people who think nothing of filling a panel with body filler rather than taking time to rework metal to get the dents out and only have a skim coating to cover low spots. It is faster to fill it and shape plastic filler and time is money and they don't want to pay for good work. So metal work is fast becoming a lost art.
David

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

So, you aren't eagerly awaiting those cams and rocker arms are you?   

The fab guy must not have done it before and I would go back to him and ecpress my dissapointment. Maybe he would refund some of your money.  I would make it known amongst other motorcyclist who build modified bikes his limitations.
If he weren't up front about it I would have been very upset. It is easy to do it badly. That's why bodywork today is full of a lot of people who think nothing of filling a panel with body filler rather than taking time to rework metal to get the dents out and only have a skim coating to cover low spots. It is faster to fill it and shape plastic filler and time is money and they don't want to pay for good work. So metal work is fast becoming a lost art.
David

I did not deal directly with the fab guy but through my painter who uses him.  The same fab guy did my repairs and knee dents on my 750 Nine Lives gas tank. 

That said, neither I nor my painter were happy.  The fab guy gave back all of my money, and my painter told him off.  Fortunately, he did not do any irreversible damage, just incomplete work that needs to be finished and cleaned up.  The tank is still super clean inside and the metal is in great shape.

[RAFster122s]

Well I am glad you were not screwed over.  It was good your painter stepped up for you and his rep.
It can be hard to find good people sometimes as the world is filling up with those that step on others.
Keep that guy around and on the Christmas card list and take them a couple dozen cookies or brownies at Christmas.

David

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Well I am glad you were not screwed over.  It was good your painter stepped up for you and his rep.
It can be hard to find good people sometimes as the world is filling up with those that step on others.
Keep that guy around and on the Christmas card list and take them a couple dozen cookies or brownies at Christmas.

David

My painter is a stand up guy and a friend.  He does quality work, prices fair and stands behind everything he either takes upon himself or contracts out.  He has even resprayed bodywork for me when he saw scratches in the clear (after miles of use) and just wanted it to look good.  He's painted by black 750 and both sets (green and blue) of my 550 bodywork.

[riverfever]

I'm halfway curious as to what's going on with him.  I've more than once caught myself reading through a page of text (saying to myself, "Holy smokes, this is a long post. I wonder if it could be . . ." -- before panning up to see SSB!! 

Some of his information is interesting, but then it often goes off the rails.   

Don if it'll make you feel nostalgic I'm more than happy to drink a few more ciders and go off a tangent about some damn thing.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

I'm halfway curious as to what's going on with him.  I've more than once caught myself reading through a page of text (saying to myself, "Holy smokes, this is a long post. I wonder if it could be . . ." -- before panning up to see SSB!! 

Some of his information is interesting, but then it often goes off the rails.   

Don if it'll make you feel nostalgic I'm more than happy to drink a few more ciders and go off a tangent about some damn thing.

Well, Chris, it's not just SSB going off on a tangent, but the sheer volume/floodtide of mental excrement included with the tangent.  It scrambles your brain and  . . .

MELTS YOUR FACE.

indiana-jones-face-melt_zpsbkrsa70d by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

But enough about that, I'm more interested in mocking up this bike to see what needs to go where, what needs to be modded, etc.!

[Bigsam302]

I previously acquired a very clean looking 1976 CB750F gas tank.  My plan was to cut out the filler flap and stock cap, weld a flat plate in its place and then install a vented Monza-style filler cap in its place, and have knee and bar/clip-on dents.  The look is inspired by a Raccia (Mike LaFountain) Kawasaki tank.





I got the tank back from the guy doing fabrication yesterday.  He cut out the old filler, but did a crap job on the knee and bar dents, and didn't weld in the plate and new cap.  So now I'll have to see if my frame fab guy can do the welding on the tank, too.   

Don,

I really like the tank idea.  Are you going to do a tank strap like the one on this bike?

Sam

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Don,

I really like the tank idea.  Are you going to do a tank strap like the one on this bike?

Sam

Sam,

No strap planned.  I like it as a decorative element on the Raccia bike, but it's mostly a cosmetic item.  This is not intended to be a show style bike, but more of a limited experiment in improving 550 performance. 

[Bigsam302]

Cool, I like it!

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

I just spoke with Barbara at Megacycle.  They are shipping my 126-20 cam and hardweld rockers directly to me (instead of having to go back East to Mike and then back to California to me).  I should get them Monday!

My buddy Jay LaRossa is going to fix the half-a$$ed work on the tank, including the knee and clip-on indents and do my frame mods (detab, brace, cross-member relocation, electronics relocation and hoop).

Wheel rims and spokes are on order from Buchanan's.  Shocks to be sourced from Fox. 

Electrical will likely be Motogadget M-Unit, buttons, lock and a Koso TNT-01 Gauge

27-5749__93326.1435861301.400.400_zpshhuvxwfa by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickrhttp://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii35/Hard_Boiled/CB550F/27-5749__93326.1435861301.400.400_zpshhuvxwfa.jpg[/img][/URL]

[Retro Rocket]

Don, here's your gauge about $100 cheaper than through Koso....

http://www.amazon.com/Koso-BA035K00-TNT-01-Multifunction-Speedometer/dp/B00DTE94SI

[brandEn]

I like that gauge. How hard is it to hook those up?

[RAFster122s]

There's another thread that was talking about munit suppiers and prices. Might be cheaper source. ..
Shall I try to find it?

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

There's another thread that was talking about munit suppiers and prices. Might be cheaper source. ..
Shall I try to find it?

Thanks, David.  I already got the M-Unit.  I just need to buy the M-Lock and Dave B gave me a great source.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Don, here's your gauge about $100 cheaper than through Koso....

http://www.amazon.com/Koso-BA035K00-TNT-01-Multifunction-Speedometer/dp/B00DTE94SI

Thanks, Mick! That's about $40 cheaper than I found it.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

A few dollars cheaper $181.53 (free shipping) Powersport Superstore:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DTE94SI?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_1&smid=A3TGC5XRRCX4P2

[Retro Rocket]

A few dollars cheaper $181.53 (free shipping) Powersport Superstore:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DTE94SI?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_act_title_1&smid=A3TGC5XRRCX4P2

Yep, I didn't search Amazon, I just googled the gauge and that link was about 3 down...
Might have to get one myself...