Topic: 1974 CB550. Racetech Monoshock. JMR Head. Built Engine. "BLAC"

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Yep, he is going to drive it for a while naturally aspirated at 600hp then put the blower on it... 

I can't tell what he has in the engine bay based on the photo, but 600 hp out of a naturally aspirated non-EFI street motor is impressive.

[540nova]

It says 427 on the air cleaner.
+1 on the Roloc discs that Calj737 suggested. That's my other go-to tool for detabbing and cleanup.


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[BLAC]

Yep, he is going to drive it for a while naturally aspirated at 600hp then put the blower on it... 

I can't tell what he has in the engine bay based on the photo, but 600 hp out of a naturally aspirated non-EFI street motor is impressive.

Agreed, im not sure what he has done to it internally, but I dont doubt it.  He used to race stock cars and actually helped build Jimmy Jr's first car. Lived on the lake in Charlotte with all those guys and everything.. Too bad he isnt familiar with CB sohc motors haha

But fortunately Mike Rieck has agreed to help me out in that field.. Updates coming soon! 

[Stev-o]

Im lucky that my GF's dad is a big time gear head.  He is INSANELY knowledgable, has the tools and knowhow to use them, too.. He did a lot of the shopping this year haha

take a look at this Cameo he is building himself 

Those are some massive "meats" on that truck.

Look like 33" Mickey Thompsons.  What is a Cameo?

[BLAC]

It is a limited production pickup truck from the 50's.

[Restoration Fan]

Sounds like your GF might be a keeper, if for no other reason than to get yourself in line to inherit her dad's tools!

Fantastic work on this build, Blac.  I really enjoyed catching up on this build today.  Love your work and attention to detail.

Ron

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Definitely has the 50's look. Lots of trim with color separation.

[Ericcb750]

Tell you what, With Mr. Rieck working on your motor...you will never be disappointed....Broke but you'll have a sick motor..ha-ha. Just kidding, kind of.  I'll keep an eye on this one too.

[calj737]

That Cameo with a 2.5" chop would be the Bee's Knees  Especially with 600HP in your ball sack 

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

I bet it has enough torque to cook even those meaty rubbers.

[BLAC]

Tell you what, With Mr. Rieck working on your motor...you will never be disappointed....Broke but you'll have a sick motor..ha-ha. Just kidding, kind of.  I'll keep an eye on this one too.

We were talking on the phone about what I would be using my bike for, I told him that it wasn't being set up for any one thing in particular, but the only theme that has stuck with all of the elements of the build so far was just "expensive"... He laughed and assured me that I had come to the right place. I cant wait to make some noise!

[BLAC]

That Cameo with a 2.5" chop would be the Bee's Knees  Especially with 600HP in your ball sack 

I wish I brought my camera again this year... Here is a pic I took of it last year on Christmas


He bought the truck about 27 years ago as a frame and all of the rest of it in pieces.  I guess an old man own it and was very anal about keeping it nice and perfect... One day some kids came by and carved #$%* in the drivers side door. I guess this made him stop taking it out of the garage and for whatever reason he started to pull it apart... Kind of a sad story, but an interesting one at least.  If you look close on the drivers side door you can still see the carving that ended up changing the destiny of the truck

[RAFster122s]

He would need a good 250 hp just to move it down the road on those meaty tires.  Saw a Chevy S10 a guy was out in that had full cage and rear bracing to the frame and a 30 pound bottle of NOS in the back.  The bottom of the bed a thin layer of corrogated plastic.  I was filling up beside him as they had race gas at the pumps and I ask him about it. Turns out the truck was drag raced yet fully street legal in Ohio.  Turned 8 sec quarter mile according to the owner.

The rear slicks were 16 inch wide from the looks of them, they were streetable race slicks with some tread.

Some people like quick toys.

The Chevy SSR truck initially was at 300hp but it weighed in at 4000 pounds.  I didn't think that was a proper power to weight rating.  650hp should be enough for a while.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

What a shop space!

[BLAC]

That is shop 1 of 2.  The other one is larger.  The gf's grandpa owns the garage I'm working out of (pic earlier in the thread).  It's a pretty fun family to spend time with!

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

That is shop 1 of 2.  The other one is larger.  The gf's grandpa owns the garage I'm working out of (pic earlier in the thread).  It's a pretty fun family to spend time with!

No kidding. Lucky you!

[Scott S]

A little update:

I have been making slow and steady progress that I will update this thread with once I get a little free time, but for now I will just share this piece I got from Cliff =)

 Maybe I missed it, but who is Cliff? I'll be doing an R6 swap in the near future and have been wondering about a front fender.

[calj737]

Cliff Meyers, Meyers MetalWorks

[754]

 First off.......nice work you are  doing, looks good, well thought out.
Finishing with a file is a good method, lots of powered sanding process leaves flat spots..
No (very few) shortcuts for true highend results.
 Your front fender brace, I cant picture over the top looking good except maybe if its also a brace. A slightly easier way if I may suggest.. Look at the stock type, make cereal box template of one half of it, and get it so it looks near right. Then cut two pieces (.070-.090 thou), stack and build together, both at once.  (a good trick is to drill either in center of big hole or corners, then drive 1/8" roll pin thru). Then when forming the curve under fender it may be easier and quicker.
 When done, you may or may not weld middle together.
 Reason for going underneath, if something gets in there, it wont tear fender off as easily. You need some clearance... Many guys rode over a beer or soda can with an evil grin and lost their fender..plus fall over...
 Good luck with it all...remember a Cameo from a dealership roaming the streets here when I was a young kid..

[BLAC]

I built a cardboard template for a brace but the thing that had me put that on pause was I forgot that the mounting points are a little asemeyrical because on the one side it has to be bent slightly to sandwich in on the brake caliper mount.

I'm thinking about using some metal rod, flattening it for the mounting areas of where it connects to the forks and where I can bolt it to the fender. 

I'm putting the fender on hold as it is not essential to the rest of my build at the moment (like finishing the rear suspension is.

i haven't been ablento get to a metal supply store due to my work schedule and am in desperate need of some chromoly tubing.  I might just place some online orders...

[754]

To bend them out of  one piece is tricky.. I made a one piece one out of. 1/4 x3 Al flat bar that fit under a skinny fender,  on a wideglide front end. That was a hellish job...

[Awosborn]

Blac,

So much to learn from here. I love the vision of the build. I can't wait to see how this turns out. I could see myself borrowing several ideas from you. Keep up the good work.

Alex

[BLAC]

proceed with caution, it's the blind leading the blind! 

It would be awesome to help out other people on their build, copy away and learn from my mistakes.  There are a lot of people on here with a LOT of knowledge, its an amazing resource.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

If you are sticking with the 35mm stock forks, you might want to leave enough room underneath the fender to fit a fork brace (see Tarozzi).  On the pre-77 CB550 models, you cannot run a fender and fork brace together.  A fork brace can help improve front end rigidity.

[BLAC]

If you are sticking with the 35mm stock forks, you might want to leave enough room underneath the fender to fit a fork brace (see Tarozzi).  On the pre-77 CB550 models, you cannot run a fender and fork brace together.  A fork brace can help improve front end rigidity.

I am using the stock front end.  I have new TNK tubes and all RaceTech internals (springs/gold valve emulators) up front.  I have been thinking about the bracing, but cant stomach the looks of any of the ones I have seen thus far, at least matching with the design I'm trying to put together.  Im thinking about creating something similar to the stock setup, or just not having one and putting up with some flex.. which doesnt really take advantage of all of the suspension I will have invested into the bike. Im probably going to have to go a custom route on that piece also.