Author Topic: Jakal cb550 project (Read 40053 times)

Ichiban 4 · « **Reply #125 on:** March 18, 2017, 06:58:43 PM »

That's one of the best looking café seats/saddles I've seen!

Ichi

Darren Jakal · « **Reply #126 on:** March 18, 2017, 08:41:08 PM »

Wow thanks Ichi, but you have to wait until it's actually done before you can take make that claim. That's a piece of wood that I'll use for vacuum bagging a leather seat. Hope to get on that soon.

cheers, dj

Darren Jakal · « **Reply #127 on:** March 20, 2017, 07:17:48 PM »

I'm still working on body position and handlebars. With my height and ape index I actually think I might be comfortable on what I have see called café clubmans. They seem to have very little rise (or drop depending on your pov) so they are not so hunched over. I may look for a cheap pair to try on.

Low bars (or clip ons) would make it easier to provide ample hand and brake mc clearance with a fairing and when I sit where I want to be on the bike and reach out naturally my hands are just about in line with a line drawn through the tops of the fork tubes. This is why I think I would like an M bar, but these are $$, so it's not easy to buy to try.

Anyway, I need to make some decisions so I can get the shape of the fairing right.

cheers, Darren

Darren Jakal · « **Reply #128 on:** March 22, 2017, 09:33:36 PM »

I had a reason to switch the vacuum former over to a bigger size frame and so I was able to pull a couple of quick petg forms that I will use as a mould for making the seat foam. My work mate has some old two part foam (expands 4 times its mixed size) that he has donated so once I figure out what I need to know about using this stuff then I can make the seat cushion (it takes the place of the wooden part).

There is not a lot of the foam stuff left so I'll fill in some of the front area with something else and use the foam strategically. Then the plan is to use the wood plug and the seat pan to form the leather cover in the vacuum bag. Swap the foam for the wood and attach the leather to the pan. Hopefully as easy at it sounds.

Later, dj

Darren Jakal · « **Reply #129 on:** March 25, 2017, 09:04:16 PM »

Cleaned up the swing arm and installed the bushings. A good used collar and it's like new again.

Slow and steady, dj

Darren Jakal · « **Reply #130 on:** March 26, 2017, 01:55:56 PM »

Picked up some real handlebars (what I've seen called café clubmans with very little drop) so I can make sure I have clearance for the master cylinder and hands with the fairing. I've had to move the headlamp out and up a bit but it still looks ok (looking for balance).

Anyway had a chance to mock it up again so here it is as of now.

cheers, dj

Darren Jakal · « **Reply #131 on:** April 02, 2017, 12:29:07 PM »

Not much happening as I'm preparing for a european trip in a few weeks. I picked up some leather for the seat and hopefully will get on forming it before I leave. I've misplaced a box of rivets and fasteners I need to finish the seat, oh well.

Swingarm is finished (bead blasted, wire wheeled and waxed) and the tapered bearings are in the headstock. I can now work on the fairing clearances with more certainty. I'm using the tank curves (in red below) to work out the shape of the half fairing. Coming long, slow but sure.

Later. dj

calj737 · « **Reply #132 on:** April 03, 2017, 05:14:56 AM »

You may find the "belly" of that fairing needs to be lower to accommodate the steering and brake lines. I realize this is a mock-up, but do take notice of other examples as you plan yours, because they likely encountered what you will and made those adjustments based upon discovery

Darren Jakal · « **Reply #133 on:** April 03, 2017, 07:06:20 AM »

Thanks Cal,

Yea I will make the fairing knowing that it has the clearance it needs. It will be in mock-up as I get the rest of the parts on and I will only finalize it once I know that it will for certain work.

Cheers, dj

Darren Jakal · « **Reply #134 on:** April 04, 2017, 09:31:22 PM »

Not much, but here are some more "cheap bastard' experiments with bead blasting, wax and wire wheels.

Later, dj

calj737 · « **Reply #135 on:** April 05, 2017, 04:23:32 AM »

How durable do you feel the wax cover will be?

Darren Jakal · « **Reply #136 on:** April 05, 2017, 07:20:51 AM »

Hey Cal,

I really don't know how durable it will be. All part of the experiment, but I'm sure it will wear off eventually depending on several factors.

This is a Canadian bike that will be rode only part of the year and I happen to live in the lee of the mountains where it is practically a desert. Things don't rust here very quick.

I also am coating the bike in Krown undercoat. This was developed for high latitude aircraft and is a mixture of some kind of oil and wax. I use it on my vehicles and it needs to be reapplied every year. I'll do this until the time comes when I tear it all apart once again and get it finished the way I want. I just needed to get the project going and using my budget for paint and plating was slowing me down.

Get it going, then make it pretty. I think I saw that somewhere

.

cheers, dj

palepainter · « **Reply #137 on:** April 05, 2017, 08:10:58 AM »

I really like the transition between the tank, seat and tail. Looks great, nice and flowing lines.

754 · « **Reply #138 on:** April 05, 2017, 09:06:06 AM »

What will the fairing be made of ? Are you making it yourself ? Looks similar to a Rickman style.
My buddy just did a custom mount fairing on an HD, tova frame that was not made for it.
The basic start to that was two blocks welded to the neck, up front , with a side hole in each, then built the bracket out from there....very strong. To do that on a Honda neck you would notch the block before welding it on. He also does a lot of hammerformed type of stuff.
I studied that a bit , made a few tools...learned a bit.
He has a converted nibbler that dies some cool stuff.... Basically like a Pullmax on steroids....big heavy and solid. He just converted it to a foot speed control, and now it will be doubly useful.
Interesting stuff to watch taking shape...
Will post a pic of a tank he just did.

SF · « **Reply #139 on:** April 05, 2017, 10:15:31 AM »

Looks great man.

Darren Jakal · « **Reply #140 on:** April 05, 2017, 11:14:51 AM »

Hey thanks palepainter and SF for the comments. I’m using this bike to try some new (to me) techniques for making things.

And so 754, yes I’m going to try and make the fairing myself. It will hopefully be made from formed aluminum and I’ve been investigating flow forming. I’m going to try it with an old air chisel with hammer attachments.

I’ve put together a mount system that bolts on (see photo) as I didn’t want to alter the frame too much. It still needs a bit of work, but so far it seems solid with a few different attachment potentials.

That tank looks cool, Frank. Thanks and I look forward to any other metal forming tips you may have.

Cheers, Darren

Darren Jakal · « **Reply #141 on:** May 12, 2017, 08:02:51 AM »

I'm back from the old country and ready to get some more work done on the 550.

Before I left I made a new bracket for the fairing. I can now work out the "best" body position I can find with what I have (I think if I could get my hands back another inch and a half I would be on it, so maybe articulating clip-ons down the road).

I can now also work out the fairing clearance issues for the hands, brake MC and hose, all the cables, gauges, wiring etc. when using these handlebars (also knowing I will should have clearance if I move my hands back slightly in the future).

The bracket is still a sketch model and I will finalize its form with proper fasteners and what-not soon.

Coming up: forming the leather seat.

Back at it, later, dj

Darren Jakal · « **Reply #142 on:** July 13, 2017, 03:45:38 PM »

It's been awhile since I had anything worth updating. My main ride is down with a cracked head (intercooled turbo diesel) so I've been into that a bit.

Anyway I've finally got back to the seat project and it's a good thing I discovered wabi-sabi (the beauty of imperfection) as this seat has it in spades. I don't really care how it looks as I've been experimenting with building a suspension seat out of leather and while it doesn't look great the concept worked out quite well.

The seat cushion is suspended by the seat pan and there is no foam or filler (there is a second layer of vacuumed formed pet-g under the leather). I'm now back to mocking up the rear cowl and hope to have that done soon. The colour of the leather is not to my liking but I hope that continually oiling it will darken it more.

Take care, Darren

Darren Jakal · « **Reply #143 on:** July 13, 2017, 03:50:07 PM »

Here's one in the vacuum bag.

later, dj

Darren Jakal · « **Reply #144 on:** September 28, 2017, 10:36:12 AM »

Thank dog I found wabi-sabi cause I feel a lot better about the finish on my bike.

Made some progress, and I look at this stuff as 1 to 1 "proof of concept" models for trying out ideas. I wanted to make a seat / cowl unit that would open and this is what I have so far.

I'll make custom indicator light brackets to allow a friction free pivot joint for the seat unit. Right now gravity and my body weight keep it in place. I'm not sure if I will put a latch on or not. If I make another I will go one gauge thicker on the aluminium (this one is 16 gauge).

That's it for now. I missed this season with the cracked head on my daily driver that I need to take care of, so now I'm shooting for spring to be on the road for it's 40th anniversary.

later, Darren

Darren Jakal · « **Reply #145 on:** October 01, 2017, 11:22:32 AM »

Found some indicator lights on kijiji and another gauge bracket to modify for the fairing clearance. Working out the details and fitment. I really wanted to continue the line created by the bottom of the tank and I can see where I would make small changes to further emphasize that idea (see string line pic). That sharp point of the cowl need to be dealt with. Thinking about it.

I really appreciate the quality of the lights from this era. Great example of design of the times. I'm going to go with the set of 4 smaller lights and try to keep them aligned front to back.

Slow and steady and keeping it fun! Later, Darren

Darren Jakal · « **Reply #146 on:** October 12, 2017, 08:41:43 PM »

Flow Forming

Not much to show, but work goes on in the background. I've finally had a chance to try flow forming aluminium using a modified air chisel. It's early in the experiment, but I can say that it does - so far- work great.

This example was a quick (less than 30 seconds) process that I did using the centre recess in the mill turn table. I went as deep as the opening would allow, so I'm sure I can go deeper. I don't even know what kind of aluminium this is as I just found some scraps in the bin. Different grades and gauges of aluminium will be part of the experiment.

I'll make more tips for the tool (these are nylatron and I have some delrin I'll try) and then I'll need to make some concave forms for the pieces I want to make. This will hopefully include both side panels and the fairing.

Stay tuned, it will be slow, Darren

Darren Jakal · « **Reply #147 on:** April 27, 2018, 03:44:23 PM »

It's been a while. Long enough to get the 90 day warning on my reply.

So winter is finally over and I need to get this bike on the road. I have new tires and a list of parts to find. My plan is to go to Honda Canada first and see what they can do for me and then go to a Honda CB supply house.

Being in Canada it kind of pisses me off to have to pay in US$ for parts ordered in Ontario. Any Canadians have information on ordering parts from US suppliers and how that compares to buying in Canada (in US dollars).

Anyway, I have a question on some parts (and I'll have more and may post again in the main forum). The bike was missing some parts so I'm going off of parts fiche and what I find online.

In the picture below my guess is that parts # 27, 17 and 27 make up the overflow tube (or whatever it’s called) and that parts # 25, 26 and 7 are what I need to connect the tank to the carbs (pd46c).

The question is: what is part # 7 ?

The part is not listed in either the CMS parts fiche or in the Service Honda parts fiche.

What is it? Do I need it?

Cheers, dj

Scramps · « **Reply #148 on:** April 27, 2018, 04:19:49 PM »

Looks to me like a spring used to prevent kinks in that tube, I’d imagine it’s not 100% necessary, but I will defer to those with more experience

seanbarney41 · « **Reply #149 on:** April 27, 2018, 06:36:35 PM »

Quote from: Scramps on April 27, 2018, 04:19:49 PM

Looks to me like a spring used to prevent kinks in that tube, I’d imagine it’s not 100% necessary, but I will defer to those with more experience

you got it, Scramps...I have actually never seen that on a 1970's honda

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Author Topic: Jakal cb550 project (Read 40053 times)