Topic: Palepainter's 750f project.. Al Fine'

[WesTenRacing]

Congratulations!  Looking forward to a report after the first ride/road test!

[RAFster122s]

Hella makes a very nice flat profile spring loaded wire connection plug for H4 and I imagine other bulb designs. They are really nice for tight headlight buckets or just a heavier gauge wire. I used them when I rewired a Volvo 240 for relays and direct connection from alternator using 10-12 gauge wire years ago. But I was running 80/100W H4s with European Code headlamps that had a crisp light cutoff.
The ECode H4s from Cibie /Valeo or Hella are far superior to the other brands commonly bought.  Good optics are fantastic.They really will amaze you and you will want them on all your vehicles.

This is it but it is WAY too pricey from this ebay seller...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-HELLA-001909001-H4-Bulb-Connector-with-Snap-Lock-FREE-SHIPPING-/142250688676?hash=item211ecd40a4:g:ZDkAAOSwNnRYgDwi


David

[RAFster122s]

Amazon has it cheaper...
https://www.amazon.com/HELLA-001909001-Bulb-Connector-Snap/dp/B000VU4W2Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1489871677&sr=8-1&keywords=Hella+H4+connector

Or you can buy some that are ceramic and they are ideal for high wattage or high heat situations. A 50 or 60W H4 does run pretty warm when in a headlight housing and no air circulating.  Not needed, but over 20-30 years it takes it toll on the plastic many are made from...

[palepainter]

OK.. Roadtest report....

Initially, I let the bike warm up a few minutes with shop swamp cooler blowing on it.  72-74 lbs. of oil pressure on idle.  Running premium gas,  I tweaked the carbs the best I could with out a syncrometer.   Not bad, but could be better. Took it out in the country and put on about 10 miles.  I had a nice stretch of country road ahead of me, so I wound her up.  I was hauling bootie in 4th gear and I reminded my self that I laced my wheels and abruptly slowed down with a mischievous grin. I do not think I cracked the TON, but I am sure I was doing 80.      I think it is geared up nicely.  It is a completely different ride from my Hardly and Victory.  But I like it.  The neighbors all whipping out the thumps up and high 5s.  A few of them have been following along at the shop and drinking my beer occasionally.  The exhaust is just right.  Not real loud, but you hear it coming when the throttle is cracked. 

Seat, surprisingly comfy and really happy with the pegs where they are at.  I would need yoga classes to do anything other. 

Brakes...Not my Brembos on my Vic or the PMs on my Harley.  But I think I can get a better bleed on them.  Will check to see if any air need cleared out.  It stops great, but not as like I would prefer.  Brake upgrade on the front may be in the future. 

Suspension is working fantastic.  Increased the preload on the rear shocks for my 200lbs. 

Lights...The front bulb connection is original and going to be replaced.  Taking RAFs suggestion on that Hella unit.

I am pretty happy with the way it handles and rides.  I think I can improve it a bit.  Perhaps a preload on the front as well.  Just a bit more would be nice.  Now that I have it pretty close to being finished, I will save money for better ignition and coil set up.  I will change the oil this week.  Drop the pan and check pick up screen on pump and clean it while I am there if needed.  Here is a shot with the fairing on as requested by Budman.  The was right before finishing it up.  I will get some pics tomorrow.  I have a photographer lined up in two weeks.

[calj737]

You can grab a cast iron rotor made for your bike from RPE in Australia. Or, you can step up to a Vintage Series Beringer setup made for your bike. That latter unit will crack your wallet, but it will give you nearly modern brake performance in a vintage styled package.

[palepainter]

You can grab a cast iron rotor made for your bike from RPE in Australia. Or, you can step up to a Vintage Series Beringer setup made for your bike. That latter unit will crack your wallet, but it will give you nearly modern brake performance in a vintage styled package.

Thanks Cal.  Do you happen to have a link on the Beringer units.  I can not find it anywhere.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

You can grab a cast iron rotor made for your bike from RPE in Australia. Or, you can step up to a Vintage Series Beringer setup made for your bike. That latter unit will crack your wallet, but it will give you nearly modern brake performance in a vintage styled package.

Thanks Cal.  Do you happen to have a link on the Beringer units.  I can not find it anywhere.

Call and ask for Philippe.

http://www.beringerbrakes.us/shop.html#!/Classics/c/8815749/offset=0&sort=normal

Rotor and Caliper



Master Cylinder

[budman]

Super cool.  Congratulations.

[WesTenRacing]

Great!! The road test is inspiring.  Congrats. 
Now go and ride the wheels off it! 

[JoeCooley]

The bike is looking great! Definitely BOTM nomination.

How does the seat feel? Looks like knee pad material from the garden section. I've used it before for the same purpose. Haha

[palepainter]

The bike is looking great! Definitely BOTM nomination.

How does the seat feel? Looks like knee pad material from the garden section. I've used it before for the same purpose. Haha

Thank you! 

HEHE.    I got the material at Lowes in flooring dept.  12 bucks gets ya 4 2ftx2ft square.  Double sided carpet tape...clean surfaces real good and stick.  It is surprisingly comfy.

[palepainter]

Thank you everyone for the kind words.  This bike is no show stopper, it was built on a working man's budget. I really do not have a lot of money in this one.   A lot of nickel and diming as a result of starting with something that was rather stripped down.  Fortunately, the motor was recently gone through. I have a suspicion that I will be replacing the stator.  I have a buddy stopping by in the next week to go over it with me and adjust carbs.  As it sits thought, it will pretty much stay as it is unless I upgrade the brakes up front, before someone offers me more money than I want to part with it.    I have a couple other projects in the works and would be willing to step up the investment on the next one if I part with this one.  The CB750f was a big learning curve for me. 

I want to thank everyone with advice and help along the way.  Thanks to Shawn for the run down on charging system over the weekend.  Really great group of guys here.  Nice photos in next week or so. 

[Stev-o]

Just caught up on your thread....congrats on getting it roadworthy!  And just in time for the season...

[Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er]

Excellent news

[palepainter]

I am suspecting the bike needs a new stator coil.  I am getting a reading of .8ohms across the board.  Pretty consistent, but seems low from what I am reading.  I pulled it off the bike to make sure I am getting a solid reading.  Thoughts?

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

I had a similar issue with my 750.  I replaced the stator coil to no avail.  It turned out to be old wiring connecting the stator coil.

[palepainter]

I had a similar issue with my 750.  I replaced the stator coil to no avail.  It turned out to be old wiring connecting the stator coil.

So, you are saying that resistance reading is OK?  I would tend to believe I may have same issue.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Thoroughly test your 40 year old wiring to and from the stator coil.  The stator coils are much less likely to crap out on you than the wiring.

[palepainter]

I am going through the connections tonight.  Getting some magical connection cream and brushing up the brass.  The continuity on the yellow leads to plug is good.

[RAFster122s]

You will need to test the wiring at the coils to see if your resistance is better when measured there than at the stator. You may need to pierce the yellow wire with a large florist pin or straight pin or remove a nick of insulation where the wire is joining the coated magnet wire of the stator. Then use liquid electrical tape or a blob of silicone to protect that area. Best not to pierce the insulation where it is going to be exposed to the elements.  That is one way to test your wire from the stator to the connector body. If the resistance is not a very very small value when measuring with a good multimeter when measuring from the pierced point to your stator's connector then you might have found a problem.  Then, testing the stator voltage disconnected with the pierced points versus at the end of the yellow wire connectors on one branch to another/per the manual method of testing.
Inspect your stator and look for discolored spots around the stator and on each coil. The varnish I think they used should be fairly uniform color from area to area. A short will show up as a bright spot  or a black spot on the mounting surfaces that can be pretty small (1/16-1/8" circle or dark spot blowing away to a faded area around the short contact.)
Honda normally did a nice job wiring them and protecting them from this kind of problem.  You have to compare aftermarket stators to see if there are contact points where they route the wires differently. The CX500 is known for having failed stators and the Electrosport stators had quality issues because of the way they wind them and the mounting lugs of the stator mounts on the rear cover/stator housing. Even after making them aware of how and where it was failing they did not last for more than one CX owner so their advise is to steer clear of their stators and often their products.  Even when clearancing the stator mounts on the cover to not touch the stator developed burn through shorts on the stator coils in the middle of an arm. Improper winding method or technique compromising the enamel coating or other coating of the wire is the cause of this. Sometimes it is caused by pulling the wire too tightly when winding them. I've wound a few brushless motors for airplanes (RC) and used magnet wire, so I understand the cause and risks and testing when winding your own Wye and Delta termination of stator winding methods for those motors.
The Stator being an electro magnet and an enlarged version of the stators I would wind in the brushless motors, but I do not know the winding patterns and testing methods or termination methods used on our stators. I thing they are terminated in Wye form.   The difference between a brushless motor and our stators is that the speed control on a brushless motor is rotating the magnets if an inrunner from the switching electric field in the stator, or when in an outrunner motor it is spinning the outer bell with the magnets with the shaft attached to that bell. (externally rotating motor endbell on "outrunner" motors.
Electrosport made good on the failed stators but, you have to drop a motor and do some less than inexpensive work in gaskets and other things when you are removing the rear cover to access the stator on the CX/GL 500/650 motors.  The early stators and CXs with CDI have the failure, not the TI ignition system on the GL and CX500/650 equipped with the TI ignition.
Thus the reason for recommendation against using their stators.  Some have used them without problems, others have not...

Rick's Motorsports Electrics in Indiana has a very good reputation and can do custom rewinds when asked, they have for CX and GL owners in the past if I remember correctly.  It is the experimentation to find out the increase possible and wire sizes and number of turns needed to achieve the increased wattage that takes some one knowledgeable in stator systems and can test results to determine the best solution. It would likely require a different charging system/rectifier and regulator because those typically do not just dump the excess energy like the stock system when not needed. The regulator/rectifier units tend to handle that through heat and its dissipation. This may require relocating a Reg/Rect unit to more airflow.

That's most of what I know if you were to want to change the stator, generally the 750 doesn't need this, the 550 could benefit from a higher output stator/rotor and charging system. The 750 can get by without it.  The 550 system works fine when operated at 4000 rpm and above and can support more load than many think without negative effects if some conservation of power is applied to those items such as lights which are contribute to its draw. It won't support lots of electric gear or other sources which would be high drain...given you need over 50W and sometimes 100W of electric gear to stay warm in very cold temps, short of spending money on a very expensive cold weather riding suit like from Aerostitch (1200-1500 or more).

A GL1000 or GL1100 might give you better front brakes and be a cheaper solution for front braking improvement without going to a $1200 or $1500 or more into a modern front end solution...

David

[palepainter]

Thank you for all the information David.  I got one of Ricks R/R units and it is wired according to the diagram.  I suspect it is the connections out of the sprocket cover going to plug.  I will dig into it a bit more tomorrow.  It is running consistent now that I have the points plate locked down properly.

A few guys will be happy to hear that I have new shocks coming for the bike.  14inchers to give me a bit more tire clearance.  Will post photos after it is all finished up.  So very close.

[palepainter]

I got the temporary plate for the SS.  Been out riding it in the cooler weather to give it a bit of break in.  Tuning and carb adjustment.  Waiting on new shocks.....

[JoeCooley]

Pure sexy, muscle, madness! Awesome bike.

[RAFster122s]

Nice!

The reflectivity really shows on that one with the background showing in the black of the tank with that sunset in the transition line.  Looks great!

The only thing that would drive me nuts is the tilt of the cowl not matching the line of the black on the tank. It would require some mounting changes...if it could be fixed without a repaint. But, that is a little OCD coming out in me...
It really looks great and that is a unique Cowl rarely seen on SOHC/4s. First one of that design I've ever seen.

David

[martin99]

Well done for going with your gut and using that fairing, first off I didn't like it, then it grew on me, then there were the pics with a normal headlight and I thought surely he can't put that fairing back on there when it looks this good, and now it's back on again and it looks the absolute dog's doodahs! Great stuff, thanks for sharing, looking forward to the next one...