Author Topic: 76 CB550 Cafe build (Read 86426 times)

tshrey · « **Reply #250 on:** May 31, 2018, 07:39:03 PM »

That's exactly what it was! I was using a welding magnet underneath the stainless to hold the mild steel in place. You're a freaking wizard.

Maybe I'll try again now that I know what was going on.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

calj737 · « **Reply #251 on:** May 31, 2018, 07:42:46 PM »

I don’t know a lot of stuff, despite rumors to the contrary. But I have made almost all the mistakes others are just trodding into

Experience is a wonderful thing, and the best lessons leave scar tissue.

*(I look like someone dragged me down a gravel driveway wrapped in barb wire)

tshrey · « **Reply #252 on:** June 01, 2018, 08:20:20 AM »

Did some plastic welding last night and added metal rod into the joint to make it stiffer. The lines on the base are just to locate the holes that I'm going to drill into it to make it lighter - a large area of cutting board material is stupidly heavy. Wound up with a removable single piece seat pan for the upholstery work. Sending that out once I get the head back.

calj737 · « **Reply #253 on:** June 01, 2018, 08:23:39 AM »

Can I suggest making that out of aluminum sheet instead. It won't be heavy, will be amply sturdy, and makes a great seat pan.

tshrey · « **Reply #254 on:** June 01, 2018, 08:29:31 AM »

Doesn't an upholsterer then have to add something like VERY dense foam on the base to absorb the sharp end of the upholstery staples? The reason I did it this way is that Mac's can just put the seat foam down, wrap it in the cover and staple the cover to the plastic base.

I'm totally fine with scrapping this and doing it out of aluminum, just trying to make the job better for them. Maybe I'll contact Mac and see what he says.

calj737 · « **Reply #255 on:** June 01, 2018, 08:32:14 AM »

The upholstery can simply be glued to the underside of the ally. Yes, a layer of foam or gel or both beneath the fabric.

You can cut and weld the rear flip, or, heat the sheet and bend it by hand with the other half tightly clamped. Cuts like butter with a jigsaw blade, rough teeth and a little WD-40.

tshrey · « **Reply #256 on:** June 01, 2018, 08:38:24 AM »

Didn't think about glue, figured the heat from the motor underneath would prevent that. Every seat cover I've ever seen or done myself was held in place with 1/4" staples.

I have an email out to Mac, I'll do whatever he prefers. I think after I drill out 24 1/2" holes the weight won't be too bad.

SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan · « **Reply #257 on:** June 01, 2018, 11:32:40 AM »

I opted for industrial velcro to bond my seat to the seat pan. No bolt holes through the upholstery,

tshrey · « **Reply #258 on:** June 01, 2018, 12:11:45 PM »

That would be a separate issue. I won't have any holes in the upholstery either, the foam and cover get stapled to the blue plastic. The blue plastic has threaded nuts embedded in it and the seat base attaches to the bodywork by bolts on the underside going into those nutserts.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

tshrey · « **Reply #259 on:** June 11, 2018, 08:22:51 AM »

Got the suspension mounts cut and welded on to the frame. Last step is turning the slugs. Can anyone tell me how far out past the upper frame tube the shoulder should be that the shock sits against? I have all the other dimensions I need except that one.

tshrey · « **Reply #260 on:** June 17, 2018, 04:47:19 PM »

Gussets are welded in and I turned one of the mounts. Other end of that rod is chucked up now for turning, should have them done and parted tonight. Welding this week and then off to the powdercoaters.

grades · « **Reply #261 on:** June 20, 2018, 05:22:43 AM »

When I had to redo the rear shock mounts on my 750 I just rotated the swing arm up and lined the shoulder of the upper mount with the inside of the swing arm mount. It will put your shock pretty close to straight up and down.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

tshrey · « **Reply #262 on:** June 20, 2018, 05:47:21 AM »

Holy hell that is an easy way of doing it. I have a ridiculous combination of square and plumb lines to try to get things set. I'll do your method.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

tshrey · « **Reply #263 on:** June 21, 2018, 09:13:21 AM »

Everything is welded up. What is causing the occasional pinhole in my weld? If I try to go back over the area I get all kinds of spitting and that hole doesn't want to fill in. Both parts were ground down with a flap wheel, then brushed with a stainless brush and wiped with acetone.

Backside of one of the mounts. I'm pretty happy with it, it looks like I might have some idea of what I'm doing with a TIG welder...

Dropped off the frame at the powdercoaters this morning.

calj737 · « **Reply #264 on:** June 21, 2018, 10:30:42 AM »

If you are welding the boss after it passes through the bracket, and there’s a gap around it, you are essentially welding closed a “donut”. As you weld, the heat and gases accumulate in the hole, and then it will blow out as you try to close it.

It’s better to weld half the front, then half the backside, switch back to the front and finish it up. Let the thing cool a while 15-20 minutes, then close the backside. Or, weld both sides leaving a 1/4” gap, let it all cool, then weld it closed.

You might wash the outside after it all cools down, switching directions from your last weld. This will close everything up, fuse it in nice and deep, and clean up any irregularities. Take your time and maintain really consistent torch angle to make the beads look perfect.

tshrey · « **Reply #265 on:** August 06, 2018, 06:28:53 AM »

Got the head back from Mike. Guy does gorgeous work, but I needed new valves and a valve job goes along with that so I almost fell over when I got the bill. Picking up the frame and swingarm this week from the powdercoater so I can start assembling it for the last time. I just finished rebuilding my blast cabinet and converting it to a gravity feed and top load so the finishing of stuff can proceed quickly from this point. Next up is to start the wiring. Anyone recommend a source for wire? Everything will be led and motogadget so I don't need to carry much current.

calj737 · « **Reply #266 on:** August 06, 2018, 06:55:29 AM »

Don't even begin to think the $ Mike charges is 1/2 as much as the work is worth. If you went to a full time, established machine shop, the bill would be 2x and the work only 1/2 as good. He does so much more than meets the eye, its hard to put a real price on it.

Not to mention, it takes a LOT OF TIME to actually perform the work that he does. Nothing happens fast in a machine shop if the tolerances matter. Huge amount of work to actually set everything up, make it right, measure it, mill it some more, measure it again, switch tools, repeat. If you priced the job by the actual hour, he probably makes $1.27/hr.

I know you're not "complaining" but I am giving you some real insight into all the delicate and precise efforts that go into making that head a machined work of art that performs better than it looks. So much of what he does is by feel and measured with micrometers that you wouldn't begin to believe the effort he takes.

For your wiring with the M-Unit, you can run 22AWG for inputs and 18AWG for outputs. Only LOCK on the input side needs 18AWG. Makes everything smaller and more compact. I buy 25' spools from McMaster-Carr in "stock" colors as much as I can.

SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan · « **Reply #267 on:** August 06, 2018, 07:04:56 AM »

Another JMR work of art. You'll thank him when you feel the added grunt to your engine.

tshrey · « **Reply #268 on:** August 06, 2018, 07:07:45 AM »

Now that I have a lathe and a mill I fully appreciate what he does. In my head I had budgeted for his porting work and didn't think about the price of anything else so it was just a shock. I also didn't really understand what requires what, so when he said I needed new valves I thought it was just valves. I was too dumb to read his sheet to see that new valves meant a valve job too.

No way I'm going to add up how much I spent on this thing when I'm done, because I definitely could have gone out and bought a new Ducati for the same dough

The biggest expenditure is yet to come when I order the CR26 carbs, oof that is a chunk of change.

SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan · « **Reply #269 on:** August 06, 2018, 07:10:24 AM »

Quote from: tshrey on August 06, 2018, 07:07:45 AM

Now that I have a lathe and a mill I fully appreciate what he does. In my head I had budgeted for his porting work and didn't think about the price of anything else so it was just a shock. I also didn't really understand what requires what, so when he said I needed new valves I thought it was just valves. I was too dumb to read his sheet to see that new valves meant a valve job too.

No way I'm going to add up how much I spent on this thing when I'm done, because I definitely could have gone out and bought a new Ducati for the same dough The biggest expenditure is yet to come when I order the CR26 carbs, oof that is a chunk of change.

The good news is that Ducati service and parts are even pricier than cheap and readily available Honda parts.

I thought I saw someone selling their project CR26s in the For Sale section. Hunt for a bargain on those. The price shifts widely between sources.

tshrey · « **Reply #270 on:** August 06, 2018, 07:11:06 AM »

Quote from: calj737 on August 06, 2018, 06:55:29 AM

For your wiring with the M-Unit, you can run 22AWG for inputs and 18AWG for outputs. Only LOCK on the input side needs 18AWG. Makes everything smaller and more compact. I buy 25' spools from McMaster-Carr in "stock" colors as much as I can.

I know you said you can wire these in a few hours. You have a build sheet by any chance? Like which color you use for which thing? I don't mind doing stuff on my own but if someone has already gone through and done the meticulous recording I'm happy to use their info.

SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan · « **Reply #271 on:** August 06, 2018, 07:14:40 AM »

Quote from: tshrey on August 06, 2018, 07:11:06 AM

Quote from: calj737 on August 06, 2018, 06:55:29 AM
For your wiring with the M-Unit, you can run 22AWG for inputs and 18AWG for outputs. Only LOCK on the input side needs 18AWG. Makes everything smaller and more compact. I buy 25' spools from McMaster-Carr in "stock" colors as much as I can.

I know you said you can wire these in a few hours. You have a build sheet by any chance? Like which color you use for which thing? I don't mind doing stuff on my own but if someone has already gone through and done the meticulous recording I'm happy to use their info.

CAL can wire a bike in a few hours. It takes most of us more.

flatlander · « **Reply #272 on:** August 06, 2018, 07:21:00 AM »

Quote from: tshrey on August 06, 2018, 07:07:45 AM

Now that I have a lathe and a mill I fully appreciate what he does. In my head I had budgeted for his porting work and didn't think about the price of anything else so it was just a shock. I also didn't really understand what requires what, so when he said I needed new valves I thought it was just valves. I was too dumb to read his sheet to see that new valves meant a valve job too.

No way I'm going to add up how much I spent on this thing when I'm done, because I definitely could have gone out and bought a new Ducati for the same dough The biggest expenditure is yet to come when I order the CR26 carbs, oof that is a chunk of change.

well you didn't get "just valves" but a stage 2 head from mike which is a lot more. maybe should've asked upfront what it costs and what he does for that, complaining afterwards only seems a bit unfair.

anyway, get it all bolted up and after a good (not too gentle!) break-in give it a proper twist - and you'll forget the pains

tshrey · « **Reply #273 on:** August 06, 2018, 07:40:20 AM »

Yeah, everybody settle down. I'm not complaining about the price, the sticker shock was my own fault. I know I ordered a stage 2 port job and as I said above, that was the price I had in my head. Also as stated above, I was too dense to read his very detailed information regarding what is necessary when getting valves.

I don't expect to be fast like Cal doing the wiring, I was just wondering if he had ever written out a wiring plan that included colors that I could just copy. If this is like everything else on this bike it will take me two months to get the wiring done

On the up side I'm going to save $500 and pick up the CR26's that are on the for sale section...

calj737 · « **Reply #274 on:** August 06, 2018, 07:40:43 AM »

Quote from: tshrey on August 06, 2018, 07:11:06 AM

Quote from: calj737 on August 06, 2018, 06:55:29 AM
For your wiring with the M-Unit, you can run 22AWG for inputs and 18AWG for outputs. Only LOCK on the input side needs 18AWG. Makes everything smaller and more compact. I buy 25' spools from McMaster-Carr in "stock" colors as much as I can.

I know you said you can wire these in a few hours. You have a build sheet by any chance? Like which color you use for which thing? I don't mind doing stuff on my own but if someone has already gone through and done the meticulous recording I'm happy to use their info.

Post the list of components you're using, I may already have a color-coded wiring diagram relevant for you. Which gauges, switches, etc. Key switch or M-Lock? That kind of stuff.

News:

Author Topic: 76 CB550 Cafe build (Read 86426 times)