Topic: 76 CB550 Cafe build

[tshrey]

Two things for today.

First, got the seat back from Mac's Upholstery in Seattle.  They are freaking artists.  I sent them my bodywork and my seat pan that I made along with drawings and the alcantara I wanted on the seating surface.  I could not be happier with what came back.




Second, after multiple attempts to seal the spokes with the 3m tape to make the tire tubeless I decided to got the AllSeal route and it was a success.  So now I am doing the final assembly of the rear wheel.  The oil seal that fits into the threaded bearing retainer - is there some trick to getting it to fit?  I've never had such a tough time pressing in a seal.  The retainer opening is 1.2mm smaller than the seal.  I tried pressing it in with just an aluminum block covering the seal and the retainer and squeezing it in a vice.  It went part of the way in with that method, but I can see the rubber peeling off the edge of the metal beneath on the seal.  I know I have the right seal because it has a number on it that matches the number listed in the service manual (35449).  I'm going to try it one more time today with a hydraulic press and a bearing press cup that really fits it well.  Should I be using grease on the outer surface to help it slide into the retainer?

I will wait the requisite 3 minutes before looking to see Cal answer my question

[tshrey]

Seal is number 20 in this pic.

[tshrey]

Exciting day, got my front fender from Cognito last night.  Everything in primer this morning, then sanding and color.  Clear is going on right now.

[Godffery]

 Nice, but how do you get any work done in a shop that is so clean...?!   

[RAFster122s]

That's his Photoshop...you should see his workshop...
Just kidding Jeff, no clue. A clean shop is the sign of...?

[tshrey]

Paint is done!

[RAFster122s]

Nice, you do not mess around... Use heat lamps to harden/cure the paint? I would be nervous about handling it so soon. Is it urethane clear?

David

[tshrey]

Spraymax 2k, a 2 part epoxy urethane in a spray can.  I didn't have to touch any of the surface you can see to put it on the bike, but putting the seat on the tail section did leave a mark in the clear (but the mark is covered by the seat anyway).

I left the garage heat on to keep it 70 in there for 24 hours.

[Marissa]

Bike is gorgeous so far.

[RAFster122s]

I agree with Marissa, it is gorgeous. It has came together nicely. Please get it appraised or insure it for stated value so your investment in the build is protected.

[Little_Phil]

Seal is number 20 in this pic.

I think that seal goes in the recess of part no 2. And the inner seals against part 6 (spacer) that goes through the center.

[Little_Phil]

Seal is number 20 in this pic.

I think that seal goes in the recess of part no 2. And the inner seals against part 6 (spacer) that goes through the center. The retainer center is empty.

[tshrey]

Oh #$%*.  That would explain why I was having such a hard time getting it in place.  Guess I'll punch it out of the carrier and put the spare I have in the right place.

Thanks.

[tshrey]

My garage, thy cruel mistress.  Was having a great day, got the new rear shocks from Cognito mounted.  If you get the standard japanese replacement shocks they carry they are NOT plug and play.  I machined the rear shock mounts to fit the stock units and these have 8 mm smaller top collars and need about 3mm of spacer in the bottom when putting them on a CB550.  Then I moved on to cleaning up the threads on the axle I made; the stock nut spun on fine but the replacement stainless castle nut wouldn't go on more than a few turns without a wrench.  Tried my 18mmx1.5 die to clean them up and my thread cutting on the lathe wasn't great compared to an actual die but it did let me clean up the first 3-4 turns which let me thread the replacement nut on.  Ran it all the way on and off half a dozen times with valve grinding compound to machine the two surfaces against each other.  On the last attempt the bastards seized against each other.  So there goes an $18 castle nut and about two hours of my time machining.  Sum#$%*!

[tshrey]

I was definitely being lazy.  I cut the threads like you said and checked with the stock nut and had a great fit.  A month later I got the new castle nut and it wouldn't thread on without a wrench.  Being too lazy to get everything set back up on the lathe I figured the grinding compound would let the two pieces machine each other.  It seemed to be working.  Until it wasn't 

[RAFster122s]

Hit it with a torch to see if you can salvage the axle and/or nut...  Might need to buy a couple castle nuts at this rate... teasing
Sorry it is not playing nice.
David

[tshrey]

Ha! I had the same thought about the torch and it didn't work, guess I won't bother to try freezing it

Guess I'll be ordering another nut and a couple more feet of 20mm rod...

[RAFster122s]

Hit it with a torch to see if you can salvage the axle and/or nut...  Might need to buy a couple castle nuts at this rate... teasing
Sorry it is not playing nice.
David

Sorry, absolutely TERRIBLE idea. If you heat a stainless bolt with a stainless nut on it, absent a thread release compound, they will fuse together permanently. And I mean PERMANENTLY. You could turn the nut off in the lathe and save your axle, but be slow as you approach the threads.

Sorry, Ignorance on my part...
Thank you for chiming in and potentially saving his axle...learning something new is good.
David

[tshrey]

After pricing out another stainless rod, another castle nut, shipping and my time machining I'm just going to send the stock axle and nut, along with the chain adjusters, out to get a new satin chrome finish.  Should be a wash in price, saves me hours of time and gets the adjusters taken care of to boot.

[RAFster122s]

Just consider having the bolts replated with zinc and clear chromate conversion. No need to go chrome...
Or go with cal's recommendations...sound advice.

[RAFster122s]

I bought some extra 12mm stock Honda flanged nuts.  Would having one or two of those benefit you in any way?
I got them from South Sound Honda in Olympia, WA

[tshrey]

Thanks for the offer RAF but no, at this point I've gone the full Cal route and replaced everything on the bike with ARP 12pt flanged nuts and bolts.

Cal, what size would you recommend for tubing for the axle if I went that route?  It has to be 20mm outside and the minor of m18 threads is just under 15mm so that is 5mm of wall thickness already.

[tshrey]

Big day, finally made progress on one thing I was dreading doing.  The taper-to-taper spacer is done!!!



I have a combination bridgemill/lathe, so getting accurate angles cut it not trivial to say the least.  I started with 1.25" aluminum stock and got the angle pretty close with a simple digital angle gauge.  Started cutting with the compound slide and kept at it until it was an interference fit with the cbr rotor.  Once I had that angle I switched over to steel and cut the outside of the spacer with a length of rod on the small end so that I could use that to chuck in the lathe. 



Back to aluminum, switched over to an internal cutter and again measured to get close and kept cutting and adjusting until I had a good fit.  Here I put sharpie all over the crankshaft end and then put the spacer over it and had sharpie transferred over the whole surface of the aluminum so I knew I was good.



Back to the steel slug and transferred the angle into it.  Perfect fit on both surfaces.  Going to put valve grinding compound on the inside and outside and spin the pieces against each other to remove my machining grooves .




Any thought to whether I should send this out to get hardened?

[GV1390]

Heck yeah. Looking forward to seeing some more updates on this thing!

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Damn.  Getting that part hardened (cryo treatment, I presume) could be expensive for such a small item.  You should have made a bunch (for us!) and reduced your unit cost.