Topic: Terry Bob's redneck F-ing K2 bitsa project!

[Terry in Australia]

"put in backwards you protest so loudly.........." It's not what you say, it's the way that you say it. We Rednecks are gentle folk David, don't ya know?

[Terry in Australia]

"Some days are diiiiiamonds, some days are stones........." To quote the late, great, Johnny Billy Bob Denver, again. Sooooo, first of all, to answer Per's question, Rustoleum is fcuking near bullet proof as it turns out, which is good, because I almost shot that fcuking caliper, and it probably wasn't it's fault! But I digress, let me explain slowly, with pictures........

So first up, I decided to do something easy to start with, so I replaced the starter motor cover, with a cool finned one I bought from a member here years ago (can't remember who) that matches the finned alternator cover, clutch cover, and points cover well. Of course nothing's easy, so I had the cover off and on a couple of times, and the cam chain tensioner off as well, until I worked out the order in which things need to go on to ensure that I could tighten things down.

Redneck desperation Sunday 1 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

So that was the good news. Well, I suppose it was good to find a single braided "Hel" brake line in a box that was just the right length, after I discovered that the other hose I bought was just a tad short. Sure, the forks would compress slightly once off the stand, but I don't want to use a brake line as a tether, so was happy to find the other one. Once it was all bolted up, it looked rather nice.

Redneck desperation Sunday 2 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I filled the MC with Dot 4, and this was about when things took a dive. The new bleed screw I "borrowed" from my 4 piston caliper wouldn't seal. Poop. I had noticed a bit of corrosion pitting on the sealing area when I bead blasted it, but hoped it wouldn't be a problem, but of course, Murphy's law is the only law in these parts, so that caused a decent amount of brake fluid to pour over the still-fresh Rustoleum, but it held up really well, I've had VHT caliper paint wash off with brake fluid before, so this stuff is impressive!

Redneck desperation Sunday 4 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Sooooo, in true Redneck style, I decided to clean up the mating surface with a heavily taped and greased drill, so as not to damage the threads.

Redneck desperation Sunday 6 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I re-installed the bleed screw, re-filled the MC, tightened the bleed screw once fluid and bubbles dispersed, then watched more fluid coming from the bleed screw. Fcuk!

OK, well, while I was rummaging thru my stuff I found a really good caliper with even the original red dot on it, the paint is a bit sad and God knows what the piston is like, but I hooked it up, screwed in my bleed screw, filled the MC again, watched the fluid and bubbles disperse, tightened the bleed screw, and............ watched more fluid and bubbles come out! Double Fcuk!

It's got to be the bleed screw. Maybe the angle of the mating surfaces are so different that it won't seal, maybe there's a slight burr inside the second caliper, maybe God hates me (no fcuking way, both my teams won their football premierships this weekend!) but whatever, by this stage it was around 4.30 pm, I was cold, tired, and ever so slightly pissed off, so I decided to put the cover back on the bike, pack up all my tools, and go inside and open the bar.

I've ordered not one, but 4 new bleed screws, so hopefully I'll have this sorted by next weekend. In the meantime, I'm gonna start on my tank prep.

One other interesting item I re-discovered was my Bill Bowman Carb Tune vacuum gauge that mounts under the left side cover and is permanently fixed to the carbs. I've owned this thing for close to 20 years and for some reason I've never put it on a bike, so now's it's time. My mate Davey has had one on his K2 that he bought new in 1972, and while it's probably not as good as other vac gauges it's a cool tool. Anyone else got one? Cheers, Terry.

Bill Bowman Carb Tune by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

 

[754]

Bleed screw tip is 90 degrees IIRC . You can try to regrind a drill ..
But.. I just bought a 90 degree countersink from KBC tools .... and it has saved other brands if calipers.
Check the angle before ordering.

[strynboen]

yes just grind the drill to fit the air bleed schrev..

[PeWe]

I knew that the paint should get brake fluid! Good that paint did not became a soft goo and make everything black and sticky at contact.
I have such caliper..... need to clean the bad paint/brake fluid goo off and paint it with proper paint.

[seanbarney41]

Terry, that vac gauge thingy is cool and unusual...a neat touch whether it's useful or not.

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks guys, I should have mentioned that I actually found a centre drill that looked to be closer to the tapered hole and was a nicer fit inside the threaded hole too, but It made no difference, but to be honest I'm happier with the other caliper I found, so I'll try to make it "the one" until I can figure out how to mount the new 4 piston caliper, which may require some welding.

That Bill Bowman carb tune is a neat device, I found an old ad online for one, and I see that Bill also made a sump extension for CB750's, something that I've thought about for awhile, hmmnnnn, that might be a nice side-project.....

[Stev-o]

Hey Terry - Hondawiggy had one of those Bowman gauges on his '69 diecast, remember??

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=118257.0

[754]

Standard drill 118 degrees included angle
Center drill.      60 degrees
Countersink.     82 dgrees is most common for metal, but other angles exist.
Bleederscrew.   90 degrees likely.

Of all angles to determine 90 is the easiest..... You can check it with a sheet of paper.

[RAFster122s]

Standard drill 118 degrees included angle
Center drill.      60 degrees
Countersink.     82 dgrees is most common for metal, but other angles exist.
Bleederscrew.   90 degrees likely.

Of all angles to determine 90 is the easiest..... You can check it with a sheet of paper.

I was thinking 120 degrees, but as you have so aptly pointed out, it is 118.  It is easy enough to look up, but I had not.  Definitely regrind your drill tip (without overheating it) to the proper angle if you wish to save that caliper. Might as well do it now while it is fresh in your mind what you've done with it.

That phosphorus bath must have been blocked off from the bore since it is unscathed, imagine the whole kit and caboodle was in the bath soaking, bad piston and all. Otherwise that phosphorus bath could have made a real mess on the caliper requiring more work to make it usable.

I was just yanking your chain about the piston and caliper bit. Wasn't really serious. Since I have a 550 I know little of your 750 specifics... Never seen the 750 caliper with such a cap...  The 550 does not use them and the Phenolic piston I got from the fellow in Texas who no longer deals with them sent instructions along that the plastic or teflon washer like device is not needed with the Phenolic piston installed. Given the hollow construction of the Phenolic I wondered if it was to be installed solid end inside the piston or working on the back of the brake pad.  Figured hollow facing out was the way to go.

I haven't been lucky with pistons in calipers that have been sitting. Some pitting on every one that had a steel piston.  Only one out of 3 550 calipers had what I considered a usable piston. The twin pot later caliper going on the cx500 had passable pistons but I decided to put a new set in to not tempt my bad luck.

Too bad it is not a simple bolt up for those calipers or a simple bracket to make them usable. A pair of them would be a good solution to the braking problem...but you would want a thinner disc...preferrably not a SS but cast iron. Since they are very pricey (fellow in Australia making them) you either accept what dual disc conversion can give you or you put a modern front end on the bike.
BTW, EBC now has a HH pad available in the F69 pad.

[754]

 Actually it may be hard to grind a drill to 90 degrees due tobthe spiraled flute  countersink have straight flutes.
 Seriously I paid less than 10 bucks has smooth sides and it works you can probably wrapntape around it to get your size and turn it by hand.

 Oohhhn they are up to 15 to 20 ish now  .. I saved  a few calipers with mine, plus you can make your own repair inserts to use standard bleeders.

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks David and Frank. David, just to clear something up, the pitting on the outside of the caliper wasn't caused by the phosphoric acid, it was corrosion, and already there before it went into the bath.

Most good aluminium cleaners are phosphoric acid based. If you look at the other half of the caliper (that came off a different bike) it has no pitting, but spent the same time in the phosphoric bath. I don't think I'll bother trying to save that caliper, the threads in the bleeder screw hole look pretty stuffed too, so I think I'll re-purpose it as a missile when I build my "buggared parts cannon".....

I'm still working on a better caliper set up, years ago I bought a box of Brembo twin opposed piston calipers, they were the best caliper in their day (70/80's) and parts are still available, so I might take a second look at one if I can't get my 4 piston caliper to fit. Cheers, Terry.

[RAFster122s]

Just build a Trebuchet, not sure if I got that spelling right.  There are festivals where people who build them launch watermelons (waste of a good melon) or even clothes dryers or pianos or car motors with them.  A few have even flung cars with them...

An intense weapon of war of ages long past.  We should not forget how to make them for when we slip back into the dark ages... eh?  Joking

[754]

Calipers are hard to mount with the swing brackets. If you use an F fork or GL, it becomes absolutely easy.

[Terry in Australia]

Yeah Frank, I've got a good pair of F2 forks here, but, well I'm thinking more about modding a pair of early legs. Not easy, but doable.

[RAFster122s]

Going inboard is easy, the mount bosses on the Ks before 77 at least (550) didn't have much in the way of mounting area... maybe it is strong enough with the 6mm screws and I'm overthinking it.  The mount bracket for the swing pivot is about all you have to choose from unless you start breaking out the TIG to build up a mount on the lower. Then it is a matter of getting enough dish on the rotor and matching that placement.  The CBR600 disc was used on FunJimmy's R6 fork retro mod, the Cafe Interceptor.
He has Brembos on it now if I recall correctly and I think Brent Waller is running Brembos on his 550 race bike.

David

[Terry in Australia]

Did you ever spend all day working on a bike build, and by the time you dragged yourself back in 8 hours later, it didn't look much different from when you started?

Still, I had a couple of wins. As you'll all recall, last weekend was a b1tch, the caliper I cleaned up was a dud, and the bleed screw wouldn't seal that caliper, or the better caliper I tried. Still without a bleeder screw (I ordered 4 on ebay but they haven't arrived yet) in the best Redneck tradition, I shortened a bolt and with a new caliper washer, was able to "Cap off the well".

Redneck lazy Saturday by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Surprisingly, or maybe not surprisingly when I think about it, with the bolt in place, I had a rock hard lever! Woohoo! Every man over 50 should always feel happy when he's got a rock hard lever, and I was no different. Of course, Mr Murphy is never too far away from my workshop, and I realised once I'd tightened the two caliper halves, that the piston was seized in the bore. Poop.

I split the 2 halves again, and managed to use the MC to pump the piston out slightly, so I cleaned around the piston, sprayed some WD40 around the outside of the piston, and used a "G" Clamp to push the piston back into the caliper. After a dozen or so "Pump/Squeeze" repititions, with cleaning of the piston's exterior with a shop towel and more WD40 between each try, the piston (which looks to be in great condition, but not surprising as the caliper looks pretty good too) appeared to be working freely, so I shoved it all back together, and was excited to see that I actually have brakes that work! Woohoo again!

Redneck lazy Saturday 1 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Redneck lazy Saturday 2 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I was so happy I decided I'd better tidy up the outside of the caliper. I degreased it to remove any brake fluid, cleaned it up with a fresh shop towel, then I sprayed some Rustoleum into an old rattle can lid, and brushed it onto the caliper. I have to say, I'm pretty happy with the result!

Redneck lazy Saturday 3 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Redneck lazy Saturday 5 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

So, what next? Well I decided to sort the wiring, which was pretty easy considering that every wire apart from those in the speedo and tach are new, so it was just plug and play, once I'd realised that the black wire in the harness with the 4 way connector is not an earth, and that was why I was blowing fuses as soon as I turned the ignition switch to "on"! Oops........

I had to make up some wires, notably the earth wires inside the headlight, plus a couple of wires that were missing. I purposely soldered every wire, mostly because I love playing with my little butane gas soldering iron/heat shrinker, but I do like the way that the solder bonds the connector to the wire, better to me, than just crimping.

Redneck lazy Saturday 4 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

So after another 8 hours, not a lot has changed, but I'm getting closer, and I was excited when for the first time ever, I was able to hit the starter button and crank the engine over, even most of the lights appear to be working, thanks in part to a good starter solenoid that John Leather here sent me!

Tomorrow is the annual Bathurst 1000 V8 Supercar race which I try to watch on TV every year, it all starts around 8am and finishes around 5pm, usually I fall asleep after the first couple of hours and wake up close to the end of the race, but tomorrow I'm gonna use that "down time" to go out to the patio and do some more work on the bike, as the weather is getting better, and my wife is keen for me to get it finished and out of the patio before Christmas Eve, when I need to transform my little workshop back into the extended family Christmas BBQ area! Cheers, Terry Bob.

Redneck lazy Saturday 6 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr



   

[BobbyR]

Lookin good hoss. That dog is gonna hunt.

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks Bobby, I've gotta get off my arse and get out there and do some more on the bitsa, but it's such a nice day I might have to fire up my Harley Sportster (if the battery hasn't died after 4 months of no use) and go for a blat! Cheers, Terry.

[Terry in Australia]

OK, so just after I replied to Bobby I developed a terrible case of the jiggly guts, and have been tied to the crapper with an invisible umbilical cord of liquid sh1t. My wife makes me eat "High Fiber" bread, and it has a rather unfortunate effect on me.

Anyway, I ate a 2 Kg block of cheese and capped off the ol' well, and in between trips to the Dunny and watching the great race, did some more wiring. I bought a Marchall headlight from Yamiya last year for my K1 and never installed it, so once I'd assured myself that all the lights were working, I finally installed it.

Redneck Bathurst Sunday by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

It's really starting to look like a bike now, I hope my patient lifter can pick it up so I can get it off the bench and turn it around, or it might become a permanent art piece!

Redneck Bathurst Sunday 1 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I quickly bolted in the Bill Bowman carb tune thingy, and called it a day. Good news is there'll be some nice warm days during the week so I should be able to get a bit more done, as next weekend I'm doing my 400 mile fortnightly pilgrimage to visit my old ma. Have a good one, y'all!

Redneck Bathurst Sunday 2 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

 

   

[spotty]

just having a quick trawl of evilbay and saw this lot.....

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Honda-CB750-Parts-/142525231018?hash=item212f2a6faa:g:OzsAAOSwLUtZ00av

saw the seller name, the general high standard of the parts and the red breadbasket and thought, aha, he's trying to recoup some of his costs by selling off some un-needed high quality spares, best of luck with that

[754]

 It looks like not one but a pair of neutered Unicorns, plus some KO, K1 shocks.

[RAFster122s]

I like the race ventilation on the tank, that was a tank, right?
I enjoy seeing the sellers selling you their used seals, saw a great price on a set of head pucks. Darn if I did not get outbid on them at the last moment. 

[Terry in Australia]

Hey Spotty, thanks for that, your powers of deduction are probably good enough to be a police investigator, but not quite Columbo standard yet. That Terry is in Newcastle, and I'm in Melbourne 600 miles away, but good try mate anyway, and thanks for the heads up, I need a rear hub, to build an 18 inch rear wheel with my other Borrani rim, the shocks are probably better than the one's I have for my K0 project, that tank would come up like new in my phosphoric bath, and I've got a couple of damaged tanks to rescue a better filler neck and fuel tap mount from, so for 100 beans, that's a bargain! I've sent him a message re posting it down to me, and if he does, it'll be a good score!

Anyway, Monday night here so not a lot done, a few weeks ago I blew up my dad's old genuine Dremel tool, then my trusty Chinese knockoff shat itself, so I bought another ultra expensive Chinese sucker with more power, with a proper 1/4" chuck so I can mount some real attachments, and not those pissy Dremel style toys. Sweet!

Redneck Dremel knockoff by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Now I think my next task should be carbs, I've gone off the dual carb set up that I bought new a few years ago and haven't used, so I might put them on ebay, I think they're going for 700 or 800 bucks new, so if I get half of that I'll be able to buy some K0 parts, as it's "next cab off the rank" once the bitsa is a going concern. I went thru several sets of CB750 carbs and found a reasonably clean set, although I haven't popped the float bowls yet. I've got heaps of new carb rebuild kits from Sudco from back in the day, so I'll give them a birthday and install some bigger main jets to suit the vintage K&N pod filters.

Before I can install some carbs though, I needed to sort a minor problem. As you'll recall, dear readers, the engine is out of a fugly fcuking F1, whereas the rest (or at least most of the rest) is K1/ K2 and later. Anyhoo, the rear engine breather pipe was increased in dia from 1/4" to 3/8" or thereabouts on the later engines, but the hose spigott on the oil tank is only 1/4". Being the resourceful Redneck that I so obviously am, I had a box of brass oil/air fittings from back in the day when I used to manufacture the worlds best (and cheapest) oil cooler kits, so I ratted thru them until I found what I needed.

Redneck hose fix by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr   

I cut a couple of lengths of hose to size, and managed to cut sh1t out of myself installing them, on a hose clip. I'd sprayed some WD40 on and around them to help slip them on, so when the got sticky I wondered why, until I saw the blood dripping off both thumbs! "By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked, this way comes............."

Redneck hose fix 2 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

By this stage it was time to open the bar, so I poured myself a healthy glass of "Kraken" black rum, and packed up my tools. Carbs this week, and who knows, maybe some fire! We'll see............

[MoMo]

the red tape is quite fitting for a redneck project    as is this
 
IMG_0093[1] by Lawrence Moulder, on Flickr