Author Topic: The Lost Socket Garage (Read 56348 times)

Scott S · « **Reply #350 on:** August 11, 2019, 10:15:21 AM »

Since I'm waiting on parts for the two current builds (carbs for the 550 and bodywork for the Katana swap), I went out back and pulled out a set of forks for yet ANOTHER CB500/550 build that I have in the wings.

These are the forks that were on the 1973 CB500 Glutton for Punishment bike. That build got an R6 front end. The donor '73 sat in a leaky shed since 1982. They were rough. Lots of crud and oxidation. Surprisingly, the seals aren't leaking. The gaitors were hard as a rock and I had to cut them off.

Scott S · « **Reply #351 on:** August 11, 2019, 10:19:36 AM »

I wire brushed off all the rust and oxidation. Treated the uppers with rust converter. Luckily, the travel areas are perfect. The black parts are the rust converter on bare metal and will be covered by the fork ears.
I spent about 3 hours with a wire wheel, various grades of sandpaper, skotchbrite pads, stripper, polish, etc. About half that time was at the buffer. They're not perfect, but they came out pretty nice! The RH fork has some "leopard spots" where the oxidation left some pitting. They could probably be sanded out with some power equipment or a lathe, belt sander, etc. They'll be fine for the next project.
Next up: fresh seals, oil, and some good boots.

Fezzler · « **Reply #352 on:** August 11, 2019, 10:47:24 AM »

Nice work. Fun to see the old stuff come back to a useful life.

Scott S · « **Reply #353 on:** August 18, 2019, 01:55:36 PM »

I was able to work out a carb swap with Fezzler and get the correct style carbs for this bike. Only the lack of the correct throttle cable stopped me from having Fire Up Day, Attempt #2.

I was going to finish up the fork rebuild for the upcoming project, or install the chain on the Katana project, but GOT-DANG it's hot here! I was wiped out after getting the carbs in.

Scott S · « **Reply #354 on:** August 25, 2019, 12:35:29 PM »

Got a roller. It's about time to start working on the wiring harness and electrics.

Scott S · « **Reply #355 on:** August 25, 2019, 01:00:29 PM »

And I pretty much finished the 550F Street Tracker/Springers Bike.

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,179015.0.html

SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan · « **Reply #356 on:** August 25, 2019, 06:45:53 PM »

Quote from: Scott S on August 25, 2019, 01:00:29 PM

And I pretty much finished the 550F Street Tracker/Springers Bike.

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,179015.0.html

Nominated for Bike of the Month

Scott S · « **Reply #357 on:** September 08, 2019, 05:08:18 PM »

Got the tracker registered and insured. I had to replace the fancy fork ears with another style, as the cool ones would touch the tank.
The only thing stopping me from shakedown runs is an exhaust leak on #4. I have some new gaskets on the way.

Pretty much figured out what I need to do on the Katana project in order to get the Bandit dash to work. Waiting on some wiring components for that.

So..... I pulled out the frame for the NEXT project. This will be Sweep the Floor bike #4; aka, the Hippie Bike.
The name will become apparent....some day.

Got the frame, swingarm, triple tree, etc, all cleaned up, wire brushed, degreaser, etc. Even managed to get a coat of paint on it all today (more pics coming).

Fezzler · « **Reply #358 on:** September 08, 2019, 07:21:58 PM »

Moss will not grow under your feet for sure!

Scott S · « **Reply #359 on:** September 14, 2019, 11:55:59 AM »

Remember this bike?

Since I don't have enough stuff going on already, I started cleaning up some of the leftover parts from that build The next CB500/550 build will be Sweep The Floor Bike #4. I'm trying to really stick with that theme this time and use stuff I have on hand as much as possible.
I've already rebuilt and polished the forks from that bike. Here's the triple tree. It's amazing what some elbow grease, paint, a brass wire brush, and some EvapoRust will do!

I also have the frame painted up and swing arm, shocks, side stand, center stand and lower triple installed.
This is a titled frame that I traded a set of 400F pegs for. I got the pegs from a pile of parts at Barber about 4 years ago. I think I gave $10 for them.
I'm leaving the frame like this so I can do the "lay the frame over the engine" install method. The upper shock hardware is soaking in EvapoRust.

Scott S · « **Reply #360 on:** March 18, 2020, 01:49:58 PM »

Woo Hoo! Put a battery in the Katana/GS550 project today and it turns over with the starter! The oil light went out after a few revolutions. I have tail light, brake light (both front and rear switches), horn and a hi beam indicator.

Most importantly, I have spark from both coils!

I *don't * have headlight or turn signals, so I'll have to trace that out. I don't think I have backlights on the Bandit 400 gauges (edit: just checked and I do), but I do see the tach needle "twitch" when I power it up.

I'll sort out those things and then add gas and see if she'll run!

Fezzler · « **Reply #361 on:** March 18, 2020, 05:35:03 PM »

Never give up! Congrats!

XC204 · « **Reply #362 on:** March 19, 2020, 03:35:17 AM »

Wow the 550 turned out great!

RAFster122s · « **Reply #363 on:** March 19, 2020, 07:13:20 PM »

Are you keeping the bikes you have been building them or enjoying them for a while before building another and selling the older ones?

Gonna be a nice build.

Congrats on the GS success.

Scott S · « **Reply #364 on:** March 20, 2020, 01:57:55 AM »

I practice "catch and release". Usually keep them a year or two or three, then thin the herd and clean out the garage and make way for the next ones.

rb550four · « **Reply #365 on:** March 20, 2020, 12:01:28 PM »

I finally got a chance to read the entire thread. I'm impressed! Lots of nice work going on in your garage! What fun!
The " catch and release "method ,wow, I think I like the idea. Is there much seller's remorse? Does it hurt all the time or just when you think about it? How many machines have you bought back? Can anybody do this? I'm thinking maybe I should try this. maybe once and see. Thanks for the idea, never thought of it like that.

Scott S · « **Reply #366 on:** March 29, 2020, 01:27:00 PM »

Today was fire up day!

At first, #1 was silly hot and #4 was cold-ish; and it was hard to get a nice idle. Some investigation found a diaphragm that wasn't seated properly on #4 and the intake manifold was crazy loose on #1. I guess I just forgot to tighten it up when I put it together. We fought it for a while, then just pulled the carbs and oil lines and tighten all of the manifolds while we were at it.

Seems to run pretty damn good now!

As a reminder: 2000 GSX750F engine, Yoshimura slip -on, BST-36 carbs with DynoJet kit, RamAir filters and a slotted timing advancer (stock, for now. I plan on going to a dyno soon).

Scott S · « **Reply #367 on:** March 29, 2020, 01:32:07 PM »

Got some pics, then took it apart again. I pulled the tach signal wire loose installing the tank, so that had to come off. Then I noticed some gas weeping around the petcock screws. I need to see if they use fiber washers. I also need some rubber grommets for the side covers. The clutch could use some adjusting and I want some pin stripes on the tail cowl.
But, overall, I'm pretty happy with it.

Fezzler · « **Reply #368 on:** March 29, 2020, 05:21:19 PM »

That pipe sounds fantastic when reved. The engine sounds like it has some "extra Zippy" too!

Congrats! The two-tone brake disks are cool and the duel front are nice.

seanbarney41 · « **Reply #369 on:** March 29, 2020, 06:04:04 PM »

I really want to ride that!

Fezzler · « **Reply #370 on:** March 29, 2020, 07:45:06 PM »

Quote from: seanbarney41 on March 29, 2020, 06:04:04 PM

I really want to ride that!

I bet for a fair price you can ride it everyday!

SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan · « **Reply #371 on:** March 30, 2020, 06:43:46 PM »

Quote from: Scott S on March 29, 2020, 01:32:07 PM

Got some pics, then took it apart again. I pulled the tach signal wire loose installing the tank, so that had to come off. Then I noticed some gas weeping around the petcock screws. I need to see if they use fiber washers. I also need some rubber grommets for the side covers. The clutch could use some adjusting and I want some pin stripes on the tail cowl.
But, overall, I'm pretty happy with it.

I wish we could nominate this bike for BOTM. It looks so damn good. I bet it's a hoot to ride.

Scott S · « **Reply #372 on:** June 29, 2020, 03:42:53 PM »

Still have this Suzuki, still not on the road.

I definitely have some carb tuning/fuel delivery work ahead of me.
When riding at normal speeds, part throttle, I could feel a sort of surging. I figured the pilot jets and/or mixture screws needed tuning. It pulls like a banshee up top, but will sometimes stall after a WOT run. Running out of gas, maybe?

I was starting it weekly until I could get to the dyno, and now it won't start. I have spark, so I suspect the vacuum petcock may have failed. There is no PRIME position on this one. I know how to check it....just need to do it. I got really burned out.

I used a DynoJet Stage III kit and went with their 140 main jets (which they measure differently that Mikuni does), their needles and set the mixture screws to 2.5 turns out. I DID NOT drill and tap the slides for the plugs they use. I'm told that's only to slow down the rate of the slides raising.
Knowing what I know now, I would have gone with an assortment of Mikuni jets or the Factory Pro kit.

Plus, the choke cable came loose from the carbs. I need to have one made that is about 2-3" longer. Who does that? Motion Pro?

Any suggestions for a low profile, non vacuum petcock?

Scott S · « **Reply #373 on:** July 06, 2020, 06:48:03 AM »

Dug into the GS/Kat today. The petcock seems fine, fuel flowed like crazy when I sucked on the vacuum line. Plus, the petcock is actually a pretty good size, with a 6.5mm I.D. My guess is that it will flow just fine for the 750 engine. When I cross reference the Suzuki part number, the same cock was used on the GS1000.

Scott S · « **Reply #374 on:** July 06, 2020, 06:51:37 AM »

I got the choke cable back in place. That's a fiddly little sucker, and I don't know what is gonna keep it from popping out again. It could stand to be about two inches longer, so it isn't so tight when it exits at the front of the tank and goes up to the handlebars. I looked at a Bandit 1200 cable, but I don't know if it's any longer, and it doesn't have the spring. I would REALLY be concerned with it coming loose without the spring.

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Author Topic: The Lost Socket Garage (Read 56348 times)