Topic: Starting a rusty '77 CB550K

[Tvag]

Jensk,

Good advice. I'm going to bookmark your post so I can use it when I'm at that point. Also, why haven't you updated your icon? I know your bike looks much better than that now! Riding been good over there?

Ordering a new chain this week from my work. I can get Diamond 530 for cost. Once I have that I can put the back end back together!

A little help. My swingarm has a grease nipple. I left the internal portion of the swingarm alone, taped off the bore, and painted around it. I don't have a grease gun. How can I tell if the swingarm needs more grease? How much do I apply? What kind of grease goes in there? Is it something that probably doesn't need attention?

[jensk]

Hi Tvag.
I will go changing my avatar to reflect that my bike is in running condition. Cosmetics must wait til next winter.

Saturday I am going to stumpemarked (danish for a markedplace for exchange and sale of parts to old bikes and cars) with a friend that I have talket ito buying a CB550. His is a 76 model a much prettier than mine. We're going there on our CB's. Im looking for a new saddle as my present on is hurting my behind when i have been sitting on it for more that an hour.

I hope you keep up your good energy and the will to go on with your project. Please feel free to mail me if you have anything I can help with.

About your swingarm i am not sure. I have needle bearings in my Dresda swingarm. My primary thought is that if there is grease in there now it should be ok for the beginning. When you get it running and want to ride go to a mechanic and get him to press grease into the nipple. When I worked at a garage while studying at university (35 years ago) we allways pressed grease into the nipples until there came fresh grease out of the end of the bearings. I guess the same method could be used with the CB's

/jens

[Tvag]

Hi Tvag.
I will go changing my avatar to reflect that my bike is in running condition.

That avatar is much better. Trust me your bike looks great... especially since it's in one piece. Thanks for the info on the grease nipple. I figure it should be ok for now and once I get it in good running condition I can go back and tidy up anything on the bike that needs it.

[Tvag]

Trying to remove my rear fender. I've got the chrome part off alright but I'm having trouble with the plastic shield it's attached to. Any helpful hints on how to get it out so I can clean it up? Or is it not worth the effort of taking it out and putting it back in?

I'll get some pics of my progress up soon.

[dusterdude]

the 750 has clips on the frame,all you do is squeeze the fender in and it will pop out.i dont know if the 550 has the same setup tho.

[Tvag]

the 750 has clips on the frame,all you do is squeeze the fender in and it will pop out.i dont know if the 550 has the same setup tho.

Yeah, I think it does have the same 'clips'. Thanks. That's how I figured, but I've figured wrong before and I'm thankful for the feedback.

[dusterdude]

your welcome bro

[neil young]

another very interesting thread.you are a madman stay with it.i definatly will be watching for updates

[Tvag]

another very interesting thread.you are a madman stay with it.i definatly will be watching for updates

Neil, Love that bike of yours.  I'm in this for the long haul... no matter how long. I'm coming to grips with the fact that this bike isn't worth the investment I'm putting into its rebuild, but I'm sentimental and take pleasure reviving things others have cast off. Once you add the education (and enjoyment) I've gotten from working on this puppy, the cost is negligable. I've never worked on anything mechanical before so the learning gains have been excellent. My other motivation is the fact that I'VE NEVER RIDDEN! I'm green as green can be. I've got the Motorcycle Saftey Course under my belt and that is it. 12 hours in a parking lot. I'm such a poser. But I can't wait to ride.

UPDATE: Popped the plastic rear fender off last night and washed it. Also cleaned the grim on the engine case that was under the left cover of the bike. Looks 100% better. I'll post before & after pics as soon as I find my camera. Also, reinflated the rear tire and plan on reassembling the entire back end as soon as I clean up the rest of the tail light and rear fender. Once that is done I move up to cleaning the airbox and battery cage. Then onto the front end.

[Tvag]

Some images to tide you over. I know it's been too long since I've posted some. More to come as I get going.

Under left cover pre-cleaning


Under left cover Post-cleaning


bike in current condition

[neil young]

thanks  tvag...i like it to .i was lucky and found that one in my avitar for cheap(minor clean up)i have added a few things to it over the last year .i have a lot of spare parts if i can help you with i will (let me know what you may need)mostly cosmetic stuff.i just added a nos jardine set of pipes.i will add pics later.keep up the good work they are a great bike

[neil young]

 

[pyro139]

wow i took year and half break and miss every thing, back to working on my baby, couldnt read 18 pages so need know is she up and riding?
and ya this forum is amazing 3 years ago i knew nuthing(back when we where on green spun) and now i am at two motorcycles and dont know whar mechanic means
so are you riding the baby yet? mine torn apart again cause rebuilding my ass bobbing my bay now that she runs.

[Tvag]

Neil,

Just seeing what my bike could be gets me riled up. It feels like it's been forever since it was all in one piece. It's been this way so long I forgot it had a tank and seat! ha Thanks for the parts offer, right now I've collected another half a bike in my basement, no complaints from the wife yet!! Thanks to Chris's generosity, I've got a spare set of forks that I'm apparently going to need. My forks are pitted close to the oil seal and will be useless. Quite frankly what I need most is to repaint the frame and engine. That won't be before I get it running and take a ride though! Maybe next winter I'll get brave and do a full frame off to get the painting done.  I'm only taking sections off at a time right now because I desperately don't want to get lost when putting it back together.

To answer Pyro... it ran... but not well and I've never been for a ride. This bike sat for 20 yrs with 5k on it. I'm hoping to have it up and running for the end of the fall. The original plan was for the Summer... I was a little overzealous.  Making some decent progress now though.

[neil young]

sounds good.the offer stands tho if you need something and i have it its yours....good luck

[jensk]

Hi Tvag.
Good to se your doing good progres. I wish it was possible to find as nice bikes i Denmark as the one Niel has. The taxes on bikes in Denmark are around 250% so bikes get used till they are worn out so it is allmost impossible to find beautifull bikes like that.

Since Denmark is situated in what over here is called the rust belt (damp weather and lots of salting of the streets during winter - we have 80 passages of 0 centigrades each winter) all bikes rusts very fast. Thus it is very difficult to find good spares. They are all covered with rust or partly rusted away. This is why Danish classic bike owners are importing a lot og spare parts from the other contries in Europe.

In the rear of your picture I can se your rear wheel. it looks beter than mine does. Maybe i will envy you your beautifull bike when you are finished and posting pictures of the result.
/jensK

[relative q]

Tvag,

Thanks for this thread!  I recently started work on a 77 CB550F that was only in slightly better condition than yours was initially, and reading this thread and seeing your progress has been really inspirational and informative for me.  I, however, decided to do a total frame-off right off the bat because I'm stupid and enjoy biting off more than I can chew.

This is my bike when I got it:


This is my bike as of about a week ago:


Back to stripping off more rust and paint!

[neil young]

here is that muffler tvag.....baffle is a little rusty but still functions

[Tvag]

Any "be careful of..." advice for me as I try to reassemble the rear of my bike? Everything is off the rear of the frame: fenders, lights, grab-bar, shocks, swingarm, brake, chain, left cover and wheel. Do I need a torque wrench for any nuts? What needs to be greased properly? Is there an order for reassembly I should be aware of? I just don't want to make a mistake and damage something. It looks pretty strait forward to me though. Anyone have a bad experience reassembling I could learn from?

Reassembly order:

-plastic fender
-chrome fender
-grabbar
-shocks
-brake assembly
-swingarm
-tire
-chain
-left cover
-chain guard

Thanks guys. After this is done... I attack my leaking and tarnished forks.

[Tvag]

Decided to forgo reassembling the back end. Took the front wheel off and cleaned the rust off the rim and spokes. It was 100 times easier than the rear wheel and in much better shape (phew!). Had it in decent condition within hours as opposed to days. Also removed the forks. The top halves of my forks are in excellent shape but the bottom halves are pitted making them near to useless since they will degrade the oilseals more rapidly. I have a spare set of forks that are rusty near the top but have not a single blemish where it counts. I'll be rebuilding them and cleaning them up as much as possible. So... "Operation Fork Rebuild" will be underway within a week or two. Looking for some good threads and tutorials on rebuilding forks. Advice welcome. I seem to remember a thread someone revived when I first started looking at this site that included a fork rebuild with excellent picures as well as much more. Can't find it now though.

[Tvag]

Orded 2 Leak Proof seals and I've disassembled one of my rusty forks to get a feel for it. Doesn't seem too hard, the toughest part is getting the seal out though. I'll soak it in some warm water which I hope will expand the aluminum enough to get it out. If that doesn't work, then WD40. What tools do I use to get it out? Pliars? Screw Driver? My fingers? It's in there pretty good. Should i just slide out?

[Tvag]

Glad I have spare parts. Decided to pry the seal out of my fork last night... did all the wrong things... got frustrated started forcing things... I should have just stepped back and collected myself... finally forced the seal out with a tire iron and upon successfully pulling the seal out noticed to nice gouges on my fork where the seal used to be. Yup, pretty much made that one useless. Sometimes I guess you have to learn the hard way. They aren't bad gouges, very slight, but the metal is marred none-the-less and that makes a bit of a channel for the oil to get by. I ran a bit of sandpaper over them to see if I could smooth it out without taking too much off. They imporved somewhat but still a problem. Like I said, I have a set of spare forks thanks to the generocity of others on this site. I think this time I'll wrap that iron with a bit of cloth or cardboard or something to provide some protection and I'll be more meticulous. 

Dumbass...

[Tvag]

OK some pics are finally here. I know I've been boring you guys to tears with all this text, and since I want some kind of feedback, here's some 'eye cabbage' to apease you (Notice I didn't say 'eye candy' - because right now it's ugly).

As you know, I've started working on installing new fork seals. I bought Leak Proof seals #7902 35X48X10. I hope these are right. I also got that PVC adapter from Home Depot I can use to install the fork seal (http://www.sohc4.us/forums/index.php?topic=21835.msg226079#msg226079). I need someone to answer this question. What is the circular metal ring that came with my new fork seals as indicated in the image below? Is it to use for installation? Do some bikes need a washer like this? Help me out so I don't F this up. 



Here's another look at one of my old pitted forks that will be useless:



Some cleaning I've been doing ...

Rear Fender Before:


Rear Fender After:


A clean front wheel that took 1/10th the time it took me to clean up the rear:


My old and new ducts for the airbox:


Quick pic of my workshop area:


And for the grand finale, here's Dusty Thunder in her current condition. Tireless and looking angry with me... I should just go for an entire frame-off at this point, but I'll save that for some future winter where I'll have more $$, time, and tools to do it right.

[medic09]

Hey T,

I'm not seeing images.  And NO, you are NOT boring us to death.  This is inspiring and one of the best threads we've got going.  I may be in Stamford in a bit to visit my old mother, and I am sorely tempted to try and drive up just to see your project! 

[Tvag]

Hey T,
I'm not seeing images.  And NO, you are NOT boring us to death.  This is inspiring and one of the best threads we've got going.  I may be in Stamford in a bit to visit my old mother, and I am sorely tempted to try and drive up just to see your project! 

Should be images now. I uploaded them to Kodak the first time because at first I was having trouble with the forums gallery where I normally upload my pics.

When your in CT let me know, if I'm around your welcome to see the mess I've made.

Any idea why those washers came with my fork seals?? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?