Topic: Vote for Bike of the Month May 2018

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Flatlander’s 1976 CB550F
http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,134863.0.html














Scott S’ 1973 CB500
http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,161158.0.html

20180223_125022 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

20180223_125040 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

20180223_125031 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

20180223_125050 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

20180223_125046 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

Hasenkopf’s Supercharged CB550
http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,152536.0.html

IMG_2354 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

IMG_2355 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

IMG_2356 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

[glenncal1]

Can I vote once for each? Those are 3 nice bikes.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

flatlander, Scott and Hasenkopf,

Please feel free to post a brief summary of your build (what you started with, what you did, any special parts, who helped out, what performance it makes) with any additional photos. 

The last especially goes for Hasenkopf's supercharger.  While we have seen a few supercharged bikes here, we hardly EVER get stats on horsepower, torque and ride-ability.  So please let us know!!  There's some impressive work there, but we want to know how well it improves the bike.

Also, damn you flatlander and Scott for making us all envious of your beautiful Passolini replica pipes!!!  They look and sound great.

[flatlander]

a propos sound...
here's a clip of stationary reving.
and here a video taking it through the gears to redline.

write-up coming soon.

[Bootsey]

The last especially goes for Hasenkopf's castrator-supercharger.  That thing looks downright dangerous -- spinning an unshielded belt next to the beans and frank. 

Maybe it's just me (and feel free to say so if you think), but I feel that post is a little unfair- particularly in the voting page, rather than the build thread.
Whilst the safety concerns you have are no doubt valid & reasonable, if the state of the bike isn't in line with BOTM rules, then maybe it would be better to rule it ineligible prior.
Harald's supercharged 550 (whilst having a more compact design) also has a open, unshielded belt - and that won BOTM without any criticism. Some other nominated bikes have aggressive changes to suspension geometry, or questionable tyre choice, and I don't recall that being bought into question.

Given there are months when it's a struggle to get nominations, it strikes me as a little counterproductive to do so & not necessarily conducive with holding an impartial vote.

At the end of the day, if a man can manage to get his aggots caught in that belt, he might want to look into testicular botox...

[Scott S]

 I started with a '73 CB500 that sat in a leaky, mosquito infested shed since around 1983.





 I contacted the Benelli Club of Spain and had the first set of Passolini replica pipes made  for a CB500/550 in America.




 Swapped in a 2000 Yamaha R6 front end with 43mm forks and CBR600RR rotors.



 Had the entire top end of the 550 engine vapor blasted, shaved .020 off the head for a bit more compression, installed 1.00mm over-sized intake valves and a CB650 cam. The pistons were coated on the crown and skirts. The head was ported and polished and the intakes match ported.








 The frame was powder coated, new bronze bushings installed in the swing arm, tapered bearings in the steering stem and new wheel bearings in the detailed Lester mags. The engine received some polished bits. The frame got a new wiring harness. Ikon shocks went on the rear.




 Had a custom gauge made at Speedhut. The R6 top triple was drilled for risers and 400F bars with new controls were installed.



 A smaller CL350 tail light was chromed and smaller turn signals were added.




 Bodywork was painted in silver with a black Super Sport stripe to mimic the JDM CB750 paint scheme. The stripes are paint, not decals. All badges were NOS.



 A set of CB400F foot pegs were modified to fit, along with the CB400F brake lever and a CB550F kicker.






 NOS seat installed.



 And that pretty much sums it up!

[Stev-o]

a propos sound...
here's a clip of stationary reving.

Sounds great!   Envious of the pipes on these 550's....

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

I started with a '73 CB500 that sat in a leaky, mosquito infested shed since around 1983.





 I contacted the Benelli Club of Spain and had the first set of Passolini replica pipes made  for a CB500/550 in America.




 Swapped in a 2000 Yamaha R6 front end with 43mm forks and CBR600RR rotors.



 Had the entire top end of the 550 engine vapor blasted, shaved .020 off the head for a bit more compression, installed 1.00mm over-sized intake valves and a CB650 cam. The pistons were coated on the crown and skirts. The head was ported and polished and the intakes match ported.








 The frame was powder coated, new bronze bushings installed in the swing arm, tapered bearings in the steering stem and new wheel bearings in the detailed Lester mags. The engine received some polished bits. The frame got a new wiring harness. Ikon shocks went on the rear.




 Had a custom gauge made at Speedhut. The R6 top triple was drilled for risers and 400F bars with new controls were installed.



 A smaller CL350 tail light was chromed and smaller turn signals were added.




 Bodywork was painted in silver with a black Super Sport stripe to mimic the JDM CB750 paint scheme. The stripes are paint, not decals. All badges were NOS.



 A set of CB400F foot pegs were modified to fit, along with the CB400F brake lever and a CB550F kicker.






 NOS seat installed.



 And that pretty much sums it up!

Great write-up, Scott.  This restomod rider is one of my longtime favorites.

[flatlander]

i bought this bike a while back in 2013, after specifically searching for a runner that was in relatively unmolested and complete original state. the idea was to be able to ride it while working on it, and turn it into something that i could reliably use for quick fun rides as well as longer trips - while respecting the original design of the bike.

to start with, it just needed some carb and electrical work, and i also repainted the tank and side covers from the gritty state the PO left them in, to the original candy sapphire blue. then i just rode it to find out what was going on with it.

turns out the handling was compromised by worn wheel and chassis bearings and fork internals so i replaced and upgraded them all. i also got a fork brace made that fits the fork legs of the earlier 550 models as you can't find those on the market.



this dramatically improved the handling and fast forward to 2015, it paved to road to add some engine mods for more power.
the crown of those is a head by mike rieck with his signature porting, including oversize intake valves and a bunch of other goodies.





it's being squeezed by some higher compression pistons, and garnished with a hotter cam.
the original clutch needed replacing and to make sure it would be fine with the added power i modified it to 8 plates while rebuilding it.



also fabricated these mounts for the smaller gill coils that came with the electronic ignition.



so far i had been using the original 4-1 exhaust but the combination of internal rust build-up and the higher breathing needs of the modded engine made it too restrictive.



when scott showed in his build thread the benelli replica exhaust that he had sourced, i thought: this is it! and ordered some.
contrary to scott's experience, and contrary to the manufacturer's promise they were not a straight fit to the 550F model. i had to change the bend of the pipes, heat bend the centre stand to fit around them, and hack off the kickstand that interfered with them.
made up a new kickstand mount and placed it further upfront, which is more tricky than it sounds as the frame tubes are actually so thin that they hardly support anything.



also the original saddle had started to show signs of disintegration so i replaced the foam and re-covered it in original style but in black, which ties in with the black of the frame and the pipes.

so that's the story so far.
the bike is really fun to ride, good performance with 53.9hp at the rear wheel and solid handling. of course, it's also a bit of an eye catcher and i can hardly stop anywhere without someone coming over asking about it



list of ingredients:

pistons: wiseco 59mm 10:1 CR
cylinder top decked -0.004in

MLS head gasket 0.030in

head:
mike rieck porting stage 2.5
decked
serdi cut valve seats
+1mm intake valves
tapered guides
kibblewhite valves/springs/ti retainers

camshaft: megacycle hardweld 126-00
hardweld rockers

intake manifolds matched to ports

carbs: 069A

original airbox, currently with stock airfilter

exhaust: custom benelli/honda RC replica 4-4

ignition: boyer-bransden micro power

relay mod: battery to coils
AGM battery

clutch: 8 plates mod from OEM parts

front brake:
dual OEM discs/calipers
slingshot steel braided lines
speed bleed nipples

fork rebuilt with wilbers progressive springs and seals
t-kat forkbrace

shocks: vintage koni

conical headset bearings

new wheel bearings

swingarm bushings replaced with roller bearings

all rubber parts replaced with OEM (where available)

saddle: re-covered with OEM replica cover from old-skool-covers, re-padded

the build thread is here: http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,134863.0.html

thanks also to all those on here who helped along the way, most of all:
Stev-o, SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan, strynboen, calj737, bwaller, MRieck, Scott S, HondaMan, godffery

[calj737]

Maybe it's just me (and feel free to say so if you think), but I feel that post is a little unfair- particularly in the voting page, rather than the build thread.

I think you misinterpret Don's post. I read it, and I believe it was intended as shock and awe, not criticism. Tone deaf forum text...

I've never known Don to outwardly criticize anyone's work or choices, especially not on a BOTM thread. But, perhaps you're right in that he might want to re-word it since at least one member misunderstood his statement. 

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Sorry, if my comments sound critical.  If you look at the build thread, there was an ongoing humor discussion about the open belt running close by the inner thigh.  Hence, the nicknames.

I think the bike is pretty amazing (shock and awe, indeed).  I also think it might be a tad spooky if you get part of your pants caught in the belt, since mechanisms can be very unforgiving.  That said, it is still a mechanical marvel.  I am perfectly sure that Hasenkopf rides it safe.  Again, I'm sorry if my comments struck an inharmonious chord with Bootsey.

I am also extremely curious what performance gains are possible from a supercharger.  I have yet to see any performance stats on supercharged CB builds.  Harald built a supercharged EFI bike that runs, but we have not seen hp/torque specs on it or others.  Obviously, supercharger's work well on cars and the newer Kawasaki H2 models.  We've seen Drouin supercharger kits installed on CB750 models, but frankly I've cannot remember seeing any performance stats.  Both Harald and Hasenkopf have custom superchargers on their 550 builds.

In case anyone is wondering about the number of photos from the respective bikes, those were the ones available to me to post at the time of the poll.  Some build threads do not contain as many completed bike photos as others.  It should not be interpreted as anything more than that.

[Bootsey]

I think you misinterpret Don's post. I read it, and I believe it was intended as shock and awe, not criticism. Tone deaf forum text...

I've never known Don to outwardly criticize anyone's work or choices, especially not on a BOTM thread. But, perhaps you're right in that he might want to re-word it since at least one member misunderstood his statement. 

Well admittedly, I am a bit of a simpleton, so misunderstanding is a regular occurrence for me. And I 100% agree, the written format does leave tone a bit ambiguous at times.

I'm sorry if my comments struck an inharmonious chord with Bootsey.

Not at all, it just struck me as a little out of the usual.

I can imagine trying to contribute opinions as a daily member & also doing mod/admin duties can't always be an easy task - and I can well imagine yourself & all the other admin must put in countless & probably largely thankless hours. I think BOTM does a great job of showcasing the diverse range of builds here, some of which it can be easy to miss.

[Hasenkopf]

 sorry I don't have anything new to add... too many,  had surgery on my arm again recently.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Congratulations, Hasenkopf on winning BOTM.  Congratulations also to flatlander and Scott S on their beautiful builds, too.  All fantastic middleweight (super sports for their era) bikes!

[flatlander]

congratulations hasenkopf!
and i hope your arm is on the mend.

[calj737]

congratulations hasenkopf!
and i hope your arm is on the mend.

Very magnanimous of you and Scott to "throw" the competition in solidarity of his arm surgery  (See what I did there?)

Congrats to each of you-

[flatlander]

that's how nice we are 

[calj737]

that's how nice we are 

You compete against the nicest people on a Honda 

[Scott S]

 Eff That noise! I wanna win this thing one of these days! Six tries with three bikes and always the bridesmaid,  never the bride! 🤣
 Nah, there's some seriously nice competition here.  And I'm glad we're active enough to have several dozen bikes a year in the running.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

I was hoping that this would be your month, Scott.  Your bike is one of my favorites -- very tasteful and functional, and a cool sleeper!

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Hasenkopf,

How much did the supercharger increase hp and torque?

[Sam Green Racing]

I'm back on form, I voted for the winning bike, hahaha.

Well done all.

Sam

[RAFster122s]

Congrats to all the bike owners, your bikes made it into a BOTM which is an honor, IMHO.

Hasenkopt, congrats on your win.  I liked your bike and all the hard work.

I voted for flatlander's bike.

David

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

I'm back on form, I voted for the winning bike, hahaha.

Well done all.

Sam

LOL! I'm hit or miss myself.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

sorry I don't have anything new to add... too many,  had surgery on my arm again recently.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery and some follow up on what kind of power increase you get with the SC.  I haven't seen any stats from any of the supercharger builds.  I'm curious to see what you get out of them and how much weight they add.