Topic: 1976 Honda CB550

[pjlogue]

Would love to see an instructional thread on the plating. Great work so far man! That does seem quite frustrating about the fork caps. Those are both very reputable companies.... Have you tought maybe its your fork tubes?

No, it couldn’t be the tubes because the caps didn’t fit the old fork tubes or the new but the old caps fit both. The Honda caps went on with no problems. The only thing I can think of is the thread count is slightly off on the reproduction caps. The plating process is pretty much just the way The Caswell Manual says to do it. I will say cleanliness and good prep are a big part of coming out with a good finish.

Beautiful work!  What did you do for the rear brake hub to get that finish?  As for the fork tube caps, use a thread gauge and see if the threads are the same pitch. If they are then it might be a case of the outer diameter of the threads being a touch too wide.  You might be able to knock 10 thou off and see if they fit.  Not an optimal solution for what they cost but might get them functional.  DSS has been very accommodating when I have contacted them.  You might try and email them and explain the problem.  See if you can find a receipt in an email since it's been so long.  They may replace/refund them.  Never know until you try.

-P.

[Xander^]

great job on this build! keep the posts coming

[przjohn]

Would love to see an instructional thread on the plating. Great work so far man! That does seem quite frustrating about the fork caps. Those are both very reputable companies.... Have you tought maybe its your fork tubes?

I am going to have a buddy who has a machine shop take a look at the caps to see if there is an easy fix and put them aside for the next project. The rear wheel is bead blasted with a very fine bead finish in the middle. The outers and the backing plate is polished first with a Tripoli Compound and then a Jewlers Rouge.

No, it couldn’t be the tubes because the caps didn’t fit the old fork tubes or the new but the old caps fit both. The Honda caps went on with no problems. The only thing I can think of is the thread count is slightly off on the reproduction caps. The plating process is pretty much just the way The Caswell Manual says to do it. I will say cleanliness and good prep are a big part of coming out with a good finish.

Beautiful work!  What did you do for the rear brake hub to get that finish?  As for the fork tube caps, use a thread gauge and see if the threads are the same pitch. If they are then it might be a case of the outer diameter of the threads being a touch too wide.  You might be able to knock 10 thou off and see if they fit.  Not an optimal solution for what they cost but might get them functional.  DSS has been very accommodating when I have contacted them.  You might try and email them and explain the problem.  See if you can find a receipt in an email since it's been so long.  They may replace/refund them.  Never know until you try.

-P.

[przjohn]

Back at it again after a vacation to warmer waters. The vacation felt like it went by way too quick, but stepping back into the shop today it feels like I've been away from this project for way too long, the clock is ticking. Today was spent working on the carbs. I forgot how much fun these linkage carbs are. The carbs were disassembled and bagged,each carb body and bowl have been engraved as to their respective carb number for reassembly. The bodies will now be sent to Resto Cycle to be Vapor Blasted. I like the look of the vapor blasted carbs, they look very close to OEM. Prep work will continue on the carb linkage assembly and other carb parts so that when the bodies come back the rack will be ready for assembly.

Carbs ready to ship out Monday,



Bagged and tagged,


I also did some work on the rear wheel. Something has been bothering me about this wheel every time I walked by it. Finally I just said F it. The OEM Dish Washers for the sprocket bolts are NLA so I tried painting the cover plate and just using Locktite but it never looked right to me. The washers came up on Ebay from a guy in Germany and I bought them. I then blasted the paint of the plate and re-plated it in Zinc and installed the new OEM Honda Washers with new nuts. I can now sleep at night.

[Korven]

looks great!

[przjohn]

Prepped the carb plate assembly today. Plated parts and then put a Yellow Chromate finish on the parts that looked that way before. The Yellow parts need to sit a day before working on them as the finish has not set in yet. I don't know why but assume it may be the acid on your hands. All I know is that if you let them sit a day you can handle them without marring the Yellow finish.

The assembly before, you need to drill out the pin on the upper right to disassemble this part.



Parts ready for assembly,

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Nice work!

[przjohn]

Started on left side renovations today and the starter was the place to start. The starter wire had been shorting out so my thinking is this bike was being kick started in it's last days.



I just assumed there was a fitting under the starter grommet, apparently not. It is part of the starter so it was but connected and heat shrunk to new Marine Grade Wire.



This is the cable I like. It is Marine Grade meaning it is Tinned to prevent corrosion and much more pliable that regular wire. You can get it on Ebay per foot for about a buck a foot for 6 and 8 Gauge Wire. You can see the difference between the two in the following photo.






Then it was time to put on a chain. According to experienced riders of these bikes, they don't accept O Ring Chains well. I don't see the wear areas and close dimensions they talk about but I trust their knowledge and will not take any chances with an O Ring, a standard RK - Takasago Chain has been fitted. There was some discussion on a site about direction of the Master Link. Here is a pic of the instructions of the manufacturer showing the closed end moving forward. This is the way I was taught as a dirt bike rider.



Clips VS rivets? I am of the rivet camp. However, this chain being a non O Ring Chain and came with a clip link, I used it. If you are a clip person, this inexpensive Master Link Pliers will make your job much easier.





Also been using some of this inexpensive coiled wire wrap. If you want to protect a wring bundle or just make it look new without cutting into it this stuff works great.



So there is the left side complete. The carbs were waiting for me when I got home today. Back from Restocycle in record turn-a-round time. Of all the vendors I send stuff out to Nils and Restocycle are by far the quickest Turn-a-round. Tomorrow the carbs go back together.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Good wiring suggestion on the marine cable.  The motor looks very tidy!

[przjohn]

This took me all day. If you look at #4 you will see some rust on the linkage arm that I completely screwed up and didn't notice until I was taking the pics, maybe a senior moment? Nobody will ever see it but will I sleep tonight? The Choke Plate Screws were replaced and Loctited. I then take a side cutting pliers and create a divot in the thread on the back side to mimic the factory method, the Loctite is just for the Halibut.



I also cheated a bit and did not re-plate the 2,3,and 4 choke linkages. They were already adjusted and since they cannot be viewed I opted for some time saving as my goal was to have this rack completed today. I did however re-plate the choke actuating lever.



Honda only sells the Plate/Actuator Assembly as one part, they never meant it to be taken apart, there are 3 left on CSMNL and they are going for telephone numbers. In order to disassemble this linkage you need to drill out a pin on the right side. The problem is that you inevitably drill a too large hole for a new pin. I drilled a new 5/64 hole and put a piece of 5/64 drill bit into the hole and left it just shy of the top of the hole. I then took a punch and pinned the bit with punch marks on the Aluminum above the pin. Just to be sure I also JB Welded over the area. The original hole also got a cover of JB Weld to keep out dust and crap.




Also got some other prep work done. The peg mounts were blasted and painted, here they are hanging to dry. I got an Email Friday telling me that the Chrome had shipped and we should see it Tuesday. Busy weeks coming up and my hope is to be test running within 2 weeks, just waiting on paint which should be soon, fingers are crossed. Thanks for following my build.

[Korven]

It's coming along nicely. What kind of paint did you use on the footpegs?

[przjohn]

It is Rustoleum Gloss Black.

[DanJ]

We going to take these things out for a ride this spring?

[przjohn]

If Spring ever gets here. 

[MauiK3]

Looking forward to seeing this one complete and nominated for BOM!

[przjohn]

Lots of stuff going on, so lots of pics. The Chrome and Paint both came in this week so that sets up a lot of stuff to be assembled. First off was getting the carbs assembled to the manifolds, airbox, and air filter. All new clamps and of course a new filter. Battery box got installed at the same time.





Then came the kick stands and the rear brake linkages, along with new foot peg rubber and springs. The pins were Zinc Plated.







Opened up the David Silver Exhaust and found this guy,



The exhaust instructions were by CMSNL and were as about as useful as tits on a Bull. Since this bike came with a ratted out 4 into one I had nothing to go by for a stock look, I also had to order a David Silver stock mount kit that had these instructions, "Here is your kit, good luck" but that's OK I figured it out. What I didn't figure on was looking at the instructions and reading that they, "Suggest" you replace the rubber equalizers on the mufflers. WTF are Rubber Equalizers? I spend this kind of cash and now you are going to **** me around about a couple of pieces of rubber hose and some clamps, F-U. Went to the hardware store and got a couple of dishwasher to garbage disposal adapters and cut them down. They will work fine for now and I am ordering the correct parts but WTF.







The paint came out prefect! Wayne at K&W Custom Auto in South Windsor CT did a great job, I couldn't be happier. The color is Porsche Speed Yellow and is a great Yellow. I am letting the parts cure for a week in a heated area before I start working on them.



Yes, there are 4 side covers. I like the look of the 77-78 Side Covers and may use those. They will need some tab modification but nothing big. When Wayne saw them he said, "screw it ya got plenty of paint we'll do all four and see what you like"






Will be working on the wiring tomorrow and hopefully will be able to start the motor next weekend.

Thanks for Following Along.

[jakec]

Slow down! I'm trying to catch up.

[Mark1976]

Ya really gotta love it when a stock bike comes back together!!!

[przjohn]

Started on the wiring and the day went slower than I would have hoped. When I laid out the new harness next to the old harness there were 2 differences that screwed me up. The old harness had a Zenor Diode attachment point where the new harness didn't. The new harness had a 5 pin Red plug that the old harness didn't. I wasted some time on what is a simple difference. The new harness from David Silver appears to be for a 75 where they used a thing called a Starter Safety Module, (fancy name for a relay) and in 76 they went to a Zenor Diode for obvious costs savings. In a nutshell either way lets you either have the bike in Neutral or pull in the clutch to engage the starter. The simple fix for this would be to just splice in the Zenor Diode I have into the Yellow/Red and Green/Blue wires, though I may look for a plug and play relay.

The Zenor Diode of the old harness next to the Red plug of the new harness.



Another slow down was trying to mount the new Solid State Rectifier Regulator Combo. I like electronics, they are much more reliable than 40 year old electro mechanical regulators, especially if you are using a Lithium Battery. Problem is there ain't a lot of room under that side cover. Well, after wasting an hour and a half trying to make a bracket that didn't work I took a better look at the real estate. Plenty of room on the other side in the battery box, so the fuse block got moved over there and the RR Combo went in it's place. Always nice to have the side covers available when you do stuff like this to make sure stuff fits.





The fuse block now in the battery box. It will get mounted after the Antigravity Battery comes in this week. There should be no problem room wise with a Lithium.



New Coils, Horn, and Ignition Switch got wired in too.

[Stev-o]

Great work and write up!   A little surprised you are going w/yellow as everything else appears to be stock.
What is the plan for the bike when done?

[przjohn]

Great work and write up!   A little surprised you are going w/yellow as everything else appears to be stock.
What is the plan for the bike when done?

I just don't like the OEM Brown they were made in that year, I also have a thing for Yellow bikes and cars. The only other mod is the handlebars will be low bars and the drilling of the front disc. The bike will be a rider.

[jakec]

Are you still going to do the oem style decals?

[przjohn]

Are you still going to do the oem style decals?

Yes the emblems and decals will be stock

[Stev-o]

Great work and write up!   A little surprised you are going w/yellow as everything else appears to be stock.
What is the plan for the bike when done?

I just don't like the OEM Brown they were made in that year, I also have a thing for Yellow bikes and cars. The only other mod is the handlebars will be low bars and the drilling of the front disc. The bike will be a rider.

Got it, I don't care for the brown either.   I have a project 550 bike with brown bodywork but will get Sunrise Orange paint

[seanbarney41]

Yeah, I like the brown better when it fades to green.