Author Topic: if you're gonna lay over your cb550F... (Read 1544 times)

paulages · « **on:** January 30, 2007, 05:51:16 PM »

do it on the right side. i hit a patch of gravel in a right turn last night (we get a couple of inches of snow here, and there's gravel on the road until april...), and laid my bike down pretty hard. i got up, rubbing my right hip, and ran over to hit the kill switch. oil on the ground scared me (fell out the breather tube?), but after returning the bike to it's upright position, i couldn't find anything wrong with it. i walked around it, confused, and then fired it up and rode the two more blocks home...with the rear brake pedal a couple of inches too high.

this morning upon better inspection, it appears i got away with a barely scraped right handle, scuffed up outside header pipe, lightly scraped brake pedal, and...a bent brake stop (the tab on the frame), from when the brake pedal took almost all of the impact. you have to look hard to notice any damage.

i've got a pretty decent hipper (thanks to the rivets on my jeans and my leather jacket, no lost skin) and i'll have to heat and bend that brake stay back in, but it could have been much worse. .the left side doesn't have much to protect the serious stuff...

HITMAN · « **Reply #1 on:** January 30, 2007, 05:57:35 PM »

Paulages, glad to hear your ok. Watch out for the west hills and inner clackamas.

If you need any help let me know, I'm MIG, TIG, Heli and O2-C2H2 friendly.

paulages · « **Reply #2 on:** January 30, 2007, 06:01:37 PM »

i'm fine...the funny thing is, i've been paranoidally (is that a word?) careful because of the stupid gravel. the street i usually turn on is fine, but i accidentally turned a street early.

how much for some TIG lessons? i have a setup at my disposal in my shop (rose quarter area), but don't know what the hell i'm doing. me and billy are working on making aluminum tanks, but learning how to weld aluminum is obviously a major hurdle.

Uncle Ernie · « **Reply #3 on:** January 30, 2007, 06:02:57 PM »

What the hell is going on around here?! There's entirely too much of this crap floating around here ! ! !

Uncle Ernie · « **Reply #4 on:** January 30, 2007, 06:04:33 PM »

...and tell me how you're learning to make aluminium tanks.

HITMAN · « **Reply #5 on:** January 30, 2007, 06:11:30 PM »

How bout a big NADA, I may need some help. Going to take an old MC tank and hack it up to use the rear section to fab a cafe tail section, I am hoping the tank and tail will have the same lines, angles and look more OE with a frenched taillight.

Hmmmmm, aluminum.........

EDIT: I'm just over here offa SE Woodstock just above Reed.

paulages · « **Reply #6 on:** January 30, 2007, 06:24:04 PM »

Quote from: Uncle Ernie on January 30, 2007, 06:04:33 PM

...and tell me how you're learning to make aluminium tanks.

we're currently taking a sheet metal fabrication class, and are building an english wheel, etc. in our shop.

jabbadeznuts · « **Reply #7 on:** January 30, 2007, 06:39:23 PM »

Sorry to hear about the crash. $:-\$

You've got a shop? I might just have to come up and swing by.

paulages · « **Reply #8 on:** January 30, 2007, 07:57:04 PM »

not a public shop...just a big garage with 6 other friends. almost all SOHC's---there's a "corner of shame," with some awful yamahas, and one guy's got cb350 twins (sold him my last one), but the rest are all 550's and 750's. most post here.

cafe75-550 · « **Reply #9 on:** January 30, 2007, 11:49:15 PM »

The biggest thing with aluminum is keeping it insanely clean. Otherwise the crud floats on top of the puddle and obscures your view of everything until your puddle falls through the metal onto the floor. Kind of a bummer that it doesn't glow red hot either...That and AC with a high frequency to break up the oxidation and you're good to go! (TIG welding anyway)

Metal quality is pretty important as well, new stuff makes a big difference over say, post-war British stuff...

CrisPDuk · « **Reply #10 on:** January 31, 2007, 12:36:26 AM »

Quote from: cafe75-550 on January 30, 2007, 11:49:15 PM

Metal quality is pretty important as well, new stuff makes a big difference over say, post-war British stuff...

To be fair most post war British aluminium came from scrapped aircraft and the like, and there was a pretty good excuse for it's higher than normal lead content

cafe75-550 · « **Reply #11 on:** January 31, 2007, 12:52:22 AM »

Quote from: CrisPDuk on January 31, 2007, 12:36:26 AM

Quote from: cafe75-550 on January 30, 2007, 11:49:15 PM
Metal quality is pretty important as well, new stuff makes a big difference over say, post-war British stuff...

To be fair most post war British aluminium came from scrapped aircraft and the like, and there was a pretty good excuse for it's higher than normal lead content

I didn't intend to be anything but fair! There were plenty of legitimate (and unfortunate) reasons for its quality, and I've spent plenty of time welding up old Healey alloy to keep the original stuff on 'em.

But its definitely not the easiest stuff to weld.......

ProTeal55 · « **Reply #12 on:** January 31, 2007, 02:41:35 PM »

As Heffy said, everyone needs to stop riding unitll the streets get clear again.. $:-\$

TwoTired · « **Reply #13 on:** January 31, 2007, 10:25:18 PM »

The saying goes their are two types of motorcyclists, those that have been down and those that will be.

May you always be the have been and never will be again.

Cheers,

paulages · « **Reply #14 on:** January 31, 2007, 11:25:07 PM »

thanks, lloyd. i'm a very cautious (paranoid) rider, but i guess it's going to inevitably happen from time to time. i'm hoping this one will buy me a bit of time. within a millisecond of going down, my first thought was, "#$%*, i just trashed my bike two blocks from home"...

by the way, i think i may have "dragged a knee"...

Bob Wessner · « **Reply #15 on:** February 01, 2007, 05:33:08 AM »

Quote

by the way, i think i may have "dragged a knee"...

Please, don't anyone pick-up on this.

paulages · « **Reply #16 on:** February 01, 2007, 10:00:31 AM »

i'm just kidding.

tramp · « **Reply #17 on:** February 01, 2007, 02:56:46 PM »

i live on a gravel road and i never get used to it
the moment i do i know the bike will teach me a lesson
my bike is smarter than me
it knows when it's going to lay down

medic09 · « **Reply #18 on:** February 01, 2007, 03:14:27 PM »

Quote from: tramp on February 01, 2007, 02:56:46 PM

i live on a gravel road and i never get used to it
the moment i do i know the bike will teach me a lesson
my bike is smarter than me
it knows when it's going to lay down

medic09 · « **Reply #19 on:** February 01, 2007, 03:17:25 PM »

Quote from: Bob Wessner on February 01, 2007, 05:33:08 AM

Quote
by the way, i think i may have "dragged a knee"...

Please, don't anyone pick-up on this.

I would if I could, but I just snorted dinner out my nose!

News:

Author Topic: if you're gonna lay over your cb550F... (Read 1544 times)