Topic: Middle Of The Road 550 FASTBACK

[Sano]

I’m getting excited to be nearing final assembly of my ‘74 550K0 and want to thank all who have helped me get to this point. For this basket case I needed to learn a lot to get it right the first time and have relayed in large part on the good advice from folks like Hondaman, MReick, bwailer, TwoTired, and Calj737
  I wanted to use as many original parts as possible and concentrate on restoring or upgrading all components with an emphasis on tuning, reliability, comfort, and style.  You all can let me know if I succeed.
  Every project needs an origin story, right?  This is a tribute to my old friend David McMurtry(deceased) who lent me his shiny new 74 550 to take my girlfriend out on a date long long ago.  We had a very memorable time on and off the bike and I like to think that 550 had something to do with it so here’ to you David!
  Suspension:  New springs, fork tubes, seals, “emulator” valves, air preload valves, fork brace, steering bearings, swing arm bushings and Hagon shocks. 
  Frame:  de-tabbed & smoothed tig welded @ downtubes and brackets @ rearsets mounts (Terozzi) & under rest of tank.
  Motor:  .5mm overbore, decked, new valves, tappets, rocker arms, CB650 cam, all new seals, MLS head gasket, chains and bumpers and adapted CB650 primary chain tensioner (thanks wailer).  Hondaman ignition, Dyna 5 Ohm coils, Honda OEM points, new low mileage spark adv. with shortened advance springs, Drilled clutch basket (thanks Hondaman), Match ported intake manifolds, mild porting, Delkevic 4 into 1 exhaust and 42 tooth rear sprocket.
  Style:  adjustable “Jota” style bars, bikini fairing, Speedhut GPS speedo, handmade seat w/ gel insert (attaches with rare earth magnets), handmade fiberglass rear cowl, bobbed fenders, Black metal-flake w/gold stripe paint inspired by 5.0 liter mustang paint, silver frame paint, powder coat wheels w/ stainless spokes and a boatload of polishing.
  Reliability/usability:  All new wiring loom connections and added relays, Electronic Reg/Rec, Full size AGM battery, Coated tank, rebuilt carbs, fully restored stock intake system and paper filter (big PITA). Kept plastic inner fender and modified stock chain guard, SS brake lines, modern Master Cylinder and scintered brake pads.
  Any comments welcome, I hope I can provide some useful information to others as I continue to learn about these (as Hondaman put it) simple machines.  Cheers
 

[SF]

Nice work you’ve done to your machine. More pics and make sure you post a vid of it starting up!


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[Sano]

  OK, SF, here you go. Spent some time in the shop today.
  First Photo:  After checking main bearings (.0015”) dropped in the the crank with new OEM seals, new primary chain, cam chain, starter clutch with new primary drive bumpers and the primary and secondary transmission shafts.  I think it is a low mileage motor (no bruised or abused fasteners, very clean interior case walls, gears and shift forks show no signs of wear)
  Second Photo: MLS head gasket embossed oil holes at top of decked head (no rubber o-rings are going to be used in counterbored holes - I think ??). To get OEM o-rings in I would need to slightly increase the head gasket o-ring hole but not so much as would disturb the embossed sealing ring.
  Third/Fourth photos:  home made rear LED turn signals made from thin wall tubing (cheapo Bar-B-Q legs) laminated together with epoxy paste.  The profiled washers that sit behind were the trickiest part.
  I have done a bunch of painting and guess what I f#&$ed-up.  The painting........of the frame.  So now sand and re-do. The hurried I go the behinder I get

[seanbarney41]

What, no cafe tail hoop?   Uhhgg, this bike sucks!






Just kidding...that tail section is beautiful and tasteful.

[Sano]

Seanbarney41, Thanks for the compliment, I was trying for a smooth transition between the seat and rear fender.  I did not mention you in my short list of helpful posters but have appreciated your input on several issues of discussion.
  I chopped the stock frame cross brace and made a new removable brace that is lower profile and re located to work with the fiberglass cowl.  The GPS speedo receiver is below the cowl but can “see” through the fiberglass.  Still trying to figure out how it will be painted, maybe a 2-tone silver with a Honda logo.

[Sano]

Waiting for some Hondabond to close up the cases so time for some glamour shots of all the shine pieces before assembly.

[SF]

Lookn good!


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[Sano]

Finally finished my 550 after about 1 1/2 years. Done with tedious tuning.  Now I have pretty plugs at all throttle ranges (I got the “Deluxe” Keyster tuning kit).  It’s nice having a range of needles and all jets to work with. The Keyster brass worked great for me (some have reported less than stellar results)
  Spent time to get the timing spot-on helped by trimmed advance springs, zero run-out on the points shaft, genuine Honda OEM points and my E-Bay dwell meter & induction timing light. I love my Hondaman ignition module, it is the very best ignition option IMHO.
  My friend has a bone stock 550.  When we do roll-on acceleration comparisons I think my 650 cam and mild porting is what allows me to pull quite a bit harder in the upper RPM ranges.
  Anyway let me know what you all think, I am pretty happy how it turned out, just need some quality rubber and some break in miles before I really wring it out.

[Sano]

Some photos while everything is clean and shiny!

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Very nice job on this bike.  How does it run??

[scunny]

As said, nice job. what are those mounting brackets for the Tarozzi rear sets ?

[Sano]

SOHC racer:  It ran shockingly well from the get go with jetting guidance from my friends bike (we live at 6200’ elevation) and careful clear tube float setting & carb sync.  Very tight final drive with added cb650 primary chain tensioner modded to fit (thanks for  the idea BWhaller) and all new chains and shock rubbers.  This bike is FUN and sounds great with the Delkevic exhaust.

Scuny:  I splurged on Tarozzi rear sets and fork brace.  Those mounting brackets for the rear sets are aluminum cast brackets that are part of the purpose built set.  They put the pegs in the perfect location, not too high or too far back.  With the Raask adjustable bars the ergonomics are very comfy.

[Stev-o]

Nice job!  I'm nominating you for BOTM....

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,180400.0.html

[Sano]

SteveO,  Thanks, I am happy to accept.  Guess I should post some better photos from on the road, these are not very good.

[Stev-o]

SteveO,  Thanks, I am happy to accept.  Guess I should post some better photos from on the road, these are not very good.

You'll have to accept on the voting thread and plz post good pics on the voting thread next month. Good Luck!

[Sano]

todays ride

[Sano]

trying to get my GPS speedo working correctly

[Sano]

Its hard to photograph the sublimated Honda wing on my rear cowl.

[Sano]

Around here (Southern Utah) just about every business is closed and this is our peak spring tourist season

[Sano]

I looked a long time for that exhaust tip, not sure how much I like it.

[Sano]

Some "befores"

[scunny]

Bike looks great, I would throw that exhaust tip in the rubbish, but, it's your bike, if you like it, keep it.

[Sano]

I finally got some quality rubber for my bike after a disconcerting loss of traction at the rear end.  I read here the Avon AM26 is a good all around tire and should inspire more confidence.  Anyone have experience with these tires.
  A vexing problem I am having is the carb bowl overflow tubes can unexpectedly puke gas when parked (bike is stored level). It seems to do it all at once rather than steady drip.  I have checked float levels and cleaned and inspected float valves.  When Ihad the tank off overnight I realized gas was getting past the pet cocky even though it was turned to off.  Do these peacocks normally leak a little or do I deed to pull it and inspect.  It is a new part.  I am dreading pulling the carbs again.

[flatlander]

the petcock should not leak. also if it leaks, the float valves should shut off fuel into the carbs bowls. unfortunately, i think you'll have to go over both.
start from the top down: tank totally clean, petcock good - incl. that in-tank fuel filter, fuel lines correct and with no inline filters, fuel leve in carbs, etc.
these are pretty common problems. post here what you find and we can walk you through it.

[Stev-o]

I finally got some quality rubber for my bike after a disconcerting loss of traction at the rear end.  I read here the Avon AM26 is a good all around tire and should inspire more confidence.  Anyone have experience with these tires.
 

Yes, I have Avon's on my Kawasaki Z1.  Great tire!  There have been reports a couple years back that the sidewall had develop premature cracks, but I have not had that issue.
I'd bet a few bucks that you will like them.



Disclaimer: not recommended for off-road use!

[Sano]

Flat lander,  Thanks for the input, I will pull and drain the tank, inspect the petcock and report what I find.  I think you are right to start there.  All float valves/seats are new but I guess they are not up to holding back the pressure head of a full tank of petrol.

Steve-O,  Really nice looking Kawasaki.  One of the few vintage bikes I would like to build one day.  They look so good in stock trim.   I’m sort of stuck on Honda’s for now.  I’m glad to hear I chose a decent tire, so much questionable tire info out there.  Waiting for some motion pro levers and rim protectors so I don’t mess up my powder coated rims.  The ancient tires that came with my basket case project have full tread but are hardened and far away from the sticky end of the spectrum as I discovered when the rear end decided to skate on a pretty mild corner.

[Sano]

  So, I found out the cause of my carb float valve leakage after removing and disassembling the peacock.  I figured it was something simple and it was.  The spring steel retainer that holds on the peacock lever and pushes it against the rubber gasket with the 4 holes was a little bit too loose.  After I tightened it up a bit the gas leakage problem went away.
  Next problem is a new Avon tire causing a front end vibration.  The bike was totally smooth with the old tire and 1 1/2 oz balance beads.  After trying many many time to re-seat the tire on the rim I now think it might be caused by slightly too large or folded tube so off with the tire(ugg) and re mount with a new tube from DSS.  The other nagging issue is a front end clunk when going over hard edged speed bumps.  It’s not the head bearing which was ridden-in and re tightened so I am going to pull the forks apart (ugg #2) and replace the split bushings with replacements also from DSS.  I can’t think of anything else that would cause the clunk short of totally worn out sliders.  The fork tubes are new.  Any ideas guys?
  My almost new Scorpion AGM battery stopped being able to crank the motor even when fully charged.  It drops to 7V when a load is put on it.  It has been maintained on a battery minder since new so not sure why it failed so quick.  I thought I would try a MOTO Batt next time.  Any recommendations.
  Just when I think it is sorted a new gremlin pops up but I think I am pretty damn close to a trouble free toy.

[Little_Phil]

Not a fan of leaving batteries on tender/minder for long periods. Just connect for 8hrs once every 3-4 weeks if not being used.

[flatlander]

  So, I found out the cause of my carb float valve leakage after removing and disassembling the peacock.  I figured it was something simple and it was.  The spring steel retainer that holds on the peacock lever and pushes it against the rubber gasket with the 4 holes was a little bit too loose.  After I tightened it up a bit the gas leakage problem went away.

that fixes your petcock, not your carbs.
the float valve in the carbs should shut off fuel inflow so that even if you keep constantly feeding them, the level never goes above the set float level and does not piss out of the overflow tubes.

[Sano]

I did remove the one #3 float bowl of the carb that was leaking out the overflow.  The carbs were on the bike and thankfully the bowl screws were Allen head but getting the float valve in place to re-install the float required a funky plastic home made tool.  What I found was a tiny flake of metal in the bottom of the float valve body.  Even with the pet clock left on overnight no more puddles so I think I can put it to rest.

[flatlander]

indeed, sounds like you can rest at ease 

[Sano]

I think I have all gremlins vanquished!
  My front end vibration was a tube inside my new Avon tire that was too big a size for the slightly smaller metric sized tire.  It was bunching up and causing a heavy spot.  Those damn balance beads are a big PITA to get into the tube and make it impossible to static balance so lead weights this time around.
  I put new bushings on the fork sliders in my search to stop front end clunk on speed bumps.  I would have done it when the forks were getting their emulators, air valves, etc. but did not know they were available from D.S.S.  The new bushings installed were 1mm larger O.D. So did tighten things up.
  The clunk turned out to be topping out.  I used 170cc of fork oil when I put them back together but then learned if forks are “dry” after rebuild to put in 220cc.  The extra 50cc helped minimize the clunk.  When I reassembled the forks this time I followed this tighten down sequence and got smoother travel.
1. Slide in fork tubes to exact same height
2. Tighten lower triple pinch bolts
3. Install wheel and brake caliper - axle cap bolts lightly snugged
4. Take bike off stand/lift and bounce fork w/ front brake on to align
5. Tighten axle bolts first
6. In my case tighten fork brace second (see photo of brace crossover piece mounted to fender
7. Tighten alloy top triple brace pinch bolts.  Don’t overtighten these bolts or you can cause stress fracture.

I am running 10 pounds air pre load and progressive springs cut down to be flush with top of fork leg so only pre-load is the distance the fork plug extends into fork leg.  I are 3/4 of travel on an average ride and have never bottomed out.  The front end feels planted and predictable in fast turns and NO VIBRATION, much nicer.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

How did you affix your Tarozzi fork brace to your front fender -- or are those just relief cuts so that the two can independently affix to the forks?

[Sano]

SOHc4Fan,
  The fender mount was a bit of a head scratcher.  This might sound confusing but I will do my best to explain. I didn’t want any exposed fasteners going through the fender and if I cut away the sides of the bobbed original fender I could get the fender down nice and tight to the tire but how to attach??
  I basically made a 3 sided “box” of aluminum plate.  The two ends of the “box” have a radius profile to match the underside of the fender.  The bottom of the “box” is where it bolts up to the crossover plate on the Tarozzi fork brace. There are two holes on the bottom of the “box” that have captured nuts on the backside which puts the nurs inside the “box” between the mounting plate/bottom of box and the underside of the fender.  The whole mess is held together with high strength and super sticky epoxy paste glued up to abraded metal on underside of fender.  It is very solid.  The hardest part was locating the holes in the fork brace precisely.  They are countersunk for s.s. Flat head machine screws so no alignment adjustability.  I can remove the fender quickly by just pulling the 4 fork brace crossover plate attaching screws, it comes of with the fender attached. Does that make any sense?

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

SOHc4Fan,
  The fender mount was a bit of a head scratcher.  This might sound confusing but I will do my best to explain. I didn’t want any exposed fasteners going through the fender and if I cut away the sides of the bobbed original fender I could get the fender down nice and tight to the tire but how to attach??
  I basically made a 3 sided “box” of aluminum plate.  The two ends of the “box” have a radius profile to match the underside of the fender.  The bottom of the “box” is where it bolts up to the crossover plate on the Tarozzi fork brace. There are two holes on the bottom of the “box” that have captured nuts on the backside which puts the nurs inside the “box” between the mounting plate/bottom of box and the underside of the fender.  The whole mess is held together with high strength and super sticky epoxy paste glued up to abraded metal on underside of fender.  It is very solid.  The hardest part was locating the holes in the fork brace precisely.  They are countersunk for s.s. Flat head machine screws so no alignment adjustability.  I can remove the fender quickly by just pulling the 4 fork brace crossover plate attaching screws, it comes of with the fender attached. Does that make any sense?

I struggled with the combination of the fork brace and fender on my 1975 CB550. I ended up rebuilding my forks using 1977-78 lower stanchions which allow you to mount the fender and brace independently but closely together. So yes I can appreciate the problem you had to solve. You had to engineer a solution with the existing parts where I kind of cheated by using different parts.   

[Sano]

SOHC4Fan,  I do like trying to solve some of the figment problems that pop up.  Right now I am fabricating a small custom rear rack/bag for carrying things like a small tool kit, phone, etc. I have a clear idea of how it SHOULD work but have not worked out a few troublesome details.  I was deep into trying to get the fender mounted and thought I might have to toss the whole mess into the bin.  Perseverance usually pays off but the memories of the big FAILS can give me pause.  Your solution sounds less nerve wracking.
  Let me ask you a question about your forks since you have the same bike.  My forks top out with a clunk over sharp edged speed bumps, an ugly sound. Do you know of anyone addressing this annoyance?

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

SOHC4Fan,  I do like trying to solve some of the figment problems that pop up.  Right now I am fabricating a small custom rear rack/bag for carrying things like a small tool kit, phone, etc. I have a clear idea of how it SHOULD work but have not worked out a few troublesome details.  I was deep into trying to get the fender mounted and thought I might have to toss the whole mess into the bin.  Perseverance usually pays off but the memories of the big FAILS can give me pause.  Your solution sounds less nerve wracking.
  Let me ask you a question about your forks since you have the same bike.  My forks top out with a clunk over sharp edged speed bumps, an ugly sound. Do you know of anyone addressing this annoyance?

I would double-check your fork oil level.  When my forks were rebuilt with RaceTech valve emulators, the fork oil needed time to settle/move past the valves to fill; in other words, there was a "false" full.  Initially, there was not enough oil in the forks and the forks did bottom out.  Once additional fork oil was added, the problem was resolved.

[Sano]

 I’m replacing my front LED turn signals with wires the thickness of a human hair.  The attachment to a bullet connector was not reliable/strong enough to survive inside the headlight shell. My cheap Generic handlebar switch for headlight/starter broke a second time so trying another one.  Aftermarket controls are either expensive OEM clunky, expensive CNC’d jewelry or Chinese crap.  Anyone have any recommendations for good switchgear?
  I can now appreciate the new Avon roadmaster tires without the out of balance front wheel.  Much quicker turn in and no weird transition zone when cornering as well as sticky rubber.  A huge improvement.
  Bike feels “finished” for now, I finally got the perfect tension throttle spring, not wrist numbing and positive return. The throttle response is great in the magic 7000 to 9000rpm zone and very smooth.  The Delkevic silencer is a bit loud for my taste but don’t know of a good alternative muffler that would fit the 2 1/2” diameter collector.
  I am starting fabrication of a custom rack for a small bag to carry a few tools, phone, rain gear and some water.  Cutting out all the parts with the required accuracy will be a slow painful process but I don’t want a tank bag so I will see what I come up with.