Topic: My CB550F mongrel

[ralt12]

SFC1000. Took it out of its crate in 2001.

[ralt12]

One of the unexpected variations in the rear disc conversion hub I'm using was that it was wider than expected. Apparently this fits with the Honda spacer on the 550K, but not so on the 550F (according to Cognito). When I made the spacer, one of the unintended consequences was that the rod that affixes the brake caliper had to get slightly modified; no longer straight, like on the drum brake, but a very shallow "Z', to move it out a touch. I thought about using Heim joints here, but I thought the look was still appealing. Front wheel arrives this week, and then time to mount tires and get down to business.

[ralt12]

For those guys using UPS to ship parts, they and Fedex are having huge volume increases. My local UPS facility had about 90,000 packages/day during Christmas, and today they are up to 100,000/day, but without the increased staff. My Fedex guy tells the same story. At the same time, my front wheels were out for delivery three times in the last nine days, and now it looks like they may have lost the package (it's day 9 since it was delivered to my local facility). Crazy times.

[ralt12]

After nearly two weeks at my local UPS station, and having received an official " your package is lost" notice, they called me to say to come pick up my wheel. There were so many things that were waiting on the wheel, it was just essential to have it  in order to make any progress. Thanks to Buchanan's for their help (I've done a little business with them, even when they were at their old location). So we can start to address all the little things. Brakes are a little balky going on, but I'm not sure the pads are fully retracted yet. Rear brake strut, rear brake line and switch, handlebar position (clutch is fine, brake is too high, but it interferes with the Honda throttle, so I have to move things around a bit, probably a new locating hole for the throttle. Still don't know if I have to run two small headlights instead of one big one (my preference); the big one interferes with the single instrument, so there is a lot of fiddling to to before I get to the wiring stage. But it sure looks a lot better with wheels.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

That's a clean-looking Ducati 916!

[ralt12]

Thanks for the kind words, SOHC; the 916 I bought new in 1995, so it's been around for a while. It's also one of the reasons I'm building this bike, as riding in traffic is not the most fun for an old guy. So I'm going with the light, maneuverable middleweight that is easier on my old bones.
But I did get my wheel back yesterday (tire was mounted backwards, so you couldn't get the calipers on), and now I have the calipers mounted, the line to the rear disc started (where'd that banjo go?), and the exhaust mocked up--needed to make sure nothing was interfering with anything else. From the looks of it, the rear is too low, so I need to make sure sag is right. That will also help with headlight choice (one or two). The Hindle exhaust (from Ripple Rock) is sublime, really well done. Need to make a bracket for the front fender.

[ralt12]

Like all projects, making things fit together that weren't originally intended for the bike take can time to adjust.I had been using the Euro CB400F bars on the 550, but there are too many things competing for space (particularly the master cylinder from the Yamaha)--so they are really too narrow. I'd wanted to use Messner Moto's switches and mirrors, but I did run into conflicts. I have a spare set of Superbike handlebars that I was going to use on another bike, and they're a good deal wider. Hopefully I can make this one work. The bars say they are 7/8's, but with the powder coating its more like .895, and when Messner Moto says 7/8's, he means 7/8's, so there is some fitting to do. Likewise, with the headlight brackets on one way, it's not wide enough, but flip them over and I need to make spacers. Having fun now.

[ralt12]

I fooled around with the XR-750 bars for a few days. They're wider, for sure, but it's a bit of a stretch (remembering this is supposed to be a comfortable ride). I thought I pitched the stock handlebars years ago, which is something I rarely do, 'cause you never know when you're going to need old stock parts. Then I found them when I wasn't looking for them in my paint materials. Phew ! Anyway, the difference between the Euro CB400F bar, the XR bar, and the stock bar is amazing. The stock bars look like apehangers. But when I tried them out....hmmm.... this ain't bad...
Running all the wiring through the bars was fun, as there are a few extras that the stock bike didn't have. For the front, I'm going with Messner Moto's switches and mirrors, bar end turn signals, the Yamaha clutch lever and master cylinder, and the Moto Gadget large tach/small speedo, with a LCD readout as well. I still have to fabricate brackets for the remote master reservoir and the the small button switch that toggles through the LCD readouts.

[ralt12]

Wouldn't you know that the brake arm won't align with the caliper hanger if you use the Cognito brake line. Even if it did align, the hanger is threaded; I'd have to fab a screw with a larger shoulder on it, or it might come loose over time. I guess fabbing a Heim joint arm is in the cards after all.

[ralt12]

This is the part I like the least. Wiring is not my forte, to say the least. But it's not going to do itself. I'm not sure if I really need the ground block, but I need to get on with the program to see if that's the outcome. I decided to put Rick's regulator/rectifier on the inner fender, which protects the battery and the taillight assembly. It also provides some but not all protection for the electrics. At least it's out in the air, and high enough for no clearance issues. The wiring is just starting, lights first.

[ralt12]

Hit a bit of a slow patch, as the electrics are not obvious when you're trying to put a bunch of different things together, and have everything play nice.
I did find out that my Heim joint solution for the rear brake arm was a non-starter, since the Heim joint is too wide for the opening on the swing arm. Solution: bite the bullet and modify the stock arm. Since it has to be able to move, I couldn't just drill a new hole and bolt it up. It was either make a new bolt or make a bushing that would allow movement. I ended up with this in 6061, and the arm had to get some clearance to allow for suspension movement. Bodywork is at the painters.
Before powder coating the arm:

[ralt12]

Falling into the “fit everything first” category... as it turned out, when I got the chain on and the wheel properly aligned, the modified stock brake arm wouldn’t clear the larger tire, so I had to go back to the heim joint solution.

[MauiK3]

Great project, following.
What is the blue car? Almost looks like a Studebaker from the side.
Got to have music in the shop, nice big vintage JBL's on the bench. Looks like the surround on the woofer is damaged, they can be repaired by the way.

[ralt12]

You hit the nail on the head. '53, Art Morrison chassis, big brakes, 500-ish hp, 2675 lbs

[ralt12]

Now it's starting to look a little better. I picked up the seat, headlight, and front fender from the painter. The tank decals I'd provided him with were pretty old, and not behaving well, so I need to send a new set. Color is 1962 Porsche 356 Ruby Red, and it's darker than it shows here. Progress continues.

[ralt12]

I picked up my tank from the painter, with a clearly better decal. I’m waiting for resistor packs from Hondaman to offset the draw from the Dynas, and I need to fab a front brake remote reservoir mount, plus front brake lines. The last item that gets addressed is the single outlet petcock, and final assembly.

And in today’s mail were the resistor packs. Thanks, Mark !

[Stev-o]

The Stude is cool...and a sleeper!

[flatlander]

is this thing running yet?

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Echoing flatlander, is this a runner yet?

It might be a trick of the camera lens, but that muffler looks kicked outwardly quite a bit.  Have you tested it for lean clearance?