Topic: Terry's Effing F2, return of the prodigal SOHC4?

[Terry in Australia]

Well we went from Winter Saturday, Spring Sunday, and Summer today, how good is that? Now tomorrow is a public holiday to celebrate "The Melbourne Cup", a horse race where your ladies and blokes get absolutely sh1tfaced and make d1cks of themselves for the media, who love to film their antics and plaster it all over the commercial TV channels, oh, and apparently some horses are involved, in the background.

Today being a Monday, most of my Public servant work colleagues take the day off, but "working from home" is so close to having the day off anyway, I elected to "work", so I can take all my leave at Christmas. All I did today was log on, respond to a few emails (other states don't get the day off) and just check back in every 30 minutes or so in case I had a priority job that needed my immediate attention. Sweet.

First job was to do a little more JB Welding to fill the gaps on the inside of the damaged area, just for a little insurance. While I was doing that, I thought it opportune to do the F2 tank as today and tomorrow are really good drying days with temps in the 80's. I took the tank off, and put it on the stand, to completely drain the tank.

CB750F2-K0 Mon 2 Nov 2020 2 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr 

I was surprised at how much gas I was able to remove, and yes, I know that a full fuel tank has less chance of blowing than one that's almost empty, but as I was gonna be using an electric drill (set to slow to reduce the chance of sparks) I'd rather an explosion from a couple of fluid ounces of fuel than 4 gallons.

CB750F2-K0 Mon 2 Nov 2020 3 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Back in the day I used to blow up unexploded bombs, and working part time at a gas station, I had access to "out of date" propane BBQ cylinders and the occasional gallon or so of gas to add to say, an unexploded 84mm Carl Gustav ("Charlie Guts-ache") rocket right on dusk (when the range activities had to cease) with a couple of slabs of PE, it would provide a momentary light and sound display that I always found satisfying, but usually pissed off Range Control, who could see the 100 foot flame front from a mile or two away.

But I digress. I used a shiny new step drill to open the front badge pin mounting hole up, then increased the hole size using bigger drill bits up to 10mm.

CB750F2-K0 Mon 2 Nov 2020 5 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

The apparent "bubbling" in the paint is actually just adhesive from the double sided tape that melted when fuel hit it. I've been very carefull to just leave it the fcuk alone since that dreadful day, to give the paint a chance to harden up. I used a right angle seal pick to dig out any crap that was under the badge mounting plate, so I could feed as much JB Weld underneath it, to anchor the stuff in place. I did find a couple of hollow areas when I was picking around, and when I blew compressed air in to blow away any loose stuff, I realised thhat I could hear the air coming back out of the tank?

Wow, so I removed the cap completely, so that when I packed the JB Weld in, I didn't want any air pressure (or gas fumes) pushing air up through the repair, rendering it useless. I used the pick to push the JB weld into all the hollow spaces under the badge bracket, and kept loading the JB Weld in, until I had a little bump over the hole, which dropped a little as it cured in the midday sun. Sweet.

CB750F2-K0 Mon 2 Nov 2020 6 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I had K0 stuff to do, and once I'd had enough for the day I brought the F2 tank back in to the sheltered workshop to spend the evening before I grind off the excess and put the badge back on. More tomorrow.

CB750F2-K0 Mon 2 Nov 2020 9b by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr
 

[Terry in Australia]

Another magnificent day today, with a top temp of almost 90 deg F, (ahead of couple of days of winter again, fcuk it) I wandered outside mid-morning and attacked the F2 tank with my dremel with a sanding disc to carefully remove the surplus JB Weld. I put it up on the tank stand and filled it with gas, well above the badge mount height.

F2-K0 Tuesday 3 Nov 2020 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I left it out in the driveway all day and occasionally checked to see if there  was any dribbling, and I'm happy to report that nothing got past the JB Weld. So far, so good. I was busy building my K0 engine today, so didn't get a chance to put the badge back on (need to grind off the front pin and add some more double sided tape first) but I'll probably do that tomorrow, which will give it another 12 hours or so to spring a leak, but I'm feeling quietly confident that it's all good now, fingers crossed.

[grcamna2]

Terry,with the good effort you're putting into that nice blue F2 tank,inside and out,I think I see victory on the horizon. 

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks Bill, I’ve just checked it again 24 hours on, and no leaks, so I’m happy. I’ll put the badge back on and call it good. I now need to get some new tyres and change out the speedo, tach and ignition switch, and do another short ride before dropping the oil and filter and filling it with some good Castrol 4T.

My new DID chain and sprocket kit arrived, but I might keep it for the K0 to keep costs down, the F2’s sprockets are good but there was some surface rust on the chain that’ll wear off the rollers with use, so I’ll give it a good lube (its an O ring chain so should be ok internally) and see how it goes.

[Terry in Australia]

Well day 5 of the "Tank fix Mk 2" and I've just checked the full tank and am happy to report no new dribbles, woohoo! I trimmed the mounting pin off the badge and added some double sided tape, and remounted the badge. There is a little mark below the badge which I think will buff out, but I won't touch the paint for a few weeks until it's fully cured. So far, so good!

Terry's Effing F2 tank fix MK2 5 Nov 2020 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

[Terry in Australia]

OK, so while I was installing cylinder sleeves into the K0 block, I decided to put the tank back on the F2. I did so, then sat it on it's sidestand so that all the fuel is sitting on the (repaired) left hand side of the tank, and checking it every hour or so, and no leaks, woohoo! Time to get some new tyres, and get ready for the end of the lockdown distance restrictions, and get some rubber on the road. Hmmnn, I might have to repaint those fork lowers while the front wheel is off!

K0 piston - sleeves 5 Nov 2020 9c by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

[Kelly E]

are you going to paint the tail cone while the paint gun is out?

[grcamna2]

That's Very good news with the tank,after so many headaches you've had with it Terry.The rear shocks,are those the 'old school' Konis you're going to rebuild ?

[Terry in Australia]

are you going to paint the tail cone while the paint gun is out?

Thanks mate, that’s good old rattle can paint, and yep, I have the original blue tail cone to match that sidecover in my garage, plus a new repro left sidecover, so I’ll paint them all to match the tank, once the sun comes out again.

[Terry in Australia]

That's Very good news with the tank,after so many headaches you've had with it Terry.The rear shocks,are those the 'old school' Konis you're going to rebuild ?

Thanks Bill, yep the F2 is fitted with Koni’s, but the really old school ones that were on my K0 need to be disassembled, cleaned and painted again, and if I can get them apart I’ll replace the oil and seals. I say “if” because some old Koni’s (especially the alloy bodied ones) are almost impossible to get apart due to electrolysis, so if I can’t get them apart but they’re still damping ok, I’ll just clean them up, paint them, and put them on the bike. Even crappy Koni’s are better than good OEM ones......

[Kelly E]

are you going to paint the tail cone while the paint gun is out?

Thanks mate, that’s good old rattle can paint, and yep, I have the original blue tail cone to match that sidecover in my garage, plus a new repro left sidecover, so I’ll paint them all to match the tank, once the sun comes out again.

My 74' 550 K0 is all Seymore MRO black rattlecan too. then we wet sanded it some.

[grcamna2]

That's Very good news with the tank,after so many headaches you've had with it Terry.The rear shocks,are those the 'old school' Konis you're going to rebuild ?

Thanks Bill, yep the F2 is fitted with Koni’s, but the really old school ones that were on my K0 need to be disassembled, cleaned and painted again, and if I can get them apart I’ll replace the oil and seals. I say “if” because some old Koni’s (especially the alloy bodied ones) are almost impossible to get apart due to electrolysis, so if I can’t get them apart but they’re still damping ok, I’ll just clean them up, paint them, and put them on the bike. Even crappy Koni’s are better than good OEM ones......

I hope you're able to disassemble those good,old Konis on your K0 and then if you don't mind,could you do a disassembly procedure,step by step so I can learn how to rebuild those ?
I have used Hagon shocks and like them(I was told they're originally from the Girling company before Hagon got started,don't know if Girlings were rebuildable..)and also had a pr. of Marzzochi 'Strada' shocks(orange)on a bike in the 80's and They were also rebuildable:I rebuilt them once.I really would rather not use shocks that aren't rebuildable,although they are difficult to find w/o spending Lot's of $ now.

[Terry in Australia]

So today being the last Friday before I'm allowed to start doing decent rides again, I decided that I needed to put some decent rubber on the ol' F2. 18(?) weeks of lockdown isn't just annoying, it's soul destroying, and should be avoided at all costs. Anyhoo while the rear tyre was quite legal tread wise, the front Metzler was as bald as a badger, not to mention that both tyres were probably close to 20 years old, so regardless, they were gonna be removed, and the Effing F2 would be treated to some new tyres. I put it on the centre stand and removed both wheels, and while I had the opportunity I cleaned/etch primed/painted the forks with an old rattle can of satin black quick dry enamel (the quicker the better as it threatened rain all day) and was pleased with the result.

F2 K0 new tyres 6 Nov 2020 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Naturally I elected for Stinko tyres, cheap, cheerful Korean rubber that I've never had a problem with, and far superior to the sh1t that Honda was putting on our bikes when they were new. Believe me, I bought a new CB750F in 1978, and the first thing I did when I could afford it was dump the Bridgestone tyres that it came with, they were rubbish. Sadly I replaced them with Dunlop K81's, (now called TT100's) and they weren't much better.

We still have mandatory mask wearing here in Melbourne, and I must say I was a bit pissed off that I was the only person in the whole store wearing a mask. The store is run predominately by Middle Eastern chaps, and most of the "second wave" of Covid-19 here was caused by people from that same neck of the dunes, but I'd probably be considered a racist if I just came out and said that these d1ckheads don't seem to care, it's all the will of Allah etc, but regardless, I kept my mask on. D1ckheads or not, they were quick and did a good job, and I had another  set put on my K0 rims while I was at it.

F2 K0 new tyres 6 Nov 2020 1 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I'd taken a little time off work to get them on, so I checked back in when I got home but nothing much was going on, so I sneaked back outside to install them. I'd removed the rusty old chain's joiner link to facilitate the removal of the back wheel, and this time I remembered to install the clip facing the right way, and as I don't trust flimsy looking clips, I safety wired it just to make sure.

F2 K0 new tyres 6 Nov 2020 2 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Yes, the chain looks disgusting, but I decided to keep the new DID chain and sprocket kit I bought from that turd in Germany on the K0, so I found a can of spray on grease that I bought years ago and never used, and gave it a squirt, and it wasn't as crunchy afterwards.

F2 K0 new tyres 6 Nov 2020 3 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I's previously written off the rusty chainguard that came with the F2, but after dunking it in phosphoric acid for a day or two, it came up quite respectable.

Terry's Effing F2.2 Sunday fiddling 20 Sep 2020 8 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

F2 K0 new tyres 6 Nov 2020 4 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr 

Anyhoo, the forks are looking good, the tank doesn't leak, and the new tyres are on, so it's pretty much right to go. I'm looking forward to clocking up some miles on the old beast.

F2 K0 new tyres 6 Nov 2020 5 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

[Terry in Australia]

That's Very good news with the tank,after so many headaches you've had with it Terry.The rear shocks,are those the 'old school' Konis you're going to rebuild ?

Thanks Bill, yep the F2 is fitted with Koni’s, but the really old school ones that were on my K0 need to be disassembled, cleaned and painted again, and if I can get them apart I’ll replace the oil and seals. I say “if” because some old Koni’s (especially the alloy bodied ones) are almost impossible to get apart due to electrolysis, so if I can’t get them apart but they’re still damping ok, I’ll just clean them up, paint them, and put them on the bike. Even crappy Koni’s are better than good OEM ones......

I hope you're able to disassemble those good,old Konis on your K0 and then if you don't mind,could you do a disassembly procedure,step by step so I can learn how to rebuild those ?
I have used Hagon shocks and like them(I was told they're originally from the Girling company before Hagon got started,don't know if Girlings were rebuildable..)and also had a pr. of Marzzochi 'Strada' shocks(orange)on a bike in the 80's and They were also rebuildable:I rebuilt them once.I really would rather not use shocks that aren't rebuildable,although they are difficult to find w/o spending Lot's of $ now.

No worries Bill, will do, if I can get the basterds apart!

[Terry in Australia]

are you going to paint the tail cone while the paint gun is out?

Thanks mate, that’s good old rattle can paint, and yep, I have the original blue tail cone to match that sidecover in my garage, plus a new repro left sidecover, so I’ll paint them all to match the tank, once the sun comes out again.

My 74' 550 K0 is all Seymore MRO black rattlecan too. then we wet sanded it some.

Thanks mate, I used to paint cars for spare cash when I was a poor soldier, so I've got compressors, good guns and all the gear still, but I can get a "pro" finish from cheap(ish) rattle guns so I can get a nice smooth finish "off the gun" with no wet sanding required, and definitely no buffing.

[grcamna2]

Terry,I was reading your 'K0' thread and thought you mentioned that the new fork seals you have on these repainted forks are getting torn-up because the forks/lowers are worn-out ??

[Terry in Australia]

Terry,I was reading your 'K0' thread and thought you mentioned that the new fork seals you have on these repainted forks are getting torn-up because the forks/lowers are worn-out ??

No Bill, sorry mate, I meant that the K0 fork tubes are worn out, and I've ordered new ones. The F2 forks are fine.

[Terry in Australia]

Well it was another beautiful day, so after having breakfast and a "blue" (fight) with the wife,  I stormed off took the F2 for a 60 miler before I continued putting the K0 engine together.

F2 K0 Sunday 8 Nov 2020 6 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

The F2 had sat for 10 years and had a locked up engine when I bought it, so I only put cheap Shell car oil in it to flush out the crud that didn't come out in the first oil change. I dropped it out when it was still hot after the ride and refilled it with Castrol 4T 15W-50 and installed a new filter. The clutch had been slipping ever so slightly today (probably due to all those car "friction modifiers") so I dumped it and the filter, and refilled it with Castrol 4T. It's probably just wishful thinking, but it did seem quieter after the oil change. I did notice that the sum total that came out of the bike was 2.6 litres and I put 3.4 litres back in it, so I'm guessing I might have forgotten to fill it right up when I filled it the first time, oops. Oh well, should be good now. I'll keep the Penrite for the K0.

F2 K0 Sunday 8 Nov 2020 5 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr 

Did that, then lapped in the valves and replaced the valve guide seals on the K0 head, and sat it in place. All in all, a perfect day.    

F2 K0 Sunday 8 Nov 2020 9i by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

[grcamna2]

How's that tank doing Terry ?

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks Bill, no issues at all, I filled it again on my way home, all good.

[Terry in Australia]

So as I mentioned a week ago, I experienced a bit of clutch slip. I initially put this down to the friction modifiers in the Shell Helix car oil I used to flush any crap out of the engine that didn't come out when I initially dropped the oil. After 100 miles with new Castrol 4T Motorcycle oil, it was still slipping, so I bit the bullet, and thanks to my mate Fred, "scored" a new set of clutch plates, and dumped them in Castrol 4 T oil for a few days.

K0 F2 Wednesday 18 Nov 2020 2 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Today, while I was waiting to install an oil pump into my new (old) K0 engine, I ratted thru my tubs and found a new set of Barnett heavy duty clutch springs.

K0 F2 Wednesday 18 Nov 2020 1 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I pulled the clutch hub guts out and installed the new plates, then used a trick I developed years  ago to keep the hub together by reinstalling the springs, and some big washers on each spring behind the bolt, lining up the plates so they'd slide into the steel outer hub, and using a pick to rotate the splines on the main shaft, to allow the whole assembly to slide right in.   

K0 F2 Wednesday 18 Nov 2020 3 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Once everything was in place, I used my DeWalt 1/4" rattle gun to (slowly) wind the screws on the pressure plate in, and was happy that I didn't crack the pressure plate. I screwed the outer cover back on, adjusted the clutch, and took the F2 for a lap around the block. All good, the new springs didn't seem any harder than the old ones, and there was no slippage. Sweet.........

[grcamna2]

Hey Terry,what brand plates are those? I bought a small lot of parts on Ebay,which included a new set of friction plates and they look similar to those ones deep in the oil.Did you use the washers on the springs to shim them for more spring pressure ?

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks Bill, I think they are EBC plates, I was given them on Sunday by my mate Fred, and Fred had thrown the box out so handed them to me in the original plastic bag. They were much lighter in color before I soaked them in the oil. I did think about packing those washers behind the pressure plate, but was worried that the lever pull would be ridiculously hard, so didn’t.

I don’t thing slipping will be a problem any more, the biggest PITA now is that the old MC has dripped brake fluid on the right hand side of the tank, so it’ll be getting another paint job, but not until I’ve ridden it some more. Brake fluid ruining paint jobs pisses me off......

[grcamna2]

Thanks Bill, I think they are EBC plates, I was given them on Sunday by my mate Fred, and Fred had thrown the box out so handed them to me in the original plastic bag. They were much lighter in color before I soaked them in the oil. I did think about packing those washers behind the pressure plate, but was worried that the lever pull would be ridiculously hard, so didn’t.

I don’t thing slipping will be a problem any more, the biggest PITA now is that the old MC has dripped brake fluid on the right hand side of the tank, so it’ll be getting another paint job, but not until I’ve ridden it some more. Brake fluid ruining paint jobs pisses me off......

Oh MAN ! That is certainly good content for the 'pissed-off thread' !! That blue tank on your bike has taken lots of work ! I Hate to see a nice paint job messed-up.

[Terry in Australia]

Yeah mate, it is off-pissing, but I need to move forward, so I've made the decision to ride it this summer, and paint it again next year.

Today I'd planned a ride, but wanted to address a few issues that annoyed me last ride. I replaced the clutch plates and springs last week, so no slipping clutch, but the leaking master cylinder was really annoying me, so that was first cab off the rank.

K0 F2 Saturday 21 Nov 2020 1 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I bought a couple of cheapie Chinese ones that look a lot like my Yamaha FJR1300 unit. They were cheap, and actually come with a rebuild kit (which makes me wonder  how poor the quality is that they come with a rebuild kit, but anyhooo.....) but as long as it works, it's a bonus.

K0 F2 Saturday 21 Nov 2020 2 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I had to find a slightly longer top brake hose, and was happy to find a nice shiny new braided line that looked way more "Roadworthy" than it's predecessor:

K0 F2 Saturday 21 Nov 2020 3 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

The new MC came with a brake light switch so I could have deleted the aftermarket stop light switch banjo bolt thingy, but couldn't be bothered farting around re-wiring it, so left it as is. I had to bleed the MC at the top banjo to move fluid down to the T piece that distributes fluid to both calipers, then bleed the T piece junction as well, but no biggie, I finally got a nice firm lever, and as every 60+ year old knows, a firm lever is a thing of joy...........

K0 F2 Saturday 21 Nov 2020 9j by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

Okay, so next problem from my previous ride was the hand grips trying to slide off at maximum warp in some bends, there was nothing more disconcerting than looking down at my throttle hand, and seeing a 2 inch gap of throttle tube between the grip and the switchblock. I installed new "Made in the USA" Oury grips, my fave, after I cleaned everything with Acetone, and using hairspray to glue them in place.

K0 F2 Saturday 21 Nov 2020 9i by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

From that last ride, it was obvious that both the speedo and tach were about as inaccurate as Fox's election predictions, so I swapped out the tach (no problems, apart from the fact that it has a very lazy return spring) but the speedo was a bit more challenging. I've no idea what the speedo is off, (maybe a GL1000?) and it fits in the F2 speedo's "cup", but the little bolts that go thru the cup, are way too short. Bugger.

Ok, so I decided to make some special "nuts". I found a magnificent piece of phosphor bronze bar, and made a couple off these special "nuts"

K0 F2 Saturday 21 Nov 2020 4 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

K0 F2 Saturday 21 Nov 2020 5 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

They did the job.

K0 F2 Saturday 21 Nov 2020 9 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

So by this time it was 3 pm and my chances of doing a 100 miler were fading fast. No worries, I packed up the F2 (after a lap around the block, the front brakes work GREAT!) and did some K0 work. Maybe I'll get a ride in tomorrow? we'll see......