Topic: Dad's 1978 Honda CB550k

[RAFster122s]

You are initiated into the fish oil fork oil club. Hopefully the fluid had been changed at some point, but doesn’t sound like it. The fish oil that Honda first used reeks to high heavens…as you found.
 Congrats on the fork seal replacement…

[joegeis]

You are initiated into the fish oil fork oil club. Hopefully the fluid had been changed at some point, but doesn’t sound like it. The fish oil that Honda first used reeks to high heavens…as you found.
 Congrats on the fork seal replacement…

Thanks, I hate it.

Also, thought it was interesting that my fork internals were different than what was in the manual, and what I have seen others have in Youtube videos. It was still clear and obvious how it worked, but it was different. The seals and boots still worked fine.


I completed the steering bearing job this weekend as well, which went pretty smoothly. I needed to buy a 23mm and 30mm socket (my adjustable wrench wasn't doing the job), and make a bearing driver out of 1.25" steel pipe, but it was no big deal. It was very crusty and I'm glad I decided to take on this step!


I also dropped the wheels off at the powder coating shop, although I was floored they said their backlog was 2-3 weeks right now! I might have time to dig into the transmission and find where that missing tooth came from while I wait. I might try to do the wheel bearing replacements on the hubs in the meantime too. (Not sure if I need the weight/leverage of the whole wheel in order to get the old ones out).

[grcamna2]

The wheel bearing service job is easier when the wheels are all together.

[BenelliSEI]

Those headstock bearings are in the original grease. Good thing you went in there.

[joegeis]

Sandblasting shop just called, and the wheels are done. It's only been 5 days, after they said 2-3 weeks, so what a good bit of news! I'll pick them up and take them to the bike shop to get laced and tires mounted tomorrow!

That said, I really need to get after that swing arm! And I'm STILL waiting for the new master cylinder in the mail 

Finally, I have a problem after reconnecting the turn in the headlight housing. My wires look original, (light blue and orange per the diagram) and I swear I have it hooked up correctly, but the signals do not blink! When I turn on the blinker, they stay solid. I tried reversing the connections, and they still stay solid! What could be causing this? The rears are blinking as they should.

[grcamna2]

Joe,check to be sure your front signals have a good Ground/earth path to the frame;the ground connection does go through the steering bearings so if you just greased tapered rollers,they may need to be tightened a little. I'm second thought,the main harness green ground wires in the headlight need to be hooked-up to the frame ground further down the frame and they will ground through there;possibly dirty connections on some of the wires..

[willbird]

You are initiated into the fish oil fork oil club. Hopefully the fluid had been changed at some point, but doesn’t sound like it. The fish oil that Honda first used reeks to high heavens…as you found.
 Congrats on the fork seal replacement…

I remember my dad changing fork oil in my K2 when I was a kid, but any reeking fish oil :-).


Bill

[joegeis]

Joe,check to be sure your front signals have a good Ground/earth path to the frame;the ground connection does go through the steering bearings so if you just greased tapered rollers,they may need to be tightened a little. I'm second thought,the main harness green ground wires in the headlight need to be hooked-up to the frame ground further down the frame and they will ground through there;possibly dirty connections on some of the wires..

I think this has to be it. I will take a closer look at how they are grounded tomorrow.  Thank you!

[newday777]

The grounds are in the headlight bucket, are attached to the nuts, #16, that the bucket is bolted, #18, to the ears, which have the turn signal stems, that the ground goes through to the turn signals. From the grounding nut to the turn signal us all metal to metal contact. Simplistic design.

[calj737]

Make sure you drill out the stakes on the rear wheel before removing the bearing retainer. AND, the retainer is left hand threaded.

[joegeis]

Make sure you drill out the stakes on the rear wheel before removing the bearing retainer. AND, the retainer is left hand threaded.

drill out the stakes? I don't understand what you mean.

And thanks for the tip on the reverse threading! That has not come up in any of the videos I've watched on this process and would have been a real obstacle!

[newday777]

Make sure you drill out the stakes on the rear wheel before removing the bearing retainer. AND, the retainer is left hand threaded.

drill out the stakes? I don't understand what you mean.

And thanks for the tip on the reverse threading! That has not come up in any of the videos I've watched on this process and would have been a real obstacle!

Staked is a punch in the retainer threads to keep the retainer from unscrewing. You will need to drill each punch mark with a drill so you don't ruin the threads.

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=156682.0

[newday777]

https://support.common-motor.com/hc/en-us/articles/360033777672-Honda-CB350-CB360-CB450-CB550-Wheel-Bearing-Replacement-Front-Rear

[joegeis]

https://support.common-motor.com/hc/en-us/articles/360033777672-Honda-CB350-CB360-CB450-CB550-Wheel-Bearing-Replacement-Front-Rear

oooh, ok, got it!

I finally got my new master cylinder, and was able to get the brake pad and piston out. It was really stuck in there. I had to super heat it and beat on it with a hammer while pumping before it started to wiggle loose. I'm going to soak it in some evaporust tonight and give it a really good clean tomorrow and see how it looks.

I picked up the rims and dropped everything off at the repair shop to get laced, trued, mounted and balanced. So sometime next week I'll get the wheels back and be able to do the bearings and then get tires back on the bike! The rims looked amazing powder coated black. I think it will look really slick with steel spokes and black rims. I can't wait to share a picture here. Tomorrow is swing arm bushings day (which reminds me, I need to throw them in the freezer tonight!)

[RAFster122s]

Evaporust I expect won't do much... Take brake cleaner and a brass brush to scrub it. Brass won't damage the aluminium.

[joegeis]

Evaporust I expect won't do much... Take brake cleaner and a brass brush to scrub it. Brass won't damage the aluminium.

Yep, that worked pretty well. I did have to take some super fine sandpaper and wet sand off some of the corrosion to smooth it back out again, but it looks pretty good!

I did remove the swing arm today, and got the pivot bolt and sleeve out, but I CANNOT get those (plastic?) bushings out!!! I heated it up, soaked it in break free, and tried punching it out with a screwdriver and the pivot bolt. The thing is starting to crumble, but it isn't budging. The inside lip is pretty chewed up now, and I can't really get a good purchase to keep trying to punch it out. Is there a secret here that I'm missing??



Also, my Ikon suspension showed up earlier than expected!

[grcamna2]

Evaporust I expect won't do much... Take brake cleaner and a brass brush to scrub it. Brass won't damage the aluminium.

Yep, that worked pretty well. I did have to take some super fine sandpaper and wet sand off some of the corrosion to smooth it back out again, but it looks pretty good!

I did remove the swing arm today, and got the pivot bolt and sleeve out, but I CANNOT get those (plastic?) bushings out!!! I heated it up, soaked it in break free, and tried punching it out with a screwdriver and the pivot bolt. The thing is starting to crumble, but it isn't budging. The inside lip is pretty chewed up now, and I can't really get a good purchase to keep trying to punch it out. Is there a secret here that I'm missing??



Also, my Ikon suspension showed up earlier than expected!

I like those Ikon shocks 
Which model shocks are they ?

[joegeis]

They are the Basix

Also, I found a few threads with some ideas on getting these bushings out
1. cut threads into the bushings and fashion a makeshift slide hammer to pull it out
2. use a hacksaw to cut away a portion of the bushings (makes me nervous!)

I have a tap and die set I've never used. I'm actually wondering if I cut deep enough with it, if I can just cut away enough material to weaken the bushing to the point it crumbles when I beat on it...

I will experiment again tomorrow!

[grcamna2]

They are the Basix

Also, I found a few threads with some ideas on getting these bushings out
1. cut threads into the bushings and fashion a makeshift slide hammer to pull it out
2. use a hacksaw to cut away a portion of the bushings (makes me nervous!)

I have a tap and die set I've never used. I'm actually wondering if I cut deep enough with it, if I can just cut away enough material to weaken the bushing to the point it crumbles when I beat on it...

I will experiment again tomorrow!

I've done the hacksaw to the bushings before;it works well,but takes lot's of patience at the end. 

[joegeis]

I got the buggers out using the ground down washer trick! They gave up easier than I expected, once i was able to provide even force with the washer. I got one new bushing in easy, and the other I'm waiting to freeze up again. It didn't go in easy and I got scared of it getting stuck halfway in, so I aborted!

Meanwhile, the rear shock lower bushings - are these supposed to rotate? Or are they simply to reduce the diameter of the hole? If the later, I don't see a reason to replace them. 

[flatlander]

the rear shock bushings don't rotate. they do reduce the diameter but also have a rubber cushion between the inner and outer shell. on my bike, i replaced them as a matter of principle because 45 year old rubber will be pretty hard... but it's not essential to do.

[joegeis]

Productive day today!

- Swing arm bushings and pivot shaft reinstalled and packed with grease
- Swing arm reinstalled on bike
- Replaced old springs with new Ikon progressives
- Installed new Ikon shocks
- Installed new front brake master cylinder and steel hoses
- Mounted the headlight housing (which fixed the grounding issue and the turn signal issue)
- Removed the turn signal alarm

I'm almost out of things to do until I get the wheels back and can get the bike off the stand. I need to go buy some different bolts for the rear shocks, as they are slightly different from the Honda shocks. I can also work on cleaning up more rust from the fenders and exhaust while they are off the bike. I could also I know I still need to get into the gear box, but mentally, I feel like i need to get some parts back on the bike before I take any more apart!

[Stev-o]

Good day!

[grcamna2]

Productive day today!

- Swing arm bushings and pivot shaft reinstalled and packed with grease
- Swing arm reinstalled on bike
- Replaced old springs with new Ikon progressives
- Installed new Ikon shocks
- Installed new front brake master cylinder and steel hoses
- Mounted the headlight housing (which fixed the grounding issue and the turn signal issue)
- Removed the turn signal alarm

I'm almost out of things to do until I get the wheels back and can get the bike off the stand. I need to go buy some different bolts for the rear shocks, as they are slightly different from the Honda shocks. I can also work on cleaning up more rust from the fenders and exhaust while they are off the bike. I could also I know I still need to get into the gear box, but mentally, I feel like i need to get some parts back on the bike before I take any more apart!

Yes,open-up the bottom of the engine and have a look at your transmission before putting the bike back into service;it will save you a costly break-down out on the road somewhere..

[joegeis]

Got the wheels back from the shop. The look fantastic! I got the front wheel bearings removed and replaced with the All Balls set. As I was putting it back together, I realized the shop mounted the tire backwards though! Going to have to pause and take it back monday to have them flip it around. I double checked the rear wheel, which is correct. Tomorrow I'll work on the rear wheel bearings


Once that's done and the wheels are back on the bike, I'll fix the oil pan leak and then start digging into the gear box to find my where my loose tooth came from.  Once I find it, can I replace just a single gear? How does that work? Is there any other maintenance or upgrades I should do while I'm in there?

EDIT - I did some googling on the gearbox, and I misunderstood. I thought the missing piece was from the clutch plates, which is not the case. You guys meant from the actual GEARS. In order to get to that, I have to pull the engine and completely tear it down, right? Every video I've found has the engine out and completely dismantled to get to the gears. That said the missing piece definitely looks like this piece from a video: