Topic: 1978 cb750k- and so it begins

[Alan F.]

Have you picked out the clear coat for your frame?

[Dime]

Have you picked out the clear coat for your frame?

No I haven't. I maybe am having it powder coated clear. Not sure . Really depends on funds

[Alan F.]

Something fuel resistant that won't wash away or discolor if fuel or oil gets on it is where I'm going with this suggestion.

[Dime]

Something fuel resistant that won't wash away or discolor if fuel or oil gets on it is where I'm going with this suggestion.

Makes sense. Would probably have to order something like that as I can't see getting it locally

[Alan F.]

I understand the 2K clear is really good, but I've never used it. I've read it's nasty stuff and respirators and full paint suits are recommended. You don't even want to expose your skin to it.

[Dime]

I understand the 2K clear is really good, but I've never used it. I've read it's nasty stuff and respirators and full paint suits are recommended. You don't even want to expose your skin to it.

I am not setup for painting so I think to do it properly I would want to hire someone to paint it or do powder coated. I think i prefer powder coated

[Alan F.]

I'm not up on the latest clear powder coats, I'll bet there's something to fit your needs these days.

[Dime]

This bike is my inspiration for the raw frame. I won't be going all black with the engine. I plan to do brushed aluminum looking covers on the engine.

[Alan F.]

Cool. I'm not sure about the exposed welds, but thats me. Getting it done your way is the goal.

[Dime]

Cool. I'm not sure about the exposed welds, but thats me. Getting it done your way is the goal.

That is actually what I really dig. Warts and all kinda muscle bike

[Alan F.]

Perfect then. Is your seat as wide as stock or is it narrower showing off the frame rails?

[Dime]

Perfect then. Is your seat as wide as stock or is it narrower showing off the frame rails?

Sorry friend, I missed your reply. The seat uses the original seat pan but the foam has been narrowed. So no it doesn't really show off the frame rails.

[Dime]

Finally got the other neck bearing and race on order. It is coming from the UK. Hopefully should be here this week. My buddy is going to help me install the races and triple tree when it gets here. It looks like it should all bolt up perfectly, but will have to wait and see.

In the meantime my new bars showed up and I am pretty pumped about them. Ideally I wanted a set of twisted z bars like I had years ago but I couldn't find a set less than $200 plus shipping. I think these will do nicely.

[Alan F.]

Looks good.

[Dime]

Looks good.

Thanks man.

[Dime]

Ok. So I am getting close to mounting the front end so my attention is towards sorting out the front wheel.

The stock setup uses a speedo drive gear. I want to use a digital speedo and tach, so I want to eliminate the drive gear. I don't have the drive gear either way.

I do however have the adapter and circlip that goes behind the drive gear on the left side sitting on the bike.

I want to retain the adapter but what I am thinking is that I will have the portion that was engaging the drive gear removed and just retain the base of the adapter.

I can then have a spacer made to sit between the bearing and the fork. I would just have to find a seal to ride on the spacer and fit the wheel. This is the way the otherside of the wheel is setup with the spacer touching the bearing and the seal riding on the spacer.

Does this make sense? This is my first time doing a custom setup so all input is much appreciated. 

Pics to follow in this post and the one after.

[Dime]

Pic of my wheel with adapter

[Alan F.]

Yes, you can probably yank that speedo drive adaptor right out of the wheel and measure OD for a seal. Then I'd look at ebay for seals with that OD and an appropriate thickness, I'd guess your custom spacer will have the same OD as the spacer on the other side of the wheel, so use that as the seal's ID. I'm not sure how you'll decide the length of the new spacer.

[Dime]

Yes, you can probably yank that speedo drive adaptor right out of the wheel and measure OD for a seal. Then I'd look at ebay for seals with that OD and an appropriate thickness, I'd guess your custom spacer will have the same OD as the spacer on the other side of the wheel, so use that as the seal's ID. I'm not sure how you'll decide the length of the new spacer.

I don't think I want to fully remove the adapter because it sits on the bearing and is retained with a circlip. Which I believe keeps the bearing from walking.

Not 100% positive on measuring the length of the spacer yet but if my memory serves me correctly I believe the chopper guys would get cheap pvc tube and use that to mock up the spacer first. So basically trial and error. Then have the proper spacer machined.

[Alan F.]

I don't think the circlip is there to keep the bearing from walking. There should be a spacer between the bearings' inner races, adding your two outer spacers against the bearings' inner races and clamping them between the forks with the axle should do that job. One of the bearings has its outer race against the bottom of its bore, the other bearing might be "floating" that's a pretty common way of aligning (indexing) a brake disc.

[Dime]

I don't think the circlip is there to keep the bearing from walking. There should be a spacer between the bearings' inner races, adding your two outer spacers against the bearings' inner races and clamping them between the forks with the axle should do that job. One of the bearings has its outer race against the bottom of its bore, the other bearing might be "floating" that's a pretty common way of aligning (indexing) a brake disc.

So basically if I knew the length of the spacer I could have one machined to match the spacer on the other side. Then just get a seal to match od of wheel and od of spacer. Eliminating the adapter all together?

[Alan F.]

Yes I think so, not as complicated as working around parts you don't need.

[Dime]

Yes I think so, not as complicated as working around parts you don't need.

Sweet man. Thanks for the help.

[Alan F.]

And you can get creative with the shape and OD of the spacer in order to use a less pricey seal. Top hat shaped spacer with the wider part in the seal, and a correctly sized bit against the bearing, with the rest of the spacer (shaft of the top hat) same diameter as the other side spacer.

Or taper it like a shot glass and dremmel on some artwork.

[Dime]

Well, well, well, three holes in the ground.

I spoke with a customer service representative months ago with all balls and they told me which bearings to order for my conversion. Turns out the bearings are no good. I called all balls this morning and spoke with a tech, which probably cost me a fortune as I don't have US calling, only to be informed that they never had a conversion for what I am trying to do and that the tech should of never told me those part numbers.

So now I am out $160 plus and I had to source my own bearings off measurements. Fortunately the bearings I needed were $30 shipping in.

Only problem is the bearing for the bottom part of the stem is only available in 30mm, the stem is 28mm. So now I need to get a 2mm sleeve pressed on to make it work.

Oh my. Nothing is strait forward. That being said as far as I know this has not been done before so it is to be expected that it would not be as easy as pie.