Topic: 1976 CB550F Cafe Racer

[rlarkin70]

I posted some info and a before picture of the bike I just bought in another thread. I have started the project, and right now I'm taking the bike apart. Mostly I am just cleaning parts, removing any rust, replacing some cotter pins, lots of cleaning and polishing. The bike looks great, and I am not even sure I will drop the engine from the frame. My goals are to get it running, safe, with a new paint job, and with some cafe style. I will post some pictures as I go along. I have lots of detail shots because I am relying on them for re-assembly. But I will post just the overall pictures as I progress with things. Here is a shot after a couple evenings of work.

More to come...

-Ron

[rlarkin70]

well, so far I have taken off the back end. cleaned up all the parts and pieces. there was 30 years of grime, dirt, and grit back in there and it took a while but it cleaned up nicely. touched up some paint on the back half of the frame. cleaned up the shocks, rebuilt the rear brake, and some other fun stuff. I've decided to leave the center stand off to save some weight and "clean up" the bike a bit. not sure about the mounts...I might cut/grind them down, or leave em on. I'll go with one of those paddock/bike stand things for when I leave it stored in the garage, or work on the back end. I've always thought center stands looked a bit clunky, and hardly ever use them.

now it's time to put together the back end, and dig into the front. clean up all the wiring (it was a spaghetti mess in the headlight), rebuild the brake, put the drag bars on, fix a broken headlight switch, and other stuff.

then it'll be cleaning/rebuilding the carbs, timing, plugs, and getting it running. then ride!

-Ron

[FunJimmy]

Ton of fun eh Ron.
I'll be doing the same thing this winter too.

I'll keep posted

Jimmy

[del105]

Just leave the mounts for the center stand on you can barely tell their there unless you get down and look for them. you might want the center stand back some day.

[freezingprocess]

Go Ron!- You and I are in the same exact boat, hundreds of miles apart. I'm in New Jersey, and just bought a '76 CB550 to tear apart and cafe over the winter. We should keep an eye on each other's projects. Godd luck man- looks/sounds good so far.........

-Chris-

[rlarkin70]

I used a hacksaw to take off most of the centerstand mounts and the spring catch. Tonight I am going to take a grinder and clean it all up, then touch up the paint. Yeah, I could have left them on...but that's just not my style. If I take off the centerstand, it's all coming off. I am going to be banging some knee dents in the tank, cutting fenders, changing some of the lighting...so basically the bike isn't going back to being stock.

yup Jimmy, it is fun. =)  What are you working on for your winter project? Is it also a 550?

Chris- cool. I look forward to seeing your progress too...make sure to post some pictures. Do you have an F or a K? maybe we can learn a bit from each others successes, and (hopefully not too many..) mistakes.

[FunJimmy]

Ron

I'm going to be doing a cafe project on a '77 CB550F.

I've been accumulating parts all summer long and am just starting the project now.

The long list includes:

Upgrade to 2000 Yamaha R6 front end with CB550 spoked wheel
Install clip on bars
Rebuild wheels with wider alloy hoops
Upgrade front brake to full floating 300mm rotor with 6 piston caliper
Install Dresda rear swingarm and Works shocks
Pound knee pockets in tank
Build café seat
Fabricate rearset controls
Rebuild engine top end

The list continues to build every day, but that is what I’d ultimately like to complete this winter.

Cheers
Jimmy

[rlarkin70]

wow, you are going all out. that's going to be some 550. I look forward to watching it all come together. I think over time I might add some suspension upgrades to my bike, and put a dual front disc brake on it. but initially my budget is less than $1000, including the purchase of the bike. I still think it will turn out pretty good.

I'm going to be hammering knee inserts in my tank too. doing that this weekend. I have my deadblow hammer all ready to go, but still a bit nervous about taking those first swings at it!

-Ron

[Short Round]

Jimmy will the front end of an R6 match up with the 550?  I'm interested to know because I am wanting to upgrade my front end as well.

[freezingprocess]

Ron

It's a K. If you go to my profile, I have a link to my gallery there. It's been a little slow-going so far. (waiting for some greenbacks to fall in my lap). I'm about to do a top end rebuild on the motor, and start painting and polishing some stuff. In the end it'll be:

4 into 1 exhaust
relocate electrics and battery (no more side covers)
bobbed front fender
rebuild wheels(new stainless spokes),master cylinder, caliper, drill rotor
clip-ons and rearsets
cafe seat and tank
new gauge faces (made those already),headlight mount, and turn signals
everything else either painted or polished

Should be expensively fun!


Post some pics of that tank when you're done too. I've been thinking about taking a hammer to mine, but I haven't been able to bring myself to do it. Good luck man!!

                   -Chris-

[FunJimmy]

Ron

I tested the knee pocket procedure on an old 750 tank that I had laying around and it seems to go quite well. I didn’t use the deadbow hammers though. I took two (large & medium) rubber mallets, ground round with a belt sander or an angle grinder with sand disc. Rubber mallets are softer and don’t leave the hammered finish that you see in the examples on this site. You’ll be pleasantly surprised how easy it is.

Little Italy

I’m not going to hijack Ron’s thread, but I posted some early details back when I was gathering specs for the conversion. I’m currently in the middle of the conversion and some more details are coming out. I’ll likely start a project thread soon, but you’re welcome to contact me sooner if you wish.

http://www.sohc4.us/forums/index.php?topic=19599.0

Jimmy

[rlarkin70]

Hey Chris-  I hammered in the knee dents in the tank, and it was a lot easier than I thought. It took less than 15 minutes. I used a deadblow hammer (24 oz.) that I picked up in the bargain bin at Northern Tools for $8. It has a metal end, and plastic...I used the plastic. Before I took apart the bike I sat in the riding position and marked with tape the outline of my knees. Then I cut out a template from cardboard to match, and used it to draw the outline with a Sharpie on each side. I started in the middle and gave some good whacks. It was different that I expected...it wasn't so much making a series of small dents as it is caving in sections in the middle, and then using the edge of the hammer to work around the outline.  A few small tweaks to match up the sides, and I was done. One thing to note: you can see from the side picture that the front of the indents extends ahead of the drawn outline. This is because of how the tank folds in when you hammer it, so take that into account. Now I just need to strip off the old paint, and prime/paint the tank and side covers. Still thinking about doing it myself, or sending to a painter. I'll probably do it myself.

-Ron

[freezingprocess]

That looks great man! That fast too, huh? I think I'll be hammer-smashing my tank as well in the near future. I did some more searching here and other people have had an easy time also. Thanks for the pics- very encouraging. 

[forwheeldrift]

nice job on the tank!
keep the photo's coming

[rlarkin70]

A bit of progress to report...nothing major but it's coming along. The back end is finished, and back on the bike. I have the front end and all the wiring and electrics off. More cleaning, rebuilding, and fixing little things. I did notice one of the forks was bent, so I found some other ones I'm going to use instead.

Took the carbs apart, and they were thoroughly cleaned and rebuilt. Replaced the main jets, the slow jets were completely clogged and I got those cleared up, replaced fuel tubing, o-rings, and float bowl gaskets. They are ready to mount back on the bike.

Re-did the main electrical panel to use blade type fuses, since the connections looked sketchy and the main fuse had melted the plastic at some point.

Did some "body work" on the tank, filling in some dents and the badge mounts with Bondo and sanding. Put a coat of primer on it. Primed and painted the side covers, and some other pieces like the headlight case and triples. Touched up the paint on the frame and polished it up.

Now it's time to start putting the wiring harness and electrics back, and put on the forks and front end. Most of the dirty work is behind me, and now the fun part begins as it starts to take shape.

More to come.....

-Ron

[rlarkin70]

More progress made. The nice part is that the bike is back on its own two feet. I found some forks from a CB500T and put them on, using the original triples. Lots of cleaning, polishing, and rebuilding. I replaced all the engine fasteners with stainless ones. Wiring harness is back on the bike and connected to the main panel. Plus all the little things you can't see, but need to get done.

Next on the list is to finish sanding and prime/paint the tank, put on the headlight and wire everything up, mount the controls, gauges and cables, and put new foam on the seat and re-cover.

-Ron

[rlarkin70]

Finally, it's starting to look like a bike again. I got the exhaust mounted, tank is painted and mounted, checked the points gap and valve clearance adjusted, plugs changed/gapped and plug wire contacts cleaned up, and rebuilt the airbox. The airbox-to-carb rubber boots were mended instead of replaced. Using some rubber cement, tire patches, and some "shoe goo" type stuff I fixed a couple tears, and they are air tight. One day (Phase 3?) I will replace them with a new set.

I am just finishing up the controls. I replaced the Hi/Low beam switch, and the horn and starter buttons since they were not in good shape. I will mount the controls once I finish soldering up the leads, and connect the throttle/grips. Then put the carbs/airbox on the bike, connect the final wiring in the headlight, and do a few final things. Oh yes, in the picture the seat looks funny because I just have the seat cover sitting on the foam/frame which I am in the process of shaping, and then attaching the new seat cover.

I still want to chop the rear fender a bit and tuck in the tail light behind the seat. I also want to add some turn signals front/rear, some of those small but bright ones. And add some kind of white racing stripe or trim to the tank. I like the low-gloss all black look, but I think some white accents will set it off better. I am happy I did the knee inserts because they ended up looking really sleek. Anyways, this last stuff is all "Phase 2" which will happen in a couple months. Right now, the goal is to get it running well, and RIDE IT.

Shouldn't be long now!

-Ron

[rlarkin70]

Well, I have officially had the bike out for it's maiden voyage. It started up right away with a quick blip of the starter, and settled into a nice 1000rpm idle. Very smooth motor.  I just took it around the block a couple of times, put a couple miles on it, and it ran great. I did run into some problems: for one the front brake is being rebuilt, so rear brake only at the moment. Also, the clutch was not quite disengaging properly, and after tearing it apart I discovered that the clutch plates the PO used were the wrong type! So, I am going to (hopefully tonight) order a new set of clutch discs. The front brake should be rebuilt and on the bike this week, and the final items are getting checked off the list.

I just repaired the foam on the seat, and recovered it...and it turned out nicely. Lots of little things to go, but once that new clutch is in it will be ready to ride. I am still really wanting to tuck that tail light in and chop that back fender. I am working on a new mounting bracket for that now.  Also, I changed my mind and put K&N pod filters on it instead of the stock airbox. I have new jets for those arriving this week. As you can see, no turn signals at the moment. I would like to put some on there, and I am just looking for the right ones....something small and bright.

Getting closer and closer...

-Ron

[Spikeybike]

very nice  , i was thinking of doing drag bars on my f .
how is the ride position?

[rlarkin70]

Great. It had clubmans on it when I got it, and I much prefer the feel of the drag bars to those. With the stock position of the footpegs, the clubmans just didn't work.

I had a CB550 with stock bars, and that was a bit too upright a stance for me. These feel a lot more natural, for my riding style.

But let me add, that it is a bit tricky to run the clutch cable, and position the stock master cylinder with the drag bars. It's tight.

-Ron

[ZetecOwns]

Just wanted to say I saw your bike over at dotheton.com, and you've inspired me to pound out my tank in the very near future (perhaps this weekend).

You did a great job on the tank, and now on this site I see the rest of the bike is following suit. I'll keep an eye on your project, as I like where it's headed!

[rlarkin70]

Thanks CB. Good luck hammering your tank! I know the purists think it's blasphemy, but it really does feel better when you can tuck your knees in. That stock Super Sport tank is pretty wide. Plus it looks sleek. Post some pics of your tank when you get it done.

As for where the project is headed, stay tuned. Phase 1 is almost done, and once it's running good and I've put some miles on it, Phase 2 will be when it really comes together into a unique bike.

-Ron

[StrongPerf]

Beautiful project Ron. I like your work and can appreciate you've kept it cheap. The seat looks great. Where did you get the foam? It came out awesome. I'm looking forward to see the rest of you plans come to pass!

[rlarkin70]

Beautiful project Ron. I like your work and can appreciate you've kept it cheap. The seat looks great. Where did you get the foam? It came out awesome. I'm looking forward to see the rest of you plans come to pass!

Thanks. I really like the work you are doing on yours, too. Those type of modifications are well beyond my skill/tool level but they look terrific.

As for the seat, check out this thread, about half way down the first page. I posted some info on the foam and method, and also a link to the place I got the seat cover from.

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=19130.0

-Ron

[rlarkin70]

My goals are to get it running, safe, with a new paint job, and with some cafe style.

So quoting myself is pretty dumb, but since I have completed what I set out to do, Phase 1 of the project is officially FINISHED!

I managed to get the clutch working OK, until I get a new set of discs, and possibly some new springs. It's rideable and doesn't slip. Also, as you may notice, no front brake. I am in the middle of rebuilding the front MC, but was so nice out today, and since EVERYTHING else is finished, this morning I took it out for it's first REAL ride.  put about 25 miles on it. now I will go over everything again.

It's very quick, plenty of power, enging runs and idles perfectly. takes a short while to warm up though. I'm running K&N filters, but 100 main jets. I have a set of 110s on order, and will swap them out. I might also need to adjust the needle clip position, and/or the bleed screw. the bike is GREAT from 5K+ RPM, but if I am cruising around at 3 or 4K for a bit, then open it up, it hesitates and seems to bog down for a split second. otherwise, fast...pulls strong from 6K+.

you can see the rigged up Zip-tied headlight switch. I usually just leave it set to on, seems to start fine even on hi beam.

Time for some new tires, I hear Dunlops are good. I'm looking for something classic looking, but also sticky I have run Metzlers before, they were decent.

Anyways, thanks to everyone for all the assistance! Im happy with how it turned out. I will take a pause with the thread until I have made some more progress on Phase 2. First, I will take some time to just enjoy and RIDE. Then....eventually....

-new tires
-chop the back fender
-turn signals
-a better mirror or mirrors
-new gauges or faces
-new master cylinder and dual front disc brakes
-cosmetic/paint changes
-different side covers
-sealed battery

To be continued...

-Ron