Author Topic: A total beginner's CB550F resurrection... (Read 40412 times)

Hush · « **Reply #25 on:** June 09, 2008, 12:35:22 AM »

Give yourself a break man

that is awesome work you've done. I wouldn't tackle half of that and I've been rebuilding bikes for 30 plus years (I'm picking that's longer than you have been alive).
Sometimes you gotta spend a bit to get it just right and sometimes you will want to do it yourself.
I love tackling new things and getting seriously intimate with my new bike, you just know it so much better.
When (not if) you find yourself on the side of the road scratching your head over your machines unexplained failure to go, you will know where to look, what to tinker with.
I wish my son had half your dedication to a rebuild ha ha...

Go forward in the sure knowledge that one day you WILL be riding that poor unwanted orphan you started with.

bzr · « **Reply #26 on:** June 10, 2008, 09:18:55 PM »

Thanks for the motivation, I managed to get out of my funk and come around to tackling engine painting myself. To quote my heroes on Top Gear...how hard can it be?

Ok, maybe that's not a good sign. But I said the same thing about taking my steering head races out, and that's exactly what I did today.

The tools of the trade: a hammer, the leg from one half of a pair of crutches I dug out from the basement, and my MP3 player blasting 80s rock ballads.

I'm cheap and therefore I improvise, but it worked far better than I expected. Pink Floyd and Tom Petty helped my hammering techniques as well. I held down the frame by sitting on it as I hammered, which worked brilliantly.

The bottom race before I started.

Almost...

Ah, there we go. Jolly good.

Then the top.

I had to turn the frame upside down and set it on the leopardskin ottoman to be able to hammer it out with confidence, sitting on half of the ottoman and bracing the frame with one of my legs

At one point I tried to squeeze through the center and tuck my head through the bars, in an attempt to brace it. I may be short (5'5"), but I'm not that agile, I found out.

Oh hey, there we go.

The powdercoater I talked to today recommended against pressure washing, since he would immerse it and that would be a problem seeing as I seem to have misplaced my f**king sprocket cover. So it's off to Autozone for a bottle of Foamy Engine Brite and off to my basement to look for a hose.

Hush · « **Reply #27 on:** June 11, 2008, 04:09:19 AM »

You are now one up on me, I've just removed the front of my bike to replace knackered steering head bearings, apparently tapered rollers are the go: ALL BALLZ
So to remove the top and bottom races you just need to pummell the f*#k out of them in one direction?
Not sure I have special tool no#broken crutch so will have to make do with improvised special tool no# broken hammer handle.

Do you know how much grease to pack into these thing? sorry total novice when it comes to tapered roller bearings, ah well lets just hope they come with lots of instructions and colour pictures! Yeah right!

drackett_19 · « **Reply #28 on:** June 11, 2008, 07:49:58 AM »

Good stuff! nice work on that engine, it was a damn mess when you started.

Thanks for the pics of the steering bearings, I just ordered up some tapered bearings and those pics give me a good idea of what i'll be up against.

super pasty white guy · « **Reply #29 on:** June 11, 2008, 08:44:46 AM »

Wow, it's looking good.

The scans I did were off of a 750, so I don't know if the spacing between divisions would be the same for a 550. You could always get out a caliper and check, if you know you have the correct gauges on there now.

spwg.

bzr · « **Reply #30 on:** June 11, 2008, 06:40:10 PM »

Quote from: hUSH on June 11, 2008, 04:09:19 AM

You are now one up on me, I've just removed the front of my bike to replace knackered steering head bearings, apparently tapered rollers are the go: ALL BALLZ
So to remove the top and bottom races you just need to pummell the f*#k out of them in one direction?
Not sure I have special tool no#broken crutch so will have to make do with improvised special tool no# broken hammer handle.
Do you know how much grease to pack into these thing? sorry total novice when it comes to tapered roller bearings, ah well lets just hope they come with lots of instructions and colour pictures! Yeah right!

Apparently so. Hey, I learn from the best, but it all goes around.

Just hammer the hell out of them until
I don't know how much grease to pack into them, I haven't gotten that far yet. Many people recommend a grease gun, but since I don't have one of those I just have to go with others who recommend greasing it by hand.

I'm really fortunate that my powdercoating guy removed the lower bearing from the stem when I sent it to him, because that's another rite of passage I'd rather avoid. Removing the damn oil filter bolt nearly killed me to begin with!

spwg, I altered the redline to match that of the 550s, but I have the original gauges disassembled on my kitchen table (to the annoyance of my roommates, sorry guys) for comparison. Measurements to come.

fishman_Phil · « **Reply #31 on:** June 11, 2008, 10:58:25 PM »

Be a little careful with the use of a claw hammer. Made for driving soft steel nails in. Never hit a hardened piece of metal with it or a flake may come rocketing off the strike surface of it at you or someone else doing a nasty injury. I was warned years ago of this and then was a time when I grabbed the nearby claw hammer for convenience sake and a flake flew out like a bullet into the muscle of my upper arm. Not nice, plenty of blood from the artery, bruising and pain. Likewise do not hit a metal file as they can shatter. Cheers ... Phil in NZ

Hush · « **Reply #32 on:** June 13, 2008, 03:24:12 PM »

You sre lucky on the steering stem race removal, I did that yesterday and freaked that I was actually wrecking a solid part of my bike until it finally gave way...success!
Thanks for the steering photos, now we both just have to figure out the right amount of spacers to get the tapered bearings in right......don't ask me, someone on here told me we have to!
Best of luck......Hush.

bzr · « **Reply #33 on:** June 13, 2008, 04:14:22 PM »

Quote from: hUSH on June 13, 2008, 03:24:12 PM

You sre lucky on the steering stem race removal, I did that yesterday and freaked that I was actually wrecking a solid part of my bike until it finally gave way...success!
Thanks for the steering photos, now we both just have to figure out the right amount of spacers to get the tapered bearings in right......don't ask me, someone on here told me we have to!
Best of luck......Hush.

It's a funny feeling, isn't it? I get that feeling every time I'm even near any parts.

Such as now...I've come to the conclusion that yes, I do have to replace my damn head gaskets. Take a look:

This was after rinsing off the front with Simple Green and a hose. I'm going to get pounding on the head bolts with an impact driver tonight, and pay a visit to my local motorcycle guy tomorrow for more advice. Painting's going to have to take a break for now.

Pawsoff · « **Reply #34 on:** June 13, 2008, 04:44:54 PM »

Good to see that someone else is hard at it as well

Keep faith and you'll be riding soon (me too I hope)

Hush · « **Reply #35 on:** June 13, 2008, 07:36:52 PM »

Seeping around the head can be just run off from badly fitting exhaust headers, might be nothing wrong with your head gasket.
But you are almost totally torn down now so you might as well eh.
Got my inner races out, the bottom in 3 pieces ha ha, the top nearly fell out.
Discovered that an old power pole eye bolt makes a pretty good equivilent of your special tool (broken crutch).

bzr · « **Reply #36 on:** June 14, 2008, 12:20:03 PM »

Quote from: hUSH on June 13, 2008, 07:36:52 PM

Discovered that an old power pole eye bolt makes a pretty good equivilent of your special tool (broken crutch).

Haha, improvisation for the win!

So I talked to my local motorcycle guy, who was working on a CB500 at the moment, and he thankfully advised me not to open the engine up lest I open up a whole new can of worms. And thank God, too, he recommended I wipe off the goo (the PO might have sprayed on some sort of sealer) and paint it, then run a compression test and check for oil leaks after I reassemble it and get it running.

Too bad I still have to see him about this.

Also, here's the Foamy Engine Brite (recommended by many in previous threads) in action here. I'm sorry, I can't take any sort of hardcore industrial-strength cleaner seriously when it comes out looking like Silly String. Squirt just a bit between the fins, and it expands like crazy and comes out like an elementary school vinegar/baking soda volcano project.

It gave off a bad smell and I could hear it fizzling and bubbling. 5 minutes later, I rinsed it off lightly with a hose.

Not bad, there's still some gunk between the fins that I'll take a look at this afternoon. But overall it worked well.

Dave-and-his-550 · « **Reply #37 on:** June 16, 2008, 11:18:13 AM »

I have an x-acto knife set that has a whole bunch of various tips. The one I used the most is a thin metal one that I get in between the fins with to break up any heavy gunk. It worked really good. Heres what I'm talkin bout:

bzr · « **Reply #38 on:** June 25, 2008, 08:37:21 AM »

^ Not enough X-Acto blades, you gotta spring for the 1,000 piece set.

Anyway, with the help of this site, I redid my gauge faces and glued them on. Here's the process:

Print them out onto 4x6 glossy photo paper. Place the gauge on top of the sheet and mark where the screw holes are. Flip the page over and mark them on the back as well, so you can punch them out easier later.

After obsessively aligning and positioning the sheet atop the gauge, I wiped the gauge faces with rubbing alcohol and spread tacky glue evenly, then bit the bullet and placed the sheet on top. I aligned them using the two screw holes and the first and last tick marks on the side.

The speedo was tricky because not only was it from a newer bike (Nighthawk, perhaps?) but it had the annoying needle rest sticking out of the top that modern bikes are wont to have. So I had to mark that carefully and poke a hole even more carefully with a nail, then slide the pole through, making sure not to enlarge the hole and make it uglier.

plastikjock · « **Reply #39 on:** June 26, 2008, 11:18:27 AM »

Nice work, have you any thoughts on damp-proofing the gauge faces? My fear of doing this is the ink bleeding

bzr · « **Reply #40 on:** June 26, 2008, 09:26:44 PM »

Quote from: plastikjock on June 26, 2008, 11:18:27 AM

Nice work, have you any thoughts on damp-proofing the gauge faces? My fear of doing this is the ink bleeding

No idea, haha. I was thinking of using Krylon #1311 Matte Finish for a satin sheen (and hopefully cover up some bumps) which should protect it for a billion years. Alien archaeologists will gaze in wonder at my amazing gauges.

Here's the rest of the process...

I cut out the odometer holes and the faces themselves with an X-Acto knife. For the bottom trip meter, I tried making single cuts then folding the edges back. After much frustration, I can safely conclude that if you're planning to do this yourself...don't fold the edges back.

In retrospect, tacky glue, like milk, was a bad choice. I ruined a tach face when it got stuck to the bottom of my roommate's copy of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. It's not smooth at all, I should have sprung for the 3M adhesive spray which would have worked better. Then again, I didn't want to spend 13 bucks and have an entire can left over. That's what I get for being a cheap bastard, I guess. $:-\$

Gauge covers looking fresh from the coaters, minus a messy spot on the side from sloppy touch-up paint after I noticed some hook marks. (My opinion on my powdercoater, coming later.)

Nothing's secured yet, I still have to paint the needles.

...like so...

Tonight I'm going to see how long it takes for me to lace up a wheel. Hell, I got no work tomorrow anyway!

bzr · « **Reply #41 on:** June 27, 2008, 09:01:44 PM »

Laced up the rear wheel today. Surprisingly easy, once you get the hang of it...but getting the hang of it took an hour and a half of wrapping my mind around the patterns, then trial-and-error. My procrastinating till 3 in the morning didn't help, either. Oh hello, mr. sunrise.

New OEM spokes, both wheels' cost me 188 bucks.

I'll let the pictures do the talking now...

Took it to Micro-Bore by the airport today to get it trued and balanced, and I'll be doing the same with the front wheel as well.

chopstar500 · « **Reply #42 on:** June 27, 2008, 10:23:58 PM »

Sweet! Looking good... looking reeeeeal good.

Pawsoff · « **Reply #43 on:** June 28, 2008, 08:42:17 PM »

Good looking spokes, nice job. Did you order the spokes from honda?

bzr · « **Reply #44 on:** June 28, 2008, 09:00:15 PM »

Quote from: Pawsoff on June 28, 2008, 08:42:17 PM

Good looking spokes, nice job. Did you order the spokes from honda?

From HondaPartsDirect.com (not paid to say that). So far they have really good prices and haven't let me down in terms of shipping and customer service.

Anyway, I did the front wheel too...I thought was way more different than the rear wheel, which was a one-square hopscotch in comparison. No idea why, seeing as they're both pretty much the same pattern, but the spokes were longer and I realized that the entire bottom was one hole off and therefore misaligned. Three attempts and 3 hours later, I gave up in frustration, yelled some choice swears, and went off to find some Mexican food.

A mediocre plate of arroz con pollo later, I ended up with this. Took me 3 tries to get the patterns right. Oh well, 3rd time's the charm, etc.

And they're finished! Wanna go for a ride on the Ferris Wheel?

I took it to be trued and balanced too, can't wait for it to get back.

Pawsoff · « **Reply #45 on:** June 29, 2008, 02:34:37 PM »

mmmm pretty spokes... mine are kinda rusty, perhaps santa will bring me some SS ones

magnus72 · « **Reply #46 on:** July 01, 2008, 10:02:36 AM »

Good job!!!!!!!

I'm debating new spokes as well cause there was some rust on mine. I cleaned them up with aluminum foil and WD40.

bzr · « **Reply #47 on:** July 03, 2008, 10:22:14 AM »

Quick question: what's the best way to mount the VIN plate back on the frame?

bookjockey · « **Reply #48 on:** July 09, 2008, 06:13:18 PM »

Awesome stuff so far.

Can't wait to see how it turns out.

bzr · « **Reply #49 on:** July 15, 2008, 12:01:29 PM »

To prove that I'm not dead yet, here's what I've been working on:

Got my tapered steering head bearings installed. Hammered the bottom race down with a piece of copper tubing I found near a construction site, and it worked better than I thought.

New wheels, $120 later they're both trued, balanced, and weighted. There's a bit of hop on the front rim but the mechanic said I should be fine. For now, anyway...(I'll probably get it straightened out in the winter.)

Bought a set of crummy right-hand controls off eBay to replace the one I have that's missing buttons and is even crummier. Cost me 20 bucks and probably a tetanus shot I'll need afterward, but I cleaned it up pretty well I think:

Engine painting...took me a week and a half to clean and prep the damn thing for painting. Not that it was hard, it's just that I was lazy. Foamy Engine Brite, rinse, steel wool, Scotchbrite, mask repeat.

After stripping the paint off with Aircraft Remover.

This is as clean as it'll ever get.

2 hours and 3/4 a can of Duplicolor High-Heat later...here it is!

News:

Author Topic: A total beginner's CB550F resurrection... (Read 40412 times)