Topic: Laminar's CB550 Cafe Build

[theofam]

Thanks for the heads up on the cam auction.  Maybe second time's a charm?!

[Laminar]

Just kidding about the brake lines. My cam showed up, though, so I got that installed.

Valve cover pulled:


Old cam:


New cam:


Setting the timing:


Cam:


Hmm...at the time it looked right, but looking at the picture now is there a chance that it's off by a tooth?

Sprocket mounted:


Buttoned up, mounting coils:


Test fit of the tank and seat:




Gauges:


Carbs mounted and throttle cables run, clutch cable connected:


I also mounted the right side peg and hooked up the rear brake. I still need to figure out a rear brake light switch. Once I get my new chain installed I can put the case cover on and get the left footpeg and shifter installed.

I ordered a new headlight retaining/setting ring. Once those come in I can mount up the bucket and do the bulk of the wiring. I still need to decide how I'm going to mount the battery.

After that, it's off of the lift and time to do the exhaust. Then, it's just bodywork on the tank/seat left to do. Too bad I'm gone all of next week.

[fastbroshi]

   Looking good Laminar, you're almost done.  For a battery, I noticed Bikemaster has a new AGM on sale with some pretty compact specs.  Saw it on ebay for like $46.

[Laminar]

   Looking good Laminar, you're almost done.  For a battery, I noticed Bikemaster has a new AGM on sale with some pretty compact specs.  Saw it on ebay for like $46.

Already got one.

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=47704.msg736133#msg736133

[Laminar]

As is common when using clubmans, my clutch cable is far too long. I'm looking at a CB450 clutch cable that's supposed to be at least 5 inches shorter than the CB550 cable. I'll take a look and see if that will work.

I'm afraid that this cable will have to be routed oddly to fit, which would make it rub on the headlight housing and superfluous bends would make lever action difficult.

[traveler]

Sure are making alot of progress....looks good!

I wonder how long you will make it with that tank/seat before all the bondo starts cracking....

~Joe

[The_Crippler]

I wonder how long you will make it withthat tank/seat before all the bondo starts cracking....

Honestly, at this point he's got such a finished product, he could always use it to make a fiberglass form, and then make himself a pretty decent shell/body kit from it.

[Laminar]

Some ups and downs tonight.

My brake lines came today. I found out that the output on my new master cylinder is about 1 1/2" to the right of the output on the stock MC, so the clubman-sized brake line was a bit too short unless I slid the MC 1 1/2" to the left on the handlebar. Then, when screwing the banjo bolt in, I realized the MC didn't have metric threads, but only after stripping the first few. I went back to the stock MC for now.



With the stock MC in place, the lines are a perfect fit and look great.






I went ahead and loaded up the system with the finest DOT3 that was sitting on my shelf.



Then I started on a battery holder:








Around 9:30 I remembered that I was going to re-check the cam timing, but by then it was time to turn in for the night. I'll have to do that tomorrow or Saturday. Sunday I leave for Venezuela, so don't expect any updates.

[Laminar]

Well, at least I now know who beat me in the final seconds on the CB650 camshaft auction last night!  Man, was I seeing red!

Glad to know it went to someone that's soon to be riding as opposed to my "eternal tear down" stage.

Did you get that last one? I was going to be pretty ticked if it went for way less than mine did, but it ended at $1 more. 

Of course, since mine was in Iowa, I had to pay sales tax on it. 

[Laminar]

It's starting to look like a motorcycle.

Here's how I wired the DDM H4 high/low 35W 5000K motorcycle kit:

The relay box in the kit has a three-wire H4 plug, the box itself is mounted to the old turn signal buzzer bracket on the headlight ear. I cut the H4 plug off and wired the common to green in the headlight bucket, white (low) to a new switch on the bike, and red (high) to blue in the headlight bucket. The other side of the low switch went to black in the headlight bucket.

The red/black wire in the right hand control was eliminated, it turns off the lights when the starter is engaged.

Red/black from the main harness goes straight to black.

When I turn the ignition on, the headlight stays off. When I flip my new switch on, the headlight fires up. When I flip the dimmer switch to high beam, it switches to high beam. Unfortunately, the high beam switches on and off on its own at random, and the high beam indicator doesn't come at all. I was fairly confident of my wiring job, and getting the headlight on the bucket was a royal pain with all of the wiring, the extra deep HID bulb, and the ballast, so I'm reluctant to pull it off, but I guess I'll have to re-check everything.

I'll get some pictures of the beam pattern later tonight.

The new H4 housing:


The bulb mounted in the housing:


The bulb takes up some space:


Mounted up:


I got the battery bracket fastened down and the battery isn't going anywhere:


Should be plenty of clearance:


I took it off the lift only to find that the 120 tires and extra long shocks just made the center stand useless...oops.




I spent from 12:00 to 6:00 wiring and fastening down the battery box, including a trip to the hardware store for the right bolts. It would have been a lot easier had I not needed to redo some stuff for the HID kit.

I'm still going back and forth between either finishing the exhaust tonight or calling it a day.

[Laminar]

It's bright.


Pattern on the garage door:


Low beam. What you're seeing on the brick building is the left half of the beam.

[B.O.X.N.I.F.E.]

hmmm... cam looks a tooth off to me. Not sure what the effect would be though. When I did my 650 cam the notch was intersected in half by the surface of the head, yours looks a little off.

[Laminar]

This evening started out poorly. I found that all of the pressure in the headlight bucket cause the crack I had previously glued to re-crack.



And when removing the tape from the lower frame area that was supposed to protect the paint, it pulled off a bit of it on each side:





So I had to touch that up.

Then I got the exhaust hooked back up:







Previous feedback on the exhaust had been almost universally negative, so I cut the angled pipes and re-welded them, reducing the angle by about 15 degrees.

Then I got it in my head that trying to start it up would be a good idea. I put the gas tank on and added some gas. I refilled the oil. Everything seemed to check out. I cranked it for a while until the oil light finally went out, then turned the kill switch on and cranked some more. Unfortunately, my 8 Ah battery is about 4 Ah smaller than the stock battery, so it couldn't crank for too long on its own. I did get some pops and a little bit of firing, but nothing spectacular. But it was almost 10:30 and I figured I shouldn't bother my neighbors more than I already have.

Everything else will have to wait until a couple weeks from now when I'm back home.

[Laminar]

Well my trip got pushed back a week again, so I'm going to have some time to get it going this week!

[traveler]

You can use jumper cables to get it started the first time, if you think you're going to have to grind on it to get the carbs wet again.

~Joe

[Laminar]

It absolutely WAS off by a tooth. I got that taken care of in less than a half hour, eat your heart out 750 guys.

Initially:


After:


Then I went to check the static timing, only to find that the 2-3 point was bent and not engaging at all. Oops. I put it back and got the timing as close as I could. 1-4 was spot on, 2-3 was off, but it was at the limit of its adjustment and the screw holding the point onto the plate was stripped so I couldn't adjust the gap. Now I'm thinking either new points plate or just get a Dyna. We'll see.

Before:


Here's the HID relay box mounted:



And the switch:



I forgot to post pictures of the painted exhaust collars last night.



I still need to make some real exhaust hangars, the temporary aluminum one I made allows far too much side-to-side motion. I'm going to have to get either thicker aluminum or steel. Polished aluminum would look nice, though. And cover it with Industrial Cafe-esque holes.

[Laminar]

Also, it's aliiiive.

[theofam]

I didn't get the CB650 cam.  Looks like $70 is the going rate via ebay!  Good news your trip got pushed back a week - you'll be on the road soon.  Are you going to paint the tank/cowl yourself?  What are your plans to complement the red frame?

[Laminar]

I'm planning on painting it myself. My prep job is poor at best and I wouldn't want to waste money on a professional paint job when it's just going to get ruined.

Right now I'm thinking silver racing stripes with a hammered black finish (the hammered paint advertises "hides imperfections"  ).

[theofam]

I know what you mean about imperfections! I'm planning on painting my stuff in my garage, so a flat color may be in order on my end!  Keep chuggin'.  It's fun seeing you getting so close!

[Laminar]

And closer...

I made up some exhaust hangars from plated steel.





Then I got the exhaust all wrapped up and pulled it out of the garage.





Once I get my chain tomorrow (so says UPS) it will be ridable.

All I have left is some body filler, fixing the cracked headlight bucket, a license plate bracket, and paint. I'm thinking about adding about an inch of square tubing to the bottom of my centerstand to make that useful again.

[Laminar]

By the way, another 650 cam just popped up on eBay.

[Laminar]

I started by reattaching the cracked portion with JB Weld. I cut a strip of brass about 1"x1.5", drilled a hole in it, then JB Welded it across the crack. Hopefully now when I put the headlight screw through the hole, it will pull on the brass piece and distribute the stress away from the cracked portion.



Then I installed the chain, the left side engine cover, and the left footpeg.








Now if only I could get my turn signals figured out.

See my thread here.

[Laminar]

Progress today:

Got the electrical system put together. Everything barely fits in the headlight bucket, but it's in there.



I rewired the headlight so that it works as it's supposed to - my new switch turns it on and off, and the left hand switch chooses high or low. The turn signals all work. The high beam indicator isn't working, but I'm not going to worry about that right now.


I laid a coat of glazing putty over the tank and seat to get them ready for primer. Hopefully I can get the first coat of real paint on before the end of the week.

[Laminar]

Here the seat is getting an application of rubberized undercoating, and the tank is getting Rust Reformer to quell any rust that's popping up:



And a couple coats of primer: