Topic: Laminar's CB550 Cafe Build

[DavePhipps]

I would say use the tank as a plug and make a full fiberglass tank for the bike. Probably too late for that now though.

[Toxic]

Jeez for  a guy with a jigsaw and a dremel tool, pretty friggin impressive.

[Bonafide]

Dang ... I right there with ya and was diggin how it was looking (really good) til you got carried away with the 5 gal bucket of bondo on the tank. You cant use that stuff like sculpting clay.

[Aaron Richard]

+1
I think you missed your calling as a pastry chef You are going to have some cracking issues with that much bondo down the road, but, practice makes perfect. keep at it.

[The_Crippler]

You cant use that stuff like sculpting clay.

This. 

Also, one major thing is structural integrity.  It looks like - from what I can see - you're using standard Bondo, rather than "Hair" (Bondo with fiberglass in it.)  With you putting it on that thick, a good pothole (or fast temperature change) and it's going to crack right through.  Even with hair, that would be getting pretty thick, but it would be stronger and more flexible.


I am curious about your pipes, though...which parts did you snag from JC?  They don't have much for our dear CBs, so I'd be curious to know which items you modified to get the up-sweep look there.

[Laminar]

I am curious about your pipes, though...which parts did you snag from JC?  They don't have much for our dear CBs, so I'd be curious to know which items you modified to get the up-sweep look there.

I got the bike with a four-into-two exhaust. I picked up a couple 45 degree 2 1/2" pipes, 1 3/4" baffles, fiberglass packing, and couplers. I basically cut down the four-into-twos, slipped on the 45 degree pipes, then added the tips.

The seat does have quite a bit of bondo in some places - maybe up to 1/4". My fiberglass work was really uneven (give me a break, it's my first try!     ). There's really not much at all on the tank - just enough to cover the styrofoam and protect it from the fiberglass resin, it just looks like a lot because of the styrofoam texture and because the picture was taken pre-sanding. The latest layer on top of the fiberglass is going to be sanded down quite a bit, its purpose is filling in the uneven parts of the fiberglass and making the fiberglass-to-metal transition smooth.

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions. I hope to have the battery secured and wired in the next couple of days, I'm moving across town on Saturday and I don't want to have to trailer this bike, too.

[Aaron Richard]

how many layers of fiberglass is in the seat? I also worry it might break while riding, that would be a nutcracker disaster!
When I make seats, I usually do about 5-6 layers of fiberglass cloth and extra in the stress areas. I sand the fiberglass smooth as possible without taking too much off, then a thin layer of filler to smooth. I use foam core and poster board glued together to make the mockup. This makes for a smooth solid buck and is a easy material to get the shape you want. Plastic wrap the buck before you start laying fiberglass on it and it just pops out when the fiberglass hardens.

For everyone's piece of mind and your safety, check your seats strength before you hit the ton

[greenjeans]

Might have missed it, but what did you use to glue the styrofoam to the tank...interesting approach.
You see all methods here - that's for sure

[Laminar]

how many layers of fiberglass is in the seat? I also worry it might break while riding, that would be a nutcracker disaster!

Ouch    I have 3-4 layers plus the aluminum frame giving strength. I hope that will be enough.

Might have missed it, but what did you use to glue the styrofoam to the tank...interesting approach.
You see all methods here - that's for sure

Hot glue. Straight out of the gun it melts the styrofoam, so I wait 10 or 15 seconds before attaching the styrofoam.

I haven't seen anyone do stuff like this before, so I try and MacGyver it. If it works, fantastic, maybe others benefit from my experimenting. If it doesn't, oh well, at least I tried.

[Dave-and-his-550]

Cool, so what is your idea with the tank? Obviously you decided not to hammer knee dents into the side, but it looks like you're going for that very look. Also, where in Iowa are ya?

[Laminar]

Cool, so what is your idea with the tank? Obviously you decided not to hammer knee dents into the side, but it looks like you're going for that very look. Also, where in Iowa are ya?

Yep, going for the knee dent look. I tried to size them to where my knees actually hit the tank, so hopefully they're not JUST for looks.

I'm in Des Moines. Johnston right now, moving to Urbandale in four days.

[Laminar]

Okay, spent some time sanding the tank:





I got the new battery leads run:



And installed the new front turn signals:

[Laminar]

I pulled my bikes out of the garage to prepare for my move tomorrow, so I snapped a few pics.

[Bill/BentON Racing]

You been busy!!! Drew needs the pods,love that red,Bill

[Laminar]

edit: Check this thread for my awesome post-fire carnage.


Phew...busy night. I changed the fork oil on the CB750 and got the chain tension set (it would always readjust itself when I went to tighten the axle...total PITA.

I then started in on the CB550, since I haven't touched it since the electrical fire.

I replaced the four connectors that melted, and I replaced all of the power wire that caught fire. I re-wrapped everything nice and tight.



I put the electrical panel back together and hooked up the new electronic flasher.



I made a new "fuse box" to replace the one that melted.



Everything buttoned back up:





And once again it runs! Well, it cranks at least. I don't have the gas tank hooked up and I don't want to put any gas into the tank since I'm still working on it. I have a lot of sanding and a little more bondo work to do on the seat and tank, then it's time for paint. I think I'll try and cut the side panel mounts off of the frame since I don't need them anymore. I'm contemplating whether or not to keep the chain guard. Maybe I'll cut some speed holes in it or something.

[sangyo soichiro]

I wondering how much heavier your tank is now than before?

Nice work on the seat BTW. 

[turninwheels]

well, an interesting build to say the least...keep it up, you'll find out what will work an what won't.  just remember, bondo isn't that flexible, it will crack under pressure, temp changes, and general wear -n-tear...you have an interesting concept...keep it up!

[seaweb11]

Macgyver.......

I'm going to be a bit of a wet blanket here   Sorry, a few guys are "inferring" issues with the glass and bondo, but not coming out with real information for you.


Here is my take on this after 30 years experience with glass and bondo.

The 1st photo shows you draping a piece of cloth over a couple of hoops.
Fiberglass cloth with resin has no......NO strength , NONE it is as fragile as a thin piece of glass. Some sort of support would be needed to have any strength.  The bondo you have put on, while it seems to make it feel stronger gives it NO Support. There are many different things you can add to bondo to make it a bit stronger, but in the end it is designed for a VERY shallow film over boo-boos left over from other heavier fillers on the market that have been layed on a few times and sanded.



The 1st Bondo photo you show "below" kicked 10 Min's before you even layed it up. It's hooped. Sorry, but you can not lay up glass resin or any 2 part system after it has all ready gone off!!!!   Bad start, and when I see it happen I scrape the last bit and worry about sanding it down later.



I truly wish I had seen this post before. I would have tried to help a bit more along the way.

Please do not spend any more time making these pieces perfect for your build.
Bolt them on as is and ride it for a while. See what happens. 

If that rear seat piece does not crack, split, or explode after being bolted to the frame for 364 days I will personally mail you a check for $100.00.  I will require a photo of your OD before and after so I can see it was ridden


Not trying to be a dick head here Laminar, ..............come on guys ...........tell him what you realy think  

[Laminar]

Thanks for the insight.

The 1st Bondo photo you show "below" kicked 10 Min's before you even layed it up. It's hooped. Sorry, but you can not lay up glass resin or any 2 part system after it has all ready gone off!!!!   Bad start, and when I see it happen I scrape the last bit and worry about sanding it down later.

As I mentioned in the post, the bondo acted that way because of the texture of the styrofoam. Because it had been cut up with a hacksaw, the styrofoam was more than happy to bead up when I tried applying any bondo.

Based on your recommendation, I might forgo the nice paint job I had in mind and spray-bomb it black to see if it cracks. Again, thanks for the input.

[turninwheels]

Laminar, buddie, it will crack, or totally detach from the foam underneath...as said before, if your seat pan doesn't fly off , or explode in the first couple miles your going to have chuncks of bondo hitting you in the face from the tank...Not trying to rain on your parade, but I'm thinkin saftey...FYI buddie

[Bonafide]

turninwheels - I agree, but my opinion is to not berate someone about their choices, but rather let them learn through personal experience. Give the guy another 20 yrs and he'll have learned a thing a two of what works and what does not. Gaining the experience through hands on efforts will give more results then us telling him to stop.

[Laminar]

turninwheels - I agree, but my opinion is to not berate someone about their choices, but rather let them learn through personal experience. Give the guy another 20 yrs and he'll have learned a thing a two of what works and what does not. Gaining the experience through hands on efforts will give more results then us telling him to stop.

It's okay, I don't feel berated by what he said. He didn't insult me personally, he just pointed out that my methods weren't the best, and I can deal with that.

Thanks for the input everyone.

[turninwheels]

As I said, earlier in the thread, Keep it up!, however, I also, wanted to throw caution into the wind...I all for learnin through trial and error...I think your idea is unique, its yours, and that's original.  there's nothing about your idea thats wrong, the process just raised a few red flags, again keep up the idea's, fabrication is a tedious process sometimes, if your unsure the forum is here to guide you...cheers!

[BeSeeingYou]

I just saw this thread and I would have to agree with Seaweb.  I have done a lot of work with epoxy/glass cloth.  Next time or sooner if this blows apart on you make a mold for the cowling from foam.  Use the pink stuff from Home Despot it comes in sheets up to 2 inches think.  It carves up better than styro.  You could use bondo to fair out the mold.   After you finish the mold you can go two routes from here. Cover it in thin film plastic(epoxy will not stick to this).   Lay on several layers of cloth(8-12 oz cloth) and you can get it to be a stiff enough self supporting structure.  Or you can go with a lighter layup and make stringers out of foam "sticks" glued to the underside and glassed over with cloth and epoxy.  This will provide the stiffness for the thin layup and use less cloth and epoxy than the heavy layup.

[thomas.clark]

After you finish the mold you can go two routes from here. Cover it in thin film plastic(epoxy will not stick to this).   Lay on several layers of cloth(8-12 oz cloth) and you can get it to be a stiff enough self supporting structure. 

question from an inexperienced fiberglasser:  What's the finish like from this process?  Glassy/shiny/smooth, or more textured, kind of like an orange peel?  I've done a bunch of simple surfboard and boat repairs, but want to cook up something a little more polished - I'm thinking of trying to devise something like this for my Nighthawk:



Laminar - sorry for the threadjack.  I love your experimentation - thanks for sharing your thoughts and images from the process. Cheers!