Topic: My CB550 Project - Updated. Finally.

[Staggerlee]

Oh, hell yes.  I'm not beneath being bribed with beer.

[fastbroshi]

This wheel you used was a 19" X 2.5" correct?  How much clearance did you have between the spokes and the calipers?  Any other points where clearance was tight?  Reason I ask is I want to try the same width wheel but an 18" diameter laced to this Harley hub.

[Staggerlee]

Yessir; 19x2.5".  There's probably 1/4" or so of clearance between the calipers at their thickest point and the spokes:



Everything else clears just fine; if you can get the spoke/caliper clearance worked out, you're golden.

[Staggerlee]

Welp, I've poked, prodded; fitted & re-fitted that fiberglass fender that I made up and I decided that it just ain't gonna work.  It really does look like a yamaka, and I just couldn't come up with a secure way of mounting it to the forks without looking completely stupid and borderline unsafe.

So, I snarfed around ebay for a bit and wound up with a $25 generic Drag Specialties fender originally intended for a Hardley:


Once again, I'm completely remiss in actually taking any photo evidence of the process, but first I drilled out the rivets holding on the mounting bracket and welded up the holes and ground 'em smooth.  Then, using some 1/4" DOM & scrap sheet steel I had laying around, made new brackets that mount to the stand-offs where the Gixxer fender would be attached:






I'm quite pleased with the results, if I do say so myself.  Right now it's at the powder coaters for a layer of Super Chrome powder plus a layer of clear.  Stay tuned for pics of the finished product.

[Zaipai]

Looking good! I do like that fender better.. Paint? Chrome?

.: Scott :.

[fastbroshi]

Green to match the tank is my vote

[Staggerlee]

I considered painting it to match the bodywork, but I really didn't feel like dealing with the whole paint process again.  Powder coat will be a lot more durable against rock chips, etc and all I have to do is drop it off and pick it up when it's finished.

It's gonna be done in Super Chrome powder; should be pretty close to this finish:



And hell, if I decide I don't like it, I can always strip & paint; not like I haven't done everything on this bike twice already. 

[HedNut]

Excellent Build!!! I just found it....love the sound in the video... GREAT WORK MAN!

[mgbgt89]

What about glassing a fender using the tire as a mold? Cut some carpet or something to use as a spacer to give just the smallest amount of clearance. Just thinking out loud.

[Zaipai]

I like the Chrome powder coat it should look fantastic!

.: Scott :.

[traveler]

OUTSTANDING!!!

Good work!

I powdered the front fender on my Harley.....glad I did!  Good move!

~Joe

[Staggerlee]

Thanks gents!

I actually thought of making another fiberglass fender using the tire as a mold; but I still couldn't get my head around how to actually mount the thing; bolting the steel supports to the composite fender just seemed a little too klunky, and I don't think it would've been terribly strong, either.

[Industrial Cafe]

That fender came out great, I like the smooth, clean mounting points up top.

can you ship it to me?

[Staggerlee]

can you ship it to me?

Yeah, you bet; keep yer eye on the mailbox!

So I picked it up from the PC'er yesterday:







Dunno if I'm totally sold on the finish; I think either body color or actual chrome may have been the big winners.  I think it'll grow on me though.

[Zaipai]

Man that is one Nice front end you have going on there!

Great work! The finish is good, I like.. Sit with it for a while before you decide.

.: Scott :.

[traveler]

I agree...hell, you already paid to have it powdercoated.....change it later....use it for now, and move on to the next step.

I.C., you need one of these! (I wouldn't mind either)

~Joe

[Zaipai]

Yeah, you bet; keep yer eye on the mailbox!

Looks like you may have stumbled on to a side job making these for SOHC4 Members..

.: Scott :.

[Industrial Cafe]

I.C., you need one of these! (I wouldn't mind either)

    would be nice, it looks like it would keep the gravel off the motor.
 but I'm gonna have to stick with mine, it was almost was free.

[Veemo]

awesome! awesome awesome awesome! This build is going to be a huge inspiration for me if I decide to "Cafe" my bike. Love it! I also love that in the video you have the OPB "Give us money" going on on the radio. I thought those voices sounded familiar, I figured it out the 4th time I watched.

Quick question, what was your process for painting up the engine? What did you do to prep it, and did you do it all in one piece? The chrome on my engine is definitely past it's prime, so I've decided to paint it. Thanks, and again, great bike! sounds beastly!

[Staggerlee]

Thanks Veemo. 

To prep the engine for painting, I stripped off as much of the factory coating as I could using aircraft stripper, wire brushes & elbow grease.  Harbor Freight sells cheap little brass & stainless brushes that work great; once one gets gummed up, just toss it and grab a new one.  Once it was as stripped as I was gonna get get it, I gave it one last rinse in acetone and proceeded with the primer & paint.  I used Duplicolor, and just followed the instructions on the cans.

Hope that helps.

[Veemo]

Very much. Thanks!

[cben750f0]

Welp, I've poked, prodded; fitted & re-fitted that fiberglass fender that I made up and I decided that it just ain't gonna work.  It really does look like a yamaka, and I just couldn't come up with a secure way of mounting it to the forks without looking completely stupid and borderline unsafe.

So, I snarfed around ebay for a bit and wound up with a $25 generic Drag Specialties fender originally intended for a Hardley:


Once again, I'm completely remiss in actually taking any photo evidence of the process, but first I drilled out the rivets holding on the mounting bracket and welded up the holes and ground 'em smooth.  Then, using some 1/4" DOM & scrap sheet steel I had laying around, made new brackets that mount to the stand-offs where the Gixxer fender would be attached:






I'm quite pleased with the results, if I do say so myself.  Right now it's at the powder coaters for a layer of Super Chrome powder plus a layer of clear.  Stay tuned for pics of the finished product.

excellent build Mate, just wondering looking at the discs on the hubs, are the hubs machined with a register, to locate the disc centrally, or are you using the bolts? i only ask because the register on the hub is there to centre and stop the disc from moving. i just worry that if you are using the bolts, that you will jump on the brakes one day and one of the disc will slide sideways, not far mind, but enough to either clip the disc rivets on the caliper, or just throw the disc off centre. (i was a fitter/toolmaker in a former life)

otherwise if i completely missed something...i apologies....brilliant set up

peace

[bill440cars]

  Man, THIS is some FINE LOOKING Build! I'd like to see some more shots and info, on this one! Fantastic job! Especially like the way you did the front fender too!   

[Seans405]

Sorry guys, I’ve been on the road for work a lot the last few days and haven’t had time to get an update together.

The wheel I’m using up front is an OEM Harley narrow glide wheel.  If you plan on doing this kind of conversion, it’s important that you find a wheel from a 2000 & later bike as it takes the sealed wheel bearings.

I was hoping to get all tricky and track down an aluminum rim that I could lace to a Harley hub but the pickings were real slim on ebay, and I was getting impatient.  I ended up with a box-stock takeoff wheel:



Not as secksy as what I’d originally set out for, but it was a helluva lot cheaper.

Here’s what the bearing bores will look like when you have the right wheel:



I also picked up a set of rotors from a ’04 gsx-r; I figured that being the same year as my front end, I would be OK:



Once both the wheel & rotors showed up though, I discovered that I’d #$%*ed up.  I knew that I would need to have the rotors drilled to match the bolt pattern of the Harley hub, but when I got to looking at them, I realized that the slots that were machined into the rotor between each bolt hole were smack bad where the new holes would need to go.  These rotors were paperweights.

After doing a bit more research, I found that rotors from a ’99-’07 Hayabusa would be just the ticket.  Plenty of meat on there to have them drilled to match the Harley hub:



Since the ‘Busa rotors are 320mm’s in diameter compared to the 300mm diameters rotors that came on the ’04 gsxr-600, I also needed some 10mm spacers so the calipers would clear the rotors:



The next order of business what to figure what would need to be done to make sure that the rotors lined up correctly with the calipers.  I knew that the rotor spacing on center on the gsx-r was 132mm’s; mounted up on the Harley hub, the rotor spacing measured out at 130.5mm’s; too narrow on each side by .75mm.  I used .030 stainless shims under each rotor to get the correct spacing.

With that solved, it was time to get the wheel mounted up in the forks.  The other reason to use the Harley hub is that it accepts a 52mm OD sealed bearing; the same size bearing as the gsx-r uses.  For wheel bearings, I had two options:

GSX-R bearings (25x52x15)


OR,

Harley bearings (25x52x21)


Both options give me a bearing that will fit the hub and accommodate the Suzuki 25mm axle. The only real consideration at this point was if I wanted a wider or narrower bearing.  In the end, I went with the Suzuki bearing figuring that narrower would be better to keep the axle from sticking too far out from the fork clamps.

I also sourced the correct 25mm ID crush tube to suit the narrow glide wheel:



And that was it.  The true test would be if the spokes would clear the calipers once it was all fitted up and sure as hell, it all fit like it was meant to.

This is beautiful man. I know it’s an old post, but I’m doing the same right now. I was wondering if I’d be able to get a few pieces of info from ya?

1) did you also use the GSXR spacers AND dust cover for the bearing?

2) what did you use for washers that thin on the rotors?

[BigAl]

Wow, that looks great.  I wish I had the gumption to fabricate a seat instead of the skateboard I bought.  Next time....