Topic: Greetings! New member; new project!

[Captainkirk]

Greetings, all! Just registered on this forum today; it looks the THE place to for for my next project!
I just picked up a 1975 CB550 Four K1 from an acquaintance of a good friend (and rabid bike-nut like myself, although he travels the British side of the road) for the incredible price of $25.00 (title included!!) It belonged to his brother-in-law, who is stationed overseas, and will be for quite some time. He is moving, and had to clear out the garage. Me; I'm lost without a winter project, and this one was meant to be!
First, a little history; the original owner was a pilot, and tragically, was killed in a plane crash about ten years ago. The guy I bough it from's  brother-in-law ended up with it, in the hopes of finishing the project. As the seller explained; "The original owner thought he was "the guy". He wasn't; he started the project but lost interest, and then came the accident. When he died, my brother-in-law purchased it, thinking maybe he was "the guy". He wasn't either. You seem like you might be "the guy" to me...good luck with it!"
I truly hope I am "the guy". I truly have a passion for bikes, especially classic Jap motorcycles. My problem is, once I buy them, I fall in love with them for their endearing qualities, overlooking design flaws, outdated technology, etc. I just don't care. I don't need the fanciest, newest or flashiest bike. I look for character. I can't seem to get enough. Bike restoration seems to be my therapy. But, hey....enough about me. You're here for the bike....
My original intention, to be brutally honest, was to trim it down into a lean, mean cafe racer. I was totally on track with this plan after seeing the digital pix of this bike; repainted a plum/rose sort of purple, no tank decals, filthy dirty with rust spots, and the Most Heinous looking exhaust system ever created. Chop it up? No problem. Until I got it home, that is!
Upon the Handy Lift it went, out came the damp rag and soapy water. 10 years of grease and grime began disappearing before my eyes! I was gonna rip into this thing like a monkey on a cupcake, rip it down to bare frame, and....Hello; whats this? The nuts and bolts still have the factory yellow torque lacquer!? Under the layer of dirt, the engine cases still have the factory silver paint? No scratches on the side covers or pegs, or turn signals, from being dug in the dirt!!?? What we have here, is......pretty much, an UNMOLESTED 35-year old motorcycle!
Many of you might say, "So what?"
I can't see it that way. This is like...history. A blast from my youth. The mission reversed formation. Suddenly, this became a RESTORATION. Not a "project" or custom. So, this is the bike; this is the story. C'mon along, if you will.....

[Captainkirk]

I'm not having much luck posting pix; they are too large (600kb each) These are the originals the owner sent me and I'm not sure how to compress them. Bear with me, please!

[Captainkirk]

So; let the annoying questions begin;
1) There were three colors that I know of in this year model; Candy Jade Green, Flake Sunrise Orange, and Boss Maroon Metallic. If anyone has any pictures of this bike in those original colors, would you mind posting a pic on this thread?
2) I'm looking for a decent 4-into-4 original exhaust. Yes, I saw the one on eBay....for $875.00....not looking to spend that kind of $ when I could get a new 4 into 1 for a quarter the cost. I'll go used, but decent.
3) I need new fork gaitors. I've seen aftermarket; but are they any good, and will it detract from the restored value?
4) The seat...no rips, tears, or holes, but is faded to a sort of milky-white that soap and water followed by copious amounts of ArmorAll wouldn't completely correct. The "HONDA" silkscreen is still there on the back, complete and in good shape, so I don't want to screw that up. Suggestions?

[Captainkirk]

Right off the bat, I realized I wouldn't get too far without a key. Did I mention, there was no key? Maybe not. I had plenty of old Honda keys about; you'd think one would fit right?
You'd think...yes.
But, you'd be wrong.
I have the code off the switch.....but that doesn't help me right now.....I want to look under the seat. NOW!
So, I pull the seat pins and roll the seat sideways; to where I can get at the seat latch nuts. A little penetrant; a little "mojo"...badda bing; it's off. I gut the airbox and yank the tank.
Hooowee! Whatever is in that tank is NASTY! I'll deal with it later; I dig out the Flitz and a rag and go ape#$%* on the chrome......
About an hour later., I'm beginning to feel like I'm unearthing King Tut's tomb.....the entire rear fender and taillight now sparkle brilliantly. Oh, yeah, you can see the little pits in the chrome if you look carefully, sticking your schnozz right into the gleaming chrome, but that's what they call "patina", right? This bike is not perfect; not "cherry" in that sense of the word! Criminy; it's got 20k on the clock!
Still; I'm pleased.
Next, I blitzkrieg the rear turn signals, grab bar, and front wheel. Holy Moses....the front wheel and spokes shine up and LITERALLY look like I just unwrapped it from oil paper....brand new! I note with some satisfaction that the nuts holding the front brake rotor in place still bear the yellow torque lacquer which I assume was applied at the factory, as I see it used in other places.
Next, I take a stab at the stator cover. Not bad for an initial attempt; but I know I'll end up pulling it and putting it to the buffer with some jeweler's rouge. Eventually...
Next, on to the gauges. The idiot lights look brand-spanking new. Seriously. The tach/speedo are covered with a thick haze of dust and grime, making the faces hard to see. A little warm, soapy water, followed by some Aviation Labs plastic polish, and...Hello! I find myself tapping the plastic to make sure it's still there. Freaked me out, a little!
Next: Off with your carbs!

[fastbroshi]

   Okay now I wanna see some pics.  If they're too big, just go to Photobucket and create an account so you can download them there.  After you do, right below the pics will be an IMG code. 
   
   You can copy/past this directly into a post here and your pic will show up. 

[Captainkirk]

OK; I'll try again!

[Zaipai]

Looks like you have a great start there. If I run across any of what you listed I will be sure to post it here.

[Captainkirk]

By golly....he was right!
Any way, you can see from the pix it was no prize pig....up front....until I did a little "unwrapping".
I'll try to get some of those pix loaded as well over the next couple days.

So...off with his carbs!
Piece o' cake, really, compared to most of the bikes I work on. Made much easier, of course, by the fact that the airbox unbolts as a "frontloader" and gets the hell out of the way. I did find that the airbox flex boots tore as I attempted to remove them....even after warming with a heat gun. They were just too old, and apparently, dry-rotted. Oh well. Whattya expect after 35 years?
Once the boots and airbox were out of the way, the bank was persuaded to come out of it's den with a gentle nudge with a length of 2X4....Pop! and they were loose. Slid right out with a minimum of finagling, too. Quite unlike the carbs on my other bikes; these were mellow and cooperative.
Into the gunk tank for a quick hosing-off with solvent, then blow-dried and bagged, I'm taking them to work where the shop is warm, the light plentiful, for a thorough external scrubbing and internal cleaning.

[Captainkirk]

Looks like you have a great start there. If I run across any of what you listed I will be sure to post it here.

Thanks.....much appreciated!

[Captainkirk]

Is that not the most fugly, heinous exhaust you guys have ever seen?

[mystic_1]

Is that not the most fugly, heinous exhaust you guys have ever seen?

Not bad, this one is worse though



mystic_1

[Zaipai]

Is that not the most fugly, heinous exhaust you guys have ever seen?

Not bad, this one is worse though



mystic_1

Wow I think you win?!?

[Captainkirk]

As to the exhaust issue, I humbly concede. YIKES!
Now, back to the issue at hand.....
I had the "opportunity" to pull one of the float bowls today.....if you can call it that. I have NEVER...I repeat, NEVER seen the likes of what lurked inside that bowl...not even a toilet bowl! It honestly looked like someone had filled it full of mahogany stain. Smelled like it too, come to think of it. This may take slightly more time than anticipated, but with 10 degree temps outside and ice everywhere, I really don't give a rat's a$$. Speed is no longer of the essence.
Not that it ever was....
I located a possible "donor bike" down on the South Side....a CB500 with no title. He wants more than it's worth, but I may offer less. Title-less bikes are worthless except to the parts-hound (I've done my time in that hell!) and when I read about these guys making statements like; "No title, but a replacement is easily obtained for $150.00 through XYZ Title....." and I say, show me that replacement title and I'll eat my hat! I have spent literally HOURS Googling "Lost Titles...Illinois" trying to glean any kernels of truth out of these statements, but the closest I've come is the CyberDrive Illinois site statement that if YOU were the last owner YOU can obtain a replacement title for YOURSELF for a $65.00 fee.....and the there's the place that issues titles for non-junk vehicles, custom builds and non-titled vehicles STARTING AT $450.00 AND UP! No Thanks! Oh, yes, and there's the Las Vegas title where you "sell" them your bike for $1.00 or something like that, and they license it in Las Vegas, and then "sell" it back to you with clear NV title to transfer to Illinois.....
Hey, I may have been born at night, but not LAST night!
So, I ask, what's to stop them from backing the trailer into your drive (with police escort) and knock on your door, saying "I'm here to pick up my bike?" Nothing. Like I said, not LAST night.....
But, hell, here I am wandering, when I was talking about carburetors and donor bikes. Where was I? Oh yeah.....I could pick up this donor bike with most of the parts I need if I can finagle the price down to where a title-less bike belongs. December is not really the time to sell a non-runner no-title bike on the South Side; not too worried about losing the sale at the moment. So that may be a New Year's endeavor, we'll see.
Back to the carbs. Yes. They are nasty. But gum and varnish (and even mahogany stain) are removeable, and though I've not seen worse, I've seen bad before, and it all worked out in the end. Just wish someone would have had the presence of mind to drain the darn things.....
Progress, they say, is not measured in leaps and bounds; rather in slow, shuffling footsteps in the desired direction. And so on we go.

[Zaipai]

I agree its the small steps that really count.. I have run into the same issue, I bought my bike with no title and after lots of calls and searching I found that if you write a nice letter to the DMV in the capital and explain it, they will send you a document to fill out (and have signed by a police officer) and once you have it notarized and mail it back they usually issue you a title and its not more then what you would spend if you had a title that had to be transfered, however it is some work but it usually goes pretty fast and is cheap.   Its not required but I also sent a picture of the bike before and after. There is a guy here in town that will titles his stock cars and bikes down south, he has a friend that does it for him, and it still costs him $200 to do it. So I just laugh when I see those adds. I wonder does Ill, still have a junk title option? You might ask about that. Tho it was about 20years ago when I last used that it may no longer be an option. Oh wait you don't actually need a title.. sorry..

GL with the parts bike, it seems the way to go.

[mystic_1]

Is that not the most fugly, heinous exhaust you guys have ever seen?

Not bad, this one is worse though



mystic_1

Wow I think you win?!?

Not mine, click the pic for torchmonkey's thread

mystic_1

[Gnat]

I am a new guy here as well and the 350-Four I bought came with a lot of rust as well and the very same horror story of an exhaust system. Research has shown that a new system "if" you can get one for my bike will be in the 1200.00 USD range, which isn't happening for a bike I paid 200.00 Bucks for. However I was wondering if you had looked at MAC performance mufflers. They offer a replacement set for around 289.00 that don't look too bad...not original but close.

Warning though I am not a bike guy...not that I don't really really like them I am more prone to restore cars. So anything I say can be dead wrong

Gnat

[the technological J]

my buddy just bought a mac sounds ok but i few drops of gas on it and it is down to the metal

[Really?]

I am not a fan of the two into ones.  The wifee's bike came with those and they came off and a MAC 4-1 went on.

Before:


After

[Captainkirk]

The four into 1's are reasonable enough, not sure what they do for the value of the bike, however.......

[Captainkirk]

Well. I've never seen carbs quite like these before, they are rather like the flat slide Mikuni HSR series carbs.
Anyway, what a trip! I managed to get one carb off the bank, cleaned and stripped, and reassembled. The stench was almost unbearable, and the funky slide rocker arms had me scratching my head for a bit, but I got through the first one, anyway. I ended up having to remove the mahogany stain from the inside of the bowls with Scotch Brite and Gumout Jet Spray. All the brass parts (jets, etc) I soaked in Hoppes #9 gun cleaning fluid, which does a qick number on gum and varnish and leaves them a soft, golden hue. Of course, the pilot jet orifice and bleed holes were majorly plugged, requiring a thorough workover with a high e-string cutoff saved from my last Epiphone restringing....eventually I wound up with daylight shining unobstructed through all the orifices. The slide was so firmly adhered to the inside of the bore, it required a good soaking with AeroKroil, then using a number 3 phillips for leverage, I was able to cam it out of the bore. After a thorough cleaning and lube with silicone spray, the slide now moves up and down with a satisfying swoosh. I'm happy...or at least, 1/4 happy! With the time it took to do one carb (right), I'm glad I'm not in a hurry to get them done!

[Zaipai]

I am not a fan of the two into ones.  The wifee's bike came with those and they came off and a MAC 4-1 went on.

Yea me also, I like the 4 into 1 better, however you can't beat the 2 into 1's for clearance so it really depends on what your going for. Me I said heck with clearance!

Well keep at it Captin, just for the record, I bought a carb cleaner from http://www.crc2onlinecatalog.com/Index_Main_Frame.htm (image below) its in the tools section under tools and sells for $9, well worth the money it was a big help. Tho mine where not as bad as yours they still had been sitting for over 3 years with gas in them.

Cheers...

[Mayor08]

Mystic_1 LOVE the wood floor in your garage!!

[Zaipai]

Mystic_1 LOVE the wood floor in your garage!!

Yea its not his garage, however I did not notice that the first time.. good catch.

[Captainkirk]

The gauges cleaned up nice......

[Captainkirk]

Carbs still wearing the factory torque lacquer.....


Now you see 'em, now you don't.....