Author Topic: Seamus - '74 550 (Read 37499 times)

Caseygroh1 · « **Reply #25 on:** February 07, 2010, 09:26:32 PM »

of, I forgot, the color of the master cylinder is different too. the 74 is a weird purplish brownish color.

theofam · « **Reply #26 on:** February 08, 2010, 08:33:26 AM »

Caseygroh1, you're making my head hurt! Per this link on sohc4 http://www.sohc4.net/index.php?q=node/204, the frame # and engine # are 1974 and the 1974 master cylinder color of a weird purple brown describes mine. However, I do have rubber on, and a little loop welded to, the kickstand as well as a shift pattern embossed on the left engine cover, which you state are characteristics of a '75. My tank also looks to be 1976 or 1977 based on the above link. So, I guess it's possible I have a 1974 and pieces have been changed over the years. Oh well, as long as I get a title issued and Seamus runs, I guess that's all I care about! Thanks for the info, it'll help me pick out bikes in the future.

Ecosse · « **Reply #27 on:** February 08, 2010, 11:08:11 AM »

Quote from: theofam on February 07, 2010, 12:34:37 PM

Funny you mention Seamus on the tank in Celtic/Gaelic. I literally dreamt that 2-3 nights ago wondering how I could get someone to CNC "Seamus" in Gaelic to match the Honda tank badge posts in order for it to snap in to the existing holes on the tank. No clue where to start with that one, but I think it would be way cool. As for color, I've been thinking Kelly green with a white stripe(s) on the tank and cowl. But, a Guinness brown/black as the main tank/cowl color with a head-colored cream for the stripe(s) could look really nice, too. Your thoughts? Slainte.

the guinness brn/blk with those stripes sounds like it has possibilities! plus, colors in the brown range were popular in the '70s.

i dig your emblem idea a lot! wonder what the cost of something like that would be.

Quote from: Caseygroh1 on February 07, 2010, 09:21:37 PM

the differences in the 74 and 75 were enough for honda to designate the 75 as a K1 instead of the K0 that the 74 is. There are a few small differences most people don't notice. The side stand is different on the 74 than all other 550 models. it has no rubber and no little prong for pulling it out with your foot. it looks like the early 750 stands. also, the front sprocket side cover has the shift pattern cast into the side. if you look at it, you'll see 5 4 3 2 N 1 towards the front. the 74 did not have this, its just smooth. the turn signals are different, they are much bigger and have a flatter face on the 75. I think the only other thing different is the petcock. the 75s and up use a thread on petcock, the 74 is sort of oval shaped and has screws holding it on on the inside of the bowl. it also doesn't have the filter screen going up inside of the tank. hope this helps some people distinguish between the early 550s

Quote from: Caseygroh1 on February 07, 2010, 09:26:32 PM

of, I forgot, the color of the master cylinder is different too. the 74 is a weird purplish brownish color.

i thank you too caseygrooh! very interesting stuff i've wondered about for a while.

but theofam's ride has the '74 blinkers. clearly someone can switch those. i wonder if honda was inclined to make unofficial "in between" models as i've seen (rarely) with cars.

Caseygroh1 · « **Reply #28 on:** February 08, 2010, 12:30:14 PM »

i'm sure in the bikes 35 years changes have been made by previous owners no big deal, just putting the info out there for those who might not know. I have a 74 and a 75 550, pretty much the only reason I know the stuff myself

theofam · « **Reply #29 on:** February 08, 2010, 12:58:20 PM »

Ecosse, the brown/cream idea is growing on me, rapidly. We'll see. Many moons shall pass between today and paint!

Caseygroh1, thanks again for chiming in. As a noob, I enjoy learning new stuff about my bike and how the CBs evolved.

theofam · « **Reply #30 on:** February 08, 2010, 01:20:18 PM »

On a scale from 1 - 10, how screwed am I (fingers crossed I get no "11s")?

Today I removed my carbs from the stay plate and dropped them in a Simple Green/water solution to soak for awhile before blasting and disassembly this week.

You've heard of "idle hands?" I eyed the stay plate and decided it was too grungy as is.

So, I started to disassemble it by removing the outside link arm and its key. I then began punching the shaft through one of its stays, and out the other side came a retaining ring, felt washer and brass shrapnel from the bushing. Oh, poop!

Here's what it looks like inside. It's tough to tell in the photo, but about 2/3 of the bushing is still in tact.

So, now the questions start rolling in my head. Do I run it as is and risk getting junk in the broken side of the bushing? The devil on my shoulder says, "do it, there's no play in the shaft." The angel says, "junk'll get up in there and cause trouble later on, plus, you want to do the right thing, don't you?"

Let's say I want to replace it, any tips on removing and installing a bushing? Also, in Awesome World, Honda (or someone) still makes this bushing. In my world, it's likely obsolete. So, any ideas on what type of shop to seek out to get a bushing for this thing? Frus-ter-ated.

Caseygroh1 · « **Reply #31 on:** February 08, 2010, 09:40:43 PM »

ouch. i'd say just use it as is. I really don't see it being a problem. you might be able to find that plate assembly on ebay or at a salvage yard.

traveler · « **Reply #32 on:** February 09, 2010, 04:24:29 AM »

Get another stay plate, and clean it up without completely dissassembling it.

my .02

~Joe

theofam · « **Reply #33 on:** February 09, 2010, 08:33:26 AM »

Caseygroh1 & Traveler, I think I'll take your advice and hit a salvage yard for the stay plate. The wind chill was -12 this AM in Denver, so I'll wait until later this week to go dig through their carb trailer.

theofam · « **Reply #34 on:** February 11, 2010, 04:57:30 PM »

WOOHOO! I got Seamus' birth certificate (title) from Colorado in the mail yesterday. I didn't know if that was going to go through, so I'm full steam ahead now that I know I can register and plate him.

Donned my headlamp today and spent two hours at my local salvage yard moving and stacking and moving and stacking carbs in a shipping container until I found:

1. An awesome stay plate to replace the one I screwed up a few days ago (photo of busted bushing above).
2. Four (4) schweeeet looking leaf springs to hold in my main jets. Those things are like hen's teeth to find! Has anyone looked into manufacturing those? The SOHC world seems to be quickly depleting its supply of those buggers. I can't tell you how many sets of Keihin carbs I found that were nearly complete, save those leaf springs!

I also came across a bunch of rear sets, clip ons and GSXR front ends. I need to figure out if that's the direction I want to go on one or all of those items and get back down there to pick out some more parts!

I've blocked off tomorrow to soda blast the new stay plate, rebuild the carbs, and reassemble the carbs. We'll see if I can get it all done or not!

Little_Horse · « **Reply #35 on:** February 11, 2010, 06:29:24 PM »

its a good thing I don't know of any salvage yards nearby me or I may never come home

. Those clips would not be very hard to make, are they really discontinued?

theofam · « **Reply #36 on:** February 11, 2010, 08:19:29 PM »

Amen, brother! I think I found my happy place today. I didn't want to leave the warehouse they had of parts from every imaginable bike. It's just fun rooting through stuff trying to figure out what it is and what bike it belonged to. How do you think those springs could be made? I knew with your background you'd probably already have ideas! Is this something that is stamped out of a sheet and then bent?

Here's a pic of them:

traveler · « **Reply #37 on:** February 11, 2010, 08:54:09 PM »

Parts that are all metal and don't have any plastic or rubber, can be soaked in carburetor cleaner, which will "eat" off the gunk, and do the hard work for you.

Berryman is a company that makes carb cleaner, and they sell a one gallon bucket of carb cleaner that has a tray in it that you pull up put parts in, and lower into the solution. This stuff is BAD for the skin, but really works well. The can looks like a house paint can.

It's made for laying disassembled carbs in to soak. But will work on other metal. The carb stay looks like a part that could be soaked, but may have to put it in a larger metal bucket.....

~Joe

Little_Horse · « **Reply #38 on:** February 11, 2010, 09:53:57 PM »

they probably where stamped originally, now I would flatten one, measure it design it in solid works send the file to a laser cutter then bend the shape after cut. How much where the used ones?

theofam · « **Reply #39 on:** February 12, 2010, 11:22:25 AM »

Traveler, thanks for the tip on the Berryman carb cleaner. I may try to track it down. The stay plate cleaned up very nicely last night after a couple hours in some Simple Green and water.

Cornandp, the leaf springs were $5/each at the local salvage yard. So, they're not terribly expensive, they're just tough to locate. I spent two trips of two hours each digging through carbs to find six good ones (couple spares just in case).

I'm stuck on my main jet install right now. It's not seating properly, and I'm not sure how much pressure I can apply (hammer blows) to try to get it in there! Any help is appreciated here or at this thread:

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=65590.0

Thanks!

Little_Horse · « **Reply #40 on:** February 12, 2010, 12:08:07 PM »

the jets should just push in by hand, if they don't something is wrong, the jet or the opening needs to be cleaned more. Mine had an o-ring and slipped in very easily.

theofam · « **Reply #41 on:** February 12, 2010, 02:28:19 PM »

Cornandp, thanks for the insight. I bent the two little arms on the leaf spring that grip the post the jet fits into. That seems to make it a tighter fit. Onward with the carb rebuild! Pulled any wheelies yet on that sweet ride of yours?

Little_Horse · « **Reply #42 on:** February 12, 2010, 03:33:38 PM »

nope, Murphy knows I want to ride, so its still raining. When you have a bike with no fenders and its clean, well I am sure you understand.

Ecosse · « **Reply #43 on:** February 12, 2010, 07:49:00 PM »

thanks for those details, tt. this stuff fascinates me no end.

what's the difference between '74 and '75 frames?

theofam · « **Reply #44 on:** February 12, 2010, 10:18:37 PM »

TwoTired, thanks for chiming in on the '74 vs '75 topic. Not knowing any better, and having a build date of 5/74 stamped on the neck's plate, I titled it as a 1974. I guess it doesn't matter too much for my application, as I won't be restoring Seamus. But, it is interesting to know the differences, so thank you.

Ecosse, you were right. Rub the tank three times and say "TwoTired" and the man shows up on your thread! Thanks for the tip!

Cornandp, I like the name "Murphy" for your bike! Goes well with his Irish pal "Seamus!" Two Irish guys walk into a bar. Murphy turns to Seamus and says . . . . .

As an end of week update, I got far less done than I thought (go figure). I got leaf springs at the local salvage yard, may have scoped out some clip ons and rear sets, set up my workbench to accommodate my vise and bench grinder/polisher, and rebuilt 3 of 4 carbs. My kids have a four-day weekend, and since I'm a stay-at-home dad, I won't get much garage time until Wednesday - hope to finish up the carbs and get them mounted to the stay plate then.

theofam · « **Reply #45 on:** February 18, 2010, 06:53:38 PM »

I got back out to the garage today and rebuilt the 4th carb. I went to install the fuel-line connectors that go between the carb pairs, and the o-rings were in pretty bad shape. No o-rings at Carquest or Lowe's, so I had to buck up and buy them from Honda for $18 and a week's wait.

I ordered black clubmans w/ black end mirrors and grips today, so I figured I'd need some shine to balance that out. I blasted the top triple tree, so it's ready for polish. I'm TOTALLY diggin' my soda blaster cabinet!

I don't know what the polish of choice is, but I ordered some Flitz paste - a buddy of mine is a long-time auto body guy, and he swears Flitz followed by Mothers for the high shine is a great combo . . . we'll see.

Little_Horse · « **Reply #46 on:** February 18, 2010, 09:31:06 PM »

Next time if you can't find the right o-ring try a specialty plumbing shop, you know the ones that only do plumbing not the big chain stores. Those stores will have a very large variety. That soda blaster seemss to work great.

theofam · « **Reply #47 on:** February 19, 2010, 02:27:59 PM »

cornandp, thanks for the tip on the plumbing shop. Probably would've saved me $ and time! Next time I'll know.

traveler · « **Reply #48 on:** February 20, 2010, 09:24:42 AM »

+1 on that TT.

Rubber used in Gas applications must have a additive the makes it tolerable of gasoline and oil.....I have had parts fail under fuel!

You bought the factory stuff...so you KNOW you got the right stuff...but that cost is robbery, IMHO.

~Joe

Little_Horse · « **Reply #49 on:** February 21, 2010, 12:53:27 AM »

Ahh yes the old rubber melts thing. This is partly true in that o-rings for plumbing use where primarily made from rubber back in the day, but most replacement o-rings at the plumbing store are actually not rubber anymore but poly-urathane of some kind. I personally have used them with gasoline and had no trouble, not saying for sure that all of them are going to work, I would first test the o-ring bought before installing.

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Author Topic: Seamus - '74 550 (Read 37499 times)

traveler

traveler

traveler