Topic: 1972 CB500: "An Inherited Basket Case." Finally... AN UPDATE!

[OneWheelDrive]

Pretty excited to have just discovered your build.  I love the commitment to quality you've put into this project and I'm really looking forward to seeing you on the road on this beauty! 

[fantino]

Thanks! I keep trying to cut corners, but I feel too guilty ~_~ It's not the worst character trait, I suppose.

I started drilling the rotors today. I took Goon1492's fast spiral pattern for the 550, doubled the amount of spirals from 56 to 112 per disc. It's going to look like swiss cheese when it's done ~_~ Spent like $30 on cobalt bits today. The price hurts, but man, those things sure do the trick. I burned out a regular hi-speed steel bit drilling one pilot hole, these cobalt bits just keep going and going :-)



That's how far I got after about an hour of drilling ^_^

[fantino]

I finished the first (left side) disc today. All 112 holes are drilled out to 9/32" with a slight chamfer on both sides. One hole got like... 0.5mm more chamfer than the rest by accident. I'll try and pretend it isn't there... Total time for the disc was ~5 hours, and I only used one bit for the whole thing (I can probably still get some life out of each bit, to be honest).

The disc weighs noticeably less than its undrilled counterpart. I'll take it to the post office tomorrow so I can borrow their scale and see what the actual difference is. Pattern is a little busy, but I'm happy with it overall.

Here it is with all the pilot holes drilled...


and finished!


I'm going to bolt the two discs together with their faces touching each other and the spokes lined up. My center punch just happens to be 9/32" on the shaft, so I can simply slot it into the holes and transfer the mirror pattern directly onto the other disc. Easy peasy :-)

Once I get this all done, the next big push is to get the rear wheel laced up.

[fantino]

Weighed the disc today, didn't remove as much weight as hoped, but it'll end up being about 3/4lb off stock weight per rotor. Trying to make any mods to this bike as weight neutral as possible.

Been thinking about getting rid of the starter. I would need to buy a solenoid, it weighs a lot, and I could use a lighter battery without it. Plus I just like kickstarting :-p Not going to trash the starter or anything, just in case it proves to be too difficult.

Adding another thing to my list I think. I don't want to spend money on my turnouts. I also don't want to spend $$$ on a kerker or whatever else. I love 4-4. Also don't want to spend a ton of money finding a set of stock pipes, which are full of rot, and weigh a ton. I love love love the look of magni exhausts, i.e.:



I'm going to buy a rolled, welded cone from cone engineering, and see if I can work out a bending method utilizing minimal equipment. I saw some nice results on youtube from a guy who heated the part up in a coal pit until it glowed and then wrapped it around a jig. Neat stuff. Cones are $25 a piece. If I can figure out a succesful method, I'll go for it. I should be able to pretty easily adapt my headers and come up with some simple steel-wool wrap baffles. I have an engineering buddy who might be able to help me out with this...

I really need to stop finding things I want to do to this bike ~_~

[OneWheelDrive]

What an amazing build!  I'm hoping I can have your attention to detail when I finally jump into my project.

[fantino]

Heh, generally that is the same feeling I have towards a lot of other builds on these forums :-p There's a lot of work on here that is *way* more impressive than what I've done (or even plan to do...). Between the project shop and the high-performance forums, I'm pretty consistently blown away at the ideas and quality of work so many put into their bikes. I've stolen a lot of great ideas off of other people here, someday when I have something I'm proud to present, I'll give them their dues ;-)

New cam chain tensioner blade and guide in the mail, as well as stainless head and sidecover bolts, and a few bits and bobs to actually start getting my oil lines together. Everything that I need to close my engine up is currently in transit, so every time I heer a truck pull up my house I get all excited and hope it's my parts, and so far it hasn't been. So painful, haha.

[fantino]

So I got something in the mail today...


!!!!

You'll have to excuse the following gratuitous bike porn... (if you right click -> view image, you can see the full size pic for extra sexy detail).

All the waiting was completely worth it. Mike did a really outstanding job.



Whole thing surfaced .009"



Ooooh, pretty combustion chamber. Brand new set of OEM intake and exhaust valves too!



KPMI HD valve springs, new valve guide seals.



Bead blasted for extra prettiness



Wow. Don't those ports just scream cavernous? New KPMI bronze valve guides (which necessitated a SERDI valve job).



Exhaust side



Careful, you might fall in!



exhaust side counterpart



matched intake runners... Kind of reminds me of a water slide :-D



long drop!



Last one.

I almost feel bad putting this thing on the bike now. It looks like it belongs in a glass case on a mantle. Can't wait to get this thing together. Anyways, very excited. More updates to follow :-)

[fantino]

So my jugs came back from the machinist and my cam chain tensioner blade and guide showed up in the mail! I finally have everything I need to put this all together.

The boring went fairly well. One of the cylinders didn't clean up 100% right near the bottom of the bore, but that's what I get for only going .25mm over. It shouldn't make much of a difference (in the machinist opinion, anyways). I'm hoping to go up another 100CC after the bikes first season anyways. The head had to be decked about 0.0145 to bring everything down to same height as the replacement sleeves. Nice flat surface to work with now, also a tiny up in compression :-p




Well I was buttoning up the top end (finally!), everything was going smoothly. Then as I was in the final stage of torquing the head nuts... SNAP!!!



Heavy duty stud snapped right at the bottom of the threads somewhere between 15 and 20 ft-lbs torque. :-( I was pretty upset when it happened, but no big deal, it came out pretty easily with head and vice grips. I'll have a new one in the mail tomorrow and the top end assembly will commence.

I put a lil bit of wheel grease on the headgasket to help keep it in place (and because this is what I'd been told to do by a few others). After I took it all back apart, I put the gasket in a bag to protect it. Hopefully it will be okay to reuse between now and when I get the new stud.

In other news, here's the oil-line adapter fitted to the right side oil gallery:



Goes right from M20-1.5 to -6AN. It sits about flush with the edge of the cases, but once the lines are attached will probably have about 1" of protrusion. I'll have to make up a frame slider for that side to protect it. Turboguzzi made a good suggestion in just tapping out a fitting or plug for a banjo bolt, which would have probably been the better solution. Alas, I feel I will be sticking with the adapter for now. I also helicoiled the head on the oil feed ports for M10x1.5 banjos.

I also spoke with Mark (Hondaman) about rebuilding my swingarm, I will probably send it out when I get back from my trip to Arizona next week.

Unfortunately, I have to divert funds otherwise reserved for the motorcycle to some essential preventative maintenance for my VR6. I'm at 130,000mi, so I'm replacing the timing chains, clutch, water pump, thermostat+housing, oil pump, accessory belt, tensioner and pretty much everything else that might fail that is difficult to replace with the engine in the car. I plan on another 130,000 trouble free miles from my GTI :-) May not be a motorcycle, but still definitely one of my favourite engines. Nice and torquey, compact, robust and it sounds like an exotic in the higher RPMs <3

[jaguar]

VR is a great engine.
i love mine in my MKV R32....

if you really want those pipes check out
http://www.classiccyclecity.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=29

great guy to work with.

[fantino]

Oh believe you me, I've been drooling over those CCC pipes for a while, RR really went all out on those. Fitment is very much 750 specific though, also a lil out of my price range right now (I blew all my $$$ on the engine :-P). I like to try and give making things myself a shot too, even if it usually ends up in abject failure, haha. If I can't manage the nice double curve, I think something like these swarbrick pipes might be a little more realistic:



Lucky on the .:R, those extra horsies must be nice. Someday I'll have my headwork and Kinetic turbo though ;-)

[fantino]

Well, time for an update...

The engine is back together, for now... I buttoned everything up without failed studs this time. Got the cam aligned and the cam cover bolted on using the rubber band on the rocker arm trick (no bent valves for me!) and everything cycles through very smoothly.

Unfortunately, I realized a little too late that I forgot to put the knock pins back on the cylinders after I got it back from the machinist. Whoops... Even though clearance seems to be fine, I'll probably pull it apart to put the dowels back in. I would like the peace of mind in knowing that my head is accurately placed on the cylinders...

Anyways, still focusing on classes and the maintenance of my VW. It got really cold and miserable here, so that is going to slow me down a lot :-(

Once I have money to spend again, first order of business is Hondaman swing-arm rebuild, then parts for my clutch rebuild.

[Flying J]

what is the price on those ccc pipes?

[fantino]

I think around $1400, and they clamp or weld on to your stock headers, so you've gotta have a set of those.

[MRieck]

Well, time for an update...

The engine is back together, for now... I buttoned everything up without failed studs this time. Got the cam aligned and the cam cover bolted on using the rubber band on the rocker arm trick (no bent valves for me!) and everything cycles through very smoothly.

Unfortunately, I realized a little too late that I forgot to put the knock pins back on the cylinders after I got it back from the machinist. Whoops... Even though clearance seems to be fine, I'll probably pull it apart to put the dowels back in. I would like the peace of mind in knowing that my head is accurately placed on the cylinders...Anyways, still focusing on classes and the maintenance of my VW. It got really cold and miserable here, so that is going to slow me down a lot :-(

Once I have money to spend again, first order of business is Hondaman swing-arm rebuild, then parts for my clutch rebuild.

Yes....you most definitely want the locating dowels in there. The head will shift otherwise.

[fantino]

Yeah, I figured as much. No big deal though, the more times I take the top end apart, the better I get at putting it back together, haha.

[cdoggy81]

Nice!

[fantino]

I haven't abandoned my build! I've just been busy with holidays and this mess (notice the new craftsman motorcycle jack I got for Christmas holding up the engine!):



All finished now, and the VR6 runs like a top. Time to return to the bike. Tax refund is coming up soon, so I'll have a few dollars to play around with. Planning on a cometic head-gasket since I have to take the head off for those knock pins.

[SF]

nice build,I'm sure your bro loves the way your goin. I'm restoring my moms 72 cb350 twin, looks will stay stock with an over bore .25 she use to drop me off at day care strapped to her back with an oversized big gold metal flake helmet on ....keep up the good work!

[fantino]

That's pretty awesome, your mom is a badass. I hope you've got pictures of that somewhere!

Anyways, still moving slow as molasses, but what's new? When I can't do things the correct way, I just don't do them at all. Top end is back together yet again, this time with a cometic head gasket and the knock pins properly installed.

I've been toying with the idea of etching or engraving my sidecovers and rear hub cover (I was a printmaking major in art school and have some experience with hand engraving and etching, though I'm certainly no expert). I was thinking something like etched houndstooth for a while, but I decided against it. Too flashy, too hipster. I've always really loved flowing, arabesque designs, especially those composed of acanthus scrollwork. This hand-engraved titanium bicycle has been in the back of my mind since I saw it a couple years ago:



Here's a more american style acanthus scrollwork for more examples of what I have in mind:



I've been working on some designs for my covers and will post them up when they're a little more flushed out. Symbolically, acanthus represents enduring life or immortality, and I really like the idea of incorporating these very organic elements into my project. I also think it's a much more subtle and understated way to add character to a bike that will be almost all muted colors and raw, exposed materials. I'm trying to avoid loud colours, shiny chrome and decals\logos without going into blackout territory...

Thanks for holding in there for anyone who does still try to read my sporadic posts :-p

[edit]
Forgot to mention, I've also collected a few more bits for my exhaust, expect to see updates on that in the next month or so once I get the engine in the frame.

[fantino]

Finally got around to building up that rear wheel. Got sick of trying to polish the center of the hub, so I bought a $10 HF blasting gun and bead blasted the center before spraying it silver. Ease of maintenance should be greatly increased :-)

Now that both wheels are built... I can finally start looking at tires! Any suggestions? I'm kind of looking for something in-between classic tire and modern sportbike, and it needs to be good in the rain (PNW).

[scroggins5000]

I just read your entire build thread, and it is great. Keep up the good work. I like the engraving idea, and think you should definitely go for it. Forum member Joeyputt does a lot of engraving, but in a much different style. You should check out his 550F build if you haven't already.

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=80234.0

[fergie]

bridgestone spitfires work great in all conditions are cheap and last forever

[fantino]

scroggins5000: Thanks for the compliment :-) I saw Joeyputt's build earlier this week, really Quality (with a capital Q) stuff. Seeing his engraving totally confirmed for me that it could look really nice. It's my birthday next month, so I'm asking my parents for a new hand graver and set of tool blanks...

Fergie: Thanks for the suggestion! Definitely like the price, they seem to get good reviews and they look the part. Aesthetically they actually remind me of the super old Pirelli Diablos that were on the bike when I got it.

[jaguar]

as far as tires go alot of guys run the avons.  i really like the GT501s
not a fan at all of the firestone repos

[traveler]

update?