Author Topic: 1976 CB550 Code Name: Puddles (Read 4838 times)

fitz101 · « **on:** April 16, 2012, 07:05:29 PM »

Well, I have been on the forum for a bit. Mostly just seeing whats out there and to gain knowledge on what type of aftermarket components are out there for projects. I bought my CB at the begining of 2011 and wanted to change it over to a Cafe. I really don't know why, but I just did. I never worked on a bike in my life before this, but have experience in rebuilding cars and what not. In fact, I never rode a bike before this either.

But, theres the breif intro into my plan... So, the name Puddles you ask? Well, when I bought the CB, I was advised that it ran good and it was mechanically sound. I bought it from a guy at work and it was stored during the winter months inside his house. It had just under 10K miles on it, and he was only asking $600 for it. Now, this guy claims him and his son were working on making it a Cafe racer, but the pictures really didnt make it out like that.

This should be the spot where I attach an image of what it looked like when I got it. (EDIT! I have)..

But lets just fast forward to the summer of 2011 and my very quick 'hack' job to get it going for the time being. Now, I live in Detroit and having an 'odd' bike is cool. Especially if it looks like it belonged in the movie Mad Max... so, don't hate too much guys, but thiis was the ride for 2011....

Well, once it was running, it would leave 'puddles' when parked.. yes, my poor bike was proned to getting nervous in big parking lots and would wet itself. Well, someone called it Puddles and the name stuck.

So, fast forward a bit more (like December 2011) and I get the bike over to my buddies shop where I can have my way with the bike. The plan is to create a Cafe Racer with a bit of Detroit Muscle influence. The bike is not yet done, but it has made good progress. I am going to post photos throught the coming weeks of the progress my friend and I did. The ultimate plan once done (by summer of 2013 if the stupid Mayan (spelling?) doesnt screw me over....) is to have the engine bored over to a 592 with the Stage 3 Kit from Dynamen installed (suppose thats part of the Detoit muscle?). For now, I am riding it around, but suttle changes will happen throughout the summer.

The tear down:

As I said, I will continue to add photos. I am stopping right now because I have never made a post like this, and I want to make sure I attached all the images correctly and what not before I get to far into this....fingers crossed!

And it only added one photo

I tried another way (clicked on the insert photo button and put the address the photos were on my computer. Unless that is to be a hyperlink?), but no luck as it only still posted one photo. I changed the size of the photos to a small format and still having a problem. Any advise on how to attach the photos throughout my post so they are not at the end?

Stev-o · « **Reply #1 on:** April 16, 2012, 07:38:03 PM »

First off welcome.

To post pics:
open free acct at photobucket.com and upload.
Copy direct link on photo.
When posting click on 2nd icon from left and paste direct link. Easy.

fitz101 · « **Reply #2 on:** April 17, 2012, 09:29:12 AM »

Ok, so I created a photobucket account, so here we go again!

Tear down!

And fast forward a bit...

Pretty much the same as the previous, but removed the wiring harness and the one of the cross braces.

Once torn down, the tank was going to be modified for knee dents. And because it was late, felt like drawing a bit...

I will update more photos a bit later.

And a special thanks to Stev-o for getting me on the right page!

Stev-o · « **Reply #3 on:** April 17, 2012, 09:07:13 PM »

No prob, it's easy when you know what to do.

Ok, what's next for the bike?

geminimotors · « **Reply #4 on:** April 18, 2012, 04:13:52 AM »

I can't reliably predict the future, however there may be some discussion relating to your frame and rear shocks. It could happen before or during the page of your build thread devoted to your seat.

fitz101 · « **Reply #5 on:** April 18, 2012, 09:21:47 AM »

Well, in all honesty, the bike is already done. I am just posting the photos from the build. So no matter what, you cannot change the direction, lol.

But, as promised, more photos of the build (well I guess destruction for the new few photos)...

Well, this photo doesnt show the actual cutting, just the result...

Oh yeah, had a couple (well, really only one) before I cut. Calmed the nerves a bit

And this to feed the belly.. but for anyone who lives in the Detroit area and knows of Happys Pizza... it doesnt sit to well with anyone...

Back to more destruction...

As I said in the beginning of the post, I have never done any of this type of work, so, pretty much a learn as you go type of deal... But the beer apparently did a really good job because my cuts were close enough to let the pieces rest in nicely

Once I was done with cutting, went ahead and cleaned up the paint to leave just the bare metal

Tomorrow will be more photos during my lunch... It will consist of making the rear section of the bike so I can mount the rear tail section...

Stev-o · « **Reply #6 on:** April 18, 2012, 03:34:13 PM »

That looks like quite the shop you are working in. Lifts, tire balancers, and Snap ons....

fitz101 · « **Reply #7 on:** April 18, 2012, 06:20:42 PM »

Yeah, he has a pretty big shop. The later photos you can see some pretty neat cars in the back. But, I can't contain myself and I want to post more pics so you guys can see the final result.

So, I left off at bare metal...
And... I was supposed to put pics of the dual brake setup in already... that will have to be tomorrow at work...

Anyways, here comes some rear tail section work.

FYI, all we have at the shop are like 5 hammers, 2 vise and a welder. We do have wrenches obviously, but no real metal working equipment..

And get ready for the mold!

Trust us, we are professionals! But seriously, we are careful, I like my hands!

Everything was going awesome! Untill this photo...

Right at that moment, the tubing actually split open, so it created a flat spot.

None the less, we won't let a little thing like that bug us...so, we cut the bar in the center of the arc, and bent the other half by hand.

We are following the molded bend to get an idea as to where we are at

Whats ironic is that the 'free' bending actually turned out better then the mold... :/

Well, here goes welding!

So, this next photo you can see that the arc is a little rough... yes

This is not really a proud time for us. But hey, it will be covered up and the function is sound

GRINDING!!!

DONE!---ish...

And just because I cant hold back! I will put our photos from the handle bar mock up! This was a straight bar, so you missed the first bend... camaraman was caught with a beer in his hand...

Figured two photos of the handlebar mock up is sufficient.. i mean, its pretty straight forward...

And a final photo for the night. This is kinda showing what it will look like when (is) done

P.S. I did have clubman bars on the bike before. I didnt care for them because they would make my arms fall asleep fast. I had a bad snowboard accident a while back and screwed up tendons for a bit.. But, I also used to race mountain bikes, so, I have always been in favor of just a flat bar with a little bit of a raise...if anything...

fitz101 · « **Reply #8 on:** April 19, 2012, 09:29:34 AM »

More photos of the build

Got the light in from dime city cycles. It is mounted very primitive and its dark because the lights were off (going to the bar

)

So, light mounted..ish, time to work on the rear section pan a bit.

This is where all the wiring, battery and what not will go.

Following photos you can see where there are seat pan rails? You get the point...

Also resolved the primitve light mount...

Speedo mounted

(another dime city purchase)

Incase you are wondering, I will not have a tach. I will be running a Quik Lite Shift Light from Autometer with a DPSS controller. So, it will just flash when I hit my programmed shift point. I like a look of really nothing on it

More photos later on as always

Gman · « **Reply #9 on:** April 21, 2012, 08:07:42 AM »

Fitz,
Keep the pics rolling - looks good! I love that you are making/building it yourself - with basic tools, no less. If/when I tear down my bike, that's the boat I'll be in, so I enjoy watching the MacGuyver approaches to fabricating.

Good luck,
G

fitz101 · « **Reply #10 on:** April 23, 2012, 09:56:47 AM »

Yeah, MacGuyver for sure on some of it

Just an FYI for these next photos. The photos are somewhat spaced apart (I.E. the tail section will be moulded but you really dont see any photos of the mock up). This is because we had a motorcycle show to go to and Puddles had to be in it. So... less photo taking, more working, lol.

Also, the seat pan for some is very straight forward. All I did was take steel, contour it to my liking and then bolt it down to the mounts

So, heres the mock up of the rear section. I used a high density foam that I ordered from a Kayak web site. The foam is used for seats.

Starting to take shape

Mmmmm...

So, now comes fiberglass... :/ (I dislike this stuff...because it CAN be a pain in the butt)

Still tacky..

While I was waiting, took another photo of the speedo...

Back to the rear section (already dried, applying more fiber...

Once it dried, a breif mock up to see what it looked like on the bike

And if you are wondering why you see blue tape on the gas tank when the previous photo didnt have it...

Its because I am using a different cap.

Also, fiber is done, so these photos have it getting the small imperfections (bondo work, lol) resolved

And the last photo for the day is of the new battery..so tiny!

Stev-o · « **Reply #11 on:** April 23, 2012, 09:56:10 PM »

Some nice cars in the shop! Lotus, GTO, '73? Mustang and a Delorian??

fitz101 · « **Reply #12 on:** April 24, 2012, 09:30:47 AM »

Yeah, we stay pretty busy. lol. Don't worry, there will be more photos with more cars in the background

LesterPiglet · « **Reply #13 on:** April 24, 2012, 03:02:23 PM »

Nothing nice about Renaults..I mean Deloreans.

I like the Esprit.

fitz101 · « **Reply #14 on:** April 26, 2012, 09:35:45 AM »

Been busy the last few days, but here are some more photos.

Needless to say, welding tanks with a MIG can cause a bit of distortion. But, thats what Dura Glass is for

Seat covered

FYI, next photos will have one side of tank (knee dent) formed. Once again, less photos, more work... Lets just say that the photo of the bike that has the jack stand in front of it (previous post that shows the battery) was on Monday.. by saturday morning the bike was done... we were very busy each night. I say night because we both have full time jobs during the day and this was our side project.