Topic: 550 OverBore (Phoenix redux)

[Spikeybike]

was gonna add this to my last build thread   ( http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=42532.0 ) but i  thought it better to just start a new thread BECAUSE there are a bunch of 550 big bore threads or Gentleman's Express builds ... but none of them are finished!!!! (the threads anyway)  
  so i thought somebody way down the line doin search will get some closure and see the finished product (i hope   )

 so this has been my plan for quite some time, just got thrown on the backburner while gathering parts

so here is the plan :
retro fit 80's 550 Nighthawk oil cooler
CB750 pistons ..machined flat top (not the gentlemans express profile)
CB650 primary chain tensioner and oil pan
(i wanna try and mod the tensioner so that i don't need the 650 oil pan, cuz i like my exhaust the way it is)  

  and you could refer the link above and see the head and the rest of the top end
        

-------------------

so my plan was to use all my spares to build this bottom end, i have enough to build 2.... but upon inspecting this one , and seeing how bad the primary chain was , i thought i should check the chain that's actually in the bike .. and that was not to good either
  Sooooooooo... this now becomes a mandatory upgrade , and since i'm gonna be in the cases any damn way .. i'm gonna play

on with the show


WOW !!!!!


WOW!!!


WHOA!!!   probly gonna bring this to work and put some weld on that oil passage, just for piece of mind


      Now for the oil cooler..
normally i don't start threads till there is more to share ... but it seems i have lost a bunch of pictures taken during some of the process so i thought i'd start the thread before i got too '"dis-com-bob-u-late-ed"  
 
    so, go ahead and open a new tab and search Ebay for an 80's 550 Nighthawk oil cooler ..... go ahead i'll wait ..

ok .. so now you know what it used to look like .... i had to cut the center out, remove some of the meat at the top fins(where the oil filter joins) and remove alot of the cooling fins on the motor block so it would fit together

before
 

after




thats the start , will be getting my pistons back from the lathe guy at work in a week "or so"  

should have my primary chain the next few days as well

[Spikeybike]

and yes i plasti-gauged the crank and it checked out A-ok  (lost/deleted those pics too )

[Spikeybike]

so .... after doing some math , and figuring the money out , customizing the pistons , getting rings , Cometic gasket , plus the 3mm overbore, are just too damn expensive   

so  instead i'm gonna do a 1.00mm overbore bringing it to somewhere around 555  , i got a good deal from a friend of a friend of a friend  running an ebay store, (a PITA but worth it once i saved 50%)   

 so the pistons below with the correct oil sweeper rings , are on their way to my house
 

i got the wrong oil seal kit so i'm waiting on a few oil seals then i can bolt the lower cases back together

 i do love seein that ... feels good to finally get this ball rollin after waiting for so so long   

[four_shot]

sweet. That primary IS scary.  glad you found it when you did. post up a pic of the 650 pan/tensioner set up so I know what your talking about.

[50BMG]

four_shot this might help you understand


http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=80690.0

[Spikeybike]

so i'm trying to think of a way to mod this tensioner so that i don't need the 650 oil pan ... the only ideas i can come up with is to cut the spring tab on the bottom off , re-weld it higher up , and use a shorter spring ... i can't find a reason why that would be a bad idea, as long as i use a strong enough spring .   any opinions?
  
 

[q2418130103p]

I dont know, but I would assume you would have to do some back of the envelope calculations to make sure you are applying a similar force against the chain after you change the spring constant and leverage.


What does it take to mount the tensioner int he first place?  Is the 650 pan a direct replacement?  I'd like to do this on my 550, the cases are currently stripped.

[four_shot]

four_shot this might help you understand


http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=80690.0

Read this thread. It should answers your questions.

[Spikeybike]

driving to the machine shop to drop off my pistons and cylinders today , for bore and hone the cheapest i could find without having to drive 60 miles or more was 80 bucks a hole  .. the upside is it's a honda dealership so they should know what they're doing  

  thank uncle sam ...that greedy bastard

[q2418130103p]

driving to the machine shop to drop off my pistons and cylinders today , for bore and hone the cheapest i could find without having to drive 60 miles or more was 80 bucks a hole  .. the upside is it's a honda dealership so they should know what they're doing 

  thank uncle sam ...that greedy bastard

ouch, thats a rough price for a bore and hone.  For that price they better coat everything in gold while they are at it.

[Spikeybike]

just used an online displacement calculator...  when all is said and done , i should be at 563cc

[Zaipai]

Dude, don't know how I missed this thread. What do you suppose caused the primary to do that? The beefier cam you have on that thing? Makes me wonder if I should be checking mine. What is this going to mean for actual power if you go from say stock to 563cc's? Big difference? Bet it sounds better! Do you have to rejet? Bet you do... GL I will be tacking your progress...

.: Scott :.

[Spikeybike]

ok i finally got the oil filter bolt in the mail today , so i can chop them up and make a longer one

wrapped some tape on it so i knew where to cut , slapped in the vise


once i had the piece i need ,about 20mm .. i ground maybe 2mm off the new bolt , to make sure the weld wouldn't contact the motor case

i wrapped the cap and o-ring with masking tape and spray the mess with anti-spatter, went a little crazy with the anti-spatter actually
i didn't want any slag in the threads or inside the bolt
 

i only stitch welded it and as you can see in the pic, it shifted juuuuuust a lil bit , so i didn't weld it anymore

and test fit it to see if i needed to change anything


fit perfect   thats done

now i'm just waitin on the jugs

[Spikeybike]

i hate how the halogen lights make the HotRod Red look orange in pics   

[Zaipai]

That's ok when you are done, take it out side and get some good pictures. For now, its cool that the bolt worked even shifting the tiniest amount. Keep going man, spring will be here before you know it!

.: Scott :.

[moham]

BECAUSE there are a bunch of 550 big bore threads or Gentleman's Express builds ... but none of them are finished!!!!

well, at least one of us finished a 550 over bore project and thread

[Spikeybike]

That is very true my friend ...but there are like 10 that aren't finished ....and in my defense ,I hadn't seen your thread yet when I wrote that

[moham]

That is very true my friend ...but there are like 10 that aren't finished ....and in my defense ,I hadn't seen your thread yet when I wrote that

haha man, just giving you crap...and my thread is a year old so that's like 50 innernet years.

gl with your project! i'll have to get mine out of the shop soon and see if she still goes

[Spikeybike]

i just got off the phone with the machine shop ... it seems i was given 3 pistons at 1mm over  and 1 piston at 0.5mm over ... sooooooo #$%*in mad right now ..  

so i gotta order another piston THEN try and return this one , all the part #'s are the same so it was mis-packaged..   lookin like i'm out $80 and probly won't have this together by the end of May when the world tour hits the midwest leg  

[Spikeybike]

 

[Zaipai]

I don't know May is still a ways off.. I believe you can do it. I am just getting parts for mine so not sure I will have it finished so you have to have yours done so some one can take the mantle!

.: Scott :.

[four_shot]

Just had to throw the extra one in there huh

[Spikeybike]

Just had to throw the extra one in there huh

Dude...that #$%*s so #$%*in lame , the part that really burns me is that now doing the 592cc woulda cost just as much as this 565cc ...and now I gotta just sit and stare at it for another few weeks ... Mad face

[Spikeybike]

So just for #$%*s and giggles , I just sat down with a calculator and figured out how much money I've put into just my motor ...

Over the past 10yrs, the grand total comes to a whopping $2,263 

[Zaipai]

Yea, but as far as hobbies go its really not that bad at all! Worth every penny if you ask me!

.: Scott :.

[four_shot]

Plus a two page spread in cafe racer. Ride it out. It'll get better, just like it always does.

[Spikeybike]

so , i had to move by the 1st and no body wants to move a motor in pieces so i had to seriously hustle up and get the motor together ,  i thought that i set the camera to time stamp all the pics but it didn't show up on the image ... so i'll just copy the time from the file info 

mmmmmmm..looks so delicious
12:36pm fresh from the machine shop



i'm well aware that i totally rushed the paint , didn't have much of a choice .. i think it'll be ok , but we'll see
12:38

it helps to have an extra motor to paint on 
1:36


jumped over to puttin the pistons together, and gettin all that #$%* ready
1:45

2:15


this is as far as i got before i realized i had forgotten the cylinder sleeve o-rings   (as you can see in the pic
2:39



i learned long ago to not bother with wrestling the cam and chain ... just pony up and get the link  (i have the tool already)

5:21 

5:49


Ry even came out to hang for a bit 
7:11


so i had to play with him for a bit drillin some holes in some thing he was makin for his action figures


12:15am

[Spikeybike]

just gotta get the pipes on and try it out ... but i gotta put my garage together first ... till the next time

[cwchan]

looking good.  Did you end up installing that primary chain tensioner?

[Spikeybike]

unfortunately (for me ) member Goddfrey bought my parts bike , and i never got the chain tensioner out of it , it's still  on my list of mods i wanna do ...   Goddfrey had perfect timing and scooped it all up while i was super broke 

[Spikeybike]

so i have clocked 95 miles ..all under 5000rpm .. i don't know how much longer i can hold out before i start flogging this motor 

it wants to go so bad .. i can hear it whispering ..."go faster.. do it"

[Zaipai]

so i have clocked 95 miles ..all under 5000rpm .. i don't know how much longer i can hold out before i start flogging this motor 

it wants to go so bad .. i can hear it whispering ..."go faster.. do it"

You can do it.. Patents grasshopper.. No video of the motor? Its gotta sound better then before correct?

.: Scott :.

[Spikeybike]

the differences are there ,yes  .... but it's very subtle .. it's definitely not a night and day change
  to tell the truth , i'm just glad the experimental oil cooler setup worked  ... i'll get some video of it later today

[Zaipai]

the differences are there ,yes  .... but it's very subtle .. it's definitely not a night and day change
  to tell the truth , i'm just glad the experimental oil cooler setup worked  ... i'll get some video of it later today

Will be looking forward to the video.. Tho it maybe quicker to just stop by and see it in person..

.: Scott :.

[tweakin]

Nice to see this bike coming back to life.  Looking good.