Topic: Assembling my '74 CB550 - Putting it all back together

[wowbagger]

Mick, I think I have a spare one of those. I'll take a look tonight and message you.

[MickB]

SR I didn't read your note fully, you're on, I'll send a note to you with my address and visa versa. Mick

[MickB]

Wowbagger thanks for the offer but the swap with SR will suit us both. Mick

[SohRon]

Hello, everyone... long time no see I guess. Have been busy with other projects and haven't spent much time with the bike lately, but things have come up that have prompted my attention re: the thread.

The bike itself still sits pretty much as it was when I last posted; finished all but the tank. Through a series of unfortunate events the tank I had restored with the bike came to an unfortunate and irretrievable end, so, right now, it sits without a tank;  and since I spent nearly a thousand dollars on it to begin with, it just wasn't something I was willing to dive into right away. I've been spending most of my time and money during the last year or so restoring my '62 Corvair Monza 'Vert, so the bike has been sitting idle in the corner under cover awaiting its turn.

Here are some shots of the restored Corvair just to show what I've been up to











This brings me to the purpose of the post. I'm moving away from Frederick and will be cancelling my ISP. The downside to that is that I used them for photo storage for several years, so there are many pics in this thread that are going to disappear after the 7th of March. What I plan to do eventually is to move them all to Photobucket but unfortunately I'm so busy with the move, etc, that it will take some time to accomplish that. I hope to get back to it all within the next month or so; when I do I plan to finish the thread with new posts and pics - hey, I'm retiring and so should have plenty of time on my hands to get back to the bike!

As a matter of fact, we are moving to a small town named Bayfield, about ten miles east of Durango, which is where the big rally is taking place this summer! Talk about a coincidence! If plans go as anticipated, I'll have the bike up and running for that! Can't wait!

Anyway, stay tuned for further developments as they occur. Glad to be back and am looking forward to seeing you all in Durango later on this summer.

'til next time!

[Stev-o]

Hey Ron...good to hear from you. I like the Corvair! Gook luck with the move [I hate moving]

[Scott S]

Well, I've finally found the time to get back to the bike project, and I'm pretty jazzed about it. My original thread covered the restoration of a '74 CB550K that I had bought cheap from a friend, but there turned out to be problems with that frame (and quite a few other parts, actually); in addition, my personal life was just becoming too hectic for words and was leaving little time for the project, so abandoning the build was in order, at least temporarily.

Now, all of that is finally behind me and it's time to concentrate on the bike. Here it is as it stands now

(Note that if you click on the above pic it will open  to full isze)

I did a lot of work on this for the original build, so the main thing I've been concentrating on in preparation for reassembly has been cosmetics; basically I've been doing a lot of polishing and repainting. I've gone over all of the nuts, bolts and screws so they shine, reworked and refinished some components (right hand switch, brake MC, etc), and in general spiffed everything up so it looks pretty. I'm actually preparing parts for another bike at the same time, so things are being done in twos. Fun!

This is the replacement frame as I received it. I had it sandblasted

then powder coated gloss black, and I'm not sure I'd do the high gloss again; at least not in a dark color. The black powder coat is so glossy and fragile that it required a special clear overcoat (at extra cost) to protect the finish. The problem is that the overcoat is kind of fragile itself, and shows every fingerprint and micro scratch. There are areas in the finish that are a Little cloudy now from attempts to clean off fingerprints. Even Microfiber cloths can scratch the finish. I'm thinking that eventually I'll have the frame redone, but have it coated with the semigloss finish which is still pretty shiny, but a little more forgiving. Still, it does look nice

So, I'm going to buck the trend and restore this bike to (something at least resembling) original condition. And that means bucking another trend (and here some of you will quietly shake your heads while others will spew their coffee all over the monitor and wave frantically over their shoulders hollering, "my God, Ma! Come see what this lunatic is doing now!"): I'm going to start the return to 1974 by using the original ball bearing setup in the steering head. Now, before I get letters, I need to say that I fully appreciate the potential superiority of the tapered bearings over ball bearings and have no problem with them; in fact, I have a set I'll be using on another build. But I feel that the ball bearing setup works just fine, too; so, since I want this particular bike to be closer to original, ball bearings it is. I think, too, that it would be good to go over installation of these as there just aren't many threads covering this subject

I bought a new ball bearing steering set from David Silver Spares (yes, they are still available), which actually turned out to be more expensive than the tapered bearing kit. The ball bearing "kit" consists of top and bottom inner and outer races, a new rubber dust seal and steel washer, and 37 steel balls; that is to say, thirty-seven individual 3X5 plastic baggies, each containing one small steel ball

I started out by inserting the top and bottom outer races into the steering head. I left the races in the freezer for a couple of days, so they were pretty frosty. I gently warmed the race seat with a torch, then used the old races to tap the new ones in place; just moving around and around the perimeter of the race was enough to drive the new part home

With both top and bottom outer races installed into the steering head, I supported the frame upside down so I could install the bottom bearing and steering stem

Here are the steering components: steering stem/lower fork yoke, top and bottom (already installed on steering stem) inner races, 37 steel balls (18 top, 19 bottom), the upper race cap (or thread), and the steering stem nut and washer

Coating the balls with grease, I installed all 19 in the bottom outer race...

...then inserted the stem down through the steering head and secured it in place with a couple of big rubber bands, giving it a couple of twists to lightly seat the balls (the rubber band trick works pretty well; not only does it keep the stem in place while adding the bearings to the top end, but it helps to keep the triple tree from flopping around after assembly)

Flipping the frame over, I added the balls for the top bearing;  18 all. While it might seem that there's enough space for another ball, the gap is necessary to keep the balls from rubbing against each other, which would cause scoring of the balls and failure of the bearing.

Inserting the top inner bearing race...

...then the upper bearing race cap (or thread)

Now, I did some research on this step because it seems that this is where many of the problems arise with this type of bearing. What can happen is that the thread gets overtightened and  the balls are pressed into the races so that they form seats, or dimples in the metal (and the balls themselves can be deformed), creating notchy steering as the balls pass over the dimple ridges, and a location "memory" that tends to want to keep the steering in one place.

Wanting to do things right, I turned to all four of the repair manuals I've been using (Clymer's; Hayne's; Chilton's and the official Honda Shop Manual) to get their spin on bearing adjustment. Here's what they have to say: Hayne's: "Using a c-spanner, tighten the adjuster nut beneath the top fork yoke until the bearings are free from play." Clymer's tells me how to prepare for adjustment, then gets relatively vague regarding proper adjustment procedures. The Chilton's book surprised me as it seemed to be the most comprehensive, saying: "Tighten the flat steering stem nut in small increments (italics theirs) until there is no fore-and-aft movement in the stem and it can move freely and smoothly throughout its range. Do not over tighten the flat stem nut" (again, italics theirs). The "Official" Honda shop manual throws a monkey wrench into the mix by advising me to "tighten the top head nut fully, then back it off to the point where the handlebar can be turned with reasonable ease". So, rather than tightening to a point as the others advise, the Honda manual says tighten the thread "Fully", then back it off to a certain point. This is where the problems arise, and the races get dimpled.

I talked to my motorcycle "Guru" friend, and he sided with the Honda manual, but with qualifications. "What this book doesn't show," he said, "is that you've got to keep the steering stem moving while you tighten down the nut. Folks (not his word, BTW, but I'm keeping it clean) just get in there holding the steering stem motionless or even with the wheel still on the ground and moose down on that nut like there's no tomorrow, and they're surprised when they end up with notchy steering."  He said that the way he'd always done it was to insert the stem and nut, then tighten down the nut as far as it could go by hand. "If you do it right," he said, "that'll almost get you there. Then you apply the spanner and the trick is to tighten the nut using the steering stem, not the wrench". And he pantomimed keeping the wrench stationary while turning the stem. "When you get to the end of the steering travel, just reposition the wrench and stem and continue until you start to feel resistance, then back off the nut a touch and you're done. What you're doing here is seating the balls in the races, so the idea is to keep the bearings in motion while you're doing the tightening. That way you'll never get notchy steering".

I don't know if anyone else does it this way, but after he explained it to me like that, that's how I adjusted the headnut. The steering moves smoothly from stop to stop. Just like butta.

So, here the bike is complete with its new steering bearings. While the original ball bearing setup may not be for everybody, I expect with proper maintenance that it will last for another forty years, at least. Vive la difference, n'est-ce pas?

The next post will cover installing the frame onto the engine and commencing work on the front end. Can't wait.

'til next time

 Can you repost the pics of the "frame over engine" procedure? They're not showing up on the first page.

[Bootsey]

 Can you repost the pics of the "frame over engine" procedure? They're not showing up on the first page.

Hey Scott,
I was lucky enough to download a copy of the collated CB550 Assembly Guide that SohRon very kindly uploaded, before some of the photos went missing due to his move. I'd be more than happy to send you a copy if you need.

[Scott S]

 Can you repost the pics of the "frame over engine" procedure? They're not showing up on the first page.

Hey Scott,
I was lucky enough to download a copy of the collated CB550 Assembly Guide that SohRon very kindly uploaded, before some of the photos went missing due to his move. I'd be more than happy to send you a copy if you need.

 That would be great. I'll PM you.

[fastbroshi]

Ron, I seem to remember you saying you were retired or about to.  Man I can't wait to retire so I can devote more time to auto hobbies.   Super job on the Corvair, especially that interior.

[RAFster122s]

Bootsey,

Could I get a copy of that too?
Sent you a PM about that.
Thanks!
David

[Restoration Fan]

 Can you repost the pics of the "frame over engine" procedure? They're not showing up on the first page.

Hey Scott,
I was lucky enough to download a copy of the collated CB550 Assembly Guide that SohRon very kindly uploaded, before some of the photos went missing due to his move. I'd be more than happy to send you a copy if you need.

Bootsey,
Is it in PDF format?  If so, perhaps we can have it pushpinned at the top?  If that proves difficult, you can send it to me in an email and I'll put it up on my Google Drive folder where I have the 78 750K manuals stored for sharing by others.

[flatlander]

i have that PDF. probably the one that ron sent around is the one i made for him
if anyone knows how to add it to the top of this thread i'd be happy to provide it.

[Bootsey]

I'd be more than happy to share it, but the PDF file I have is 165MB, and at this stage I'm unable to send it via email, nor upload it to either this thread or the downloads section.
If someone has an easy solution to get around the upload size, I'm all ears.

[flatlander]

mine is 45MB which is all you need, even if you want to print it. if someone wants to put it up here, i can give it to them.
bootsey: you'd need a programme that can create PDFs, to compress it further. but i'll send you a PM with mine, that's the easiest.

[Bootsey]

For all those above who were wanting a copy of the Assembly Guide, if you didn't see, SohRon has very kindly updated its thread & all the pics are back in action(link below) -  so jump on there and save yourself a copy of it. I just used the >Print>Save As PDF function.

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,151576.0.html

[Scott S]

 Actually, thank Flatlander for hosting that on his page until Glenn could add it to the tech articles. And, of course, to Ron for doing such a great job on documenting everything.

[Restoration Fan]

I used Bootsey's technique to download & save it to a PDF.  Here it is saved out onto a shareable link on my Google Drive.  I'll leave it up there ad infinitum for anyone who wants to download it.  It's just over 40MB.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B4nqeBb662mZMkxxdmVoWi1IMzg

[SohRon]

Just letting everyone know that pics have been restored. Thanks for looking!

[BomberMann650]

Thank Moo!

[mscuiletti]

Just wanted to drop a line and thank you for taking the time to document this amazing restoration. Your attention to detail has been immensely helpful in my build. I also love the Corvair! I got side-tracked when I purchased a 1979 Scout II, but am pushing to finish my CB550K so I can at least have something finished. I hope it is a fraction as beautiful as yours.

[grcamna2]

subscribed

[CB550F_SS]

Hi SohRon,

Great work; Thanks so much.
Can I ask you for the Clymer's, Hayne's and Chilton's manuals? You can answer me by private e-mail, if you want.

I'm going to start restoring my CB550F SuperSport(1978).

Restoration Fan: Thanks for your .pdf file.

Regards 

[flatlander]

WTF.
just download the honda manual from the forum. that and sohron's thread is all you need. asking him to give you one of those other inferior manuals is like
walking into a porsche dealer and asking if he'd have a golf gti for you 

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

WTF.
just download the honda manual from the forum. that and sohron's thread is all you need. asking him to give you one of those other inferior manuals is like
walking into a porsche dealer and asking if he'd have a golf gti for you 

Truth!

Clymer or Haynes will not provide more than the Honda Service Manual and Sohron's thread.

[SohRon]

Looks like photobucket is no longer hosting free images and I'll be damned if I'm going to pay $400 a year for the privilege. I'm not sure what course I'll take with this thread as I feel it has been useful for many. It may be that I'll finally write the book I've been threatening to do, in which case the thread will disappear from the site, which will kind of defeat its purpose; that is to make the information free and easily accessible to all. I apologize for the inconvenience. Uploading the images to the site is an option I'll have to consider. Stay tuned for further developments.