Topic: **Updated 5/20/13** In over MY head 1975 cb550 cafe. thanks...Dave500, Twotired

[Syscrush]

As discussed elsewhere in this thread, you can get a decent gas-resistant 2-part clear in a rattle can.

[lucky]

I hope that by the time I get to page 7 of this thread that you have removed those front turn signals !!!

[lucky]

If your "paint booth" is full of fumes and you turn on that fan and it makes a spark, you will need to build a new garage when you get out of the ...hospital.

[xsmooth69x]

so finally some updates....................

if you havent seen my thread

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=95109.0

had a small set back but i JB welded it

quick pics if you dont want to read it





took off the cover to polish it and i guess i broke that piece from kicking my bike so much for compression tests and to actually start it i broke it. also i missed the kick a couple time and it did spam back. took out my shine twice too  same spot of course

anyways ive been spray painting for the last 3 weeks lol

school started also so ive been pressed for time with studying

i have sprayed

tank (still in progress) still getting the base coat just right and laying down the graphics

things that are done and waiting to clear coat

frame
brake calipers
engine mounts
center stand
kick stand
brake rotor
battery box
foot pegs
brake and clutch levers

what is done

engine
tappet covers
headers
muffler

the biggest thing just eating up my time is just how hard it is to play down consistent paint. i have had to wet sand and respray pieces over and over and having to wait 24 hours to be able to wet sand then spray after something gets F'ed up

also another thing that ate up a shiat load of my time was my wheels. i tried to rattle can it and failed. i tried to spray the whole thing at once and i F'ed it up. i should have done the wheel in section like the center in between the hubs, then the hub, then the spokes letting things dry and tapping off the sections.

away ways not the rims are so F'ed up and i could strip and take the paint off the wheels to start over since there are so many little holes that now...... im going to have to dismount the tires..... get them sand blasted, and figure out where to buy black spokes..... take my rims apart....  spray the hubs correctly....... lace up the rim with the black spokes if i can find them or i might have to pay to get some powder coated..... re-lace the rims.... then take the to get trued, mounted and balanced 

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im also finally done with hand polishing everything

points cover
forks
clutch cover
kick start clover
sat cover
carburetor

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things i still need to do is figure out my speedo and rebuild those......

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im in the last stretch when im done with all the paint the re assembling will be cake!

just have to tune the carbs (points and tappets are tuned already)

wrap my headers

other than wiring which might take me a day to run through all the wiring like my new headlight with HID, blinkers and tail lights i haven't bought, my stebel horn and other dumb stuff

then when i figure out my wheel situation hopefully i will be able to slap those on and ride before the snow falls 

[xsmooth69x]

when i get everything painted i will lay it all out and take some pictures 

sorry i havent been up to date with the build thread but i will try to be on it!!

also i have bought more parts and stuff so i will go back to my receipts, credit card statements, and Paypal to keep all the prices and websites i have bought stuff from

right now i can tell you this bike is climbing to $2000+ including the $650 in initial buy price

this does not include my helmet, jacket, gloves, insurance etc

[maduncle]

Hey - for someone who has posted 836 times in the six months since they joined the forum, I think you are on top of the build thread!

But I do look forward to some pictures of all of your paint work.

[Roach]

i would take your motor and get that damn part welded back on!!!. jb isn't going to hold it one kick and you will be back to square 1.

Do it right or don't do it at all

[WarwickE36]

While they're not as good as a SATA or Devilbiss, I've seen some pretty good quality results from their cheap guns.

I have a MAC HVLP spray gun.  It is basically a SATA knockoff.  It is a great quality gun for the price $130.  There are a lot of important factors that go into painting, many more with HVLP.  I am going to give you a couple of tips that will help your learning curve. 

1) get an HVLP fitting and hose for the gun and compressor.  They are bigger than a standard air fitting thus allowing more VOLUME of air through the line.  If you are going to run HVLP make sure your compressor can handle it or you're much better off with a conventional gun.

2) If you can't get good atomization with the HVLP and you already bought it  turn the pressure up and make the size of the pattern you are shooting smaller so it will atomize more properly. This is a little shade tree but it works.

3) Buy good quality paint like Dupont, and if you don't have a light system for hardening clear, use Chroma Clear quick dry.  It will dry in 1-2 hours at 70* instead of 8 hours.... it make a huge difference in the amount of dust landing in your new paint.

Practice a lot on different surfaces to figure out how to shoot.  Clear is especially difficult.  Too little and it looks terrible, too much and it runs.  Practice practice practice.  Then shoot your stuff when you feel really comfortable. 

Another thing, make sure you have a water filter in line with your hose.  And if your compressor is small (guessing it is, you dont own a shop) DO NOT let it run so low that it sucks water from the bottom of your compressor tank.  It WILL ruin your paint job, trust me I've done it.

Good luck xsmooth-saaaaan

[xsmooth69x]

While they're not as good as a SATA or Devilbiss, I've seen some pretty good quality results from their cheap guns.

I have a MAC HVLP spray gun.  It is basically a SATA knockoff.  It is a great quality gun for the price $130.  There are a lot of important factors that go into painting, many more with HVLP.  I am going to give you a couple of tips that will help your learning curve. 

1) get an HVLP fitting and hose for the gun and compressor.  They are bigger than a standard air fitting thus allowing more VOLUME of air through the line.  If you are going to run HVLP make sure your compressor can handle it or you're much better off with a conventional gun.

2) If you can't get good atomization with the HVLP and you already bought it  turn the pressure up and make the size of the pattern you are shooting smaller so it will atomize more properly. This is a little shade tree but it works.

3) Buy good quality paint like Dupont, and if you don't have a light system for hardening clear, use Chroma Clear quick dry.  It will dry in 1-2 hours at 70* instead of 8 hours.... it make a huge difference in the amount of dust landing in your new paint.

Practice a lot on different surfaces to figure out how to shoot.  Clear is especially difficult.  Too little and it looks terrible, too much and it runs.  Practice practice practice.  Then shoot your stuff when you feel really comfortable. 

Another thing, make sure you have a water filter in line with your hose.  And if your compressor is small (guessing it is, you dont own a shop) DO NOT let it run so low that it sucks water from the bottom of your compressor tank.  It WILL ruin your paint job, trust me I've done it.

Good luck xsmooth-saaaaan

well im now a proud owner of a harbor freight 2.5hp 125psi 10lb tank. i do have an inline air dryer and a self contained soda blaster thing.

for now since i splurged $350 and all that stuff when i spray my 750 ill get a gun. for now im going to finish up the 550 with the rattle can.

----- photos and prices update soon..... im compiling all my reciepts and trying to bust everything out in MS word before i drop it on the forums....

its going to be huge 

[emitch]

I read through this whole thread looking for tips and inspiration on my own build. Good job thus far! Any new updates?

[Syscrush]

I read through this whole thread looking for tips and inspiration on my own build.

The main thing to learn from this thread is: don't screw around with a wrecked frame.

[lucky]

Might as well just take the bike completely apart.  Then you can build it up correctly.

Its not your fault, it is just 30 years old. It needs a complete restoration.
It will take longer but it will then be a good motorcycle.

[xsmooth69x]

sorry everyone that i have not been on top of my #$%* with this build. it has been moving forward very well.

ive just been pounded with college since this is my last year and im taking all my major classes and i pretty much live in my closet reading and studying.

here are some teaser pictures and this is exactly where my bike is right now









these are just pictures but i will be writing up an updated parts and price list.

i made a walkthrough on how to change out the cb550 stem bearings from balls to tapered bearings since there isnt one on the forums.

i also made a walkthrough for changing out the rear wheel bearing step by step since there isnt a good one on the forums.

the bike looks very very silver/metal at the moment but with the # plate side cover and tank on the bike completely changes the looks

the frame us clear coated if anyone was wondering**

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some things i did

painted the carbs incredible hulk green (they match my brake levers  ) (you cant see it in the pic)

the engine is painted with vht universal aluminum and black

polished all the other engine goodies

completely polished both rims and changed out rear brake shoes

new chain and sprocket

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i have a ton of photos on my digital camera that i will post to get this post up to speed. i just thought id give you all something just to show im not dead nor the build is.

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some things im working on isssssssssss

finishing the tank graphics

i need to order a 2 foot SS front brake line

im going to be making a walkthrough on wrapping the headers with header wrap. (my custom exhaust is just a 4-1 headers that drop straight into a small cherry bomb mufflers that i painted black.) (its going to be a short exhaust kinda like a moto gp thing going on)

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things im trouble shooting at the moment

with these clip on handle bars im having trouble trying to fit the right throttle with control and the master cylinder. there is literally no space in between the controls and the fork



and of course all the electrical trouble shooting!!!

im doing an hid H4 conversion, wiring up anther gauge with LED, LED tail lights, stebel nautilus horn and everything else that needs be to wired for the bike to work.

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earlier we where talking about shop air and this is what i ended up buying 



the soda blaster is kind of a pain in the ass since the hole is very little to put in the soda



the soda blaster and compressor work great btw!!!







i also hit my carbs with this and took off all the gray green tarnish it works freakin sweet

the compressor is a 2.5hp oiled, 10 gallon, 125psi, 5.3 scfm @90psi and 6.2 scfm @40psi. $139

its pretty decent especially for what im doing

and the 15lb soda blaster unit thing was $100

[xsmooth69x]

no more love damn i lost all my fans 

[strtlegal]

Bike looks great so far, I have the same soda blaster and have been racking my brain as to find a faster way to reload it rather than a funnel.

[MCRider]

no more love damn i lost all my fans 

No we're still around. I've noticed that changing a bit in the title/subject line will stir some new interest. Reword it, add a current date, etc.

To you and strtlegal re: filling the blaster. I've got the same one and love it. Especially if you have a place outdoors to just let it fly. Someone else here had the great idea to just have a machine shop drill a hole in the top of it and weld in a boss that will hold a big threaded plug. I'm going to have that done, probably a $25 fix, but I'll be able to pour it in straight from the bag, (well maybe kinda, better than the skinny little funnel).

PS: I cleaned the outside AND inside of my carbs, float bowls all the brass, with the blaster, fine work, quick and clean.

PPS: What was that blue crap on your spokes?

[bikebitzofvt]

I'd suggest a different master cylinder to get around your clip-on interference problem.

I'd suggest sourcing mid 80's Honda components, just look for something with a single disc brake (if you're sticking with the single disc set-up)  Make sure it isn't corroded inside, too.  Keep track of what it's from in case you need a rebuild kit down the road.  VT500 parts come to mind, of course you'll need to mess with the brake line routing, too.

Looks like you've come a long way! 

+1 on fixing the cases the right way - either welding or replacement.   

Keep the shiny side up!

T

[MCRider]

Agre with BikeBit, if its the MC that's interfereing, cheap ones on eBay. I got a VF500F one for my project, as I'm double disc. Much more petite and the hose comes off the front of the reservoir instead of the side towards the instruments. really freed up the space.

The stock MC put the banjo bolt right into the face of the tach. Here you can see all the room I have and I have a quick throttle conversion wedged in there too.



$35, soda blaster clean up, rebuild kit, couple of chrome allens from ACE Hardware.

Turns out the VF500C MC (from the cruiser) is built at an angle and would actually put the reservoir level in my application. I may go back to eBay and look for one.

[xsmooth69x]

i actually thought of something brilliant!!

i actually slid about an 1.5" so i might just put the clip on, on the bit that pokes above the triple tree. this will give my MC enough clearance and wont hit anything.

my clip on section i know is longer than 1.5" but im going to grind down the extra length right before the bolt (not flush up to the bolts but leaving some length) that secures the actual clip on.

i was thinking about buying a new MC but i want to keep the vintage look with the screw on cap then go modern

also it shouldnt clash with my gauges either because im going to restore only the RPM guage and mount that in the center and i have a mini speedo gauge that ill be off the the bottom right hand side of the rpm gauge

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the blue shiat / black shiat is my failed attempt to paint my entire rim  i wanted to keep the lip chrome and have the spocks and center section of the rims all black out so when your riding down the road it will just look like silver lip floating down the road

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i think a great idea regarding the soda blaster (depending on how thick the tank is) is just to cut the entire top off and thread the outside of one section of the tank and the inner of the other section of the tank.

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ya -1 about the bottom case fix lol

i just JB welded it lol.

hear me out before you bit my head off

1)i want to get the bike running before the snow falls to see how the motor is so i can determine if im going to do a full tear down and rebuilding the whole motor fresh from the ground up during the winter.

- i pulled off my oil pan and notice that my primary chain is a little sloppy but i dont know how sloppy it really is. so if i hear the rattle of death then i will pull apart the whole motor and obviously replace the bottom of the case since i have an extra parts motor to frankenstein off of.

2) i know that the back stopper on my kicker is F'ed up. so i will be very dillegent kicking my bike and not just leting the kicker snap back up to the top after i kick it down.

3) i have full intention on either replacing the bottom case or getting it welded when the full riding season opens up

[dave500]

getting there smooth,your polishing came out good,why dont you quit shcool/colidge/edumacation and just hang with your bike?

[xsmooth69x]

getting there smooth,your polishing came out good,why dont you quit shcool/colidge/edumacation and just hang with your bike?

cuzzz im greedy and if i get an edumacation i can have more bikes whahahahaa

[BeSeeingYou]

getting there smooth,your polishing came out good,why dont you quit shcool/colidge/edumacation and just hang with your bike?

cuzzz im greedy and if i get an edumacation i can have more bikes whahahahaa

Gonna be a graphic artist I see.

I will be painting a frame soon but have yet to settle on paint and method.

[xruss]

I know you have lots going on there, but please trust me that the clear blue fuel line you have coming out of the carbs is total crap.  I put the same stuff on my 550 and it is not what you want.  Find some actual spec'd line, I believe 5.5 mm inner diameter is what you want.  That blue is most likely 1/4" inner diameter.

[Tews19]

did you soda blast your rims? i was thinking of doing this to my headers... What you going to school for? Word to the wise, start looking for employment now. I just finished my Masters in social work  at Loyola University Chicago in August and still can't find employment.

[xsmooth69x]

about that blue fuel line yes it is 1/4 and ya i think it probably is crap..... on my carbs and when i connect them to my petcock i secure the line with a small zip tie. i know the 1/4 is bigger than the stock 5.5 but my local motorcycle shop didnt have any on hand so i just got that.

im geting my BS in economics with a minor in finance.

right now actually as we speak (my dad is drive) im on my laptop driving to blaine nebraska because i did a conference interview with Cargill for a feed corn commodities merchant and then did another interview this wed, kind of an on the fly second interview, now cargill is paying my full expenses to come to nebraska for a formal panel interview im doing tomorrow about this internship (8am to 2pm 2x 2 person panel interview then lunch and a tour and all that jazz of the office). i want to be a commodities merchant and cargill is a solid company (very prestigious and competitive and its really hard go get an job or internship!!!) so if i score this bad boy for the summer im pretty much guarenteed a postition so after the summer, one more semester of school then im out with a job. great starting salary too 

so fingers crossed!!!!