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

[mickey6]

I think i heard somewhere that if you pour cold coffee on your skin it will remove fiberglass

[LesterPiglet]

Did you here this from an 89 year old married woman?

I hereby name this bike Close Encounter _{of the third kind}

[xsmooth69x]

ok!

so i decided to clean and spray my rear foot pegs





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then decided to change out the stock fuse box to the car fuses. i cut the fuse block off and soldered the wires directly to the fuse block then i shrink warped the connectors.







so i decided to go with a 6 fuse block. the 3 original fuses for the cb550 and i have 3 extras that i will just use the blade connectors (instead of solding them) since i have fuses for my HID kit and the stebel horn.

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now the big dealio!

i finally finished my tank exactly the way i wanted it!!! this took forever!

first i used the traditional 16 ray rising sun flag. i printed out the flag the font i needed it. then i tapped off the inner rays and circle first.

the tank is bare metal no base coat nothing......



after that i sprayed the black from the center really dark then faded it over the  rest of the tank



then on the sides i used white paint to highlight around the taped off rays and slow faded up toward the center.





after that i did the usual wet sand and washed the tank. then i did the reverse and taped off what i just sprayed. then i took the red and sprayed the reverse. after that i took some steel wool and made the paint look really distressed. then i washed the tank and clear coated it. then i did the usual wet sand the smoothed everything out. then polished it with some carnauba wax.









the tank was put back on the bike for some quick pics i havent organized all the wires yet 

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then i did a quick solution for the blinker situation.

i got some stretchy led strips like i used for my gauges and then just warped it around my tail lights (after i cut them to length)





it dosnt have to be perfect especially at the end because where the 2 ends meet up it smooshs against the frame and everything holds on tight.

i will snap a pic of this tomorrow.

[dave500]

good job on that paint.

[xsmooth69x]

good job on that paint.

thanks dave!!!!

[Syscrush]

good job on that paint.

Agreed!

[Messenger750]

That tank looks crazy awesome! It has the appearance of being photoshopped just because of the different textures and such. Looks great!

[Operator]

Very nice tank!! Love the weathered look.

I will say that when I saw the first pic of the tape on the tank I thought you were going with the same colour as the carbs.....

[goldarrow]

Yup great work. Real artist right here.

[Mcwilliams570]

Nice job on the tank looks real good..

Matt

[lucky]

About your video.

Always pound on a shaft with a wood block or rubber hammer.

If you use a steel hammer it mushrooms the top of the shaft.

Are those white pants still white? LOL..lol..lol

[xsmooth69x]

Very nice tank!! Love the weathered look.

I will say that when I saw the first pic of the tape on the tank I thought you were going with the same colour as the carbs.....

hahahahaha ya i was looking at that too and thinking to myself hmmmm maybe i could use that green lol. but ya i used frog tap because i think that 3m blue painters tape is crap!

thanks everyone for the positive feed back!!!

i also kept the clear coat relatively thin too so more weather wear, hopefully some UV fade, maybe a little gas spill on the tank should keep on adding to the distressed look. if anything gets bad or wears too much i can always clean the tank and put a couple coats of clear on it again

[xsmooth69x]

About your video.

Always pound on a shaft with a wood block or rubber hammer.

If you use a steel hammer it mushrooms the top of the shaft.

Are those white pants still white? LOL..lol..lol

lucky where you multi tasking replys again lol i think u replied on the wrong one 

[Oette]

Very nice paintjob, great work!

[goldarrow]

About your video.

Always pound on a shaft with a wood block or rubber hammer.

If you use a steel hammer it mushrooms the top of the shaft.

Are those white pants still white? LOL..lol..lol

lucky where you multi tasking replys again lol i think u replied on the wrong one 

I bet lucky replied to your old post in the first few pages of your thread.

[xsmooth69x]

^ ya tru 

[dave500]

wait for three years,lucky might resurrect it again yet?

[Gurp]

Tank looks bad ass.

[steakCB550K]

Nice job on the tank, I thought you were going with the graff style honda?  I was looking forward to that, but either way I love the distressed baretank.  are you going to keep the tank badges?

[xsmooth69x]

Nice job on the tank, I thought you were going with the graff style honda?  I was looking forward to that, but either way I love the distressed baretank.  are you going to keep the tank badges?

well idk maybe my deff of graffiti is different but i literally just made a stencil and tagged that rising sun on.

i might do a more urban graffiti on the cb750 but idk we shall see how everything goes on that build lol

[xsmooth69x]

well where to start.......

so i got back after taking off all my carb sync i forgot to tighten down the nuts.... well i re did everything and tightened the bolts.

then i put on my new clip ons off fleabay for $65 and sold my old ones because they werent long enough and the MC crashed into the top of the triple tree. i wanted to use the old stock one instead of upgrading to a modern plastic one... gross



then after all the electrical everything is on point.

back to my tail lights i decided to wrap the yellow led strip around my bullet tail lights. the hot glue gun thing didnt work so instead i zip tied them and it turned out great!! u cant even tell they are zip tied





(no idea why the picture is smokey...)

then after that

adjusted the rear axle with the right 3/4 of an inch slack on the chain

i adjusted the rear brake and pedal

adjusted the front caliper

in the short process of fine tuning my throttle cables

connected the fuel tank to the carbs (decided not to use inline fuel filters because i cant figure out how to route the lines without kinking) the petcock filter is mint so it should be no problem and the tank is clean

changed the oil again and decided going with a sae 20w-50 its hot outside!! but i will change it back to 10w-40 when it gets cold.

i also changed out the rear tire with the right tire on the right rim this time and got both my rims re balanced

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then tomorrow morning im going to the DMV to title my new frame with a statement of facts and a bunch of pictures. so i hope i get it  then insurance and im set for the real road.

other than that my bike is

DONE DONE DONE after 1 year 2 months!!!

***************************************************** THANK YOU ********************************************************

i just want to let everyone and anyone who has commented and helped me out on these forums i do greatly greatly appreciate ur help and patience with me.

i love SOHC4 forums.

thank you everyone!!

****************************************************** THANK YOU *******************************************************

so heres some quick pics i will take more tomorrow out in the sun

[dave500]

(no idea why the picture is smokey...)

its the ghost of hondas past?youll feel great after all that effort,youve done well xsmooth,you take care on that now!be aware of your surroundings more than anything else,dont day dream,dont run music ear buds.

[xsmooth69x]

(no idea why the picture is smokey...)

its the ghost of hondas past?youll feel great after all that effort,youve done well xsmooth,you take care on that now!be aware of your surroundings more than anything else,dont day dream,dont run music ear buds.

ya i never understood those music ear buds people wear..... like i thought that was illegal the wear while riding. i know ur not supposed to do that driving a car. i would imagine a motorcycle is worse.

+ i wanna hear my bike its a machine and it sounds amazing. might where some weak ear plugs but still able the ear my surroundings


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next is my cb750

[Gurp]

Sweet ass bike.

[xsmooth69x]

Sweet ass bike.

thanks man!!