Topic: new to site, and new to sohcs

[zveugen]

hey everybody, my name is Zach. i just bought a 1977 CB 550k and I'm planning on turning it into a cafe racer. so far looking for information has always brought me here so i decided to join. and i was wondering if you guys might help me fix my bike. i already have a couple of questions.

first off, whats the best oil to use in my forks. I've heard a couple of different stories and this is something i don't want to get wrong. i had to replace the fork seals and tore the things down completely now i want to put them back together

secondly, i switching to a mac 4 in to 1 exhaust and pod intakes, i know i need to size up my jets, but i'm not positive on the size. or where to buy the new jets.

lastly, once the carbs are back on, i was hoping to sync them, where can i find a carb syncing kit (vacuum gauges and carb attachments)? 

i'll put pictures up soon, and i'm going to repost this in the restoration area of the site.

thanks for the help guys!

[flybox1]

First, welcome to the forum. 
second, download a shop manual for your bike and get a clymer book for it as well.
Complete all 3000 mi maintenance and tuneup procedures before you do ANY mods.
once you get it running right, make one change, tehn, get it running right again.
make another change, get it running right......

use the search function for everything, and FAQ section as much as you can, and if you still cant figure it out, ask away.
All issues you'll be having have been discussed MANY times....

Learn it....Live it....Own it....

[Really?]

#1.  Oh Oh, another oil thread may be on the horizon.

#2.  Look for the big pod thread by Two Tired.  You might give up the idea of pods.  Even with the 4-1 you will rejet the carbs.  I went up 5 but you might go up as much as 10.  A plug chop (searchable) can help get you in the ballpark.

#3.  Vacuum gauges show up on ebay and a few other places.  Can be found for as low as $50.  These are about the cheapest route on these.  Morgan carbtunes are nice but can easily fetch another $50.  Stay away from the Motion Pro (blue liquid).

Do the 3000 mile tune-up (i.e. points, valve adjustments, cam chain tensioner, plugs, caps, ect...) before the sync.

Oh, and welcome to the forum Zach!

[zveugen]

haha, just bought the clymer manual yesterday. anxiously awaiting its arrival and ok i'll look around a bit more.

[WarwickE36]

First off welcome...

I'm kind of a newcomer here as well

I share your love of Cafe bikes, I have a 74 CB550 that's fairly converted...

I warn you that some here are not a fan of the Cafe style and consider it sacrilegious... I urge you to take those comments with a grain of salt.  Nextly the more research you do here you will find there is a STRONG dislike for pods...this is on thing I definitely agree with.  You qill quickly find throwing that stubborn air box in the trash will be the biggest pitfall of your conversion.  I HIGHLY recommend staying with the stock airbox and changing the exhaust only.  There is no simple fix for pods.  There is no one mgic
jet setting for all pods, and most people here with pods will tell you their bike ran better stock.  I wont go into great detail but suffice to say that stick with the box unless you are willing to put in A LOT of time and effort to get things close to reliable and tuned.


Cant wait to see the pics, good luck with your build...hope I can be of assistance to you in the future.  There is a wealth of knowledge on this forum

[zveugen]

hey thanks, i had no idea pods did so much harm. stock airbox it is for now. maybe i'll go that route over the winter when i don't want to ride it so much

[Bankerdanny]

Warwick, I think that most of the people here actually like the cafe style just fine. What we complain about (and I am one of these) is when someone decides to strip down a clean, complete original bike and 'cafe' it.

Zveugen: even though you ordered the Clymer, download the factory manual that is available here at the board anyway. It is much more comprehensive and more info is always better than less. Fork oil wise, I went with Yamaha 15wt oil when I did the seals on my '77 550. But I am a big guy (230 pounds), the stock oil is 10 weight. I understand you can also use ATF, but I didn't read about that until I had already bought a bottle of fork oil.

[WarwickE36]

Just noting posts that said things like "Im beginning to hate the word cafe and Benji"

Dont want to drag this out, just thought Id warn the poor guy...that one kid with the "Do's and dont's" Thread got some pretty harsh treatment

I understand not wanting to cannibalize a puff bike... just didnt want this kids thread to turn into the same thing.

[lone*X]

Pictures, we need pictures!

[OldSchool_IsCool]

+1 on downloading the Honda shop manual. The 3rd party manuals were never updated for the carbs on the '77 & '78 years.

ATF in the forks will work, but consider actual fork oil. It comes in different weights so you can tweak your suspension if needed.

Welcome to the forum.

[dave500]

i found atf too light in the forks,ok in dirt bikes,i use 15/40 motor oil.

[Bankerdanny]

Totally understand Warwick. I actually laughed out loud when I read the introduction. It seems like 90% of the new members start off that way. It's almost like there is a cut and paste somewhere: I just bought a CB###, am going to cafe it with a Mac 4-1 and pods, how do I jet it. I swear there have been a dozen similar posts the past month.

But I don't mean to make fun of Zveugen. He paid the money for the bike and he is the only one that has to be happy with it. And to the extent that I have advice to offer that will help him get the bike HE wants I am happy to provide it.

I loved the look of my clubman bars on my Enfield, and if I had stumbled on a bike already missing the 4-4 exhaust or just tired and beat up rather than complete and clean like mine was, I might have gone the cafe route myself.

[WarwickE36]

Mine was "Farm Fresh" and Cafe Ready

[Nortstudio]

It seems to me that what tends to irk the old timers (often the ones who can steer you quickest to the fix) is the lack of searching, and the way questions are put across.

Often, newbies (I am still one!) join, and start rattling off questions, with very little background details or info, and having not looked around for the answers first.

Despite having chosen options that may not have pleased the powers that be, or in hindsight been the smartest choices, I have still been helped tremendously by the folks on this site. 

But I have certainly tried to help myself as much as possible before hitting up the experts.  This serves 2 purposes.  The first is that it makes me dig a little deeper into this bike of mine before seeking help.  The more I dig, the better I know it, and the more self sufficient I become. 

The second is, there really are SO many answers on here that are found with a bit of research.  this way, when you hit the wall, a few of the more persnickety members here are usually willing to pipe in and get you out trouble

Zveugen, welcome aboard!  You will have a ball with that bike, and this forum will help you spend quality time wrenching, so you can spend more quality time riding.

[Duanob]

Welcome to the board. I have the Clymer manual too but the downloadable Honda manual is worth it's weight in gold. Get it? Worth it's weight? It's digital it doesn't have any weight. Never mind.

i found atf too light in the forks,ok in dirt bikes,i use 15/40 motor oil.

Really I use ATF it feels pretty responsive even with my wife on the back. Uh oh, I think I might've just started something.....

[Duke McDukiedook]

Download the Honda service manual for your bike- it is probably in one of the main sections on the forum.

Peform a full tuneup on your bike (manual will describe this) and after you tune it then you can turn your attention to the carbs, synch them with the stock airbox on with a clean air filter on and after that (getting it running properly) you can bungle it up with podzzzz all you want.

[Barrett]

Hey, I'm new too, so take everything I say with a grain of salt. But I've had carb issues too -- tips of the mixture screws bent to hell. I got my rebuild kits from a place called z1enterprises -- it was the only place I could find what I needed for a '78 750k. Other places just sold gasket kits. And I'd search the net (youtube etc.) for ways to build your own carb synchonizer -- the cheapest I've found were pretty steep, 100 bucks or so.

[bollingball]

Zach
http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=17788.0
Here is a link to the service manuals.

[TwoTired]

i just bought a 1977 CB 550k and I'm planning on turning it into a cafe racer. ... (edit)
... i switching to a mac 4 in to 1 exhaust and pod intakes, i know i need to size up my jets, but i'm not positive on the size.

No one is positive on the jet sizes for your specific engineering mods.  Those parts you are changing have no functional specification to compare.  Those parts really aren't "clothes" that change style with fashion trends.  They are functional elements.  You want to wear pants with four legs, size 20?  You want all the buttons on your new shirt to be 2 inches square and fasten in the back?

So what I read is; you want to put on the cheapest exhaust you can find (intended for an earlier bike), and the cheapest air filters (designed for no particular bike) and still want it to run like new (or better), by just assembling parts someone else tells you to put on?  Do I have this right?

Here is a member that makes some suggestions based on his experience with a similar bike.
http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=20869.msg258435#msg258435

I will only add that his MPG isn't very good.  Certainly not as good as my stockers.  To me, it means that the set up isn't optimal, but rather tolerable.  He was happy with that.

first off, whats the best oil to use in my forks. I've heard a couple of different stories and this is something i don't want to get wrong. i had to replace the fork seals and tore the things down completely now i want to put them back together.

Well, you could use fork oil.  ATF was recommended by Honda, as it helps the seals stay supple and has anti foaming additives.  ATF is about 7-10Wt.  I liked fork oil in 10wt, I think it was Bel Ray, which I thought was a bit firmer.  Some like 15wt better.  I think it is a personal decision for how you'd like the bike to feel on washboard roads or smooth road "track like" conditions.  Thicker oil will have the front end more likely to "skip" on washboards as the forks will be slower to react.  On smooth roads, thicker oil slows dive on braking, and transfers more road feel to the bars.  Weight of bike plus rider factors into the decision, as well.

Cheers,

PS.  How are you going the re-jet for pods in the winter?  You can't do it in your garage, unless you plan to build a dynamometer in there.

[WarwickE36]

In regards to carb sync tools being "expensive" at $100...I couldnt disagree more.  If there is one specific tool you NEED to have for this bike it is a sync tool.  This is NOT the place to cheap out.  As a mechanic by trade I have tens of thousands of dollars invested in tools.  I dont recall ever spending much less than 100 on anything.  It is my FIRM belief that you get what you pay for... If you are happy with 10 dollar craftsman ratchet wonderful, I will stick with my MAC or MATCO 60 dollar ratchet that has
fine toothed gearing and lasted me 12 years.  Point being you get what you pay for.  Considering Carb Syncing is not a 1 and done deal with these bikes it makes sense to have the right tool.  You will find that a valve adjustment is a crucial part to maintaining these bikes... every time you do a valve adjustment you should be doing a Sync as well.  Anytime you do anything that affects the amount of air the motor will pull, you ought to do a sync. You can easily see that 100 dollars now will save you a fortune in the long run...

[cb550inct]

I'm the guy that came on here asking what to do and what not to do to a 1978 550k and started a whole s@#t storm, so when i read this introduction i laughed my ass off.

So having the same bike and doing the exhaust i could give you a little advice. Our bikes have different main jets that the 1975-76 CB550's . In 1977-78 the bike was made to be lean and improve fuel economy. Our size is 90, so re-jetting for a 4 into 1 is a good idea.

The advice buy a kit of jets with multiple sizes, this is all trial and error. I spent a week with my carbs apart running around looking for the right main jet.  105 ended up working for me, the bike sounds great, and pulls though the gears great. I would stay away from pods unless you are a mechanical whiz.

I will post a pic of the bike with the new exhaust and bars later.

[sportsvan]

i am sick to death of carbs   cleaned them in my ultrasonic cleaner.) put back together, bench sync'd, fitted, runs badly, can't use my carb balancer as on tickover i lose both outside cylinders, this is the 2nd set of carbs i,ve tried. at the moment i hate my 750f1 (uk) but i'm sure i'll get it sorted soon (i bloody hope)         ps (yes, i have done tappits, timing , new plugs etc etc.

[cb550inct]

Here is an updated view of my bike with cafe bars and new exhaust.

[psycherhexic]

So does anyone have a link off the top of there head to a sexy way of keeping the stock air-box?

Yes I agree the completely restored stock look is amazing... I just prefer a custom cafe look.

I would be an idiot to replace the carbs according to what I'm reading over here, I just wanted that hollow spot sooooo bad. 

[Nortstudio]

You can replace the carbs, but that won't free up space. If you were talking about replacing the stock air box with pods, that can be done, but as you've read, people have a hard time with it.

Next choice is to get creative with side covers. There is a member here (AlanF) who makes metal ones. Pretty cool looking, and certainly different.

Otherwise, you could always repaint the stock covers in some 70's van design. Probably involve unicorns exploding out of a magic mushroom.

That's it. Thats all I've got.