Author Topic: 1976 CB500/550 Project "Squirrel" (Read 279242 times)

SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan · « **Reply #175 on:** January 04, 2014, 12:44:06 AM »

Similar idea of saddlebags:
http://www.lossaengineering.com/2013/04/18/1970-honda-cl450/

riverfever · « **Reply #176 on:** January 04, 2014, 08:01:55 AM »

Hmmmm. That actually looks pretty good. This would also be a pretty cheap solution for storage as well because the aluminum cases seem to go for $500ish used. Great suggestion. Thanks.

calj737 · « **Reply #177 on:** January 06, 2014, 08:00:54 PM »

Chris - pics I promised. Forgive the logo...

calj737 · « **Reply #178 on:** January 06, 2014, 08:01:38 PM »

Taped off

calj737 · « **Reply #179 on:** January 06, 2014, 08:02:41 PM »

Tape removed, base color shot.

calj737 · « **Reply #180 on:** January 06, 2014, 08:08:05 PM »

Final result

dagersh · « **Reply #181 on:** January 07, 2014, 02:04:18 PM »

Why forgive? You made a beautiful motorcycle!

Gersh

calj737 · « **Reply #182 on:** January 07, 2014, 02:43:27 PM »

It was tongue and cheek as this is essentially a honda forum. But thanks for the compliments. We worked awfully hard to take it from a Salvage Title and rattle can/redneck paint job of black and grey. Plus the amount of damage to the plastic front fender (melted due to headlight being rested on it by bike shop) to where it is now, long way from there. Got to pull the engine this summer to powder coat the frame in satin black to finish off the styling project.

It's been a great project for my sons first bike to learn to ride and work on (2 carbs, 2 cylinders). Kinda like an old 500T

riverfever · « **Reply #183 on:** January 07, 2014, 05:51:40 PM »

I got your message last night Cal. Thanks for the advice. I laid in bed for hours thinking about my tank and how unhappy I am with it. At this point I don't know what I'm going to do with it. I have two matching CB500 side covers now that I will turn my attention to. I'll clean them up, sand them out, fill in the holes where the badge went (was planning n using either filler or epoxy?), prime them and then wait until spring when it's warmer to figure out paint. I'll also sit tight with the tank until then probably and figure out if I'm going to scrap the tank all together, or continue to work with it. My fear right now is that I obviously don't know enough in terms of technique to know how in the hell to make the concave portions of the knee dents smooth since I'm using my hands to sand instead of a block. Last night I started thinking about using a piece of PVC with sand paper wrapped around it to be more consistent. This tank was an ambitious project for first time body work. Oh well. I probably won't throw in the towel with it yet but just walk away for a bit and do some other stuff.

riverfever · « **Reply #184 on:** January 07, 2014, 05:53:20 PM »

Oh and thanks for posting those pics. I blew them way up to se as much detail as possible. Looks really nice. That bike will be sharp when you guys are done.

dagersh · « **Reply #185 on:** January 08, 2014, 09:11:13 AM »

Cal - I knew you were joking! Great bike you ended up with!

River, follow this man!

Highjack over!

Gersh

calj737 · « **Reply #186 on:** January 08, 2014, 11:15:23 AM »

Very kind of you to say, Dagersh. You too, Chris.

Chris - we are going to get your tank perfect to rival your ambition and efforts elsewhere in your project. Even if I have to call in a few favors from some buddies. Keep the fire burning on your project!

riverfever · « **Reply #187 on:** January 11, 2014, 10:41:46 AM »

I won't lie...struggling a bit here lately with this thing. Simple things though. I recently realized that this bike had a 550 left side cover and a 500 right side cover. The left side is destroyed so I've been on the hunt for a new 500 one. Amazing what these sell for used. I finally found one the other night for 30 and paid 10 to get it shipped here. Like the one I have, it was going to need some sanding and cleanup before paint but that's fine. Well I got home the other night and the box was on the door step. I was excited to see it so I opened it up, went to put it on the bike and...it cracked. Couldn't believe it. The plastic is just so brittle. This morning I was going to repair it by plastic welding it and one of the mounting tabs broke off. I give up. Just on the side covers. I think that old plastic just gets really fragile. I'll end up ordering some replica replacements from the guy on here that sells them most likely.

calj737 · « **Reply #188 on:** January 11, 2014, 12:18:39 PM »

His re-mans are rumored to be the Bee's Knees so I think in the long run you'll be quite happy you stepped up.

It's another of those, "Spend money and save time" moments. I'm the type of person who'd rather delay, spend what's necessary the first time, and never look back. Do I spend more than I need to? Perhaps. But I never regret having to spend again and devote time later to something I fixed right at the onset. Life's too short to wait for the shoe to drop again.

dagersh · « **Reply #189 on:** January 12, 2014, 06:19:54 AM »

Riv,

Its a common story unfortunately. Remember, these bikes are four decades old, and many were considered "disposable". That plastic was not well cared for in most cases, and the UV rays have done their damage over time.

I recently picked up a '75 CB750 in Planet Blue - 100% there except for the stock exhaust. When I went to remove the side covers, they both literally shattered - and I was being VERY careful, spraying some lubricant into he grommets. I will be replacing them with repops...

Look at this way, if you went through the trouble and expense of painting them, and then they cracked, it would REALLY suck!

As for you plateaued progress - take a breath, make a list of what your next steps should be and start knocking them off one by one. Soon enough, you will be moving forward and feeling satisfied.

Keep it up!

Gersh

riverfever · « **Reply #190 on:** January 12, 2014, 08:36:52 AM »

Hindsight being 20/20, I knew right away when it cracked a bit upon installation that I had made the wrong decision. My wife cringed but I wasn't that mad at all. You're totally right too. Those covers come off and on quite a bit. It would have cracked eventually. After paint. Then I'd be really disappointed. I'll take a break from the tank and regroup. Gauges will be here soon and, hopefully a left side control. I need a horn and I'm taking Cal's advice and will be putting on some small blinkers. I'll probably stockpile stuff until I get all of that so I can just do electrics all at once. Then I'll come back to the tank and side covers and probably be ready to talk about paint scheme. I still keep waffling on that.

calj737 · « **Reply #191 on:** January 12, 2014, 12:18:14 PM »

Chris - check out the MotGadget M-Unit. It will make your wiring simple and reliable and performance bullet-proof. A tad pricey, but well worth the expense for simplicity.

rb550four · « **Reply #192 on:** January 12, 2014, 02:59:29 PM »

A month or so ago I got some Frankenstuff side covers, I think you'll like them.lightly sand them before priming.
I would take off the rubber side cover stays ,stick them in a freezer bag with a couple spoonfuls of Simple Green to clean and rejuvenate them. I dab a little grease in them before sticking the covers in them, that way they stay lubed and allow an easy removal next time you take them out.

dagersh · « **Reply #193 on:** January 13, 2014, 10:24:38 AM »

Simple Green rejuvenates Rubber? What doesn't this stuff do? Fantastic!!!

I am going to try this on my 550 Grommets.

Gersh

riverfever · « **Reply #194 on:** January 14, 2014, 05:38:50 PM »

Not much new to report but I did weld a small tab on the plate relocation bracket so that just in case that lone bolt comes loose the whole thing doesn't go into the spokes. I'll prime and paint it this weekend.

calj737 · « **Reply #195 on:** February 05, 2014, 04:46:40 AM »

Hey River - sorry I've been out of touch. The weather here has been brutal and some other scheduling issues popped up to torment me.

Did get the tank and got it out finally Sunday. You did a very good job of pounding in the dents. Pretty darn symmetrical for a hammer and eye technique. Where you went wrong; you tried "raising" the low spots instead of "lowering" the high spots. I'm working it over tapping the high spots down carefully. I don't know how much filler is left in the lows, but if it starts cracking, I'll strip it to bare metal and re-surface and prime it out.

Hang tight, couple 'a days and I'll have it in the post back to you.

riverfever · « **Reply #196 on:** February 06, 2014, 10:07:27 AM »

Hey Cal! No worries. It would have still been sitting here anyways. Pretty excited to see it though. The timing is great as I have some other stuff on the way for the project that should be here real soon too. Thank you again.

riverfever · « **Reply #197 on:** February 06, 2014, 10:19:15 AM »

Really haven't done much to the project in a while. I have some stuff on the way that might be here this weekend. In preparation for that, I decided to take a look at the wiring harness where it runs along the frame under the tank. It was wrapped in electrical tape. Not sure why I decided to remove the tape and have a closer look other than just piece of mind I suppose. Glad I did. While I was unwrapping the tape, I found about 4 areas where the wires had been spliced and patched up. When I removed this tape, they all looked suspect. So I reworked them.

I also found 2 areas that looked just like this.

No tape covering them and the wire that was spliced in just ended. I also found the wires for the turn signals were cut and also left hanging but I'm pretty sure they are not connected at either end. So...this wiring harness isn't exactly pretty but everything seems to work and I think it's probably safer than it was. If I end up keeping this motorcycle then the long term plan (perhaps next winter) will be to strip it all down, look more closely at the internals of the motor, paint the frame and then do some updates to the electrical system and wiring to make things cleaner and simplified for a hack like me.

riverfever · « **Reply #198 on:** February 06, 2014, 03:54:43 PM »

Is there a way to repair the connector for the ignition wires? One of the wires came out of the female spade connector (pulled out of the back of the connector). Can I get a new spade connector, replace the wire and then reinsert it into that connector and still use it or do I need to find a used 4 wire connector and splice it in? I'd rather not buy a new ignition.

calj737 · « **Reply #199 on:** February 06, 2014, 03:57:53 PM »

It can be repaired as you describe. When you do, treat all connectors with some Di- grease to help preserve them. They get brittle after time and exposure.

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Author Topic: 1976 CB500/550 Project "Squirrel" (Read 279242 times)