Author Topic: 1977 CB550F (Read 7565 times)

Accolay · « **on:** August 27, 2008, 08:06:14 AM »

I've been on the site a little while now asking question, so I thought I'd actually post some pictures and tell about the mochine here.

I've had my motorcycle license since 2002, but I wasn't able to purchase a bike until this summer. See, the plan was to get the license and then get a bike to commute with when I was overseas...but then I got overseas and decided I would surely die if I tried to learn to ride there.

So, this is my first bike. I bought it for 800$. I think I'm the second owner. The title was old and kinda cool, so I scanned it before I had to trade it to The Man for the new one. I knew it would need some love when I bought it, but I really enjoyed riding it around for a couple weeks before I decided it would be unsafe to continue riding (tires/brakes).

So, I've added some cheapo chen shins and new tubes. Both tubes had been patched. There was what I thought was a loose spoke on the rear wheel, turned out to be broken. I've looked into getting the rotor drilled, but will probably save until it gets too cold to ride for that. New pads and shoes, took apart the caliper and master cylinder: cleaned and soaked in denatured alcohol. Need new brake lines, waiting for HEL UK to send them. The old ones were cracking. New UNI air filter. Took out the old melted fuse box I posted about ('cause I could only find a new one from David Silver Spares) and decided to solder in a 15A automotive fuse holder and two glass fuse holders.

It's been repainted to a dark metallic blue. Bad paint job. It had bubbles and they broke and now it has little dimples on the tank. There are bits of what I think are the original candy presto red on the bottom of the tank. I think I'll save that until either this winter or next spring. Not sure what to paint it, but I can think about that on those long MN winter nights.

Also for next year: shocks and fork springs.

Accolay · « **Reply #1 on:** August 27, 2008, 08:08:59 AM »

The bike came with the old muffler "system" somebody else had put on there, so I have another set of pipes and two old rusted out 550 mufflers. The new muffler I'm finding, is not original. I'm not a big fan of the way it looks, and it has a dent in it. So I think I will try and order a OEM muffler to see how it works.

Accolay · « **Reply #2 on:** August 27, 2008, 08:09:44 AM »

The mufflers

Accolay · « **Reply #3 on:** August 27, 2008, 08:10:16 AM »

The pipes

Accolay · « **Reply #4 on:** August 27, 2008, 08:13:08 AM »

This is the fuse fix. You can also see the wonderful winker relay ordered from Z1 Enterprises. It fixed the long blinking problem I had.

Accolay · « **Reply #5 on:** August 27, 2008, 08:14:57 AM »

Trying to get everything I can finished before the brake lines come. Only a month and a little bit more of riding days here left. I took out the spark plugs the other day to exchange for the new ones.

Accolay · « **Reply #6 on:** August 27, 2008, 08:19:19 AM »

I had a post about a leaking petcock/fuel filter. I was confused because I didn't think one was in there. I was wrong. It WAS there stuck in the tank with some rust/dirt. Had to get it out with a pair of needle nose.

Accolay · « **Reply #7 on:** August 27, 2008, 08:25:46 AM »

I forgot: I took out the names on the title to protect the innocent (or those who mashed down a lot of screws and a tappet nut for me).

I've replaced the breather tube from the cylinder head, and the carb drain tubes with some 3.5mm hose from the local Honda dealership. I've also purchsed the 5.5mm fuel hose to replace all the fuel lines on the carbs, but I might wait until winter to take the whole thing out to clean and replace with carb kits etc. It works now, so why risk possibly messing it up?

But it does need cleaning and I need both sets of rubber boots for the carb to the engine and from the air chamber.

Not sure what I'm going to do with that extra set of pipes. Maybe save for a rainy day, or help fund the parts I've bought here. the old exhaust has a hole in it. I bet it can be fixed though.

Accolay · « **Reply #8 on:** August 27, 2008, 08:30:41 AM »

Rebuilding the master cylinder. Very happy with the snap ring pliers from Z1 for the MC. Now I'm trying to figure out how it all goes together. The old piston has what I think is the secondary cap slid on it. Is this correct I wonder? Must be right? It is confusing because the rebuild kit and the parts in the MC both have less parts that in the diagrams.

Accolay · « **Reply #9 on:** August 27, 2008, 08:32:51 AM »

I cleaned the caliper. I hope it's as "absolutely clean" as the Clymers tells me it should be.

Accolay · « **Reply #10 on:** August 27, 2008, 08:35:41 AM »

I also bought the new gasket for it. I hope I got the groove cleaned out well. I think the piston is OK. There are a few small pits, one of which you can see in the photo.

Ordered the super duper silicone grease from ebay too.

Accolay · « **Reply #11 on:** August 27, 2008, 08:37:26 AM »

UNI filter.

Accolay · « **Reply #12 on:** August 27, 2008, 08:38:27 AM »

Wonder if these are the right carbs since I've seen a few posts about carbs that have been switched around.

Accolay · « **Reply #13 on:** August 27, 2008, 08:47:19 AM »

I think that's all the progress I can report as of yet. There is a definite learning curve here, but with the help I've gotten from this site and a few manuals, anything seems possible. I mean, I'm no mechanic. I've never even taken any spark plugs even out of my car. But it's not that hard. You just have to jump in and make sure you don't screw anything up.

Speaking of which...I'm wondering about the 1981 Clymers manual "Performance Improvements" section I have. It lists regular things I've heard about the shocks and forks. But I'm wondering about three things.

1. Changing the gearing. "The stock countershaft sprocket should be replaced witha one-tooth-smaller sproket."
2. Oil cooler. Still available from somewhere?
3. Clutch springs/clutch kit. Says to purchase Action Fours' heavy duty springs. This especially because the screws on the clutch cover tell me there has been work done there before, AND I don't think I was able to get into all of the gears when I had it on the road.

Accolay · « **Reply #14 on:** August 31, 2008, 08:51:48 PM »

Putting the bike together bit by bit. Wiring problems make me angry. I'm not sure if this wiring harness is the original. There are many wires that have been replaced with regular black wire and there are many solder splices.

I had to go with the new ignition switch, and It works ok. Unfortunately I do not have the connector that goes into, as the old connector from the wiring harness was broken, so what I did was use heat shrink tubing around the terminals and slide those terminals onto the male ignition switch ones. I stole the rubber bit from the old fuse box connector and I used it to cover them up. Seems to work. Just had to figure out which terminals were which.

Hush · « **Reply #15 on:** August 31, 2008, 09:15:15 PM »

You're onto it, play and see and if all else fails come back to the forum and some other forum user will give you the benefit of their knowledge.
Some of your fixes are highly imaginative but hey they work and on these older bikes getting it all back to spec is nigh on impossible, the important thing is to have fun--riding and fixing them..........enjoy......Hush.

Accolay · « **Reply #16 on:** April 09, 2009, 07:57:56 PM »

Ok, so here we go again.

First Thursday's is on the 7th of May. I need a bike that runs and doesn't look too bad. Last fall it died on me (electrical problem) and I pushed it home. The riding season was basically over and the garage is too cold to work in over the winter, so we've almost thawed out and I need to get it get riding.

So, to get everything at least working- I need to:

1. T/S electrical problem
2. Clean the carbs
3. Fix clutch issues. Possible adjustment problem, but judging on the slippage issues and condition of the screw heads on the cover, I think I'll be ordering plates and springs.

I must decide how in depth I want to delve into the cosmetic appearance. I may strip the entire thing and get the frame powdercoated. I think the rust will annoy me if I do not. At least paint the tank and sidecovers....more to come after application of new batteries to camera.

Accolay · « **Reply #17 on:** April 14, 2009, 09:06:15 PM »

So I took apart the carbs...

It was pretty easy and I hope I took enough pictures to make reassembly possible. I think I only need the Honda carb kits for this and one of the screws next to the needle jet. I think it was glued in there, but I freed it with an easy out. I think I will also get new screws for the top and bottom of the carb bodies since the old ones are a little rusty. Just an after thought.

I doubt Honda sells the individual screws for the one I need. Is there a preferred method for getting rust of the carb bodies?

Accolay · « **Reply #18 on:** April 14, 2009, 09:28:30 PM »

Almost forgot...can I buy that carb special washer thing that's broke in the first picture?

After taking apart the carbs and putting all the pieces in small labeled sandwich bags I decided to try my luck getting another screw out with an easy out. This time it was the screw that holds the Tachometer cable to the tachometer cap which attaches to the cylinder head cover. I took the cable off and put it in the vice. And it broke my easy out! I used my dremmel to cut some new slots in it and hammered on it with the impact driver and it finally came out.

Next I decided to take apart the seat.

The foam looks ok apart from where seat glue stuff was used to patch the ripping seat cover. It stuck to the foam when I was pulling it off. The problem is the edge where it is rusting off. It's also cracked on the back half of the seat pan. I need a welder.

How do I get the side screws out?

Accolay · « **Reply #19 on:** April 16, 2009, 09:25:31 PM »

I bought a tool. Specifically an air compressor. I think it was a pretty good Craigslist find. An older gentleman who only used it a few times. Craftsman air compressor. Runs on 115V 15A. Has wheels. 33 Gallon tank. 6.4 CFM @ 90PSI. Only 200 dollars. The guy still had a manual and threw in a quick disconnect coupler for me too. I can't wait to use it.

Additionally I found an Ebay seller who lives in St. Paul selling four Honda carb gasket sets I need for cheap and I can pick them up from him. Yes!

Now I need to buy a garage fire extinguisher.

I wish I had the cash for these:
http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/mcy/1126171826.html

Accolay · « **Reply #20 on:** May 07, 2009, 05:55:14 PM »

So, here we are again. Machine against man...machine winning. All I wanted to do was take the covers off and make it pretty. Just take 'em off...shine 'em up...

I bought this cool engine stand at Harbor Freight for 32$ on sale. I didn't really need it, but at that price it was worth getting it off the garage floor and able to get out of the way when people besides myself are in the garage. I had to cut some brackets out of angel iron to get it to mount properly.

So I'm spinning the engine around to get the oil out of the oil pan and and this bolt falls out. I looked around for a few minutes trying to figure out where it came from. Turns out it's one of the case bolts from the back left.

Now this changes everything. I'm going to have to rip it apart to fix that. WTF did somebody do to this thing anyway? Maybe I could try and get some of that fancy 3m electrical tape to wrap around the bolt to make it stay in this time? Geez! A $20 dollar torque wrench could have saved that, I'm sure.

Additionally I was taking off the bits and pieces from the tank and noticed a bit of the old red paint shining through. I think I'm gonna have to paint it back to that original Candy Presto Red if I can now.

Also, I wonder what could cause this small petcock filter hole? I just put that in new last year. I'm glad to clean out this oil sludge and that oil pump filter. Those small chunks are disconcerting.

Accolay · « **Reply #21 on:** May 09, 2009, 08:36:05 PM »

I got my starter buffer kit from Caswell and set it up the buffer today. Just need to clean the engine oil off side covers and I'll try polishing them up tomorrow.

Still trying to get fork seals out. Currently soaking in PB Blaster.
Still trying to get the front axle nut off. I think I'll soak it tomorrow in PB Blaster as well. I might have to buy a propane torch and try some heat on it. I'm worried about rounding it out.

Need to order gaskets for the side covers. Also the right crankcase cover clutch adjust lever bolt looks messed up. Crap. Will post pictures tomorrow.

Accolay · « **Reply #22 on:** May 10, 2009, 05:50:47 PM »

Fork Progress.

I disassembled the forks to get the seals out and to polish up the aluminum. Going through the FAQs on Suspension & Forks and a little clicking around I found the broomstick method I used from here: http://www.salocal.com/sohc/tech/frkng/frkng.htm I actually cut my dowel a little short so I used two 3/8" washers to get a good fit. Then used a basic "L" shaped 6mm allen key on the bottom.

I took them apart, then removed the seals using the hot hot water in a bucket method. I pulled the seals out using the Lisle seal remover with some wood then a bit of plastic to keep from mooshing in my aluminum, like someone else had before my time.

Then you can see that someone tried to shine with what seems to be the mark of a metal brush. (Next Post, first pic).

I stripped the old clear coat off using aircraft stripper purchased from my local O'Reilly's Auto Parts store and did a preliminary first cut with the black compound from Caswell after a cursory rub with 320 grit sandpaper. This already looks so much better than it did before I would almost be satisfied to mount them again with this first cutting motion.

Accolay · « **Reply #23 on:** May 10, 2009, 05:52:04 PM »

The "wire brush look" then stripping. And after first cut with black: left is buffed while right is just cleaned up without buffing. I'm really happy with the progress today. Now all I need is some coarser sandpaper to take out the deep scratches and I'll be in business

I have the next couple days off, so I'm looking forward to getting these done and polishing up some side covers

Accolay · « **Reply #24 on:** May 12, 2009, 06:10:50 PM »

Not much to report in terms of progress. I have bought more supplies. I think I'm going to paint the frame myself with Interlux Brightside Boat paint after a fresh coat of primer, probably rustoleum. But first I'm going to strip it to the metal with a new 40 pound pressure blaster I picked up at harbor freight, and I'm going to build a blasting box for small parts per The Motorcycle Diaries (http://wagtail.home.att.net/Page3.htm) (page 3).

I also stopped at a foam store (http://www.a-1foam.com/index.htm) and found it will be about 40 dollars for new dense foam for this seat, if I decide to replace it instead of fixing the old foam.

The only thing I physically did to the mochine today was a little more polishing on the side covers. Before and after (not finished) below.

I'm not sure I stripped off all the silver paint off, so I'm going to give it another go tomorrow. Oh yeah...hold on to that bastard when you're using the polisher, because if it gets out of your hands it will fly on the floor and make fresh gouges for you to sand out. Son of a...

News:

Author Topic: 1977 CB550F (Read 7565 times)