Topic: 74 CB550 Cafe Racer - Clean, uncluttered, and crisp :completed:

[mbrown67]

I have started a Cb550 build and with that I have created a blog to track my progress. You can check out the blog at http://matthewpbrown.com/cb550. I will post some items here but all the details will be tracked on my website.

Thanks,

Matt

[mbrown67]

[Mach-5(50)]

welcome to the club. the more the merrier in my opinion. it keeps me motivated.

are you keeping the exhaust? (i haven't looked at your blog yet, so forgive me if this info is there.) if not i want to be first in line.

later,

ryan

[StrongPerf]

Cool deal! I'm looking forward to seeing it come together!

[FunJimmy]

Good to have you on board.
Can’t speak for everyone, but blog or not, if it’s not posted here, many won’t take the time to bother.

Good luck
FJ

[mbrown67]

Thanks for the comments. I think I will post here as well as my blog. The blog will help those not associated with the board (friends and fam) track what I am doing. I have a lot of family that builds cars so they are interested in reading about the bike.

Ryan, I hope to fab an exhaust and would be happy to sell you my exhaust. I need to work out some issues with the engine before I can build anything, but hopefully won't be too long...

FRONT BRAKES:
The other day I inspected the front brakes to find out why they would not work. It turns out without pads and fluid the caliper does not do its job. So, I ordered pads, a SS line (I am going single line), and a caliper seal. I need to buy a master rebuild kit or a new master. I think I will buy a 14mm master from eBay because (1) it is new and (2) it has a brake light switch (something I am bypassing at the moment).

ENGINE:
I changed the oil and plugs immediately after picking up the bike. Upon inspecting the plugs I noticed plug #1 was carbon free but had fuel on it. I thought “no spark!” I was wrong! Cylinder #1 has both spark and fuel. After doing a little reading, I do not believe it is a timing issue because then another cylinder would be out of time (correct me if I am wrong). Although, #4 looks a little weak (see the pic).

The engine runs fine (although on 3 cylinders). I do not hear abnormal noises coming from the engine.

I recently moved to Lubbock, TX and had to leave my brother’s full shop behind. So I am at a lack for many tools. I decided to purchase a cheapo compression tester and learned that the tester does not work on 12mm threads. So, tomorrow I will pick up the upgraded cheapo compression tester from Harbor Freight.

Could the problem with plug one be caused by a lack of compression? Any ideas?

http://www.matthewpbrown.com/cb550/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/dscn06892.jpg


SPARE TANK:
The bike came with a spare gas tank. I set out to remove layers upon layers of paint as well as any underlying body filler. I purchased a sandblaster because this is what I was used to using in Florida. I must have been out of my mind to think my little 2hp compressor would power the blaster. I wasted a lot of time buying the equipment (I was thankful that the store took it back), setting up my garage, etc.

In the end, I used a $7 can of Mar-Hyde Aircraft Stripper, an old drywall knife, an electric drill, wire wheels, and a paint/rust removal disc. I sprayed the tank down, scraped the gunk off, proceeded to wire wheel the tank and then repeated the process. After the second time the tank was ready for the sanding wheel. I finished it off with a handheld sander.

http://www.matthewpbrown.com/cb550/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/dscn0694.jpg


http://www.matthewpbrown.com/cb550/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/dscn0696.jpg


http://www.matthewpbrown.com/cb550/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/dscn0699.jpg


http://www.matthewpbrown.com/cb550/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/dscn0701.jpg


http://www.matthewpbrown.com/cb550/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/dscn0704.jpg


http://www.matthewpbrown.com/cb550/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/dscn0705.jpg


GOALS:
I plan to spend the latter half of my day tomorrow diagnosing the engine. I believe having a solid running engine will reduce stress later in the build. I know that when I built street cars I would build the engine then paint the car. I would hate to paint the frame of the bike only to have gas or other fluids ruin the finish. And yes, I know this may happen regardless, but it would be far more likely if I am painting and repairing at the same time.

Thanks,

Matt

[mbrown67]

I sort of checked the compression today. I hooked up my new compression tester, opened the choke, held the throttle wide open, and cranked. This worked fine until I got to cylinder 3. For some reason, the tester did not hold pressure. I checked the tester but no avail.

The readings I got on the two cylinders are #1 @ 135 and #2 @ 122.

I have two questions:
(1) Disregarding I do not have a full set of numbers, are the two are numbers ok for a motor with 23k miles.
(2) Any ideas on what can be wrong with cylinder 1? (see the pic)

Thanks

[ev0lve]

I'm so green on this I should be ashamed to post but... the mantra: air, fuel, spark. You've got compression so that's out. Have you pulled the carbs? Possible #1 is badly out of whack and the mixture is way (WAY) rich? Somehow blocked for air?

(Maybe I can learn a bit with you here when an expert comes on by)

[Mach-5(50)]

are you actually getting spark to the plug? i can't help but notice that the spark plug doesn't look like it has fired at all. i am no expert, just curious. does it smell like fuel? it looks new, where the others are burning rich.

later,

ryan

[Ecosse]

i may have missed it but how did you determine #1 has spark? that plug looks virgin from the picture.

[mbrown67]

First off, thanks to everyone that replies to posts on the forum. The attention to detail and thoughtful posts (not just to this thread but all threads) is amazing. I learned a ton today about powder coating.

Ok, onto the good stuff. I started diagnosing my compression tester and found a faulty schrader valve. After replacing the valve the compression tester worked great.

The numbers (in order) are 130, 125, 125, 120.

Also, I took a pictures of the plugs (http://matthewpbrown.com/cb550/images/DSCN0724.JPG and http://matthewpbrown.com/cb550/images/DSCN0726.JPG) to help analyze the problem. It looks like #1 has seen fire but not much. The plug was wet of fuel. I want to add that I have tested and received spark to #1 with the plug attached to the wire and grounded to the engine.

In the picture you can see that plug #1 (the one that looks almost new) and plug #4 are the two plugs that are in the best shape. Also, I got in touch with the old owner of the bike. He said that the points and condensors are new and have been adjusted with a dwell meter and timing light. He also rebuilt the carbs, including new floats, but they are "syncronized to each other but not to the engine." I assume that this means that he has not used a manometer (fluid or gauge) to syncronize the carbs. Also he mentioned the main jet is not "set."

Can the points be out of adjustment? And if so, would it cause the vast difference between plug #1 and #4? Or is it more likely a carb issue?

My plan of action:
1) Build a manometer
2) Remove the airbox and insure that the throat of the carbs are clean of obstruction and the carb is working properly
3) Research carb adjustments (using the manual and this forum)
    a. I have a small amount of experience with similar carbs from racing karts but I have yet to deal with more than 1 cyl
4) Clean and re-install the plugs
5) Adjust carbs to stock settings
6) Syncronize carbs
7) Tune carbs (air/fuel)
Adjust carbs again if needed
9) Drive around for a bit
10) Pull plugs again and inspect

As always, help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Matt

[mbrown67]

To test for spark I used an insulated screw driver and held it close to the engine casing while turning over the motor. To insure spark was making its way to through the plug I plugged the spark plug into the plug wire grounded it to the engine casing and turned over the motor. In both situations I had spark.

[Mach-5(50)]

just to be more inquisitive, what color was the spark? blue or orange?

i hope you don't think i am beating a dead horse....

[mbrown67]

Good question regarding the color of the spark. I forgot to mention that the color was blue.

[mbrown67]

So it has been a long while since I have updated my build blog. Not much has happened in the way of progress, school and work have hindered the speed in which I can build the bike.

A few quick updates:
- The bike is bare and stripped of parts
- Ordered some parts: rear sets (R6 rearsets, lets see if I can fab some brackets up), pod filters, 110 jets
- Cleaned my carbs and found a ton of clay in the bowls (in lubbock our "soil" is clay) thanks to the lack of an air filter...
       --- Carb #1's jet was falling out because the o-ring had deteriated so much

What will happen in the next few weeks:
- Fab up the rear sets
- Make or buy a rear cafe seat (anyone has one they want to get rid of? send me an email or pm)
- Decide if I will mount the battery under the cafe seat (basically whether I want to spend the $$ for an AGM battery)
- Cut off all unnecessary brackets, clean and prep the frame for paint
- Paint the frame
- Begin rebuild

I thinking of going with a Silver frame, Dark red paint w/ gun metal old school racing stripe, other misc parts will be either black or gun metal.

Also, want a cheap bike stand? Head out to harbor freight and buy a 9.99 roller dolly. Add some wood to it and you got yourself a cheap rolling bike stand! It was so nice having the stand and being able to roll the bike around.

Tech tip: (If this has not been added I will add it) If you are solo remove the frame from the engine.

Also, check out sauces build! I stopped by his house today and his hardtail bike is looking sexy.

- Matt

[tinyrobot]

in regards to the spark issue... I chased a non firing plug for a few days and found that when I tested the plug in the wire boot touch it to the case it fired, but when the plug was screwed in the block it did not.  This was due to a short in the wire right at the connection to the plug that only "opened" when the at that specific angle 

check your spark plug wires!

[sauce]

Hi matt 

[mbrown67]

Its been awhile!

School and life have stood between my build far too long! lol... I am working on my bike everyday now and with some luck I will have it back on the road by then end of June!

A lot has been done to the bike since my last post. A quick summary is best done by pics. The frame is pewter and the engine is cast iron. I hope to have the tank and seat painted a deep metalic (or candy) maroon with an offset cast iron stripe.

I do have a question about mounting the cafe seat, how? I thought about fabing up a bracket and using two button head bolts to hold it down. The location of the bolts will be such that the leather seat will hide them.

[mbrown67]

The build is slowly, but surely coming along. I finally got to take the bike for a ride today. The ride was short, but sweet!

I thought I was doing great injury wise, until today. Finally shed some blood for the bike. The bike stalled (operator error) and while swinging my leg over to hop on, I caught the rearset with my calf. When I got off the bike I checked out the peg and sure enough there was some blood on it.

The bike rides like a dream! I will post a complete list of the parts I have ordered (I've ordered a lot and researched tons before ordering)

The gas tank that will be used is pictured at the end (aka, not the blue tank). I created the knee dents and will send it and the seat out to the paint shop.

[verboten1]

are those the R6 rearsets?

[Ricisan]

Very nice, I'm impressed. Do yourself a favor and turn the calliper around to the backside of the fork leg. This will improve handling.

R

[mbrown67]

verboten1: Yeah they are 2001 R6 rearsets. All that is left to do on that mod is to setup the shifter linkage. Currently, I am using the stock shift lever, but plan to source some rod-ends to make the linkage so that I can use the R6 shift lever. I have the R6 rear brake lever all setup.

Ricisan: Thanks for the comments! Are you talking about http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?action=profile;u=10428;sa=showPosts? Also, how does it improve performance? Moves the center of gravity a lower?

[mbrown67]

Here is a picture with the rear light installed. The rear light is a CBR600 taillight.

[verboten1]

nice, I was looking at R6 rearsets, looks like they will work then!


love the bike!

[mbrown67]

Where I mounted the rearsets, the stock exhaust (at least the 4-1 exhaust) prevents the rear brake lever from moving. I knew this would be a problem, but didn't care much because I am changing the exhaust. I think you could just move the mount up on the frame to avoid the problem though.

The riding position is great. Your not too leaned forward, so you can cruise comfortably or dig into the turns.

I've got a lot of detail work to do now, such as gettting the bike painted, getting rid of some chrome, setting up the shift linkage, and buying a bunch of bolts for the bike (the engine was missing a bunch of the phillips head screws). I'm thinking about buying some button head screws for the handlebars, rearsets, and some other places.

I'll keep the post updated.