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

[Operator]

im going to have to figure out a way to lock my bike up.... thinking of like a pad lock on the rim but idk the bike is so light 2 guys can just put it on a pick up truck...

Exactly.


I haven't locked my bikes for 10 years, including the steering lock.  You're more likely to inconvenience yourself than an even partially dedicated thief.

If it is a really skeezy liquor store, just park it inside.....

If you are worried about it, get a good U-Lock and attach it to a parking meter, fence or pole. It will slow them down a little, or at least get them to move on to an easier target. A buddy of mine used to hang a cowbell on his so that he could hear if someone messed with it in his driveway.

[dave500]

put a fake vomit on the seat and police crime scene tape around it.

[Retro Rocket]

put a fake vomit on the seat and police crime scene tape around it.

 

[Syscrush]

How's it going?  You riding this thing yet?  Done the MSF course yet?

[xsmooth69x]

ow the liquor store i park in front of is a very high end specialty wine and spirits store.

i decided to not bother with the whole crazy lock contraption. like stated earlier its so unique and some parts are hand made that it would be very hard to flip the bike or break it down and sell the parts.

i insured my bike for $2500 so its cool. i mean i wouldnt get back the cost of labor but at least my actual principle invested in the bike.

yes i did take my MSF and got my full endorsement through them. so all is well. i dont take passengers though it still scares me and i dont have an extra set of gear like helmet and armor so no passengers

the bike is awesome!!! its everything and more that i thought it would be.

ive only hit like 85mph on it and still havent pushed it. i dont know if it is normal but the bike gets a little twitchy going over 70mph. i dont know if the wind is what pushes me or small bumps or maybe my bike isnt perfectly straight? its not like wobbly like if the bike was seriously miss aligned or anything. the marks on the rear are lined up and the chain tension is on spec so idk what else needs to be micro adjusted that could help that out.

i think honestly its just the road and wind.

but let me know if the bike is actually supposed to be rock solid at those speeds and something is wrong.

but i have already put 500 miles on the bike and shes is awesome!!!

[dave500]

good on ya!theyll be nothing wrong with its handling your just still new to bikes.

[TwoTired]

ive only hit like 85mph on it and still havent pushed it. i dont know if it is normal but the bike gets a little twitchy going over 70mph. i dont know if the wind is what pushes me or small bumps or maybe my bike isnt perfectly straight? its not like wobbly like if the bike was seriously miss aligned or anything. the marks on the rear are lined up and the chain tension is on spec so idk what else needs to be micro adjusted that could help that out.

Has the front end trail been changed by fork mods, changes in wheel sizes, bent frame rails?
You have very sort bars with no end weights?
What tires did you put on?

Road race bikes are often twitchy, so that they can get into turns more quickly.   Isn't that what you wanted you bike to look like?
(race bikes for salt or drag are just the opposite.)

The stock 550 with standard tires and set up is quite stable.  It can be ridden with no hands on the bars (not recommended), and can be steered around shallow turns by simply leaning a bit with your body.

If your CB550 won't stay going straight on a flat road with hands off bars, you have a set up or alignment issue.

[Opposedsix]

Nice post, thanks.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

The bike shouldn't get that twitchy at 70 mph.  I remember Two Tired and you going back and forth earlier on this thread as to whether your forks or your downtubes were bent.  Did you ever get that resolved?? 

[Tews19]

Congrats smooth on the DL! If I remember correct, your frame was tweaked and either picked up another frame that was tweaked and you continued your build with the bent frame. If that is the case for your safety, look into possibly swapping the frame. I have been following your build since it started and it would be a shame to replace the frame with your build but your well being is more valuable. TwoTired is spot on about the 550. You can ride no handed and it will handle extremely well.

[goofy3392]

Hey, I've read through your build and I really liked your led gauges.  Congrats on the build, I hope you get your frame issues sorted out. I have had similiar troubles with frames, but now I've got a good frame. Anywho, I was wondering how your led blinkers turned out? And if you could, post a picture of the blinker lit up with the tail lights?  I might consider building something like what you did, but wanted to see how bright the blinkers are.  Thanks!

[Syscrush]

Let's keep in mind that xsmooth69x is a beginner rider.  He has no frame of reference for what a bike should feel like at speed.

Have it looked at by a mechanic, and have him or her test ride it too, if possible.

[qw3rtie]

Those side covers are awesome! Care to spare some tips on how you made them? Both my side covers are cracked so im looking for replacements. Thanks!

[xsmooth69x]

ive only hit like 85mph on it and still havent pushed it. i dont know if it is normal but the bike gets a little twitchy going over 70mph. i dont know if the wind is what pushes me or small bumps or maybe my bike isnt perfectly straight? its not like wobbly like if the bike was seriously miss aligned or anything. the marks on the rear are lined up and the chain tension is on spec so idk what else needs to be micro adjusted that could help that out.

Has the front end trail been changed by fork mods, changes in wheel sizes, bent frame rails?
You have very sort bars with no end weights?
What tires did you put on?

Road race bikes are often twitchy, so that they can get into turns more quickly.   Isn't that what you wanted you bike to look like?
(race bikes for salt or drag are just the opposite.)

The stock 550 with standard tires and set up is quite stable.  It can be ridden with no hands on the bars (not recommended), and can be steered around shallow turns by simply leaning a bit with your body.

If your CB550 won't stay going straight on a flat road with hands off bars, you have a set up or alignment issue.

i can ride the bike without holding the handle bars (scary)

the rims are stock size. i went with dunlop k81 tt100

i dont really think i modded my forks. i put 20w bell ray fork oil when i rebuilt them.

i havent ridden my bike since i put it away for the winter. its getting close to riding season again so when i pull it out im going to give it a thorough tune up.

when i said twitchy i meant that the bike really responds to any kind of road imperfection. im probably thinking now that since the spring rating on the back suspension is pretty heavy and im not sure if the 20w is a little thicker than factory so pretty much in a nut shell it just might be because of the stiff suspension.

i will probably throw on a steering dampener and it will rid the problem of my "wobble" if that is even what you would call it. its like when your going fast and you hit a bump and your front pops up a little bit and when it falls to the ground again you get a little wabble like you didnt hold the handle bars square when you came back down but its really dismal at best. now imagine that feeling on happening every 3 min because the highways are horrible. (used to live in florida and i never appreciated how nice the roads/highways are compared to mn.....snow and plows just devastate these roads)

when i pull the tarp off my bike i will re measure the rack of the front end. the last time i remember the second frame was in spec with the measurements u gave me at the beginning of the thread. the first frame was definitely toast. the second frame the worry was because of the small (very slight) kink in the front down tubes because someone put highway pegs on the bike and really clamped down on the frame to keep them in place. the more i went through the huge vintage bike junkyard i go to i have noticed that every single bike that have some sort of highway pegs connected to the bikes have these same looking indents.

in regards to the theme/look of the bike if its a racer or a salt flat bike thing..... i have no idea it just looks like the way i think it looks cool

what are bar end weights? and what do they do?

[xsmooth69x]

Hey, I've read through your build and I really liked your led gauges.  Congrats on the build, I hope you get your frame issues sorted out. I have had similiar troubles with frames, but now I've got a good frame. Anywho, I was wondering how your led blinkers turned out? And if you could, post a picture of the blinker lit up with the tail lights?  I might consider building something like what you did, but wanted to see how bright the blinkers are.  Thanks!

when i get the chance i will try and take a quick night video and post it on youtube so you can see.

its very F'in bright btw.

if you go LED you have to get a solid state or something like that flasher relay or the blinkers wont blink properly. they are really cheap though.

[xsmooth69x]

Those side covers are awesome! Care to spare some tips on how you made them? Both my side covers are cracked so im looking for replacements. Thanks!

i literally just bought some dirt bike oval number plates with holes in them and slapped the on the side of the bike and used black zip ties 

you could also probably those tube clamp bracket things and use a thumb screw or something that is bigger than the holes on the number plate so you can get access behind them if you need to.

i always carry a utility knife with me so i just cut it then when i get home i re zip tie it

for the number part...... well i just went into MS word on the computer picked a font i like printed the numbers out, test fit, print, test fit until i liked it.

then with that piece of paper i cut the numbers out with a razor blade and secured the paper over the number paint and rattle canned it. (same idea if you graffiti and use "tags"/ stencils.)

any imperfections i sprayed some spray paint out on a plate and used a fine paint brush and touched it up.

[xsmooth69x]

Let's keep in mind that xsmooth69x is a beginner rider.  He has no frame of reference for what a bike should feel like at speed.

Have it looked at by a mechanic, and have him or her test ride it too, if possible.

yup the junk yard have mechanics that work on all the vintage bikes for people that can pay for the maintenance road it and said i did a good job.

syscrush is right though i did have no reference to what a good mint factory cb550 should feel like but luckily for everyone on the forums or else i would  be on the original frame and not even know the difference.

the second frame although the small nicks i feel confident that they are fine. the measurements on the rack on both side from what i remember was on par but i will check again. i know for a fact if i had any doubt about the second frame i would have bought a third and tried again. i have plenty of money so the budget didn't get in the way with my safety. (my full face helmet cost more by itself then the initial price of the motorcycle)

[xsmooth69x]

i just want to say thank you again for everyone on the forums that has helped me along my journey. its almost driving season again so im really pumped to ride!!!!

i apologize for being MIA for a long time but i crawled into a box my last semester of college writing my undergraduate paper and killing myself multiple times. i graduated in December with my BS in Economics w/ minor in business admin. at the end of december i found a job at Cargill in there ETM (Energy Transportation Metals) business unit. Cargill Energy, Transportation and Metals (Cargill ETM) transparently manages global commodity supply chains for its customers. It offers a unique combination of physical and financial expertise to develop solutions in the natural gas, power, coal, petroleum, petrochemicals, ferrous, base metals and ocean freight markets. As both a consumer and a supplier Cargill ETM combines practical experience and in-depth analysis of global commodity markets to generate and apply the insights which benefit its customers. By acting responsibly and thinking innovatively Cargill ETM helps its customers to focus on their core activities and meet their growth objectives.  Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, Cargill ETM employs over 1,000 people with regional hubs in the Americas (Minneapolis, Houston, New Jersey, Sao Paulo), Asia (Singapore, Shanghai, Beijing, Mumbai) and Africa (Johannesburg).

I am currently a credit analyst and have a big boy job and im all grown up..... kind of anyways.

but now i have no life and lots of play money so when the weather is nice again i think i will start on my 1972 CB750!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i might go more legit this time and get some powder coating done and ........ well thats probably it. depending on how i feel i might put on of those big bore 836 kits on it. then put all the bling and ridiculously over priced for no reason stuff on it

anyways life has slowed down a little bit and i decided to pop into the forums again and say HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

[dave500]

ah gday xman your back,good job on all that study crap and securing a decent job,good work on the bike aswell,youll find those type of bars are fine on race tracks but in the real world of the normal public imperfect roads bumps will be harder to control with them being quite narrow,a damper will help.

[Bankerdanny]

Congratulations on the job Smooth, in today's market its not easy to ind one so soon after graduation. And welcome to the wonderful world of credit analysis.

I'm not sure that you really need 20wt in your forks. That's what I ran in mine, but I am well over 200 pounds. I suspect you don't compress your suspension quite as much as I do and the standard 10wt is probably sufficient.

Tires can have a real impact on how the bike reacts to road imperfections. With an older tread design like your you may find that it follows pavement grooves more than a modern tire would.

[xsmooth69x]

ah gday xman your back,good job on all that study crap and securing a decent job,good work on the bike aswell,youll find those type of bars are fine on race tracks but in the real world of the normal public imperfect roads bumps will be harder to control with them being quite narrow,a damper will help.

yes the clip ons i must say are a royal pain in the butt. i have like zero turning radius. the 750 will not have clip on handlebars on it. atleast the 550 i can still push around ok.

im deff buying a dampener for it so you'll probably see a thread soon about why is this one 39.99 and this one 599.99?........

[xsmooth69x]

Congratulations on the job Smooth, in today's market its not easy to ind one so soon after graduation. And welcome to the wonderful world of credit analysis.

I'm not sure that you really need 20wt in your forks. That's what I ran in mine, but I am well over 200 pounds. I suspect you don't compress your suspension quite as much as I do and the standard 10wt is probably sufficient.

Tires can have a real impact on how the bike reacts to road imperfections. With an older tread design like your you may find that it follows pavement grooves more than a modern tire would.

thats really interesting i didnt think tread pattern really did had that much impact on the ride other than traction and how it wicks water away. ya the 20wt might have been a little excessive but when i do hit the front brakes it squishes nice but i guess those quick bumps it isnt so forgiving.

ya the job is definitely all that i wanted and expected it to be. i almost took a position at lockheed martin for a active field logistics manager and go back to florida (LM orlando location) but cargill made me a better offer (which come to think about it of course they had to have payed me more to live in this freezing ass state). energy trading was my focus when i was getting my degree so this position was perfect anyways the LM one i probably wouldnt have loved as much. i work in 3 time zones now and i dont get much sleep but its a rush and very fun when things ramp up. ill probably stay here in the states for a couple more years then do an international assignment to Singapore for 2-4 years (then i can buy a skyline R34 probably 2 and ship them back on the company dime maybe sell one for some quick $$$$$).

[xsmooth69x]

other than catching up im still going to add onto this thread. i still have a couple things wrong with my bike.

1) my starter when attached to the motor im using dosnt work and just spins. but since i have been riding the bike and hopefully things "loosened up" when i test try it again and install it, it might work?........

2) vigorously kicking my bike over to start it for my first time i broke off a piece of the motor i talk about it on page 7 with pics. so hopefully my starter works because its horrible when i stall out and have to put the bike in neutral, put down kick stand, pull out kicker, kick, put back kicker, put in gear and roll out.

also being stuck in traffic i cant turn the bike off and on so it does not over heat when its super hot outside. forcing me to either ride down the break down lane like a dick to the nearest exit and taking back roads. or like last time the bike cooked because i didn't realize it until it started to idle high then had to sit on the side of the road for a good hour or 2

new things for the bike

i have an oil cooler adapter for the cb550 i found in the junkyard and got for cheap so now im going to figure out how to pipe it, what radiator i want to use and some kind of fan and mount it in some awesome stealthy place that probably does not exist on the bike.......

[goldarrow]

1. If you push the start button and starter spin, but bike won't start, the your problem may be something else and not starter

2. I didnt read your page 7, but You don't have to put kick stand or side stand down to kick start. Shut off engine and turn off key if you get stuck in traffic for extended period of time

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

ah gday xman your back,good job on all that study crap and securing a decent job,good work on the bike aswell,youll find those type of bars are fine on race tracks but in the real world of the normal public imperfect roads bumps will be harder to control with them being quite narrow,a damper will help.

yes the clip ons i must say are a royal pain in the butt. i have like zero turning radius. the 750 will not have clip on handlebars on it. atleast the 550 i can still push around ok.

im deff buying a dampener for it so you'll probably see a thread soon about why is this one 39.99 and this one 599.99?........

Other than low-speed turning, the turning radius is fairly irrelevant.  Countersteering and lean angle allows you to turn at speed.