return to Barber 2012, 1975 CB550

cb550fcafe

4 out of 3 people have trouble with fractions
DTT BOTM WINNER
I started a different thread with two bike builds, I really need to seperate them. This bike is a build I've been thinking about for years. It is a 1975 CB550F. The bike was very rough when I got it.

Plans, single sided swing arm, modern front end, modern brakes, swap meet parts to be used throughout, modern electronics Mgadget, big bore engine, lots of engine upgrades.

So far, purchased a 1991 VFR swing arm, Marchesini wheels, CBR 929 front end, Dunstall fairing, belly pan, Kawasaki tank, Lossa 4 into 1.

Started cutting it up. Made a pilot to fit into a hole saw that centered the saw around the stock swing arm mounts, used 1 1/4" od solid steel, cut two slugs to weld in, drilled out center the same id as the VFR swing arm, made a couple of alignment pieces and welded in new swing arm bungs. I am making all my mods to the frame and not the bolts ons so if a part goes bad, I can easily replace it with a stock piece.

Then, to fit the Kawi tank, I had to remove the fat part of the back bone, I am also planning to run CR carbs so the two bars behind the carbs needed to be moved anyway, so "f" it, cut it all off and start over. Braced up a few things and cut the back bone out. More pics to come.

Here it is as purchased.
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Swing arm bungs.
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Back bone.
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Your swingarm pivot work looks great Brother, I always enjoy watching other craftsman building frames so this will be a nice thread!
 
Got fired today, didn't see this one coming. 15 years invested. new guy f'd me good. either I'll have more time to finish this bike or I'll be too broke to try, either way, I'm getting drunk tonight!
ps. thnks TIM!
 
Thanks guys for the support.

Got back to working on the bike yesterday, finished mounting the swing arm, got the GSXR shock linkage all tacked in, made all the rear tubing but batteries went dead. Here are two pics I took. Yes the kawi tank is the one I'm using.
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Sorry to hear about the job. Hopefully it will only be a temporary situation for you. Nice progress on the bike, though.
 
New subframe all fabbed up and welded together, I left the rear long since until I do the body work, I'm not sure where it ends, I'll cut it off and weld in a hoop when the time comes. I moved the two pipes that always interfere with air cleaners, I should have about two more inches of clearance. The new backbone and top tubes were made to fit the Kawi tank. More pics for tomorrow, I'm doing a quick mock up with a dummy motor.
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So the give away bike is done so I'm back to work on this little project. Body work mounted. My old race number is 16 which will be on the fairing with the 6 centered on the headlight. Engine is coming along. Rear sets fabbed. GSXR steering shock mounted. Waiting for some parts to come in. Working on the aluminum seat pan now.

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I dont know whats up with photobucket, the pics looked normal when I uploaded them. Now 5 minutes later they look normal again. Maybe its my computer.

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working on the seat pan, my first try with aluminum. I have a spool gun at work and a car battery wire feed at home to tack together. Started with card board and duct tape then transfered the patterns to 14 gauge side pieces and 3/16" thick lower plate.
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So I didn't make it to Barber. Pretty much stayed in CT for personal reasons. So work continues on the bike. APE did an awsome job on the crank lightening and cylinder boring. It will be a big bore motor. Using a bathroom scale, the crank left at 22lbs and returned at 16lbs.
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