1978 CB550K First Cafe Build

Hey Guys,

Here is my first bike build, started with a pretty clean stock CB550K and plan to cafe it out. I did some things with the rear dome/tail that I haven't seen before. Next is gauges and pipes.

Let me know what you think.

The rest

Kingj6-

Your tail section and seat turned out excellent!

I like your approach with the foam, starting with the shaped sections and sanding from there, but the finished fiberglass is what really looks great! Nice job on the seat, too.

Keep it up, I'll be watching!

-Sherm

it turned out really nice,i mean the work is beautiful
but the rear tire hits the pan unless you restrict the shock travel

xb33bsa said:

it turned out really nice,i mean the work is beautiful
but the rear tire hits the pan unless you restrict the shock travel

Click to expand...

The rare wheel does rub on the pan when I hit hard bumps. What is the best way to restrict the shock travel?

-J

Thinking about getting some Yoshimura style 4 into 1 pipes like the ones below. I think it will make the bike sound and look so much better. I will wrap the front and paint back black.

kingj6 said:

The rare wheel does rub on the pan when I hit hard bumps. What is the best way to restrict the shock travel?

-J

Click to expand...

you really ought to consider a redo,and getting some good quality shocks matched to your weight
or are you not concerned with ride quality,road holding and handling ?

If you're buying new pipes do NOT wrap them, just a quick and easy way to destroy pipes. Condensation gets trapped between the wrap and the pipe, causing it to rust. Highly recommend a good high temp ceramic for the whole system.

Bike looks great though, that tail looks like it could have been a factory option (except for the obvious "tire crushing your electrics tray" problem)

KingJ6-

If it was my bike, I would get longer, firmer shocks, but I like my bike's tail to be higher than some.

If you don't want to change yours, these are an easy and inexpensive way to restrict the travel of shocks, made by Progressive Suspension just for that purpose:

http://www.cruisercustomizing.com/progressive-suspension-travel-limiters-b-50-inch-pair-for-progressive-suspension-dual-shock-absorbers/part/PS-30-5014

Bigsherm said:

KingJ6-

If it was my bike, I would get longer, firmer shocks, but I like my bike's tail to be higher than some.

If you don't want to change yours, these are an easy and inexpensive way to restrict the travel of shocks, made by Progressive Suspension just for that purpose:

http://www.cruisercustomizing.com/progressive-suspension-travel-limiters-b-50-inch-pair-for-progressive-suspension-dual-shock-absorbers/part/PS-30-5014

Click to expand...

Can you recommend some longer, better shocks?

KingJ6-

http://www.dimecitycycles.com/catalogsearch/result/index/?q=Shock&shock_mount_type=456&x=0&y=0

Try that link, it's all the eye-clevis shocks Dime City Cycles has, but you can find basic dual shocks in lots of places online.
As for the stiffness of the springs, all their shocks are listed as having the same 365lb spring rates.

Almost all those shocks are pretty inexpensive, but they also have some nice Hagons listed.
I wouldn't hesitate to put their cheap ones on a cafe racer I built.
Unless you're exceptionally heavy or light, I'm pretty sure you'll be able to adjust the preload on any of those shocks to find a setting you like.

Just disconnect your rear shocks with the bike jacked up, and raise your bike to a height that looks good to you. Then, measure what length shock you need.
Keep in mind, your shocks will compress with the bike resting on its wheels, and it'll sit even lower with you on it, so order your shocks an inch or so longer so it ends up riding at the attitude you want.

Unless you make a drastic change to your bike's attitude with way longer shocks, your steering will be fine, but a little quicker than it was. Ride easy at first after you change the shocks, of course.

Sherm

so they sell shocks with only one spring rate what does that tell you ::?
it can only mean they are wrong for most any motorcycle
good shocks like hagon koni fox works or icon are worth every penny
1'' longer shocks is the absolute max on an old bike like this any longer and you get into the chain possibly dragging on the top of the swinger and making the steering nervous and twitchy
combined with overly sprung,overdamped shocks it is just the wrong way to fix a seat underside that could be remedied with some simple fab work

quoting xb33bsa-
...shocks with only one spring rate ... are wrong for most any motorcycle

1'' longer shocks is the absolute max on an old bike like this any longer and you get into the chain possibly dragging on the top of the swinger and making the steering nervous and twitchy
[/quote]

Unless you're an unusual size, I see no reason generic shocks aren't good enough for a non-competitive bike.

BSA, many vintage racers would disagree about your +1" limit.

KingJ6, what length shocks we're on your bike when it was new, and what do you have on there now?

Bigsherm said:

Kingj6-

Your tail section and seat turned out excellent!

I like your approach with the foam, starting with the shaped sections and sanding from there, but the finished fiberglass is what really looks great! Nice job on the seat, too.

Keep it up, I'll be watching!

-Sherm

Click to expand...

Hey Sherm,

Thank you for your kind words. I actually modeled the dome in CAD first and sectioned my CAD model to the thickness of the foam. then traced the profile lines into each layer and cut the foam to match. This helped ensure I did not grind too deep in any location and gave me a simple reference for the initial sanding. The final shape however is all done by feel and look when it's on the bike, that's something computers can't simulate well.
-J

Bigsherm said:

quoting xb33bsa-
...shocks with only one spring rate ... are wrong for most any motorcycle

1'' longer shocks is the absolute max on an old bike like this any longer and you get into the chain possibly dragging on the top of the swinger and making the steering nervous and twitchy


Unless you're an unusual size, I see no reason generic shocks aren't good enough for a non-competitive bike.

BSA, many vintage racers would disagree about your +1" limit.

KingJ6, what length shocks we're on your bike when it was new, and what do you have on there now?

Click to expand...

These shocks are the shocks that were on the bike when I bought it. I am currently on a business trip in China, but I can measure when I return. After the shock comments I think that My bike would look real nice with a bit of a rear lift. I understand this can cause some complications though. I am about 5.9" tall and 160lbs just for reference.

-J

Hey Guys,

Work has been crazy so I took a little break from the bike, but now I am back. I ended up going with slightly longer shocks from dime city cycles. No clearance issues once everything is together, the swing arm does come close to the exhaust though. The stance and ride height are much better and I do not bottom out over hard bumps.

I have also been working on the gauge cluster and dash lights. I bought some new smaller gauges and I picked up some nice surface mount LED's on my business trip. my original plan was to move the ignition to the side of the bike,but I ended up keeping the original and using it to mount my new dash lights to. This is still a work in progress, should be done by the end of the weekend if all goes to plan.

Nice!

Really cool. I like the way your seat came out.

kingj6 said:

Hey Guys,

Work has been crazy so I took a little break from the bike, but now I am back. I ended up going with slightly longer shocks from dime city cycles. No clearance issues once everything is together, the swing arm does come close to the exhaust though. The stance and ride height are much better and I do not bottom out over hard bumps.

Click to expand...

wow looks killer !
with the longer shocks what about the extra chain slack is it not bothersome ?
because you cant tighten the chain with the longer shocks