1976 CB550K Rebuild- Indoor Living, NYC: Lester Mags and Ikon Shocks Version 2.0

[DKB]

black and white is retro and all.... but come on! Color!  

and supers are good people... hell, i wouldnt be surprised if the super wouldnt mind helping you out with the project for a couple extra bucks.

For the record... My dads a super, my grandfathers a super, my uncles a super, a couple of cousins of mine are supers, i know lots of supers, hell, i even worked as a super for a couple of months last summer.

 


the projects looking good! hope all goes well

My super's name is Janeuz. One of the coolest old guys in the neighborhood. He's been a good source of help and info. He used to race back in Poland when he was younger until a pretty bad accident that messed up his back and jaw. We started talking a ton as I was outside all summer working on my bike obsessively tuning it. He's got this insane bat cave tool shop set up in our basement I just found out about. Kinda cool that the 550 was the common link in getting to know him and a ton of other neighbors.

[forcefanajd]

<3 your my hero lol on a side note the bike is looking SWEET

[DKB]

I rebuilt a few bikes in the house when I was younger. My girlfriend at the time really loved it! lol NIce work though looking good so far

Thanks Man:)

I've run into a few guys in NYC that have done apt bike builds in the past. Beats paying for winter storage or dealing with alt side parking over the coming months- plus the bike is going to be pretty solid come spring. I put around 3000 miles on before getting into the frame off rebuild and feel pretty confident in the bike and investment of time.  

I'm still trying to figure out what to do about cleaning / painting as I'm sleeping 10 feet from the bike and gotta keep the fumes/ mess and chemicals to a minimum. I was painting small parts on the fire escape until the recent drop in temp. Gotta sort out a Plan B....

Don't suppose the makeover on your avatar is from MMA? I photographed an event in NJ a few weeks back that had to be one of the best photo projects I've worked on recently.

[midnightcafe]

do you have an elevator large enough to get the bike out or do you have to disassemble/reassemble outside?

[forcefanajd]

do you have an elevator large enough to get the bike out or do you have to disassemble/reassemble outside?

that was my next question.

[DKB]

I ended up having to remove the tank, seat, rear fender, exhaust, and the front tire/fender to get it to fit in the elevator. With all that done I had three inches to spare with the bike in diagonally. Not as bad as I thought it would be with a few friends to help with the lifting but still not ideal. Took about an hour to disassemble everything and get it in the apt.

[nols]

Thanks Man:)

I've run into a few guys in NYC that have done apt bike builds in the past. Beats paying for winter storage or dealing with alt side parking over the coming months- plus the bike is going to be pretty solid come spring. I put around 3000 miles on before getting into the frame off rebuild and feel pretty confident in the bike and investment of time.  

I'm still trying to figure out what to do about cleaning / painting as I'm sleeping 10 feet from the bike and gotta keep the fumes/ mess and chemicals to a minimum. I was painting small parts on the fire escape until the recent drop in temp. Gotta sort out a Plan B....

Don't suppose the makeover on your avatar is from MMA? I photographed an event in NJ a few weeks back that had to be one of the best photo projects I've worked on recently.

YEAH- my other avatar pic was from MMA.... I miss working out at the gym as much as I used to, but kids are way more important. I had a suggestion for you on chemical smells. build a plastic tent you can work inside and put a fan in the window blowing out for a short period of time if your working with something with a strong odor.  

[DKB]

I split town for the holidays and headed south to visit family. Good times in the Sunshine State. Beats the hell outta the current 20 degrees and windy. I got back this week and have been keeping super busy with the project. Spent a ton of time getting into the engine and frame cleaning thing up and prepping for paint. Took a while and made a hell of a mess degreasing and prepping everything but as of today, the engines bolted up and finished.

I had a very slow leak from under the valve cover gasket which was addressed. I replaced all of the puck seals and installed new gaskets on the following:valve cover, breather cover, side tappet inspection gaskets, starter cover, points cover, dyno cover, and valve adjustment tappets. Everything's torqued back down to spec. Painted the parts and engine with Duplicolor High Temp Engine Paint and am curious to see how it holds up. Looks pretty good for now. Wish I had access to a better work area and parts cleaner/blasting cabinet, but for spraying everything under tarps  5 feet from my bed and 10 feet from the kitchen, I'm happy with the results. Still high on paint fumes, but happy nonetheless.

Before:





During:





And After:












I have to finish cleaning up and painting the frame next and am hoping to reinstall the engine this weekend.  Just ordered new tapered steering bearings and rear shocks as well as a ton new replacement bolts and screws for the rest of the bike, fork seals, headlight ears, etc...

[Big Rich]

Holy crap man! That motor looks like NOS. Good job!

[Rocan]

engine looks great! are the side covers polished or painted? im digging the semi-shiny look!

[thompsonmx100]

^^^^ yeah what he asked that sprocket cover looks tits. I like the flat shiny look it has. the clutch cover looks shinier more polished but that sprocket cover looks like something made out of magnesium and straight off a race bike

[DKB]

Thanks! The Engine Block and Cylinder Head/Cover were painted. The rest of the parts and covers are just cleaned up a bit or polished by hand. I removed the sprocket cover as I wanted to clean out all the crud on the underside. Cleaned it up with 400 grit wet sanding by hand, some 000 steel wool and a bit of polishing compound, 600 wet sand, then some mag polish on a blue shop towel. I just experimented and quit when I got a decent looking finish. My first attempt at polishing metal. I put more time into the sprocket cover then the others which I guess is obvious. Gonna go back and spend a bit more time on the other parts to even things out.

[willdance]

Man, that engine came out good...

[Traveler]

Damn good work!

Hope mine turns out as well!

~Joe

[metaltriumph]

engine came out great

must be hard to keep your aprtmnet clean man