MotorbikeBruno
Over 1,000 Posts
crazypj said:;DThat's me 8)
I think that's ALL of us on here...ha! :-X :-X :-X
74' CB550 Project Whistle Pig
- Thread starter Hurco550
- Start date
I think that's ALL of us on here...ha! :-X :-X :-X
74' CB550 Project Whistle Pig.... Make it stop!
Not a whole lot new going on. Cash is a little tight right now which doesn't aid in this whole motorcycle project thing. Luckily I scored another old bike for a descent price and have been able to part it out and put some of that cash towards the old whistle pig.
I know its counter intuitive, but i figured I would try to make it stop better (even though I haven't made it go yet). I picked up a kit to do all stainless brake lines as well as a new set of pads. I was going to convert the bike to dual discs, but I have read that stainless lines and good pads do wonders to help out these old bikes. Gonna try that before I do the full on dual discs. If I decide to do that later on, I can just run a jumper over to the second caliper. Had to pick up a banjo bolt brake switch as well as the new stainless line kit deletes the original brake switch that mounts to the lower triple. I am glad it does though as the switch was in the way of my new headlight mount =)
I also picked up a set of s.s. spokes off of evil bay. Hopefully I can get my hoops blasted and powder coated soon so I can try my hand at re lacing and truing the wheels.
Not a whole lot new going on. Cash is a little tight right now which doesn't aid in this whole motorcycle project thing. Luckily I scored another old bike for a descent price and have been able to part it out and put some of that cash towards the old whistle pig.
I know its counter intuitive, but i figured I would try to make it stop better (even though I haven't made it go yet). I picked up a kit to do all stainless brake lines as well as a new set of pads. I was going to convert the bike to dual discs, but I have read that stainless lines and good pads do wonders to help out these old bikes. Gonna try that before I do the full on dual discs. If I decide to do that later on, I can just run a jumper over to the second caliper. Had to pick up a banjo bolt brake switch as well as the new stainless line kit deletes the original brake switch that mounts to the lower triple. I am glad it does though as the switch was in the way of my new headlight mount =)
I also picked up a set of s.s. spokes off of evil bay. Hopefully I can get my hoops blasted and powder coated soon so I can try my hand at re lacing and truing the wheels.
Signing in late!
74' CB550 Project Whistle Pig.... sorta update
Sorry I haven't had more "interesting" updates lately, but i figured I will try to keep the thread going even as boring things come up. I ended up getting a new master cylinder from 4 into 1. It is actually a kz900 (i think) master, but it is for 7/8" bars and takes the same banjo bolt as the Honda, which is the pretty standard. I like it cuz it still has the round cap instead of square to kinda fit the 70's bike look a little better. I am frugal with my money, but brakes are pretty important, so i figured I would go with a new master instead of rebuilding the old one. In the end the new master didnt cost a whole lot more than a descent quality rebuild kit, and thats worth my peace of mind.
I had got the honda style replacement switches a while back from cognito. They look nice and feel like nos quality, but I didnt realize til after I got them that they do not have the clutch lever perch integrated into them, so I picked up a separate clutch lever/perch assembly as well.
I had gotten cheapo Chinese clip on bars a while back. After putting the bike back together to a mock up with them on it and sitting on it with the seat in place, I realized that I was not comfortable in that position at all. Granted I didn't have rearsets on which changes alot as far as riding geometry, I decided that at this point I am not going to put together a wildy uncomfortable bike just to fit a "look". I am going to try to go with my superbike bars I had laying around for a little more upright feel and stock foot peg location. I think my Honda Shadow A.C.E. cruiser may have made me a wimp for a down and forward riding position haha.
I guess that may make it fit closer to the "brat style" feel than a "cafe", but I will let those who like to pigeon hole bikes label it for me. A good friend of mine gave me some great advice a while back. He said "...Instead of making a "cafe" bike or "brat" bike, how about you make a "Levi" bike...." and now more than before that is what I am trying to do.
Anyways sorry for the cruddy cell phone pictures. My wife is outta town for the weekend, which means I get to work on stuff in on the coffee table where its warm =) (shhhhhh don't tell)
Sorry I haven't had more "interesting" updates lately, but i figured I will try to keep the thread going even as boring things come up. I ended up getting a new master cylinder from 4 into 1. It is actually a kz900 (i think) master, but it is for 7/8" bars and takes the same banjo bolt as the Honda, which is the pretty standard. I like it cuz it still has the round cap instead of square to kinda fit the 70's bike look a little better. I am frugal with my money, but brakes are pretty important, so i figured I would go with a new master instead of rebuilding the old one. In the end the new master didnt cost a whole lot more than a descent quality rebuild kit, and thats worth my peace of mind.
I had got the honda style replacement switches a while back from cognito. They look nice and feel like nos quality, but I didnt realize til after I got them that they do not have the clutch lever perch integrated into them, so I picked up a separate clutch lever/perch assembly as well.
I had gotten cheapo Chinese clip on bars a while back. After putting the bike back together to a mock up with them on it and sitting on it with the seat in place, I realized that I was not comfortable in that position at all. Granted I didn't have rearsets on which changes alot as far as riding geometry, I decided that at this point I am not going to put together a wildy uncomfortable bike just to fit a "look". I am going to try to go with my superbike bars I had laying around for a little more upright feel and stock foot peg location. I think my Honda Shadow A.C.E. cruiser may have made me a wimp for a down and forward riding position haha.
I guess that may make it fit closer to the "brat style" feel than a "cafe", but I will let those who like to pigeon hole bikes label it for me. A good friend of mine gave me some great advice a while back. He said "...Instead of making a "cafe" bike or "brat" bike, how about you make a "Levi" bike...." and now more than before that is what I am trying to do.
Anyways sorry for the cruddy cell phone pictures. My wife is outta town for the weekend, which means I get to work on stuff in on the coffee table where its warm =) (shhhhhh don't tell)
MotorbikeBruno
Over 1,000 Posts
Nice. Looking good sir!
74' CB550 Project Whistle Pig... now home =)
It was a happy day for me.. My bike is now in my new garage and i no longer have to drive out to dads shop to work on it! Did a little mockup with the new tank and superbike bars (or whatever they are called). I think they will look better if i take the brace bar off of them as well. Not sold on my seat with this setup, but the tank will end up a few inches foward as well as the seat. That matched with powder coated rims and s.s. spokes should look ok with some new treads as well. The paint on the tank isnt perfect, but is pretty nice, and i dont think i can bring myself to repaint it, its just to nice and only original once =) Hope there will be more updates to come soon.
It is kinda a tight squeeze to fit my car in the garage now, but hey i have a solid 9" space in between.... still beats scraping ice off my windshield in the mornings =)
It was a happy day for me.. My bike is now in my new garage and i no longer have to drive out to dads shop to work on it! Did a little mockup with the new tank and superbike bars (or whatever they are called). I think they will look better if i take the brace bar off of them as well. Not sold on my seat with this setup, but the tank will end up a few inches foward as well as the seat. That matched with powder coated rims and s.s. spokes should look ok with some new treads as well. The paint on the tank isnt perfect, but is pretty nice, and i dont think i can bring myself to repaint it, its just to nice and only original once =) Hope there will be more updates to come soon.
It is kinda a tight squeeze to fit my car in the garage now, but hey i have a solid 9" space in between.... still beats scraping ice off my windshield in the mornings =)
There is so much good there. The fork lowering is just right. That tank is great and the color is a good one. Y are probably right about the crossbar on the handlebars, having it on there gives more of an off-road look. I like the seat, but that's gunna' be your choice. If you set it up like the 360/600 we've discussed with a small amount of fender showing out the back it would look great. I can see it, though, w/ a flat, brat seat, too. And then moving the tank and seat up a little will tighten things up. Looking great.
You ride a unicycle?
Sounds like video time to me....
hurco550 said:
Ha ha. I was going to ask you about the unicycle... trying to figure out how to get a different tank, cafe seat, & different exhaust pipes adapted to it. I wasn't sure if it's yours or if you were expecting your lovely bride to ride it out to the mail box every day. Somebody gave my dad one of the things. He never was able to get the hang of it and I knew better than to even try!
OK, back to motorcycles.
I know you haven't had this running yet, but do you have any idea if the single point mount on the headlight will have more vibration than one mounted to both fork tubes?
ridesolo said:
Haha I haven't figured a tank and café seat out on the unicycle yet either. That one was given to me by someone who never could figure it out either =) I should have know better... never broke any bones, but I "should have" gotten stitches several times during the course of learning to ride it...
Anyways I think it may be to broad to say single point vs mounted to the fork tubes. The stock headlight ears on some bikes had rubber "gussets" mounted between the fork tubes and the ear tubes, but many of the aftermarket ones just mount steel on steel to the tubes. Either way the headlight on mine is from a Harley, mounted similar to how it was on a Harley, and if a Harley didn't shake it loose, hopefully mine wont either haha
