"Traveler's" 1977 CB550K Cafe build

Looking good! How is your steering damper mounted to the frame? I have one I want to put on my 650.

I doubt the JB Weld is going to hold at all. It's not superglue ;) I had to do something similar to my kicker to make it clear my pegs. I had a welder add 1" of material to allow it to swing further away from the engine. He wasn't 100% sure it would hold, and that's a professional welder, who went through great pains to make sure he got as much penetration on the welds as possible.
 
Sadly I haven't been able to follow this build from the start, but I did just page back through 1/2 the posts or so. Did you ever use a sanding mop for cleaning up your engine and getting that brushed look? If you've never heard of them, they're your best friend and while it may be a little late, you should definitely Google 'sanding mop' sometime. Great little tools.
 
Thanks.

The final finish was achieved by using the fine scratch pad....the "white" scratch pad and WD-40. rub until you see black...that tells you aluminum is coming off in the WD-40 and the finish is smooth...then buff with a shop cloth or a clean rag.....simple and VERY effective.

I knew the kicker would be a chore!

~Joe
 
Well, I got the head stud in....went very easy. I hit the end of the broken stud with my ball peen hammer to "shock" the threads, then clamped on some vise grips and pulled.....came loose, and then worked it out with channel lock pliers. screwed in the new one, and re-installed number 4 head tube......too easy! ;)

Pulled my seat shell off and started looking at the wiring......it has occurred to me, that a custom wiring harness is the way to go. I have custom wired a bike before, so I will start figuring out how to go about it. I am jsut plain sick and tired of looking at and dealing with this crappy old original harness. I'll do a VERY bare bones setup.

So....I'll work on that, in addition to un-plugging my floats, and then she SHOULD be done.

Anyhow, that was Sunday.

~Joe
 
joe be sure that you spin that wheel on a trueing stand after you tighten those spokes up bud.... if not you can get a death whoble when you hit speeds. got to make sure it is true and strait when you tighten spokes up bud. looks good. I read this thread and then just checked to see if i had an extra kicker, sorry man i do not. i think my buddy does though i see him fri i will ask

on a sep note... Saw my brother last night... no mail, it is in my truck now... since i was building some bags last night, i completely re wired it as well. OOOH i never told you what was wrong, it was the amp, when i opened up the amp the solder marks they used on the power lines actually touched the neg, so when it plugged in it shorted, i replaced the amp wiht a newer model that is much nicer.

PM me your addr, i have it in my truck and i can mail it on lunch for you,
 
Basement rat said:
I wonder if a good braze job would hold it well enough.

Its got an electric start, right?
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Yes, that is the primary mode of starting for me......the kicker is jsut a back burner project for later downt he road.

~Joe
 
Hey Joe, I have a barebones parallel 4 wiring diagram if you need it man. Just let me know!
 
Thanks! If you want, please sent it over!

I have some Lester mags now. The rear is an 18" with a 550 hub. All the ones I normally see are 16" with the 750 hub. So, basically I believe this is a VERY rare wheel to find. Think about it. These wheels were so expensive when new, and most who bought a 550 bought it, because it was cheaper than a 750....so who is going to buy a 550 and then drop all that money on wheels, when you could just buy a 750??

The front wheel is a 19". Yes, they cost a fortune, and NO, I don't want to talk about it. :'(

The Tank, Seat, and Wheels have cost a ton, but had to be done, so that I could really have the bike I wanted.

I am VERY happy and pleased that I finally found the set I had been lusting after!

Here are some pics of the wheels.

rearlester4.jpg


rearlester2.jpg


rearlester3.jpg


rearlester1.jpg


frontlester3.jpg


frontlester2.jpg


frontlester1.jpg


~Joe
 
hey, im new here, love your build the tank seat and wheels may be expensive but they really set the bike off. just wanted you to know i spent 3 hours reading the whole build and examining every picture with no breaks, i understand how you feel about the comradery on here, kinda low. keep up the good work!!
 
suzuki_rf said:
i understand how you feel about the comradery on here, kinda low
Click to expand...

You must be being sarcastic! Comradery here is top notch! I have gotten tons of help and support through exchange of knowledge and parts with many of the members here. We tend to be very faithful to DTT and helpfull and supportive to all fellow members. Sounds like you ARE new here and not familiar with the level of comradery on other vintage forums! We are the outcast of most vintage forums, they want to hang you for doing somthing to a bike that is not factory or would not have come factory on a vintage bike. We are very supportive of all styles of bikes and the artistic creations of all members, while disregarding labels (except for the tracker guys) and allowing any vintage custom (almost any custom really) creators a place to feel welcome. Also a place to converse, find inspiration, and view what other like minded people are doing with thier own projects. Hang around and become a part of DTT, and you will see, comradery is very strong here!
 
well i am new here if you want to see how i came to that conclusion check out my GT 550 build thread, its on the second page, 35 views, 0 replies. going off that and Joe's earlier pleaing for feed back... but i really dont want to take the focus of this thread away from the awesome CB being built
 
Thanks. I appreciate you taking the time to stop in and say some nice words.

Not sure on the wheels yet....may go full polish on them.

~Joe
 
Full polish huh? That would look sick! It will also be a shit-ton of intricate polishing. I wish you good luck sir. I'll be starting my first polishing project soon, a tank for my father-stepson bobber build. Oh... and I've never polished anything before... So get to polishing so I can annoy you with lots of questions. :)
 
tWistedWheelz said:
You must be being sarcastic! Comradery here is top notch! I have gotten tons of help and support through exchange of knowledge and parts with many of the members here. We tend to be very faithful to DTT and helpfull and supportive to all fellow members. Sounds like you ARE new here and not familiar with the level of comradery on other vintage forums! We are the outcast of most vintage forums, they want to hang you for doing somthing to a bike that is not factory or would not have come factory on a vintage bike. We are very supportive of all styles of bikes and the artistic creations of all members, while disregarding labels (except for the tracker guys) and allowing any vintage custom (almost any custom really) creators a place to feel welcome. Also a place to converse, find inspiration, and view what other like minded people are doing with thier own projects. Hang around and become a part of DTT, and you will see, comradery is very strong here!
Click to expand...

I see where he is coming from.....trying to get people to actually RESPOND is like pulling teeth!

~Joe
 
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