CB 550 Cafe

[hunterrupp33]

Alright guys...I am about to do my first ever build on my first bike. Here is the background info:

Around May 2013 I found a 1978 CB550K that I had been searching for about 4 months. Almost exactly what I wanted. Just needed a few things. I picked it up and got it back home (the guy I bought it from dropped it off.) At this point, I had no knowledge of how to ride or anything about motorcycles. First Night: Dumped all the gasoline onto my garage floor because I didnt know wtf an overflow. I figured from there on it could only be up.

To this point, this is what I have done;
Oil Change
New Battery
Cleaned Carbs
New Airbox and Intake Boots
Adjusted the tappets
New Rectifier
New Key Ignition
Adjusted the Points

There's probably other things but I can't remember. Most of the stuff I've done so far is pretty standard maintanence, but every time was 4x longer that it should have taken (learning curve like a mother). The bike is running good now, but not amazing. (low compression). I think its the rings, because I already adjusted the tappets and I still have low compression, as well as putting some oil into the cylinders and it shooting right up. So i just made the decision that everything is coming off and its going to be frame up. Ill be posting pictures within a week or two of what it looks like now.

You stay classy DO THE TON. 8)

 

[ILoveThumpers]

...So i just made the decision that everything is coming off and its going to be frame up...

I was with you up to this point.

Pull the motor, fix the rings, put the motor back and ride it.

-Deek

 

[hunterrupp33]

I bought this bike with the intentions of making cafe racer in the first place. It's why I started looking for a cb550 in the first place. Once I saw a cafe racer I knew I wanted one.

Plus with winter coming, it gives me a cure for my "no wrench in hand" syndrome.

 

[98kellrs]

The reason people say to get the bike running smoothly and ride it first is so you can work out a baseline for the bike, from there you can make modifications/customization and compare them to see if they are an improvement, or a decline in performance.

Building from scratch (especially when you have no experience with motorbikes) leaves you very vulnerable to making a host of errors which firstly may produce a dangerously handling machine, and secondly will be difficult to diagnose any issues you have.

Your enthusiasm is great, but get her running reliably, then worry about making the frame look pretty.

 

[timmysf]

well i'll be the one to buck the trend here. i say tear it down if you want.

there's valid points being made by prior commentators - that a rideable bike is more enjoyable than a non-rideable bike. it also helps you form a baseline so you know what you're looking for in improvements.

but i didn't do that myself. i had people telling me to just fix it up and ride it. and that just pissed me off even more. i jumped in off the deep end. tore the whole thing down and re-built it the way i wanted. i'd never put together a bike in my life before.

the previous commentator is right - i had no baseline to work off .. i made a lot of mistakes that probably could have been avoided. some things i could have done better now that i know better. but do i think i have a more dangerous bike than some bike that just came out of sitting in a barn for 20 years? no.

would i do this again? absolutely. patience, curiosity and a willingness to keep stepping back and asking yourself questions is key.

i think people here forget that everyone here draws motivation from their own project in their own ways. some people might be happy to buy old bikes, fix them up, ride them and move on to the next old bike. some people want the challenge of building a bike in their own image. starting with a base bike that they think is pretty good but it aint quite what they want.

if i had listened to people here and "just fixed" up the CB350 i had, i would have lost interest in it two weeks and let it rot out back, because it would have motivated me exactly zero.

so.. that said. this forum is full of good advice. lots of people here with lots of hindsight that they can share with you. but in the end, it will have to be what motivates you and not what other people think you should do.

cheers

 

[hunterrupp33]

Manxie.

Thank you for the worry, trust me ive gotten plenty of it from my family and friends. ;D But I did finally get it running the way it should be running. (took me about 2 months to figure out i had a bad rectifier...). And i def have a baseline that I am excited to start working on.

Timmy.

Thank you for not shootin down my dreams. haha. But I agree with you 100%. If i just 'fixed it', I would have zero motivation and it would just end up being a lost dream. Plus I feel like if everyone said "just fix and ride it" then we wouldnt have any cafe racers, bobbers, or choppers at all.

That being said, I am PUMPED to get this thing started. And I will post the pictures once i get my damn laptop back from HP. Just using my girlfriends for now.... :/

 

[Rich Ard]

Plus I feel like if everyone said "just fix and ride it" then we wouldnt have any cafe racers, bobbers, or choppers at all.

I bet there would be four times as many.

 

[damiansd]

I was the bozo first time builder that did the full tear down. Yeah, the engine was seized so I had more of an excuse. But I have definitely missed the chance to baseline this thing first. I'm hoping when the engine is back together that I haven't wasted my time.

My shed is full of shiny bits for an engine that may not be worth the hours of polishing. Yeah I've learnt a heap along the way. But I may still end up with a piece of junk that has eaten up many months of my time...

Just a thought.
D.

 

[ILoveThumpers]

I bet there would be four times as many.

^^ This ^^

It's not just the motor. And it's not just for a baseline. (Though that's very valuable info) Getting a bike to the point that it's rideable means you've proven the whole platform.

Does all the wiring work? If so, you probably don't need to make an entire harness. (just cut away what you don't need and save the expense)

Are the brakes in good condition? Probably not, but at least you won't be surprised by a $100+ rebuild job.

Where are you going to put your feet? You can't know that before you have replaced your seat, then the handlebars and oops now you have to cut/weld/modify your frame for rearsets and you tear up your pretty powder/paint job.

For some people this is their first bike. First. Bike. FIRST. How do they even know if motorcycling is for them? You assume a lot of risk riding on two wheels and if they haven't ever ridden a bike and experienced that risk first hand, how are they going to feel when they spend $1K on a teardown/rebuild then realize "shit... if I drop this thing 1) I could die 2) my pretty paint job will be fucked" or my personal favorite "I look stupid in a helmet so I don't wear one"

It's good advice I ignored the first time and you can learn from my and every other idiot's mistakes.

And you'll find riding opportunities in the winter. Warm days aren't all that rare in most parts of the country.

-Deek

 

[Rich Ard]

No question, some of it depends on mechanical aptitude. My first bike showed up seized and in boxes, but I'd worked on tougher stuff and wasn't worried about it. It ran when I was done, but surely could have been better.

The XV I built, I got running, put together and rode 2500 miles. Now it's torn down for finishing, and it'll be a good reliable bike in the spring.

Then I'll probably sell it for something dumb because I'm an idiot.

 

[SONICJK]

IMO
It's best to do one thing at a time, especially at first.
You get really bogged down and discouraged when its about 1/2 way there and there's no end in sight.
But if you just fix one thing at a time you're golden.
Adapt a seat this week
Clean the carbs next week
Paint the side covers the next
Rebuild forks the next.
Etc
Etc
Etc

That way you always have a goal, and there's ways an end in sight. I spend a lot of time trying to figure out what to do next on a complete nut and bolt build. That can be avoided by doing it piecemeal

 

[hunterrupp33]

Apparently I hit some old nerves making this post and I havent started posting pictures or anything. haha.

Let me re assure everyone that the bike is solid right now. And I am not gonna be caught "not sure of what i want to do" in the middle of the rebuild. I know everything I want on this bike.

@Sonic,

I really like that approach and I am definitely gonna have to do that.....maybe a white board???

 

[ILoveThumpers]

We just want to see you succeed. We see enough members pop up super-enthusiastic then several months later their bike is in the "for sale" section as a box of parts.

Think of it as cheering you on.

-Deek

 

[coyote13]

This ^^^

You'll be fine bud, just take your time, do your homework, and listen to the vast expertise on this and other forums. If you've got a problem, these guys can solve it.

 

[UNCOILED]

I keep a running list at my desk that I keep updating as things get done and as I finish things. Let me know if you have some questions but it seems like you are at the same point as me, I do have a huge list of websites for parts and such if you can't find something.

and... post some pictures!

 

[hunterrupp33]

Alright guys, I am just looking around right now for ideas, and just throwing some ideas around, I came across hammering in knee dents for the tank?...

Can anyone give me some background on this. To me this just seems like it could only end badly. I really wanna do the knee dents. the more i see it, the more I want them. So any advice on this ? its just an idea right now.

 

[barfass]

There are some great videos on Youtube of guys doing knee dents. Some are certainly more helpful than others. I don't have a link to one specifically but when I did mine I just looked it up, watched 10-15 and picked the best one and went by that. Good LucK!

 

[hunterrupp33]

FINALLY!

My laptop finally came back from HP in fully functional operation! woo woo. So heres the pictures I originally said I was gonna post for this thread but never could. Dont mind the rags underneath the bike in, its from the oil thats leaking out of the shifter level (the seal in there is bad). Enjoy.

And if you are gonna ask, no I did not put the straight pipes on there, it came like that. I still dont know if i wanna keep them or get a really clean and new 4-1. Thoughts?

Ill post more later.

 

[coyote13]

Sounds pretty mean with straight pipes, but I'm sure performance-wise a 4-1 would make an extraordinary difference.

 

[hunterrupp33]

Yea right now the straight pipes sound awesome. but as far as functionality - they have none.

....but damn do they sound awesome.