The Poor Boy - A Tale Of A CB550- New Electrical

[sxecafe]

Re: The Poor Boy - A Tale Of A CB550

Got some more parts clean this weekend but not a ton of work.

I gor the carbs out of the box from which they came. Looks like they will take a little bit of work but ot in the plces I expected. I remember there being a way to clean them in a boiling bath of lemon juice, is that right? If so... whats the mixture and for how long would I do this?

 

[sxecafe]

Re: The Poor Boy - A Tale Of A CB550

I got alot done tonight. First, since I have never seen a point set up before, I think these look good and dont need to be replaced, am I correct?

Next I got the Rear Wheel disassembled and started to clean some of the spokes nipples and other parts:

Taking a bath:

 

[sxecafe]

Re: The Poor Boy - A Tale Of A CB550

Next I started to work on cleaning the carbs:

Out of the box:

It took me a while to fully get them apart from one another. I tried to take as many pics as I could to help me get them back together however, I dont think you guys want to see every screw. Here are some of the important ones.

I have seen worse:

Getting cleaned up:

I only cleaned one tonight to test it out. I think it came out nice:

Still need to clean the other screws and get a few kits, but we are making progress.

 

[sxecafe]

Re: The Poor Boy - A Tale Of A CB550

Last thing I wanted to share was that I had gotten the front brakes taken apart and ready to get cleaned up. I got to some of the bolts but not the main parts.

More to come soon!

 

[JRK5892]

Re: The Poor Boy - A Tale Of A CB550

points look great man! just set them and you are good

 

[bikeboy]

Re: The Poor Boy - A Tale Of A CB550

points look great man! just set them and you are good

They certainly look unmolested. Usually all the phillips-heads are are burred and useless. The main thing to check is the contact patch on each set. They can pitt and burn, bit id they're nice and flat, and make even contact when closed, you're good to go.

cheers
ian

 

[sxecafe]

Re: The Poor Boy - A Tale Of A CB550

Since there are five pay periods this month, I decided to splurg a bit and pick up a buffer wheel from Harbor Freight. I know its made in China and all but hey... $50 for all the bits on this build seems well worth it.

Put it right next to the Grinder:

I Started by getting down on the float bowls and the top of my carbs. Although I didnt document the process on this one, I can essentially give you a before and after shot:

Then I did one of the tappet covers. My process was the same as everyone else's. I started with 220 to get all the really dark spots out, then 500 then 1000 and finally steel wool before I hit the buffer. Next, I hit one pad with the coarse compound the other with the polishing and, viola!

At the start, fresh off the bike and 40 years old:

After the sand paper:

After the wheel:

And finally, the only polished thing on the engine so far, but... the weekend is still young:

sXe

 

[SouthPaw]

Re: The Poor Boy - A Tale Of A CB550

Awesome build so far! I'm in the middle of polishing as well. Gotta pick up some compound and rattle paint today

 

[sxecafe]

Re: The Poor Boy - A Tale Of A CB550

Love the new buffer... Im looking at the objects in my house in a whole new light... its like there are infinite possibilities!!!

Anywho - I did some more polishing today (tappet covers and some forks). I also started to work on the steering stem for the GL tripple. From my understanding, I am supposed to grind the bottom weld until I can knock out the stem... I started with this:

I guess I just wanted verification that Im on the right track cause that bitch is not moving....

Anyone..?

 

[bikeboy]

Re: The Poor Boy - A Tale Of A CB550

I guess I just wanted verification that Im on the right track cause that bitch is not moving....
Anyone..?

You're on the right track. You'll need to grind down past the flange on the stem, and you should see a faint 'crack' appear that shows the stem tube inside the triple's boss. Be sure to grind it down squarely, and you can use this crack as a guide. Once you see it as a complete circle, you should be able to bang the stem out from the top.

cheers
ian

 

[CresentSon]

Re: The Poor Boy - A Tale Of A CB550

I just caught up on the extreme coolness leading up to the obvious bright future of your build. Should be quite the head turner in short order man.

 

[sxecafe]

Re: The Poor Boy - A Tale Of A CB550

Thanks, Bikeboy...

 

[sxecafe]

Re: The Poor Boy - A Tale Of A CB550

Thanks for the encouraging words, Cresent!

So... Today I polished up the forks from the GL. They look purdy! I'll post the pics soon...

Also, Im not really sure what to do. I have this stem out of a 77 GL1000, I found the "crack" and I started pounding on this stem and it moved a bit... but definitely not enough to come out and I am really fucking up this stem... like the top is useless now which, in all reality is ok because I have no use for the stem afterwards but... is there something Im missing here? Perhaps I need to get something from the other side grounded down?

Any ideas?

 

[bikeboy]

Re: The Poor Boy - A Tale Of A CB550

is there something Im missing here? Perhaps I need to get something from the other side grounded down?

Any ideas?

Haven't seen a pic, but have you removed the lower bearing race? If that's still on, you won't be able to push it through. It should go through from the bottom tho?

Show us what you've got there.

cheers
ian

 

[sxecafe]

Re: The Poor Boy - A Tale Of A CB550

No... I have not removed that. Damn... OK when I get home today I will post some pics however, I fear that I have damages that part in the vice. Am I going to use the bearing brace from the original 550 stem? It seems as though I would, right?

 

[bikeboy]

Re: The Poor Boy - A Tale Of A CB550

No... I have not removed that. Damn... OK when I get home today I will post some pics however, I fear that I have damages that part in the vice. Am I going to use the bearing brace from the original 550 stem? It seems as though I would, right?

Firstly. I've just been back and seen your pics :. I should have picked it up earlier that the bearing was still attached. Sorry 'bout that. That will need to be replaced anyway. You can't (easily) get it of without damaging it, and the trend is to use a set of tapered bearings as replacements. The usual method of removing the race is to split it gently with a dremel or similar fine ginder. If you're not using you stem then you have a bit more lattitude, but normally you would try not to nick it . You can punch the stem out form the bottom if you have the right sized drift, but you might damage the stem housing.

Once again, sorry for the confusion.

cheers
ian

 

[sxecafe]

Re: The Poor Boy - A Tale Of A CB550

Oh no worries man. I really have no use for the stem other than a re-sell which would be minimal.

So just so Im clear you mean to literally split the little "dish" that the bearings would sit inside... I do have a tapered set for this triple that came with the set up but its sitting on that lip. I should be home in 3 hours so I can post a pic if my question unclear.

Either way, Im very grateful for the help so please don't sweat it.

 

[sxecafe]

Re: The Poor Boy - A Tale Of A CB550

Ok so here is what I have:

Faint crack all the way around:

???

 

[bikeboy]

Re: The Poor Boy - A Tale Of A CB550

Faint crack all the way around:

Yep. that's it. If you have some pipe that will fit neatly on the stem (inner circle in this pic), then you may be able to belt it out from this end. Otherwise, you'll have to remove the bearing from the top view, and hammer the stem down.

If you can gently heat the casting, it will help either way. I know when guys refit the new stem, the throw it in the freezer for a while, while heating the triple up in the oven a bit. Allows them to slide together a bit easier. Stem must be fe in from the bottom, and if it has a flange on it, it wouldn't hurt to tack-weld it in a couple of places. If it doesn't have a flange (for some reason?), then you should definitely weld it. Probably all the way around, although I've heard guys talk of the extreme heat distorting the triples so the forks no longer align? mayb tack it in 4 corners (of the circle!)

let us know how you get on.

ian

 

[sxecafe]

Re: The Poor Boy - A Tale Of A CB550

Just a little thread bump.

I have been busy setting up stuff to sell on ebay and CL so I can fund some more parts.

I did get a set of bolts for the engine and the carbs. I need engine gaskets and I can start to tear down the engine for a rebuild, although Im a little nervous as to what I might find in there.

I striped down rotors so I can paint but I want to drill them first so maybe I can pick up some cutting fluid this weekend and shoot over to my buddies house.

A while back someone posted a bunch of drill templates and I cant find them anywhere. Anyone remember who did it/where they were?