1978 Honda CB550 Supersport - My first retro bike rolling restoration!

[woody928]

Mark

Looks like you are doing a cracking job, and I will watch with interest.

I am not far from you near Epsom, and have just started a thread on my CB550k restoration.

Could you let me know who did your seat, that looks great.

Cheers

Thanks Matt, hopefully its about to get more exciting as it really comes together and reaches the open road again!

What a small world, I used to go to school in Leatherhead and play rugby against Epsom so know the area well. I'll have to take a look at your build however if you ever fancy kicking tyres and saying hi then don't be a stranger. Maybe I can swing by on the bike once I'm back on the road if you fancy it and subject to all the new rules etc? 

The seat was done by these guys, their work seems to be very impressive. Have a word with Matt, he's a really nice bloke and into classic cars too. I could have gone far more sculpted and bespoke shape wise however I didn't wish to cut the frame at this stage and liked the idea of retaining the factory lock and mechanism for access. Fingers crossed it looks as good once its been fitted back up!

https://www.herbertellisonupholstery.co.uk/upholstery-services/motorbike-seat-upholstery/

[gbjeppm]

No problem to swing by, will be good to exchange notes, just send me a PM.

Thanks for the info on the seat,

[woody928]

No problem to swing by, will be good to exchange notes, just send me a PM.

Thanks for the info on the seat,

Sounds good, hopefully it won't be too much longer and I'll be able to road test so I'll let you know.

In other news I have made the first bit of progress in a long time today. I've now reassembled and fitted the front wheel to the bike and what it difference it has made phycologically! That said it does appear to be out of alignment with the front fender, any ideas from anyone?

IMG_1852 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr

I've also (hopefully for the last time) refitted the carbs up, refitted the airbox, and fitted the reupholstered seat.

A missing O ring seal has held me back from getting the bike completely back down on its new shoes however it's really nice to see the new aesthetic coming together. I know it won't be everyones cup of tea but I'm really liking its stealthy look having lost a lot of the chrome and done some modernisation.

Looks like the remaining short list is to: (subject to a million other headaches  )

- Rebuild Rear Wheel
- Fit the new chain
- Bleed/adjust Brakes
- Change Oil
- Fit up the new exhaust

IMG_1828 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr

IMG_1849 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr

IMG_1857 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr

[Nurse Julie]

It looks like the wheel is in the correct place but the guard is sitting to one side. You have probably just fitted the guard  fixing point on the wrong side. Post a pic sometime.

[woody928]

It looks like the wheel is in the correct place but the guard is sitting to one side. You have probably just fitted the guard  fixing point on the wrong side. Post a pic sometime.

Thanks Julie, that could well stack up. I'll have to take a look again next time I'm home and take some photos or see if I can work it out!

[Lobo]

I don’t know the CB550...

But, there seems to be excess thread on the Caliper Adjusting screw leading me to wonder whether the axle and various spacers are orientated correctly.

Recently after servicing the front bearings & cleaning my 400F I was ‘shocked’ at the minimal disc - fork tube clearance, I then noted excess caliper adjusting thread and thought, ‘eh up?’ 
Embarrassingly I’d fitted the axle wrong way around. Doh.

Pic of the CB400F... MAY NOT reflect the 550. (& ignore my personalisations)

[woody928]

I don’t know the CB550...

But, there seems to be excess thread on the Caliper Adjusting screw leading me to wonder whether the axle and various spacers are orientated correctly.

Recently after servicing the front bearings & cleaning my 400F I was ‘shocked’ at the minimal disc - fork tube clearance, I then noted excess caliper adjusting thread and thought, ‘eh up?’ 
Embarrassingly I’d fitted the axle wrong way around. Doh.

Pic of the CB400F... MAY NOT reflect the 550. (& ignore my personalisations)

Thanks for the suggestion, that was more a case of me messing around with the calliper adjusting screw to try and work out the fitment. The wheel was rebuilt by a 'professional wheel builder' however you never really know...

I looked again the other evening and It appears that I had managed to get the brake calliper mount incorrectly positioned so that it wasn't mounting onto the fender support but instead directly onto the forks. I've since swapped these around and it looks to be much better aligned thankfully!

There's been a lot of progress this week however the finishing line has still managed to evade me.

The rear wheel has now been rebuilt and fitted up with Julie kindly supplying me with the missing seal. This has meant that I could fit up a new chain, having previously picked up an X-ring chain I ultimately decided against its fitment due to concerns over its size so instead ordered a more standard chain from David Silvers.

Having measured the pin widths on both chains I wasn't shocked to find out why the X-ring type chains can start eating away at your engine casing. The new standard chain measured 21.52mm vs the 23.58mm of the X-ring variant! Equally the split pin connection was a lot less hassle...

Refurbed chain guard fitted up, chain adjusted to spec and rear brakes adjusted and progress was being made. Sprocket casings fitted back up and wiring tucked away too.

On the cosmetic front I was very aware of the height of the newly fitted fly screen which left a large gap between the headlight and looked somewhat ridiculous so this has been chopped down, drilled and refinished to fit more in with the aesthetic.

With the bike now off its bricks and fully balanced on its centre stand again, I could finally refurbish the oil filter housing and fill her up with fresh oil so that she's now been fully serviced.

Next up and my freshly wrapped Delkevic exhaust could be bolted up, having followed the instructions I have somehow managed to hit somewhat of an inconvenient hurdle with the rear silencer/muffler not being able to be fitted as the supporting bracket does not align with the rear footpeg mount as intended. I have therefore been left with a straight pipe setup while I try and work this one out, a message to Delkevic surely however if anyone can offer any wisdom and experience with this set then it would be appreciated.

I'm conscious that I really need to at least get the centre stand rubber stop fitted up if nothing else to prevent any interference with the chain.

Time for the moment of truth and after all of my hard work its time for the first start up in months, the battery hasn’t died which is a bonus. Fuel on, choke applied and ignition button firmly pressed with a twist of the throttle for good measure. Thankfully the musical symphony of four cylinders kicking into life responded, holding it on the throttle while adjusting the choke and idle screw and before you know it she’s ticking over happily at 1200rpm. It’s by far the best the bike has run since I picked it up and what’s more there’s no fuel leaking this time. Not quite sure the neighbours were quite as thrilled with the straight pipe as I was…

One last task and well nothing quite goes to plan, having expected to easily bleed the front brakes to get the bike roadworthy I have been stopped dead in my tracks. Having opened the bleed nipple, put brake fluid in the reservoir and pumped the brake lever the result was totally disappointing. A few tiny bubbles popped up however nothing was going through the system. The brake lever also has very little in the way of resistance, I'm therefore beginning to wonder whether my master cylinder rebuild has gone pear shaped....

On top of this with the brake caliper bolts correctly torqued the front brakes are locked solid and the front wheel therefore seized. In order to get me from the garden into the freshly emptied garage at the front of the house I’ve had to loosen off the brake calliper to allow the wheels to rotate freely.

Any suggestion on trouble shooting would be much appreciated? I’m assuming that the calliper will be totally fine as it was a very straight forward rebuild, the junction with the brake sensor equally was only cleaned and reassembled so I’m looking to blame the master as I had a total battle rebuilding it and now the lever offers little in the way of resistance…

Equally now that its off its centre stand, I really need to get it off to fully refurb and refinish it as its certainly looking very shabby next to the rest of the bike and probably long over due some TLC.

On a more positive note, here’s some photos of where it’s got too. Its totally transformed since May and for the first time in months is rolling on its new shoes and finally getting close to its finished look. Safe to say that I’m eagerly anticipating the test ride in due course!

A7839887-3C4C-4119-B7E8-C49E48A5B6AC by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr

Problem Identified!
IMG_1960 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr

IMG_1957 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr

IMG_2015 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr

IMG_2019 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr

IMG_2033 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr

IMG_2059 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr

Spot the issue here! 

IMG_2062 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr

Front end all tidied up
IMG_2072 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr

IMG_2095 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr

IMG_2096 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr

IMG_2088 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr

IMG_2093 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr

[woody928]

A quick video to show how its currently running, not the best video however there will be a better one to follow in due course once I've got the braking issues ironed out and the bike roadworthy again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFP0lmeAOu4&feature=youtu.be

Compared the the first video I posted earlier this year where it was sounding very rattly, I'm very pleased with what I've achieved for a first build.

[Phteix]

Nice work. It's looking awesome!

Is this the original seat bowl? Did you cut the frame for that?

Cheers!

[woody928]

Remove the caliper adjusting screw and see if the brake binds then.

Exhaust, try removing the springs, fitting the end can and then refitting the springs, they could be pulling the Y section too far onto the downpipes and thus pulling the end can forward.

I will give it a go, what's the science of how the adjustment screw should be set?

I'm also going to disconnect the MC from the brake sensor terminal and see if I can get fluid to pump through to there to ascertain whether or not the MC is the guilty party or not.

Good argument well presented, I may be unfairly over estimating how snugly everything should fit in. I was very keen not to have leaks from the collector from past experience with exhausts. I'd like to think it should be fairly good fitment given delkevics reputation and how many people have them fitted. I'll also give that a go...

Nice work. It's looking awesome!

Is this the original seat bowl? Did you cut the frame for that?

Cheers!

Thank you for the words of encouragement 

It is the original seat bowl which has just had the foam chopped around and been re-profiled a bit more to my taste. I didn't wish to cut the frame of the bike and I also wanted to retain the OEM lock and hinged seat for storage and access. It's still not small but a lot neater than OEM for me.

[hairygit]

Going off memory on the adjustment screw, you set it by screwing it out until the back pad touches the disc, then slacken it off until there’s a 3mm gap, I used to just slacken it until it stopped dragging on the disc

Apart from the fact the gap should be 6 thou or whatever the metric equivalent is!

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[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

Just been through this post - I like what you have done to the bike it looks really cool a nice mix of modern & classic DNA- the taped manifolds is this to help with heat dissipation? Nice sound on the video.

Lastly I like the B&W plates but as an ex-copper can't see why you think they are legal unless you motor was first registered before January 1973.

[Bryanj]

They have changed the rules, anything in "Historic" tax class may use black

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

They have changed the rules, anything in "Historic" tax class may use black

Pleased to hear that traffic was ever my forte plus I've been retired from fuzz for 17 plus years.

I will be ordering a rear B&W rear plate - does it also mean I could mount a knife blade front plate - I always liked the look.

[Bryanj]

I dont think they were ever banned, just removed to save pedestrians