SOHC.co.uk Forums > CB350/400
My New Project arrives after a 44 year wait!
Laverda Dave:
Thanks all for the kind comments. I had a good day in the man cave yesterday, still slow progress with lots of fettling and tweaking but getting there and enjoyed it again.
Roo, the exhaust headers are the originals so double skinned. The chrome was good once the rats urine and poo had been removed (I actually thought it was rust in some places!). It still took a large tub of elbow grease to clean them up but worth it in the end.
Ash, I have attached the wiring route diagrams, these should help you with the cable routing at the headstock (control cable routes as well). I can confirm the silencer is a Burito item and funnily enough it is cheaper to buy them from The Classic Bike Shop than directly from Joe!
Magpie, seriously get yourself a bike lift, it’s a no brainer. It will save your back and your knees. There were two used ones for sale a few months ago in Classic Bike Guide.
Off to the Bike Shed Show later today, I forked out for a press/VIP ticket as it has become so popular now it is crowded at weekends. Some seriously fantastic one-off builds. I need to apply some beard oil and get a flat cap before I go. I’ll take my own jam jar for my beer :).
AshimotoK0:
Cheers! ... Spot on Dave ..just realised.I need to get a wire clip bracket that the rubber strap thingy mounts on to from Yamiya.. have the rest of the harness mounting rarities though.Going to BZP my original horn today ..that will be fun 😁 Speaking of horns ..no horn on that diagram?
AshimotoK0:
BTW my pic was from the mega money push-mile bike
.was it £16k ? It went for at auction at Silverstone Auctions. Seems the routing was all wrong.Always had my doubts about that bikes authenticity. Wonder who bought it?
K2-K6:
Very nice work Dave, hopefully you'll get the exhaust you want to complete it.
The picture of Sheene on early RG 500 behind the bike, I saw the first one he rode UK meeting at Mallory Park and have some pictures somewhere as we were allowed to wander around the pits at that time.
Laverda Dave:
Another update on Ratty’s progress and it’s been a very frustrating couple of weeks with a final disaster today to cap it all off! Apologies from the off for this long winded tale although I promise it is not a political manifesto!
All was going well with previously refurbished sub assemblies going back on the rolling chassis including the overhauled master cylinder and brake calliper with a new piston, pads and lines.
Things went downhill when I tried the original ignition key in the barrel to find it didn’t work very well. I took the lock apart to find all was in order although the hairpin spring on the little flap on the top to stop water ingress was broken so I fixed that before reassembly. The original key is very badly worn. I was lucky to find a trader on ebay who had a pattern key to match the lock (so keeping a match with the seat lock). This duly arrived and worked perfectly along with a blank genuine Honda key from DSS. Off I trot to the local locksmith who said it would be no problem to cut the blank key. An hour later I go to collect the new key with the lock and he’s broken it >:(. He had the cheek to ask a £5 as he’s cut the new key, he didn’t get it >:(. I spent a couple of hours at home with the lock apart and found the locksmith had been forcing the key into the lock and broke one of the plungers. I’ve had to leave it out and the keys now work but obviously the security of the lock is now compromised.
Next up was fitting the rear indicators, easy, a 10 minute job. No, when I put the earth lead onto the tang that is spot welded onto the indicator bracket it broke off. This was probably due to previous corrosion, bending and then being blasted before powder coating. I had to think of a way of connecting the earth lead but without drilling into the freshly powder coated bracket. Rummaging around the scrap bin I had an idea of using an old 10mm bolt turned down and drilled to accept the power lead to the indicator itself. I found an old picture hook and cut this down to make a new earth tang. I then tapped the inside of the indicator stalk to accept the cut down nut and tang. It fits just perfect (as Alan Millyard would say).
Onwards and upwards, I was now on a surprising roll of soon to be misplaced optimism so I decided to fit the ignition switch to the top yoke just as a bit of Peter Green began to play on the music system, I was now mellow and took a sip of warm tea as a celebration, dinner can wait for 30 more minutes, my rebuild is far more important. I found the threads for the ignition barrel bolts were clogged with powder coat, two threads I forgot to tap out at the time. I couldn’t get the tap in place as the area was crowded with cables etc. No choice but to take the top yoke off and all that entails. This was where disaster struck. The top yoke came off easily and I tapped the threads and fitted the barrel before re-fitting the top yoke, yes sometimes I feel gifted enough think ahead without it hurting all the time. When I went to torque the centre steering nut to 65Ibs (is the Haynes manual really correct, 65Ibs does seen very high for a nut with such a fine thread?) I got to 30Ibs and soon had that sinking feeling of ‘this isn’t getting any tighter’. Yep, the thread has stripped, not on the nut but on the steering stem itself :o. I think this has been caused as a result of the taper steering bearing kit and the virtually non-existent amount of thread left on the top nut after fitting it. When I initially fitted the kit I got one and half turns of the nut so took it all apart again and removed the top bearing and replaced it with a ball roller bearing but I still only got 2.5 turns of the nut and thinking about it loading the nut with such a high torque setting probably stripped it. I know the taper kits have given other forum members trouble and I probably wouldn’t have known about the damage had I not removed the top yoke.
So, this evening when I came back in I said enough is enough and I’m taking an enforced break from the bike whilst I look for another lower yoke. If I do find one it will need blasting and powder coating prior to fitting. It’s the thought of having to strip the completed front end and getting the new bearing off the old stem and onto the replacement stem that really irks me and has killed my enthusiasm for it at the moment. I think a break and riding my bikes instead of working on them for a while will help.
The good news is the Speedway GP and BSB are on the TV this weekend ;D.
If anyone has a lower yoke they are currently using as a door stop or a boat anchor they are thinking of selling I’m your man 8).
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