CB550 First Build - Hondvarna?

[cinqmars2]

Hello all, I wanted to start this thread for myself more than anything, housing a documentation of the project amidst a sea of experts is a no-brainer!

My name is Brad, I'm 23, my background is motocross and a bit of trials so I'm no stranger to bikes. The electrics, however, I'm finding a little daunting...

Six weeks ago, I underwent an operation on my shoulder and got a load of time off work, within two days I had purchased a 550 in bits on eBay for £400. Everything I was after was there, frame, engine, forks, swingarm, wheels and a few other bits and pieces, the rest would probably not have featured on the bike I want to build anyway.

As someone with a crosser background, I want to build a bike that is a little hat-tip to motocross bikes of the same era, namely the Husky 400. I'll audition a genuine Husqvarna tank, but I'm doubtful it will suit the stance of the bike. I'll be aiming for a low, brat(ish) bike so all Husky references will be in colour opposed to parts.

As this is my first build, and I'm not exactly raking it in, I hope to recondition as much as I can, even if it means buyig total junk and bringing it back to life by hand, time I have, money I do not.

[701arvn]

Sounds interesting Brad, a 550 with knobbies, this I got to see.

Andy

[cinqmars2]

So I've managed to score some pretty neat deals lately. Firstly, I found a bench grinder in the street around Hoxton. It's a beaut and was just sitting out amongst a bust TV and a few pieces of knackered furniture! It was a b*tch to get home but you can't complain when you didn't spend a penny.

Secondly, I won a lot on eBay. A load of various parts from another '76 550. The only thing I was after were the carbs, but I got a complete engine, two pairs of forks, swing arm, all the electrics, tank, side covers, lights, gauges and another (unusable) frame. It was actually a mix of two different bikes, one having been in a pretty serious accident leaving a twisted frame and some nice 30 degree forks. The lowers seem fine but the sliders are done, if anyone wants the lowers you can have have them, I'd leave judgment of their integrity down to you.

I'm now at a point where I'm just scrubbing and polishing various parts. I don't have a real starting point for the mechanics, although my first engine (engine 1) has a few bust fins on the cylinder jugs and a crack under one of the tappets on the valve cover.

Would it be advised to create a hybrid engine from the two I now own?

Engine 2 looks ratty and has a terrible paint job but in terms of metal, it's all there. Engine 1 is supposedly a peach but isn't in too good shape aesthetically.

Anyone able to offer some advice?

[Bryanj]

In my mind it is best to use the best mechanical parts you have and worry about cosmetics later, broken/damaged parts always seem to come back and bite you later, if only as why didn't i find a better one when

[cinqmars2]

Yeah I spent some time trying to remove scratches and flatten the metal, but I only had some 400 grit to hand and it wasn't really giving the best prep for polish. I then took a flap wheel to it to remove some of the real deep marks, that explains the wavy surface on the flats, might take a while to get it truly flush. I've just had a selection of different paper land on my desk at work so I think I'll start again with these parts, if it shows up from crummy iphone photos in bad light, it's clearly a way off full potential!

The grinder is 1hp, I believe, and takes a bit of stopping. I have been using it to polish, the power's there but I don't feel it's fast enough...

[SteveD CB500K0]

1 horse = 745W

 

[UK Pete]

Hi Brad, sounds like your having fun, looking forward to seeing more of your project
Pete

[Sherlock]

Subscribed. I'm looking forward to seeing the progress on this. :-)


Sent from my iPhone 4 using Tapatalk!

[cinqmars2]

I got to spend a few hours on Friday night on the bike, and a few on Saturday too. Re-buffed a the parts I'd previously attempted to polish and started from scratch on the really bad stuff, need to go over the tighter corners with some smaller wheels to get the best out of them but they're looking much better already! Thanks Oddjob, constructive criticism is the best thing to receive when you're learning, plus building this bike in public really makes you want to up your game...

On Saturday I dismantled my front wheel. The amount of rust that was cascading out when I was getting the tyre off was fairly disconcerting. It's certainly not in the best shape, but I don't think it's near unusable, and with the bike's age in mind and and the UK's climate, it could have been a lot worse. I took a few pictures of the rim as it was and a few after I took a wire wheel to it.

What do you guys think? Is it unusable? I'm planning on getting it dipped + stripped then potentially re-chromed (black) or powder coated.

I'm assuming the rear wheel is in similar condition...

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[kendo57]

When i asked the powder coaters about my wheels [ which were simlar to yours] they said i would have to get the old chrome removed for them to get a good finnish. When i priced up the costs of stripping the chrome , then powder coat it was just as cheap to buy a new rim.
I think yours are the same, by the time you spend money and time getting those something like you might as well bought new ones.

[matthewmosse]

Either use as is / coat of cheap paint and put up with a less than perfect finish (which is what I'd do cos I'm tight) or replace. Check the spokes for pitting as it can be inconvienient if they snap in service. I had one do this at 60mph on a backroad, the wife was not inpressed at me being late to pick her up from the station and I was very glad I had a good spare at home. Be particuarly suspicious of painted spokes as this was what hid the state of mine from view.

[cinqmars2]

Ha, I think it will be worth investing in new spokes, don't want to risk them falling through on me, this comes to mind, watch from 2:45:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KS3NE9G1qlA

 


Well I successfully avoided any real work yesterday and looked into getting replacement rims. On the US forums they are always banging on about Excels or Suns, I've had Excels on a few crossers with no troubles at all so I know they're good for it, but I'm struggling to find someone who sells them in the stock dimensions, 19" front and 18" rear no? Does anyone know the width offhand? Or better, laced stock 550 hubs with Excels? They're not the prettiest of rims though, if anyone could suggest better looking (no logo) or something with a nicer section then I'm open to suggestions, always been a fan of the completely square rims like they used to use on the old late 60's/early 70's flat trackers...

Seeing as I've got two swing arms now, I'm planning on making a truing stand to build the wheels on, in a non-damaging way if possible, I've built a few wheels before for bicycles but this will be the first for a motorcycle, guess there's a first time for everything... 

[Ewan 500 K1]

 

1. front forks used as truing jig
2. swingarm used as truing jig

both unmodified and okay for using as parts again

[cinqmars2]

Ah they're great! Sorry for the (very) late reply but I've been working on a film for the last month and haven't had time to scratch my arse, let alone play with bikes.

Before the project, I bought another bike on eBay, and believe me, it made complete financial sense 
I found a lot that consisted of a frame, two pairs of forks, tank, electrics, swingarm, lights and an engine which, most importantly, had a set of carbs. I won the whole lot for £150, a sum that I feel is a bargain for the carbs alone! Although I'm stoked on it, my housemates feel otherwise and, as a result, have half a CB550 in my bedroom...

I'll be disassembling the new engine and selling the parts individually, cleaning and tidying as I go, there seems to be significantly more money to be made this way from what I can tell on eBay.

The only actual garage progress has been in de-tabbing the frame, I'm halfway through, going slowly as I can't afford any mistakes! Will post pictures if I remember to take some, would be good to have opinions on this as it's the task that's worrying me the most. The other thing has been working on the stator cover from the new engine, my original is so beat up you can barely read the Honda emblem. I'm not a fan of the fins so I got rid of them and will spend a couple of hours this weekend making it shine. Hopefully I'll get to spend more time on it now I've not got as much on!

[cinqmars2]

So I've been tinkering here and there but not really getting anywhere substantial. I'm getting the feeling that I'm actually making some things worse, for instance I got itchy and tried to de-tab the frame with nothing more than an angle grinder with one grinding disk and one cutting disk. Suffice to say, the cutting disk went before I was even half done and the grinding disk just ate everything in sight, I've got a load of flat patches on the frame now and I'm worried that I've done some irreparable damage I know the tubing is dead thin on these bikes and any compromise to the integrity could be fatal to the machine, or even myself...

I feel really stupid about it and wish I had the patience to save up for proper tooling.

You can see the flat spots clearly in the last photo, should I get accurate measurements of the lowest diameters? Would anyone here be able to advise as to whether it's now dangerously thin? If so, what options do I have? As mentioned, I have another frame, which was involved in a head-on. The backbone and headstock are screwed but the rear is as straight as an arrow. Any room to chop and change that back end?