CB550 Rear Sprocket Cover Mod

[hunterso]

While doing some  recent work on my back wheel i thought i would see if i could do something to the rear sprocket cover.

I have always thought this was a really ugly part and totally ruined the look of the back wheel.

The cover is needed for two things.
Its there as some kind of chain guide if the chain comes off the sprocket and it also keeps the oil seal in place.

I decided i didn't need the chain guide part as my chain would never be so loose that it would slip the sprocket, but i still needed to cover the oil seal.

This is what i started out with. (The sprocket is in really bad shape here which is how the bike came to me  )



I wanted to keep the look of the naked sprocket



This just ruins it



So i fired up the dremel and started cutting 



nearly there



A couple of hours, a drill and some elbow grease and i had this



Looks much better now - sprayed in clear coat and finished



 

[hunterso]

I appreciate your thoughts oddjob, i really do, but my bike is so far from standard that this is of no consequence at all 

I do have a spare cover and this was the worst being somewhat dented and the guide lip being bent.

I realise my bike is not the standard around these parts and whilst i fully appreciate the original machines and those kept to standard spec i bought my bike because it was a cafe racer based on a CB550.

Besides - i love a bit of modding and love to get the dremel whizzing away 

[Trigger]

Hi Hunter, The problem with your little modification is that you drilled hole's in to it. The whole point in this plate was to keep water and crap away from the wheel bearing, that is why it has a seal in the rear sprocket cover. Can not see your bearings lasting very long now.

[totty]

There was an alternative, you can fit a different size seal direct into the retainer - I did this when I couldn't find a cover, one turned up 2 years later but I haven't fitted it yet.

[ka-ja]

Hi,
      Is the sohc the focus of this site or is it as original as possible sohc, I think a bike should reflect what a person likes, standard  or not, drilled or not, it is still another sohc.on the road

[florence]

I didn't know these were rare.  I have a spare one if anyone is stuck.

(someone should compile a rare spares list, too often, in the past,  I have thrown away bits when I've had a workshop tidy)

[matthewmosse]

They ain't that rare, I have several , probably not counting the spare wheels that have them fitted. I think you'll find something similar on genuine sprocktts off 250 nighthawks. One day I'll do a clearout of the spares in my shed but not til all 4 sohc bikes are up and running and I know what I need for myself. Personally I don't think I have ever needed to do rear wheel bearings on one of these bikes, in 150,000 miles with most of that been with a sidecar fitted, and pulling silly loads. I've a fair inkling of an idea that at least some of those miles might have had that cover and seal missing, given that I'd just bung any used wheel that fitted and had a legal tyre in there and run til I saw naff all tread or even canvass showing, odds seem to suggest that some of those wheels were running sans cover and the oil seals were almost always in shocking condition in the covers as the bike shop said they were not worth replacing. I had to do front wheel bearings every year or so.

[Ecks]

Looks pretty rad, Hunter.  Those are some pretty good results to get with just a dremel too, I don't think my shaky hands could come close.  Is that a blue spoke I spy as well?  Almost looks like it's been heated to get a blue-oxide look.

[hunterso]

Well, well

Where to start

The holes in my "little mod" aren't a problem at all Trigger.

My bike doesn't even have mudguards fitted so i'm unlikely to even be out in the rain and if i am caught out
then i would be more worried about the stream of water coating my arse than i would be about the (highly unlikely)
problem of water getting into my bearings. That, just isnt going to happen.

I dont plan on getting axle deep in water anytime soon, which lets face it,in reality is the only time this would ever become a problem.

I think i could give some of you boys a heart attack if i told you i cut up a NOS front mudguard. 

I dont really subscribe to the point about this part being rare (you may disagree) - I have a spare and they are available on ebay (usually attached to a wheel)
The fact is that my bike needs to have one fitted and i'm not going to look around to find a scrapper to do my "little mod" to please anybody.
- mine, good or bad would never be available to anyone anyway. It belongs on my bike.

totty - i like the seal in the retainer idea

I did ditch the tab washers (again bloody ugly things) - but there are serrated washers under the nuts and the nuts will be thread locked. That's a good point re spring washers.
I am trying to find some different tab washers that will fit the stud spacing.

Again as much as i can appreciate an original machine i'm struggling to understand the tone of some of the comments.
But its to be expected i suppose.

My bike had been laid in a damp shed for 10 years or more ready for the scrap yard.
The frame has been de-tabbed and a hoop added. The footrest mounts have been cut off, its got a cbr600 front caliper, the top triple tree has been shaved clean and welded up. It has a tank and seat unit, the electrics rerouted, the airbox removed etc. etc. etc. Strange that none of this has attracted any negative comments on here.

Now, negative comments are fine - we cant all like the same thing - hell, if we did i would be riding a bog standard CB550 - but i find the condescending tone of one or two of the comments a little hard to swallow and not really necessary.
But this is a problem with a lot of forums (fora?) where some of those with the highest post count seem to think that .........well, i wont go on.

I have been nothing but polite and courteous in the short time i have been around this forum and i have thanked people personally for any help they have given me.

I thought i was contributing to the forum something that others may be interested in.
If you're not then that's fine and .....Y'know I don't know if i can be arsed explaining this any more.
Maybe i should just stick with the cafe racer forums from now on.

As ka-ja put it I thought sohc was the focus here.


Oh and Ecks the blue spoke is just a trick of the light - it doesnt really exist - but i like it 

[tom400f]

Nah - don't go - everyone is entitled to their opinions and one only has to justify one's actions to one's self. 

[LesterPiglet]

Hehee, I always hear people criticising my Suzuki tail tight......f em.

[matthewmosse]

So long as you like it, that is what matters. I've lost cont of the people who think I'm mad for bolting a chair to my bike. Or think it would make a great basis for restoration. For me the stabalisers are what I like, just so for you a stripped down look is your thing. The part wasn't all that rare, I have one sat at the top of the stairs to my loft under a pile of sprocketts and a few more on my spare wheels, a few hours tooling up and anyone could be knocking them out on a fly press. Like I say, I an my bike for many miles, without this bit and nver did the rear wheel bearings and unlike you I ride in all weather (mad I know) Snow included for the 500/4. Yours is a nice bike, not something I'd do to a bike cos I ride on crud filled roads but still nice. Don't feel too disheatened by comments, I reacon I'd be lynched for some of the stuff I do (have done) to my bikes or other classics.

[Charliecharlcomb]

I didn't know these were rare.  I have a spare one if anyone is stuck.

(someone should compile a rare spares list, too often, in the past,  I have thrown away bits when I've had a workshop tidy)

Do you still have it? Long shot I know but worth a punt.