Honda-SOHC

Disappointing day on the Engine rebuild front. I had my cylinders bored at a local machinist and they over shot the clearances. I showed the guys the piston specs and left the paper with them in the box of pistons. I don’t think they bothered to read them. Piston/bore clearance should be .0025" but they came out at .0040 confirmed by another machinist.

I was suspicious of it when I dry fitted the piston without rings and it seemed looser than any other fresh piston I’ve installed. Im working on a solution, but I’m pretty frustrated and not sure how much luck I will have at getting the shop that ruined my cylinders to cough up a refund.

Devcon is the bees knees of metal fillers and comes in different grades for different metals, used it in merchant navy, yes expensive but can be worth it for repairs on expensive bits,
Shocks, you are spending a fortune on the engine to increase power and torque but skimping on the parts to make it stay on the road, false economy in my humble opinion.
As to Ken being rude i disagree, he has made comments using his knowledge on the information at the time, e.g. the first plating post made did not say it was home brew and it did not look go for paid for or a "kit" finish but acceptable for home brew

I have plans of using all my leftovers and finishing that engine build some day to see if i  made a functional repair. 

Interesting take on the shocks, as I'm usually the one advising others on suspension! However these shocks were a noticeable upgrade to the stock units. Also I did just service them. I flushed them out and put fresh oil in them, they don't leak, so unless i move up to adjustable ikons, ohlins, etc i don't really see the point. I do fork services for all my bikes and a few friends as well, Except for nitrogen equiped shocks im pretty comfortable with suspension work.
 
I do a couple track days a year and own some modern very capable bikes, while i am eagerly looking forward to having fun on my old Cb750, it sure isn't the bike i will be dragging a knee on!

As for your last bit, ok thanks for your perspective, Ken like many of us has a lot of knowledge and experience.  It seems like some of our friction may have been a case of message not received due to method of delivery.

There have been previous discussions about potential problems applying paint over powder coating good to read that it can be done.
Did you use ordinary Cellulose rattle can  paint or something special like Acrylic?

It was suggested by my friend who did the powder coating, when the flaw showed up after the attempt to powder coat it. I used an Acrylic Enamel engine paint.

If it doesn’t hold up it’s a simple matter to strip it of and start from scratch.

Ok folks,

Ive been on motorcycle forums for a long time, I also work in automotive parts sales, so i have fairly thick skin.

People join these forums for many reasons, most of us joined up because we needed help or parts or something like that.

Most of us stick around for the sense of community, getting to see other like minded individuals doing similar work. Get ideas or inspiration for their bikes.

Ive had Personal messages of support from other members who feel the same way, and some comments to that effect above. I am not glad for this, Im just saying im obviously not the only one who doesnt welcome how he is providing his feedback. On the other hand i had another member assure me Oddjob means well, but is very VERY detail oriented.

When it comes to critical component like brakes, or engine assembly things are pretty cut and dry, but when it comes to asethetics, theres such a huge range of personal opinion, satisfaction in the process, personal ability and cost.

To have people jump on your build thread and be critical of your efforts without offering solutions DOES NOT HELP, its AFTER THE FACT.

In regards to these shocks im hoping to get 1 or 2 seasons out of them, not another decade. They looked thrashed when i took them off the bike, and the broken preload collar was a really fun challenge to my minimal machining skills. The collars turned out well enough that it made the rest of the shocks look even worse so i gave the shocks a lick of paint… i have a good friend who powdercoated my shock springs, frame and lots of bits and pieces for free.  Does that sound like a waste of time to you?? If so, i dont need your input you’re not my kind of person. 

Do i care about concours restorations? no but i respect them for their skill and attention to period correct detail.

Do i like the modern brat bike plank seat look? No but good for them they’re out there wrenching and riding. Its not their fault i broke my hip and need a comfy seat!

Do i care about drag racers? Man bikes are for corners but those guys know how to make horsepower so i listen when they talk engines.

Built not Bought guys? Dude good on you if you can do it all, I know i cant and I'm glad to pay for nice results when the process is beyond me.

My point? There is a myriad of reasons to ride and wrench on these bikes, lets do our best to help people when they as or if it appears they might be doing unsafe or costly they dont realize, let offer solutions, lets acknowledge we have different visions, skillsets, piggy banks.

Is that too Snowflake of me? 
 

How you got critical from my post I have no idea. It was meant to show how annoying it was to do all that work only to find it looking so bad within a short time.

I’ll refrain from trying to help in future.

Come on man, you crapped on my zinc plating and you wrote a paragraph explaining  “how my work will look worse than it did before…”

What good does writing a paragraph on shortfalls and pointlessness of  someone’s completed project “help”?

If I’m posting information or work that is unsafe or saying that this is how things should be done, I’m all ears to constructive criticism or feedback. But telling someone whose spend time and effort (and money, but not in this case) that their work is pointless is pretty poor form and does little to create a sense of community.

I didn’t seek advice on how to do something I was sharing the result of my efforts. You have no bloody idea how the springs had already started to corrode or how the paint was scuffed or the shock collars were stripped and broken. Or the fact that this was a stop gap measure and an exercise in learning some processes on my mill and lathe. Or that sometimes enjoyment is in the process more than the outcome.

Black plastic tubing of the type used to keep golf clubs from rattling together, fitted perfectly over the body of my Commando rear shocks.
Prevents the springs from damaging the paint.

If your shockers adjust with a C spanner, then just lag it with a bit of cardboard before preloading the springs.

Hope that helps.

Skoti

Great tip cheers, I have some paint protection film in the garage in my haste to see how good things looked assembled I forgot I was going to apply to the shock bodies. I think I will give that a shot first. Yes I have a pin or C spanner for the preload. I actually filed and sanded its edge a bit to help prevent marring. I doubt I’ll change the preload from where it is though as it’s where I had it set before!

They look well, subtle colours and not the obligatory chrome finish

Cheers. This refurb was more a test if I could make those preload collars as one broke when I was adjusting the collar.  These will look good, long enough for me to get my bike back together and get the swing arm swap sorted or shelved.

Shocks re assembled. Springs and upper collar powder coated. The aluminum shock collars are my creations as the old ones had cracked. Fresh paint for the body and ready to go.

These are old Boge shocks. I’m not certain how long they will stay on the bike. I have ideas in the wings for another potential swing arm.