Doms CB550F1 project

[Trigger]

Yup, im finding them barrell shaped, fine at top and bottom but dont touch in middle, never found a step at the top yet though

It is a fine art with liners mate and can be a lot of work. Had a 750 set once that had water sitting on top of two pistons for years.
Re-bored to  0.45 and then to 0.75 and then 0.95 and you could still see the marks. Pushed the liner out and it had gone all the way through  Then had to go down the road of putting another liner in and skim up the barrels 

[DomP]

Am I right in thinking I'm doing the right think here, I'm not chasing a lost cause? 

[Nurse Julie]

Am I right in thinking I'm doing the right think here, I'm not chasing a lost cause?

You won't know until you have fully stripped the engine, measured and assessed everything, priced up all the parts needed and costed the machine work.

[DomP]

Let's remain positive folks🤣

[DomP]

This week I'm hoping to find time to split the cases, is there anything I should be aware of when I do this?  I'll be following the shop manual and some YouTube videos to guide me.

[Bryanj]

If you have the puller take the alternator rotor off the crank whilst still assembled, easier than chasing crank arround the bench.
There is one odd 10mm headed bold hidden away everybody forgets.
You dont need a puller for the primary shaft, remove the oil pump and use a SOFT drift on the end you can see in the hole AFTER removing the retainers at clutch side.
Keep all the shells exactly where they came from as there is no way of identifying size if mixed up

[Oddjob]

The primary shaft is easily removed by using the step bar bolt, the one the riders footrests thread onto.

Remove the bolt, leave a nut and washer on one end, thread on one of the footrests so the rubber end protrudes past the nut and washer. Thread the bar into the end of the primary shaft and use the footrest like a slide hammer It will pull out very easily as a rule.

Catch the spacer as it drops out from between the starter ring and the bearing.

Remove as much as you can before removing engine, points and advance unit, rotor as Bryan describes, clutch and chain sprocket, oil filter housing and oil pan and mesh filter. Get the engine as light as possible, you can get it out of the frame a lot easier that way.

[DomP]

That sounds a good plan Ken, I think this will be a steep learning curve!

I'm still not entirely sure I know in what order to remove bits yet, I think I need to watch it being done a few more times and read through the shop manual again

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

You will get the hang of it Dom once you have removed pretty much everything from either side of the engine, top & bottom it gets easier. As has been said best to remove the alternator rotor then it's casing bolts in order. The primary drive shaft is easier to remove than it sounds - iirc I used some long drifts to knock the bearing out then look for the hidden bolt that stopping the cases from separating.

[Oddjob]

The hidden bolt is inside the sump IIRC.

Just take parts off and store them together, maybe take a pic of the area first so you can see what it looked like if you get lost. Take points cover off, take the bolt out of the middle of the big nut, that will allow the nut to come off, put everything inside the points cover first off, then remove the 3 screws holding the points plate on, disconnect the wiring and remove plate, then advance/retard mechanism. First job done, put everything in sealable plastic bags, maybe a label, maybe not. Keep areas  together, points in one bag, rotor in another, clutch in another etc. You'll soon get used to it.

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

Ken is right about labelling and putting parts together in bags or boxes.

I use old takeaway boxes to group bolts etc together then write on the lid where they came from take plenty of pics on your phone as well it helps with assembly some months later. Even when it's obvious where something was take a photo as it might not be obvious a week or more later.

For the engine casing bolts I use a piece of cardboard labelled up then fit the bolts through the holes makes it easier for assembly, you may well have thought of this anyway so sorry if i'm being too basic. Yes I spelt dowel wrong & left the y out of empty where a bolt was missing iirc.

PXL_20230904_175427132 by Macabe Thiele, on Flickr

[Bryanj]

The 500/550 is the easiest of the fours to work on, only two "specials" you need
1 rotor puller and an ht bolt with correct thred will work
2 clutch nut peg spanner and you can make one from an old socket and cutting disc

[DomP]

I did exactly this on the weekend when dismantling the topend Ted, seems the best way to ensure stuff goes back where it should.  Tonight I've had time to get get the points side all out, clutch cover and cluch eventually after a bit of a battle with the kick-start, and all of the left side as far as the big bolt on the stator.  It was getting too dark by then as I've been wheeling it out of the garage and under a gazebo for natural light, without an impact gun will getting that bolt out be easy enough because I can't see how to stop the crank spinning.

[DomP]

The 500/550 is the easiest of the fours to work on, only two "specials" you need
1 rotor puller and an ht bolt with correct thred will work
2 clutch nut peg spanner and you can make one from an old socket and cutting disc

You beat me to it Bryan, I'll try to call you this week to try and get the ball rolling.

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

With the block off you can pop a Gudgeon Pin through number one Conrod then use a wooden block on either side of the pin to hold the crank in place. At least I think that's what I did to undo the alternator nut.