Honda CB550F Project Bike, Part 1
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luckily my experience with vintage honda case screws went well, with only some coaxing from an impact driver, although they were quite striped when I got my hands on it, I had to use a drift to mash the metal back into the screw head. I personaly recomend replacement of the little bastards with a quality cap screw, if you can stomach the historic inacuracy
Now this is my kind of article!!
But, I must say that a 'restoration', as it were, of a Jap bike is little more than lubing cables, changing oil and polishing the headlamp. Not like the old days where you had to install and ream every bearing, reline bores, reweld cylinder heads fabricate parts and hope to God there was still a gudeon pin available in an old shop in Devonshire.
Still, I look forward to part 2.
But, I must say that a 'restoration', as it were, of a Jap bike is little more than lubing cables, changing oil and polishing the headlamp. Not like the old days where you had to install and ream every bearing, reline bores, reweld cylinder heads fabricate parts and hope to God there was still a gudeon pin available in an old shop in Devonshire.
Still, I look forward to part 2.
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5,447 Posts
Re: Verily...
"And he looked upon the Honda and it was good."
"And all the leaky head gaskets and phillips head screws in heaven rejoiced and cried out."
"Then Satan pranged the cam chain tensoner and sent the crankshaft straight to hell via it's own tunnel."
"And thunderous clammor was heard in the land of the salvage yard."
"Who speaketh yee of the fabled press fit crankshaft that is neither fish no foul, and made of unobtainium!?
Fie! Pox!
Amen.
"And he looked upon the Honda and it was good."
"And all the leaky head gaskets and phillips head screws in heaven rejoiced and cried out."
"Then Satan pranged the cam chain tensoner and sent the crankshaft straight to hell via it's own tunnel."
"And thunderous clammor was heard in the land of the salvage yard."
"Who speaketh yee of the fabled press fit crankshaft that is neither fish no foul, and made of unobtainium!?
Fie! Pox!
Amen.
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1,538 Posts
Awesome
Simply Awesome.
Simply Awesome.
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5,447 Posts
Good luck....seems I tried the same thing with a 350 Four about ten years ago.
The cam chain was sawing the engine in half so I let it go.
Do the rear shocks have little blue arrowhead "Showa" stickers on 'em?
That's when you've hit bottom btw. Looking for stickers. For shocks.
The cam chain was sawing the engine in half so I let it go.
Do the rear shocks have little blue arrowhead "Showa" stickers on 'em?
That's when you've hit bottom btw. Looking for stickers. For shocks.
Testify my Brotha!!"And though he went to Hoses and asked"Cans,t thou go to MT FUJI and ask for the ten manuals to fixest this mount?"And Hoses spoke and said"Yea I will go and speak to COG ,and thou will will wait till I come back"But while Hoses was gone ,the chapped wearing ones grew restless,and built THE GOLDEN H.O.G and named it H-D and danced around it consuming all types of beer and mercurial potions.Thus we will wait for part two when HOSES comes down from the mountain..AMEN...
Nice writing Gabe
Easily your best here at MO so far. Can't wait for the other installments.
What scares me, is that these restoration stories seem to strike a chord with me. (See this months Cycle World: Triumph of the Spirit). I really, really hope I don't find myself going down that path some day. I think the cafe styled bikes of the past and present are easily the most beautiful machines to ever roll upon two wheels.
Easily your best here at MO so far. Can't wait for the other installments.
What scares me, is that these restoration stories seem to strike a chord with me. (See this months Cycle World: Triumph of the Spirit). I really, really hope I don't find myself going down that path some day. I think the cafe styled bikes of the past and present are easily the most beautiful machines to ever roll upon two wheels.
I really don't need this. I've had my eye on an old Honda, I think it's a CM250. I drive by it every day as it sits in snow and sleet and darkest night. I see it and in my minds eye I see 'vintage cafe bike'...After reading this, I may have to take a closer look.
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6 Posts
All the bikes in all the towns in all the world......
And he had to walk into this one. Dear oh dear oh dear. The curious preferences in shoot-outs, the idiosyncratic comments in the name of "objective journalism", refreshing new logic which exposes the shallow received wisdom of other publications. All becomes clear. It isn't bias. It is just that when it comes to motorcycles you are, how shall we say, tone deaf. Could one of you over there just creep over to Gabe's place one night, lob the Honda in the ocean, and replace it with something that after hundreds of hours of toil, blood and sweat will be worth owning.
And he had to walk into this one. Dear oh dear oh dear. The curious preferences in shoot-outs, the idiosyncratic comments in the name of "objective journalism", refreshing new logic which exposes the shallow received wisdom of other publications. All becomes clear. It isn't bias. It is just that when it comes to motorcycles you are, how shall we say, tone deaf. Could one of you over there just creep over to Gabe's place one night, lob the Honda in the ocean, and replace it with something that after hundreds of hours of toil, blood and sweat will be worth owning.
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5 Posts
Fantastic story! I can identify with Gabes frustration as the beaten owner of a Honda heap calling itself a VFR700. The bike was running fine before I decided to upgrade to a Works shock, but now it has magically spread out into about five different piles in my driveway.
In order to get the shock to drop down on the first-gen VFR you have to remove the exhaust, but in order to remove the exhaust you need to take out the coolant overflow, battery, engine mounts, coils, etc by the time youre ready to tackle the exhaust itself you realize theres about 1mm of room for a socket and you would have to be Plasticman or a Keebler elf to get to the header bolts. Its enough to make me urn for a Buell. At least then Id be working on a new bike with parts that arent fastened together by 20 years of rust.
Randy
In order to get the shock to drop down on the first-gen VFR you have to remove the exhaust, but in order to remove the exhaust you need to take out the coolant overflow, battery, engine mounts, coils, etc by the time youre ready to tackle the exhaust itself you realize theres about 1mm of room for a socket and you would have to be Plasticman or a Keebler elf to get to the header bolts. Its enough to make me urn for a Buell. At least then Id be working on a new bike with parts that arent fastened together by 20 years of rust.
Randy
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