OldRed project

[CB900SS]

Nice project. The product I use for black plastic parts is back to black made by mothers, its cheap and you can get it pretty much anywhere.

[TheBigRed]

So, Wednesday I have the day off and go down to The Builders place. And here is what I'm greeted with:








He's been a little busy, to say the least. But he's been enjoying it. (I really owe this guy.. )


Anyway, now for some backup. Here are some pictures he took of the assembly process, though not too many or any details as he was probably paying attention to them rather than taking pictures of them.


So, here is a close up of the cylinders ready for assembly:






And here is the lower half with pistons installed:


TBC...

[TheBigRed]

He also did a bit of cleaning of surface rust on some parts and here are some pics:



Peg mounts:




Passenger peg mounts:




Intake boots (the bolts have been replaced with some allens I bought for the purpose):





The wiring harness and electrics all run nicely:



TBC...

[TheBigRed]

Airbox with K&N dropin waiting for oil:



Just a couple more of what greeted me:




TBC..

[TheBigRed]

Ok, now for what actually got done on Tuesday. It really won't look like a lot, but it was. We pulled the side covers and tank to put asside for safe keeping. Then went to town. Worked together with a spare swingarm pivot bolt I had up here to remove the rotor from a spare crankshaft then installed it onto the bike along with the starter clutch and gears:








While Dude was buttoning all that down, I went through the electrics and hooked everything up that would normally be hooked to the front of the bike (controls, guages, headlight, etc) so that we could work on testing with the battery I brought from the 650. So, we did that testing, and discovered the replacement signals I have for the front of the bike are wired for running lights. Woohoo.. hold on.. my bike isn't wired for them. So Dude took a look at the wiring diagram and determined where we could pull some power for the running lights from, then went to work putting in the connections, as well as cleaning some PO (Previous Owner) hacks. So, as Dude was doing this I was working on cleaning the exhaust system, Not a pretty or fun job really, but they did clean up pretty well, though I forgot to get a picture. (oops).


At this point we needed a little garage break and needed to pick up a couple of small items, so off we went to pick up fuel line, vent tube line and a couple of small connectors.


When we got back I kept Cleaning them Dude also worked on putting the Carbs onto the bike, and buttoning all of that down.


Well, by this time it was getting close to time for me to head home, so I started boxing up extra parts to get them out of his way. In the process I found a bag of bolts and we decided to see if any of them were long enough to support the stock grab bar (rusty as it is). So I went through them and found a pair that were the perfect length. And here are a couple of pics of the bike how it sat when I left (we removed all the wiring stuff from the front for safe storage):





So, that is where it stands. The Builder says that if the parts get to him early next week, we could have the bike back in my garage by next weekend. However, I'm not going to be able to make it down that way to help wrap things up and bring it back.

Beyond that I need to figure out what other steps I need to take to make it legal as well. Figure I need to transfer registration from the 650 to the 550, which includes the plates, change the insurance coverage to the 550 from the 650, as well as some other bits. However, doing all of it that way means that the 650 will have to be sold before it is ridden again, and I really should have the carbs tuned up before I sell it. But it would cost too much to have a second registration and double insurance. So, that is the quandry I'm in.

Amos

[jed.only]

that looks super clean. congrats!

[TheBigRed]

Sneaking in for an update!!

Ok, the site is "Down" but here comes an update:

Well, as the title states.. The Builder has been busy. He actually has the bike all together now, and sent some pictures my way so I figured I'd share them. There is still work to be done, brake lines need installed (calipers and master cylinders need cleaned as well), chain needs installed, exhaust needs securely fastened, and a few other small items. But here are the pictures:

Front fender installed with fork brace:


Front end Headlight and turn signals:


Guages:

And here is the bike all together, like I said, the exhaust isn't secured here, but mocked up, and there are some bits that need some attention to detail, cleaned etc, but it's rolling on it's own wheels at the moment:


I'll update as further progress is made!!

[BassCliff]

Hi Mr. TheBigRed,

Great work so far Amos. Thanks for all the pictures, even though I'm the only one who can see them right now.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[82Shafty]

I can't believe that you'd want to sell her after all of that work you had put into that old girl.

[TheBigRed]

I can't believe that you'd want to sell her after all of that work you had put into that old girl.

Because one month ago it wasn't as pretty of a picture.

It was literally a basket case, a bunch of boxes of misc bits and pieces of 3.5 engines (the one was just the bottom end, the others were complete engines I had torn into just about every piece that could come loose). The frame was bare (as you can see from some of the early recent posts), and I just was tired of the bits and pieces being all over the place.

That being said I am for ever indebted to The Builder for all the work he has done to get this bike back together, and the motivation to pour the little bit of cash yet needed to finish it (I'm at approximately $200 right now, with another $150 coming up here shortly for brake lines etc).

I wish he would have lived closer so I would have been able to help some more, however there are still a few things cosmetically that I can take care of once the bike is back in my garage and is a running bike. (Didn't have the motivation before to do some of the cosmetic cleaning and polishing if the bike wasn't going to come back together).

Anyway, I'm excited to say the least.

Amos

[doug g]

Great job guys. Glad to see it back on two wheels.

[TheBigRed]

Swapped messages with the builder the other day. Brake lines are in and mocked up as well. We still need to clean the master cylinders before full brake re-assembly etc.

Builder decided (and I agreed) to replace the exhaust bolts with studs and nuts, and has done so, and says it looks sharp enough that he's planning to do it for his bike as well.

Builder stopped by last Friday on his way through to relatives and picked up the stainless bolts, chain and chain guard, all are installed and looking good (or so I'm told).

New rubber should be arriving at the builders in the next few days.

I'm working this weekend which will give me all day next Friday to head down to his place so we can put the finishing touches on it and probably take it for a spin around his neighborhood. If it all works out and the weather looks favorable, I should have the bike in my garage by the evening of Jan 25.

Looking forward to spring here, hoping for some warm days so I can break this engine in proper like.

I need to go through the carb float bowls on the 650, but after that, look for it to be up for sale, along with misc bits and pieces that I've accumulated over the last couple years.

Amos

[TheBigRed]

Well, the bike is now insured.

I'm going to end up driving it illegally to get it inspected here in a few weeks, but really that can't be avoided easily.

Builder dropped me a not to say the Master cylinders have been cleaned, and brakes lines etc are all hooked up and ready to go. The front tire that was on it is definitely shot (Kenda Challengers blegh), so this Friday the plan is to put new rubber on (front and rear IRC Duotours), then just need to add oil, gas and go.

PA has some weird regs etc.. Since I'm not transferring the registration/tags from the other bike I had to have insurance on the 550 specifically. And since the bike is already titled in my name I don't get the 10 days grace after registration to get it inspected. Seems really dumb to me that they change the "grace" peroid for this situation, as it doesn't allow one to put the vehicle into storage for any period of time with an easy way to pull it out, register and re-inspect it. Thus my "illegal" run to the inspection station. I figure if I do end up getting pulled over for inspection I can explain to the officer that I am in fact on my way at that moment to get it inspected and he can escort me there to verify if he likes. However, by the same token, since the bike will have a temporary registration tag on it already, he may assume that that is in fact the case, and has no way of really knowing unless he pulls me over and checks everything that I didn't just buy the bike.

So, I should be pretty good to just run down with the bike to get it inspected. (Though living 2 blocks from the borough police office may make the beginning part of the trip a little sketchy.. about being caught).

Anyway, that is it for now. Who knows if things go well Friday I may post a video of the bike running, and going up and down the street at the builders place.

Amos

[TheBigRed]

Coming Home and home..

Well, she's home... Now for the details.

Went down yesterday morning to work with The Builder on the last bits and pieces and hopefully fire her up. So, first things first.. Lets mount some Rubber.

Started with the front, and changed the rubber. While we had the wheels off, and all that jazz we decided that it would be a good time to clean the forks up and all that fun stuff. So we set about that with emery cloth and fine sandpaper, then put a layer of clear. I think they look pretty good. Well, after that we went after the rear tire.

Builder isn't used to GS chain drives so I was able to demonstrate the easy way of getting the rear wheel off. (Admittedly, he claims the shafties are still easier.. Oh, well).

Well, while he was atacking the rear tire (litterally.. ) I worked on re-routing some cables (or did I do this while he was attacking the front.. at any rate, re routed some of the control cable lines etc). Then I dumped some oil into the engine, and put about 2 gallons of gas in.

At this point we both attacked getting the rear tire back on the bike and the chain adjusted and all that fun. Approaching 4:30 in the afternoon by this time, so it was time to turn it over. Primed the carbs, pulled the choke.. Turn the key.. Crank.. Crank.. Crank.. let off to not overload the starter.. pop.. No lights.. Something isn't right.

Well at this point I had to get back as my Kitchen pass was a little overdue. The Builder said he would attack the electricals today and give me a call with the results.

So, I get the call around 4pm today, found the issue, but we have another issue.. No oil pressure (look for post in tech section coming). Decided that at this point it is time to get the bike back into my garage and I can attack it at this point as our guts are telling us the oil pump is shot (was in the bottom end I picked up on ebay for $1, and if it was bad it may have caused the original engine to eat it, thus why the bike was parted out). So, I'm going to study some diagrams and see if there might be a clog elsewhere, but like I said, our guts say it is the pump is shot. Good news is I have at least 3 of them sitting here.

So, now were talking 5:00 pm and I am ready to load the bike.

Picture time..

Here it is sitting in The Bilders driveway waiting on some lovin..



And here I am Smiling that my baby is back together, and coming home:



And here she sits in the garage, next to the beast..

Better angle (can't quite see the ripped seat):



Another angle.. (where you can see the seat):



So, next chance I get I'll dig through the boxes to find the oil pump from my original engine, then drain the oil and attack.

Hopefully I'll be riding her come spring (I don't doubt it much).

Amos

[emeraldcoupe]

so any progress?