First Street Bike Project - with a few questions

[Sci85]

So we will both be done

Yeah hopefully before the summer is over!!

[Missile99]

Nice work Sci85. Your bike is going to be a shining beauty unlike mine!
I have much cosmetic work to do and need to check those bearings you say people usually neglect.

These bikes are a lot of fun and are screamers. They have enough torque to allow them to engage from a stop with barely any revs. With all that weight in fuel up top I would expect them to handle poorly, but that's certainly not the case. They turn effortlessly and hold corners well. This is coming from a true beginning rider on his first bike.

What are your plans for the wiring harness? It shouldn't be too bad to revamp with some patience if you choose to go that route. We can all help you out. I spent a long, long time going through critical connections and troubleshooting too.

How was the inside of your tank? I suggest taking apart the gas cap along with the sending unit and cleaning them up. Pretty easy. Install a new fuel line too. With your attention to detail, these were probably on your list already anyways. I'm saying this because I would hate to see debris flow through when you have a new petcock and fresh carbs.

Keep us posted.

[Sci85]

Thanks Eric. It's been slow progress the past month as I've been traveling a lot for work. But I did manage to finish up some painting and get some covers on and the brake assembly restarted. Plus, a new batch of parts came in today from (Ashley is the best...glad we have Boulevard to help us out) so with the long weekend, I hope to make some good progress.

I actually pulled the wiring harness out and layed it on the floor today and just kinda stared at it for about 10 minutes haha. I have much work to do. In fact, when I was disassembling, I noticed someone had run a completely separate set of wires for the blinkers. They were not even using the main harness! I still shudder when I think about it that piece of the build but it's getting close to time!

Haven't checked the tank yet but it was supposedly running when I bought it so I'm hoping it can't be too bad.

I'd love to see your bike. Please post up some picks. It will be invaluable having another 550M for reference so thanks!

Clutch cover, stator & stator cover, starter + cover, and front brake reassembly started...

[GateKeeper]

Glad to see you back at it....

looking good

.

[Redneck]

Holy smokes ist starting to look like a Motorcycle...

Keep it up...

Paul

[Missile99]

Looking real good Sci85. What paint did you use for the rotors/calipers? It seems like a close match to stock.

Too bad people can't take their time to wire things up carefully. It makes for a big mess that falls apart and is hard to troubleshoot.

I plan on setting up a photo account soon and uploading some pictures of the beast. A video is in the near future too.

See ya. Have fun.

[Sci85]

Yep, it's starting to come together. I'm getting pretty excited as it takes shape. Gives me more incentive to get it done!

Eric, can you do me a favor and post a close up pic of your front master cylinder? I'm having a hard time finding a rebuild kit that fits the 550M and I am wondering if I have the factory one or someone replaced it with something else.

The paint I found that is real close to factory for the orange/red color is Dupli-Color engine enamel Chevrolet Orange-Red DE1607.

Thx,
Sci85

[Missile99]

Thanks for the paint info.
The master cylinder says Aisin 2 5/8 on the bottom side. I'm quite sure it's the original.

On a side note: I am the 2nd owner, the original owner is my next door neighbor. He told me that he bought this bike dirt cheap, around $1500. It was still in the crate. There was no demand because the styling was too wild and most people weren't interested. The bike is 2 months younger than me.
That means I am its elder and it should treat me good.

[Sci85]

Cool. That helps. I am now certain that someone changed out the MC on mine. Can you confirm that the top has 4 screws holding the cap on?

Thanks Eric.

[Missile99]

Yep, 4 screws holding the cap on. I hope you find a good replacement cheap.

[Missile99]

Some of the stock plastic wiring connectors were brittle junk. If they wouldn't come apart easily I just threw them away and started fresh. At some junctions, like where the coil feed is, I connected the wires individually instead of a factory style pin block. This came in handy when I did the coil relay mod since the wires were already separated. I could have tapped into the wires closer to the coils but don't like to add any more connectors than necessary.




Here is the bike waiting for the Dyna-S to arrive, August or so of last year.

[cowboyup3371]

Your pictures aren't showing up correctly.

[Missile99]

Thanks. I'm trying to figure this out.

[Flyboy]

Excellent, those covers are looking super nice Sci, I do like the contrast they provide, I have no doubt sh is going to be a looker for sure.
Nice to see you getting some work done on her again.

[Sci85]

Thanks Eric. You have a great base to work from compared to what mine looked like when I got it hehe.

Thanks flyboy. I did make some good progress but I keep getting stalled having to replace parts I didn't think I was going to have to replace (eg. said master cylinder). Gotta put a call into Ashley come to think of it...

Well, it's time to tackle the wiring loom. This is not going to be pleasent...