1st bike, 1st build CB650

I sympathise, I stripped my casings down with Nitromors, a rotary wire brush in a drill and a Dremel for those 'hard-to-get-at' bits (about 75% of the 'effin engine!) But, like you I didn't fancy the nightmare of a full strip down.

I've just de-coked the valves to find that even with just 10K on the clock the inlets are pitted to fek, so I'm now considering splitting the crankcase to see if the ends are shot as well :-(

I know mate, I'm looking at that engine though and seeing all the finns, little nooks and crannies Doesn't fill me with enthusiasm for the paint stripping. It will bug the hell out of me as well if I can't get to all of it and clean it properly so I'm going to have to strip it right down the the cases. As mig said I'll just take my time and label everything fingers crossed all will be ok!

That sounds a bit of a nightmare, do you think you'll split the crankcase? It almost seems silly not to really at least you can check that everything's ok in there.

Yep, don't think I have a choice, be silly to get it all shite and briney, build the bike back up then get the clatter of knackered big ends or worse still mains after the thing's been sitting on the workbench for 6 months with the heads and barrels off!

Made some good progress last night, ready to split the crank cases. Just need to get a flywheel puller to get the rotor off. I did notice that the rear axle bolt fits the thread in the rotor would this work to pop the rotor off if I tightened it into the rotor, or am I likely to just damage the threads in the rotor?

Axle bolt will fit. But would recommend the use of the proper puller. I used a two leg puller but it did require the use of a heat gun to gently persued the the flywheel to part company from the crank. They are on solid. So watch your knuckles.

dangreen wrote:

Cheers, bought 150 of those off ebay before I started and have been using those to bag things up. Just to show off I've been writing on the bag what's in there, and the page number in the clymers manual that references the bags contents! lol

-Good Idea, I think I will do the same.....Thanks!

Well that's done it!





Wasn't too bad in the end, took my time and followed the clymers manual. Well pleased.....sure it will be more fun putting it all back together again!

Well done Dan,

Ask the firm that is to blast your cases to be gentle around the mating surfaces and the bearing journals.

Once again please make sure the cases are free from ANY blast media, as a few particles of glass bead can cause a lot of damage!!!!
There are some small oil ways, so pay particular attention to these areas.

Is there any sign of lots of wear on the shells, If so change them as you will regret it later on.

Looking forward to seeing it go back together.

Cheers mate,

Yeah will do, I'll pay very close attention to that would hate after all this work for a few glass beads to ruin it all!

This is where I'm taking it for blasting, going to get the frame powder coated there as well http://www.ctc-powder-coating.co.uk/aquablasting.htm

There does seem to be some wear on these shells, which you can see in this picture so I will swap those out while i've got it all open. Any recommendations on where to get them from?

Is there any sign of lots of wear on the shells, If so change them as you will regret it later on.

-Newbie question. When you reference the "shells" what is/are those? Thank for your patience.

Unless I have got my wires crossed (which is quite likely ) they are the crankshaft bearing inserts.

Dan if you can see a bronze colour coming through they will need changing. David silver spares are the place to get them. You will need to read the section in the manual to see how to tell what the sizes are.

Hi Dan, well done bud, I'm still debating on mine

www.cmsnl.com is one of the cheapest places for Honda spares, or as Mig says, David Silver in the wilds of Suffolk www.davidsilverspares.co.uk

You will also find a lot of more 'esoteric' stuff on the American sites, they've taken the Honda 'fours' to heart in a big way, just watch out for Her Majesties Customs and Excise, thieving barstewards charge you import duty on everything, even the bloody postage, so you need to factor that in if buying from the States!

And yes, what we call 'shells' are the phosphor bronze inserts, liners or bearings for the wear surfaces on the crankshaft and con (piston) rods

Thank you for the explanation....you guys Rock!

just a little update and a request for some advice.

I've been pretending to be a bathroom fitter for the last couple of weeks which has left the bike a bit neglected.

Noticed I hadn't taken the rocker arms out yet the other night so got that sorted. Was a nightmare getting the threaded cotter pins out, until I supported it from behind with a socket. Tapped out nice and easy then.



Got the bearings out of the wheels as well, no-one needs to see photo's of that! lol

Now the advice bit, I really want to have a tube section added to the back of the frame to finish it off. A 180 degree bend welded in just to close it all off and make it look neater also will give me a better area to fit the battery and electrics. I'm sure I've seen other bikes with this but everywhere I ask they don't seem to be able to bend steel tube?!? I've tried filling some tube with sand and heating it but the walls of the tube were way too thin and it kinked still. This can be done can't it?

Cheers!

if your anywhere near the black country ive got a 12 ton hydrolic bender and every size former ,dont no your size but when getting your tube buy as thicker wall as you can or solid bar in the same diametre and your more than welcome to come and use it

ideally for tight thin wall bends a mandrell bender is your best bet they roll a bend but they cost $...s but im sure someone will have one in your area

just an after thought you could do to half bends and weld them in the middle to give the shape your after

Or find a friendly local plumber who'll let you borrow his pipe bender for ten minutes. Providing the steel wall isn't too thick you should be able to get a decent radius without kinking.

Miffa, really appreciate the offer but I'm not near the black country unfortunately otherwise I'd be round like a shot! I'm going to try and get hold of a pipe bender and give that a go I think as per pauliesxjr's idea, this little bit at the back of the bike is holding my progress up....not a happy boy!

Right well here we are!



Only taped in place at the moment, need to get a welders mask so I don't blind myself then I can get it fixed in place. Pretty pleased with it, think it finishes off the back end of the bike nicely! Thanks for the advice on that one everyone.....got hold of some 22mm mild steel tube and a plumbers pipe bender did the trick nicely!!



Also been doing some work on the tank, what do we all think of my new cleaner looking CB650 petrol cap? Once the tanks painted black I think it'll look pretty good especially compared to how it was before!







Slowly taking shape, booked a week off work next week so hopefully I can get all the work finished on the frame and then get that off for powder coating.

Like the tank lots. Did similar myself with the CB750 tank, mine had a nasty locking flap thingy, I extended the filler pipe and cut a hole in teh flap after removing the locking mechanism. I tack welded it into place then lead-filled the gaps and finished it off with catalloy filler. I've now fitted a flip-up Monza style cap that I got off Flea-bay for 25 quid

Excellent I bet that flip up cap looks good! I couldn't stand that old cap with the locking bar.....especially seeing as the locking bar was missing! lol Much happier with how it looks now.

While i'm here, I dismantled my carbs yesterday as I was planning to get them aquablasted. Spoke to the guy this morning about it and he said I'll need to remove all the jets. Now I've got the PD51A's which have a push fit jet, which i've heard is a bugger to get out without damaging anything. Even if you do get it out you'll probably damage something trying to press it back in. Is aquablasting out of the question for these then? He did say that he could chemically blacken them which I think will look ok but I would prefer to have them aquablasted if possible? Any thoughts or suggestions?

Cheers!

look into soda blasting easy to make your own if youve got a decent compressor or use someone local to you ,soda blasting will give you great end results and soda crystals are fully dispersable leaving no residue just wash off with water, remember to lube any moving parts

Wow, thats very yellow! Good buy for a convert project.
I did a similar thing on my tank



Just removed the flap, polished the original cap.
Black carbon fibre vinyl now been replaced with a shaped aluminium panel, polished.
(see my build for my obsession with polishing things!)
Andrew

Oh, I have a vinyl cutter if you need any daft signs making (my Norton'esque' badges have caused a stir with anyone who sees them).

lol tell me about it....each to their own I suppose though on colour choice but I'm glad it's not yellow any more Like the signs on the side of the tank very nice, if I need any vinyl cutting I'll give you a shout, cheers.

Finished refurbing the forks the other day. I was originally polishing them but due to pitting in places and me being lazy, I decided to paint them ...pleased with the decision in the end as I think they look pretty smart now, plus they won't require so much maintenance when they are on the bike. Just need to fill them with oil but I'll do that when I'm re-assembling the bike.



Working on the tank still as well getting some paint on that, hopefully I can get a run at that over the weekend.

Hey,

Finally pulled my finger out and welded the loop onto the back of the frame. Spent a day watching youtube videos on arc welding and off I went. If a professional welder was to see it he'd probably shoot me, but it's on there solid and looks straight. After I've had a tidy up with the old grinder it should look ok! For my first attempt I'm pretty pleased!