I found the answer to this question a few days ago. I rode from Honolulu to Aiea and the tripmeter showed about 130 miles on this tank of gas. On the return trip the Honda started to sputter and I switched to the reserve.
As I got back into Honolulu, the Honda started sputtering again. Shoot, I had only driven about 15 miles after switching to reserve and it looked like I might have to walk! As I pulled along the side of the highway I realized that this bike does not have a crossover tube at the bottom of the tank. The petcock is on the left side, fuel on the right side doesn't trickle over through a hose. I got off the bike and tilted it as far left as I could without letting it hit the ground.
After that, I got back on the bike and pushed the starter button. It came to life and I headed for the nearest gas station. I thought about how lucky I was for not having to walk. In the future, when it hits reserve I'm heading straight to the gas pump!
When I filled up the empty tank the tripmeter read 150 miles. I put about 3.9 gallons in the tank, which works out to around 38 miles per gallon. That's pretty much the MPG I've experienced with each fillup.
Advice for fellow riders: when you go over 100 miles on a tank of gas, plan ahead for a fuel stop. And when you switch to reserve, find a gas station right away.
Happy riding, Mike
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Fixing noisy brakes on a Honda 550
The brakes are working nicely now after the new master cylinder and brake pads were installed. But the brakes have been driving me nuts with the loud squeal! Okay, now I remember my CB400F used to do that back in the 1970's. Drilling holes in the disc brake helped, but did not eliminate the squeal. For the time being I don't want to drill the disc on the CB550F. I want the bike to look mostly stock.
I searched on the SOHC4 forums and got some info for getting rid of that noise. Here's what I did:
- Put "disc brake quiet" on the back of the pads. It's a flexible material, kind of like caulk that's supposed to absorb vibration and reduce squeal.
- Checked the front wheel spokes for even tension. I "dinged" the spokes with a wrench and tighted up the loose ones.
- Cut a groove in the brake pads horizontally (level with the ground). The grooves went through the pad material to the metal backing. This is supposed to change the vibration harmonics of the pads.
- Beveled the leading edges of the brake pads at a 45 degree angle (the side of the pad that contacts the disc first, as the wheel rolls forward).
- Lightly sanded the brake disc to loosen up glaze from the brake pad material.
- Checked for the nylon washer on the piston-side. Oh, where did that go? I remember seeing a blue nylon washer the first time I took the brakes apart. It was gone.
All of the "fixes" above had not cured the brake squeal. It was so loud, it was annoying to use the brake, mainly as the bike was coming to a near halt. I bought a rubber O-ring and put it on the piston side. It may have reduced the noise a little. Next, I went back to the hardware store and found a large nylon washer.
There's a raised spot on the brake pad that the hole in the washer should surround. The hole was too small and I drilled it out to fit. Dimensions of the washer (after drilling) are 7/8" hole and 1 1/2" outside diameter, 1/8" thick. You can see the washer in the photo below (it's white). The purpose of the washer is to guide the brake pad, so it contacts the disc evenly when the brakes are applied. If one side of the brake pad contacts the disc before the other, supposedly it will make noise.
The washer cost 61 cents and has cured about 95% of the brake squealing problem. Another "fix" mentioned in the forums is to apply brake cleaner to the disc brake. It's supposed to remove grit and grease from the disc. I bought a can of brake cleaner at the hardware store for $3. It cleaned up the disc and made it shiny but I don't think it did anything for quieting the brake. Well , the nylon washer made such an improvement, the brakes are quite "liveable" now. It's fun to ride this bike - the brakes work and they're quiet!
Handy tools for this job: 14 mm socket, 8mm wrench for the brake bleeder and a clear hose to attach to the bleed nipple. Brake fluid may also be needed.
I searched on the SOHC4 forums and got some info for getting rid of that noise. Here's what I did:
- Put "disc brake quiet" on the back of the pads. It's a flexible material, kind of like caulk that's supposed to absorb vibration and reduce squeal.
- Checked the front wheel spokes for even tension. I "dinged" the spokes with a wrench and tighted up the loose ones.
- Cut a groove in the brake pads horizontally (level with the ground). The grooves went through the pad material to the metal backing. This is supposed to change the vibration harmonics of the pads.
- Beveled the leading edges of the brake pads at a 45 degree angle (the side of the pad that contacts the disc first, as the wheel rolls forward).
- Lightly sanded the brake disc to loosen up glaze from the brake pad material.
- Checked for the nylon washer on the piston-side. Oh, where did that go? I remember seeing a blue nylon washer the first time I took the brakes apart. It was gone.
All of the "fixes" above had not cured the brake squeal. It was so loud, it was annoying to use the brake, mainly as the bike was coming to a near halt. I bought a rubber O-ring and put it on the piston side. It may have reduced the noise a little. Next, I went back to the hardware store and found a large nylon washer.
There's a raised spot on the brake pad that the hole in the washer should surround. The hole was too small and I drilled it out to fit. Dimensions of the washer (after drilling) are 7/8" hole and 1 1/2" outside diameter, 1/8" thick. You can see the washer in the photo below (it's white). The purpose of the washer is to guide the brake pad, so it contacts the disc evenly when the brakes are applied. If one side of the brake pad contacts the disc before the other, supposedly it will make noise.
The washer cost 61 cents and has cured about 95% of the brake squealing problem. Another "fix" mentioned in the forums is to apply brake cleaner to the disc brake. It's supposed to remove grit and grease from the disc. I bought a can of brake cleaner at the hardware store for $3. It cleaned up the disc and made it shiny but I don't think it did anything for quieting the brake. Well , the nylon washer made such an improvement, the brakes are quite "liveable" now. It's fun to ride this bike - the brakes work and they're quiet!
Handy tools for this job: 14 mm socket, 8mm wrench for the brake bleeder and a clear hose to attach to the bleed nipple. Brake fluid may also be needed.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Getting ready for restoration of the CB550
I've been picking up parts on E-bay and a few other places. So far I've purchased a front fender, points cover and new cam chain.
The plan is to remove the motor from the frame, replace the cam chain and possibly replace piston rings (I'll check the compression before tearing into the engine). The motor will then be repainted silver.
While the motor is out of the frame, I'll repaint the frame in gloss black. I'm thinking about getting the frame powdercoated, however I believe the prior owner had installed tapered rollers. I've read that the tapered roller bearings don't always pop out of the cups easily. I don't want to destroy the tapered bearings and might pass on the powdercoating and just go for a high quality spray paint job in my backyard.
I looked thoroughly for engine paints on forums such as sohc4.net. Then I took a look at KGCoatings.com (formerly Kal-Gard) and saw they have a silver colored paint.
For us old timers, Kal-Gard was big in the 1970's and 1980's with a variety of products. My favorite was the Kal-Gard coating for exhausts. It came in a spray can and was very durable. The only problem was that the parts had to be heated in an oven when the coating was applied.
KG Coatings still offers the original formula and they have a new formula that does not require heating of the metal during application. The "bake on" formula can be applied at room temperature and then baked afterwards. I plan to bake it by just running the motor up to operating temperature.
The new master brake cylinder and pad have worked great! The only problem is brake squeal. I put "disc brake quiet" on the back of the pads and it did not completely quiet them. I'm looking into other solutions.
Meanwhile, I've been doing some long rides, getting about 38-40 mpg on the Honda. It saves gas and has enough power for me to have fun without getting speeding tickets.
The plan is to remove the motor from the frame, replace the cam chain and possibly replace piston rings (I'll check the compression before tearing into the engine). The motor will then be repainted silver.
While the motor is out of the frame, I'll repaint the frame in gloss black. I'm thinking about getting the frame powdercoated, however I believe the prior owner had installed tapered rollers. I've read that the tapered roller bearings don't always pop out of the cups easily. I don't want to destroy the tapered bearings and might pass on the powdercoating and just go for a high quality spray paint job in my backyard.
I looked thoroughly for engine paints on forums such as sohc4.net. Then I took a look at KGCoatings.com (formerly Kal-Gard) and saw they have a silver colored paint.
For us old timers, Kal-Gard was big in the 1970's and 1980's with a variety of products. My favorite was the Kal-Gard coating for exhausts. It came in a spray can and was very durable. The only problem was that the parts had to be heated in an oven when the coating was applied.
KG Coatings still offers the original formula and they have a new formula that does not require heating of the metal during application. The "bake on" formula can be applied at room temperature and then baked afterwards. I plan to bake it by just running the motor up to operating temperature.
The new master brake cylinder and pad have worked great! The only problem is brake squeal. I put "disc brake quiet" on the back of the pads and it did not completely quiet them. I'm looking into other solutions.
Meanwhile, I've been doing some long rides, getting about 38-40 mpg on the Honda. It saves gas and has enough power for me to have fun without getting speeding tickets.
Monday, April 28, 2008
New master cylinder installed
New master cylinder for the CB550F
I finally took a break from everything else (work, fixing the house etc.) and installed the new master cylinder this past weekend. After reading the sohc4.net website blogs I learned that this aftermarket part works wonders - better than the original master cylinder. Since time is precious, I decided to go this route instead of purchasing a master cylinder rebuild kit and repairing the original.
On Saturday morning I got the tools out and removed the original master cylinder. Next I unbolted the brake caliper to remove the brake pads. The previous owner told me he spaced out one day and sprayed WD-40 on the disc and pads, rendering them useless.
The disc pad on the inboard side came off easily, there's a little cotter pin that holds it in position. The caliper side pad was more difficult. The pad was jammed inside with corrosion and grease. I used a hacksaw to cut a groove in the side of the pad and pried it out with a screwdriver. Probably not what a shop manual recommends, but it worked.
The piston inside the caliper looked fresh - I think the prior owner had the caliper rebuilt in recent years. I put in the new brake pads and bolted the caliper back to the front fork.
Next step - routing the brake lines. Problem: The new master cylinder is "shorter" - doesn't stick out as much as the original Honda master cylinder! Result: The brake line was too short by an inch or two. The original line was about a foot long so I needed another line about 14-15 inches in length.
I called Glenn's Cycle Supply and asked if he had any brake lines with banjo fittings. He said no. Then I hopped in the car (I'm not going to ride a Honda with no front brake) and went to Cycle Tech on King Street. The owner, Al was still there (sigh of relief, he usually closes around noon on Saturdays). I asked if he would sell me a used brake line off one of his parts bikes. He said "Sure!"
Al probably has about 20-30 parts bikes sitting altogether on one side of his lot. Armed with my tape measure, I started looking through the bikes and measuring brake lines. I was surprised to see that many of the newer bikes (well, 1990's and up) have one brake line going from the caliper to the master cylinder. Older bikes usually had a junction at the triple tree with a brake line going up and another brake line going down.
I found a Kawasaki Ninja 250 with an upper brake line about 17 inches in length. That's longer than what I needed, but better too long than too short. Al charged me $10 bucks. That sure beats buying a new brake line and this one was in good shape too.
Back home, I routed the brake line from the junction box at the triple tree, up behind the headlight and to the new master cylinder. It was easy to tuck the excess line behind the headlight to make things look good.
Next came the brake bleeding. There are lots of theories about the best way to do it. I just filled up the master cylinder and started pumping on the brake handle, watching the bubbles come up. In time, I put a hose on the caliper nipple and started opening it to let bubbles and old fluid come out as I pumped the brake.
I checked the sohc4 forums for more info on brake bleeding. One suggestion was to tie something around the brake lever and handlebar to keep the brake lever depressed, allowing bubbles to come through the brake line and up into the master cylinder. I did that for several hours and it seemed to help. The brakes work pretty well (way better than they did when I bought the Honda). There's a little sponginess, maybe I'll fix it later. The pads aren't dragging either.
Today I went on my first ride with decent brakes. It was way more enjoyable riding the Honda knowing I could stop with authority when I needed to! I put about 20 miles in, doubling my total mileage since I bought it back in November. The battery had been getting weak too, so I removed the headlight fuse in order to get a quicker charge.
By the end of the ride I was feeling good with a strong front brake, reasonable handling and a recharged battery. Plus I got several stares from people on the street, knowing this Honda has been around for awhile. With gas prices in Honolulu around $3.70 for regular now, I want to do more cruising on the Honda in the future.
If you want to get a master cylinder similar to mine, check e-bay. They usually sell for $80 or so on the auctions. I suggest doing a search for "Yamaha master cylinder" to find the seller, USA-Motorcycles. If you run a search for "Honda master cylinder" it's likely to bring up car parts instead of motorcycle parts. The master cylinders are pretty much the same (whether the auction says Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki or Kawasaki). There are perhaps three different models, just buy one that looks similar to the photo above and you'll be set. Oh, don't forget to get a longer brake hose too!
Friday, March 21, 2008
Honda update 3/21/08
Yes it's been a long time since my last post. In early December we had a rain storm and then had fairly continous rain until mid-January. Then there's work, fixing the house and everything else.I have all the parts for updating the brakes but haven't done the fix yet. We'll see if I can get that done in the next couple of weeks.
Meanwhile, I picked up a cycle cover at Glenn's Cycle Supply. I also ordered some spark plugs. Apparently these plugs are not in demand anymore. Glenn couldn't locate any in Hawaii and ordered them from the mainland. The CB550F uses NGK D7EA plugs.
I noticed Glenn has been getting some criticism on Craigslist recently. Apparently a rival moped shop has been trying to get some of Glenn's customers so they talk stink about him.
I've bought parts from Glenn since the early 1980's. There have been several years-long periods where I didn't have a motorcycle (or two, or three) and didn't stop by Glenn's during those times. When I come back, Glenn may not immediately remember me but he's always friendly and has good prices.
Glenn's Cycle Supply is located at 13th Avenue and Waialae in Kaimuki. Glenn's phone number is (808) 732-5547. Take a look at the photo I took today. It could have been taken 20 years ago and nobody would know the difference! I hope Kaimuki can hang onto its small-town atmosphere.
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