Took a ride to Columbia last night and met a fellow biker with appreciation for these old machines. He had a nice CB550 and a project CB750. I took the CB750 off his hands, and now it sits waiting for its turn. It is in decent shape for restoration or customization, not overly eaten up with rust and not locked up. One project at a time like that is enough…
Not completely sure of the details for this one yet; I have a couple ideas in my head but we’ll see how it plays out. I love a canvas that can change as it grows.
The inside of the engine on my current CT90 project was badly exposed to the elements because it was left sitting outside without a couple of the engine covers. I decided to pull the engine completely apart and rebuild from the cases up.
Crankshaft Bearings – I wasn’t sure what bearings were used for the crankshaft because the old bearings were unmarked. I contacted Jack @ DrATV.com and he sent me two new bearings. Turns out they are just an open #6305 bearing, that would be available from any industrial supply company. Since Jack had a great price I just got what he had. As for removal, you will need a shop press to remove the crankshaft bearings. Before pressing them off, be sure to mark where the teeth of the timing chain sprocket are lined up on the crankshaft.
Transmission Bearings – The old transmission bearings were marked, so I just ordered an open #6004 for one shaft, and an open #6204 for the other shaft. I’ve purchase from Grainger.com in the past and they had just the bearings I needed.
Engine Assembly – All new gaskets and seals were also gotten from Dr. ATV. The parts inside the engine cases are actually quite simple; there are only a couple big pieces. I’ve linked a video below where a couple people did a quick engine assembly at a Tech Day in 2011. If you’re a beginner, just curious, or need a refresher, here you go….
Men at Work – I snapped a couple pictures as I worked. Here is what my engine and workspace looks like at the moment.
Bloody brilliant work on a CB450. And on the video…
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I’ll try to post tips, tutorials, guides, etc. on this blog. My typical modus operandi is to just dive into a project without taking the time to grab a camera or write anything down, so I don’t know how much content I will generate here. But at least this is my attempt at getting it done. (sadly that sounds like about 40 million other blogs, doesn’t it.)