2

CB550 35mm Forks

You might recall a few weeks ago I ditched the original headlight brackets for some shiny aftermarket ones. The process revealed some fairly pitted and rusted upper forks that were hiding beneath those original brackets. No amount of sanding and polishing would make them look good, but buying new ones was out of the question. I looked around and forks are just too expensive. I emailed Forks by Frank, who come highly recommended by the SOHC4 veterans but they wanted over $250 bucks for a pair of CB550 35mm forks. So I tried my luck on eBay but everything on there was just as snotty as my forks. Until….

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I found a pair that were in gorgeous shape. Complete forks for $35 bucks not including shipping. The chrome is perfect. They just need to be wiped down and cleaned. They even still had a label on them that reads: 1976, 1977, 1978 Honda CB550 Forks. This will be a project that I’ll work on in the next few months, but not anytime soon. I’m going to polish the lowers and sell them, take the dust covers and forks for my bike and then sell my crusty forks.

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admin
07/25/2009
cafe racer
3

Mini Starter Switch

So you might have read my last post and asked yourself: Where did he put the starter switch? Well, the truth is I had no plan or strategy for the switch, just some vague ideas that I never put into action. In the end it all worked out though.

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I had replaced the original switch with a mini SPST momentary switch. The switch measured small enough to actually fit inside the bar but I had no real intentions of attempting to mount it inside so I kinda just stuffed it in the existing hole I had made last summer for running the wires. I figured I would worry about it later but it turned out that after I had installed the new throttle the switch kinda just worked the way it was (haphazardly stuffed at an angle in the bar hole). The hole is underneath the bar so you can’t see the switch from any angle, but I can still reach it with my thumb when I need it. It’s out of the way, works, and doesn’t look half bad. I’m keeping it that way until a better alternative comes up. As far as I’m concerned I’m done with the right side of the bars.

admin
07/25/2009
cafe racer
2

Motion Pro Throttle Assembly

I replaced the throttle assembly for a number of reasons:
1. I wanted to clean up the front end.
2. I took apart the switches and couldn’t put them back together again, and keeping the throttle assembly without switches would look weird.
3. My buddy Tyler replaced the throttle on his CB and I wanted to one up him.

I knew I wanted the assembly to be made of metal but I couldn’t find any cool looking billet aluminum assemblies. I ultimately went with a cast aluminum throttle from Motion Pro.

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I’ve purchased their cables before and they are a good company to deal with. The kit even came with an allen wrench.

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This particular model is a push/pull throttle but can be used for just pull much like the original OEM assembly.

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It also comes in chrome but I chose black enamel for contrast on the chrome bars.

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The whole thing is around an inch wide. Much slimmer than the original Honda part.

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Gee whiz that’s pretty.

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Before shot with original master cylinder, switches, and throttle.

admin
07/25/2009
cafe racer
2

Headlight Switch

Relocating the kill switch was an easy decision. It was independent of the starter switch and didn’t interfere with any other electrical system. The starter switch is another story because the headlight is wired into it. It took me a few days to decide to separate the two systems mainly because I couldn’t find the proper switch small enough to fit inside the bars. Actually, I did find a switch but no one had it in stock, anyway I’m glad I went the other way and separated the headlight from the starter switch. It looks good, and the “Brit Style” switch lets me turn off the headlight when I desire (or forget to turn it on like my ride this afternoon).

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Luckily these headlight brackets had cosmetic holes in them begging to be filled with mini switches. Clearly, down is the off position and up is the on position.

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admin
07/25/2009
cafe racer
0

Kill Switch Re-Located

Though this is a temporary location, I am very happy with how clean it looks. I started by splitting the plastic wire harness housing behind the bucket before it entered the clubman bars. I pulled the black/white wire and one of the black wires out of the bars and out of the plastic housing. I then slid some heat shrink wrapping over the wires, cut them down to size, soldered them to a mini toggle switch and mounted in them in the nearest hole I could find, the headlight bracket.

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Split harness.

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View from top. Nice short wires, neatly heat shrink wrapped and mounted.

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It doesn’t look bad, and it’s not terribly awkward. I have something in mind for the future, but for now it will do. Tomorrow morning I’m adding a switch for the headlight (on/off) and mounting it somewhere away from the bars, that will leave me with just the starter switch to deal with which will remain near the throttle.

admin
07/17/2009
cafe racer
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