Rethinking the license plate bracket

I took the bike out around the block and when I came back home I realized the license plate had bent. I must have hit a bump and the plate bent on the rear tire.

So far my only idea is to crease the license plate right under the stickers and bend it upward. Or bend Benjies plate bracket, which will look better than bending the licence, but I don’t think I have the tools to bend that kind of metal. Plus, its a welded bracket that may come undone if I bend it too hard.

Fresh Paint

I’m starting to think half the reason I didn’t want to paint the tank is because I want to start riding this thing as soon as possible! And painting the seat myself is the fastest way to get this bike on the road.

I think it looks good.

I took the bike off the center stand and noticed that both my tires had very low pressure. Filled them up properly and took the bike for a spin around the block. Its pure sweetness.

I’ll have to remove the center stand, it looks really bad when its folded up. And those side covers have to go as well.

Now I’m thinking twice about the tank. This black is so bad ass.

MAC exhaust revisted

What the hell is this piece? Not for the CB right? I thought it might be for the side or center stand in some capacity. But I just took my bike off the center stand and it doesn’t seem to get in the way of the exhaust. Maybe I’ll write to the MAC people to find out.

To Paint, or Not to Paint

I had been having an internal debate with myself on wether or not I was going to have my seat and tank professionally painted or wether I was going to leave the original faded patina on the tank and paint the seat on my own.

I’m sure this is a sensitive subject for cafe racer enthusiasts. Personally, I subscribe to the original stripped down, rocker, look. This bike has the potential to become anything I want. It could be chrome and candy, or it could be a something real and down to earth.

Luckily, this bike will last forever, and can have as many cosmetic changes as I see fit.

For now, I’m keeping the original, faded, vintage tank color, and am NOT going to paint it. As for the seat, I’ve been lurking around the SOHC4 forums and have decided that I’m going to use a 2 part catalyzed clear coat (SprayMax) on the seat once I’ve painted it black.

Lets disassemble!

The seat pan is held on by seven bolts. The six bottom bolts were easy to remove, but the seat hump bolt was unreachable by my socket wrench. I had to go down to the local hardware store and buy myself a socket extension. Easily removed after that.

The license plate bracket shares the two bolts that come from the brake light.

New Spark Plugs

Not worth posting the process. But what is kinda neat is the box design.

I like the logo coming up from the rising sun, and the simple box graphic. American company? I thought they were Japanese. Website says their corporate headquarters is in the states.

Grinding off the passenger peg

I don’t know why I did it. It was a crazy impulse I had. I suppose it was a combination of seeing the angle grinder sitting in it’s box unused and knowing I no longer needed the left side passenger mount.

Not the best grinding, I’m getting slightly better at controlling the angle grinder.

I’ll clean up those grinds during the cold months when the bike will be stripped to the frame.

Cafe Racer Seat Mock Up

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This is the hook that I removed last week. It kept the seat from sitting on the frame correctly.

The old seat latch doesn’t get in the way at all, so I’m going to leave it there for now. Maybe this winter I’ll grind it off.

The cafe seat’s mounting bracket requires two holes. The CB550 only has one. Gotta drill a second.

I measured it perfectly before I drilled.

Ready to mount.

BCR Cafe Racer Seat Unboxing

Benjiescaferacer

Benjie does awesome work. I’ll always buy my cafe racer seats from him from now on.

MAC 4 into 1 Exhaust

High temperature black headers.

Very unassuming. I like that the pipe travels beneath the bike.

Didn’t come with instructions. It wasn’t obvious at first, but I eventually figured it out.

Self portrait.

There was a good sized gap between the bolt, the harness and the frame. I assume the gap was there to accommodate for the passenger pegs. A couple of washers fixed that up, and it was a snug as bug in a rug.

I couldn’t be happier. It fits perfectly, it looks great, and it purrs like a big cat.

Angle Grinder

I dig this tool.

I bought it at Harbor Freight. An inexpensive Chinese made 4 inch angle grinder that I got for $16 bucks.

My friend Clint would scold me for buying cheap chinese tools, but I love them.

I never used one before, so I didn’t know what to expect in terms of safety, so I bought some $1.99 gloves, $1.99 googles, and some dust masks.

My cafe seat came in last week and as I mocked it up I noticed there were two hooks that I needed to grind off so it could fit properly. I decided I wouldn’t post pics of the seat yet…. that’ll be for another post.

The Honda CB550 has a second hook near the tank. I assume its another helmet hook. I can’t think of what else it could be.

They pull off easy by bending them back and forth with a pair of pliers.

I realized this is something that should have been done with the bike stripped down to the frame, something I didn’t plan on doing until this winter. I just covered the bike with a blue tarp. I didn’t know what to expect in terms of debris and sparks. Zero debris, lots of flying sparks. I had to put on a hat.

Er… my first time…

Hook by the tank.

This winter I’ll have the frame sandblasted and powder coated. Until then I thought I’d better shoot the exposed metal with rust preventative primer. I don’t care about how it looks now. The seat will cover this.

Not pretty, but no one will see this.