1966 CB77 Frame-Up Restoration (or part-out if fubar)

G-Man · Post by **G-Man** » Sun Sep 21, 2014 3:10 pm

Great videos!

G

smccrory · Post by **smccrory** » Thu Sep 25, 2014 6:52 am

Here's another:

Part 9. Oil Screen and Pump

Aaaand...

Part 10. It's Alive!

I have a number of issues to follow up with, but I'm making progress!

sarals · Post by **sarals** » Thu Sep 25, 2014 11:28 am

Pretty darned cool!!!

smccrory · Post by **smccrory** » Thu Sep 25, 2014 4:30 pm

Part 10 video re-uploaded and link corrected!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osThVOS4TIQ

smccrory · Post by **smccrory** » Sun Sep 28, 2014 7:04 pm

Post Start-Up Squawks:

I have an oil leak forming under the clutch cover. Looks like it's coming from the gasket. All the bolts are tight enough, so I'll investigate during the next oil change (is it really every 300 miles?!)
My wire-up of the starter was temporarily direct to the battery. It needs to come from the ignition post of the key switch to that it's not always armed
I'm not sure if my alternator is working or not. I know these bikes have incredibly weak charging circuits, but I have to put the battery tender on after even the shortest of rides to keep the battery filled up. If I measure voltage across the battery, it doesn't seem to change much when I rev the engine past 5000 RPM. I'll post a picture of some wiring to see if anyone else can help me identify what's what. I should be able to do this myself, but I'm disorienting myself for some reason
The tires, tubes and rim strips need to be replaced before I leave the neighborhood because the ones on there are hard, cracked and not even good choices for the bike. While I'm at it, I'll thoroughly clean (and replace if necessary) the brakes
I need to better adjust the handlebars, cables and levers. Should be an easy job
The rear brake cable needs to be replaced; also easy work
The wiring needs to be tided up and connectors re-seated with dialectric grease. I may also add turn signals if I find myself riding the bike a lot. I know that's not a stock thing, but to heck with historical accuracy if it gets me squished ;-)

smccrory · Post by **smccrory** » Sun Sep 28, 2014 7:16 pm

The more I dig into the project, the more I lean towards making this a practical runner with modest rehabilitation and improvements for rideability's sake. As such, I may not even pull components down to the frame for a repaint this winter - it may just stay black while I repaint the tank, headlight housing, sides, fenders, etc. back to their red and silver colors. I mean, the bike's not all-original anyway and I don't desire to drop $2-4k more into a frame-up project that I'd be too afraid to enjoy along Ohio roads, and I don't have some sweet 60s-theme man-cave to show a pristine museum piece in (although dang, that would be wicked cool).

So, purists avert ye eyes now! Though I do promise not to saw it into a cafe, chopper or rat bike - that's all been done so much, and by better mechanics than I'll ever be. Nah, this is just going to be an honest rideable classic for a fraction of what the new Yamaha SR400 would cost for similar performance and arguably more authentic style. :-P I want to be able to take it out for a hundred or two miles at a time and be safe and reasonably reliable about it. It's what I did with an '85 CB700SC two years ago with great results.

With that said...

smccrory · Post by **smccrory** » Sun Sep 28, 2014 7:36 pm

I replaced the vintage-looking but very hard italian grips with a soft and reasonably period-looking black half-waffle MSR grips. I LOVE Progrip 714s and these were as close to the feel as I could find without looking overtly dual-sport about it.

I also rerouted the cables and am a lot happier with everything except the clutch - it's now SO easy to operate with the cable outside of the tank channel, but it looks a unfinished. More thinking to do there.

I received a Shinko 607 2.75x18, Bikemaster TR6 and rim strip for the front wheel and a Shinko SR210 3.00x18, Bikemaster TR6 and rim strip for the rear wheel. I could have gone with better styled Heidenaus for almost twice as much, but I've been delighted with the 705s on my CRF230L and thought I've give Shinkos a try on the CB77. If they don't work, I'll only be out $50 each(!).

Speaking of tires, holy #(*&$^ the old tires were hell to remove. I ended up having to use a sabre saw and dremel cutting disc to finish the job! Part of it was the hard rubber and steel radial edges and part was the excessive rust contamination under the tires. Dang, someone left this bike out in the rain. Even after liberal dosing of Metal Rescue and steel wool, there is still a lot more rust left. I'm going to need to go at it with a wire brush on a pneumatic drill and pray there's enough metal under it all. More to come on that.

Speaking of Metal Rescue and steel wool - the mufflers are looking a lot better after some TLC. The headers still suck, so I might order a curved aftermarket pair to see if they will mate with the mufflers OK. Or just paint my angled ones with high-temp stuff for now and concentrate on the more important stuff first.

I think that's it for now. Thanks again for Loudmouse and everyone else following along. This is a really cool project and I'm glad to have taken it on.

I kind of pity motorcyclists who don't have to do anything to maintain, let alone rehabilitate or restore on their own. They're missing out on a nutritious part of the whole experience, I think.