Never had a problem with these - 'cause I saw the PEENING mark right away and so I've never mashed on 'em without first drilling out that peen spot. Plus, I like to use a smaller tap with the same tooth count, to clean out the threads in the hub. This way inserting the retainer goes very smoothly. I've re-used original retainers & seals 'cause I didn't bash the hell out of 'em. The key here is to be methodical and gentle, rather than just beating 'em up out of frustration. Probably the most ridiculous hub abuse I've yet seen was the first Suzuki 4LS drum I ever bought, where the seller had bashed on the air scoop with a ball-peen hammer more than 200x - I know 'cause I counted the dents - and tried to "shuck" the side-plate out like an oyster, which cracked the lip on one side, at which point they just folded that "hang-nail" back down so I couldn't see it in the eBay photos. Of course I wasn't returning it, 'cause I'd found the listing MISSPELLED and thereby didn't have to bid against too many other buyers. Just the seller's brother-in-law, no doubt. But yeah, THEY had given up on getting the crusted up shoes & side-plates etc out of the drum halves. So once I got it home, I tapped very gently on the LEVER ARM on each side, and the shoe plates just came free like nothing. Like a combination lock, or a secret passageway with hidden trigger,. if you will - you had to know specifically which sequence of specifically which elements to touch, and specifically HOW to touch 'em. As for that hang-nail, it spurred me to dream up a new method of ventilation wherein the break was repeated sequentially creating meshing "teeth" which gnashed the air as the wheel spun. Ah, but I lost that drum in my 2013 house-fire, and wound up replacing it with a far better preserved specimen. Well, in some ways. And I revised my ventilation scheme, as well as figuring out how to cut down the T500 Titan/Cobra 2LS type SHOES so as to fully cover the swept area or liner of the drum itself, which measures up at a good 13%-14% greater width than the standard OEM shoes, meaning the brake itself is now that much stronger - Plus, it's got the 6 slots cut through the central wall in the Fontana/Oldani/Ceriani/Guzzi style, which works like an extractor vane thanks to the orientation of the pre-existing cross-holes in that central wall - Which required flipping the hub left-to-right, "reversing the odometer" which in turn required me to gut the speedometer and insert a magnetic sensor from a more modern speedometer, running the wire down the old cable sheath, to a new electric analog clock dial drive, that'll require new clock dial faces calculated with new increments meaning all of that radian/gradian trigonometry will finally be put to good use - the increments will be radically different thanks to the 3.0x16" Borrani alloy rim & MAXI-SCOOTER RADIAL TIRES in 110/70-16 & 140/70-16 with the all-NOS belt-drive sets on the KZ440LTD parent model for this "KZ440LOL" project - WHICH of course, is nowhere near as interesting as my wire-spoke converted DOHC-4 "CB900K0 Bol Bomber", homage to the '65 CB450K0 Black Bomber - the first DOHC Honda street-bike, naturally - and which made the same claimed horses per Liter as the CB900F so in a sense the CB900F is two CB450K0 engines lashed side-by-side! Ha-ha. There are some killer features on this bike but I'm shooting for ALL-OEM components, from the toaster-tank polished CB1100R 6.9-gal alloy tank down to the "CB750P7-ii" wire-spoke DUAL-disc FIVE-bolt 40-spoke front hub, which will allow use of the dished 296mm one-piece rotors from CB1100RB (in replica form via Metalgear) OR the SOHC-4 style with '78 CB750A Hondamatic front discs, OR the GL1100A/CBX1050/CB1100RC-'RD vented double-thick rotors, OR the CB1100F/CX-Turbo etc 276mm front rotors with the spiral-pattern center-carrier that has the bigger carrier & larger diameter circle of 9 rivet holes - Meaning it'll be proportional looking with a far bigger than 296mm rebuilt outer rotor, perhaps 316mm to suit the 43mm TRAC fork we could whip up from two RHS legs off the '96+ ST1100A ??? OR, for a more period-correct look, two non-TRAC RHS legs off the VF1000R for a 41mm fork with very close resemblance to the 35mm unit on the '77-'78 CB750F2 - I'm whipping up several sets of wheels including rebuilt COMSTAR wheels, using the wider yet lighter Akront "NERVI" center-flange rims, though I've only got a couple of 2.50x18"-ers thus far, having passed over the 3.0x18" & 6.0x18" rims which wound up on that CBX1000 done by one Van-Geert over in Der Nederlanden - I"m ALSO building wire-spoke wheels in 3.50x16" Super-Akront front & 4.25x18" Akront TR on the rear for that whole "Spencer Replica" vibe with the beefy TRAC forks, plus a decent 3.50x18" Super-Akront with a lighter weight drum hub for a 2nd 'featherweight' project, which so far seems like it'll use the COMSTAR wheel up front, with '79 style spokes (only) from the '79-'80 CM400 single-disc-only front wheel in 1.85x18" - An all-alloy '79 SILVER style front wheel in the same size as the '81 GL1100A black/silver "reverse" type front but with a 27% lighter rim, more like 45%-50% lighter than the Boomerang type rim on the CB1100F & CB1100RC-'RD etc - With the 18" rim & 296mm rotors rather than the 19" with 276mm on the '78-'79 CBX1000 twin-shock or '79 CB900FZ, this would be an awesome set-up on the '77-'78 CB750F2 SOHC-4 Super-Sport! Or the '79 GL1000 for that matter - ANY of these bikes. Just gotta dig up that 3.50x18" rear. I've got a decent 3.0x16" Nervi rim so I suppose I could whip up a decent '82-'83 style GL1100A or CB900C, more to the point a CB750C style AHRMA racer, not a bad idea. But I'd rather see that rim used on a VF1000R or VF1000F front wheel. Just gotta dig up some decent wider Nervi rims for 18" rear wheels and the 2.50x18" and 3.0x16" sizes will BOTH make for some decent front wheels..... Well either which way, I'd like to ditch the twin-pot calipers on my current dual-296mm brake set-up, for the earlier SINGLE-PUCK style. This will require new bracket hangers for the 296mm rotors, bumping the earlier calipers out the additional 10mm's - Which would be an awesome part for mass production, imho. Just think of all the applications! And a new REAR brake hanger bracket for 260mm & the OEM calipers, with a custom center carrier for the CB350F-CB400F etc 260mm 6-rivet composite front rotors - With a 10-hole pattern they could fit the SOHC-4 era 6-bolt hubs OR the 5-bolt hubs from the DOHC-4 era. Of course, you could have a decent lightweight disc in 296mm with the early DOHC-4 era dished one-piece rear disc but cut it down even further to 276mm & cross-drill it, use the FT500 Ascot caliper-hanger bracket, or from certain VF-series, etc etc. It would be interesting to see whether THAT rotor could be used much smaller than 276mm maybe even 260mm? That would represent SUBSTANTIAL mass reduction, the like of which even the later-era crotch-rocket rear discs likely couldn't even match. Of course, you'd still have to look at the HUB ITSELF and this is why I'm looking at the DRUM hubs. It's just that the drums don't look so good with these later era Akront "TR" flat profile rims. They're gorgeous with the 1970-spec "SUPER-AKRONT" 3.50"-ers but the "TR" just doesn't look the least bit period-correct to the '70s, not even in 3" width - not to the trained eye, anyhow...... That, and I've spent far far too much time & treasure modifying my rear-sets. I really want to use the early Brembo & similar rear master-cylinder with the integral bell-crank, which allows you to move your pedal pivot wherever the hell you want it, without bringing the master along with it - It'll also allow shedding the bull of the OEM type Bell-Crank with the heavy splined pivot shaft etc. I mean, I've come to agree with the APPEARANCE of the OEM pivot & pedals, I've shed probably 2/3rds of the mass on an '82 CB750F pivot I even filed extended splines up the shaft so I could cut the tip off rather than cutting & re-welding the pivot arm on the back-side of the bracket plate, with a fucking NAIL-FILE in front of the Bube-Toob etc so we're talking about a LOT of wasted time if I don't use this crap! Bought & modified a CB1100R short alloy pedal but aesthetically speaking I prefer a cut & welded CB750F/CB900F type chromed-steel pedal - You'll want to use the toe-tip pad from C70 Passport, it's identical but with a better bend-angle on the bottom side, it'll allow you to weld further up the shaft rather than under the toe-pad etc, for a more all-'round satisfactory result, just trust me on this one detail. ANYWAY yeah, I've spent waaaay too much time thinking about the hydraulic rear-sets, and I'd like to think I've come up with SUBSTANTIAL improvements to an OEM (looking) set-up. Modifications to every last component of the OEM system, from stem to stern. Just sayin' - there's a whole other appeal to KEEPING the original bell-crank style though I sure as shit still don't want the passenger-peg brackets connected via the swing-arm pivot let alone the lower rear engine hanger bolt..... But yeah, for MAXIMUM weight reduction in a period-correct style - Well, yeah even better weight reduction than the fugly '90s-Y2K+ crotch-rocket bits we keep seeing on the STARBUCKS RACERS with the USD forks & 17" cast wheels etc etc - IMHO the period-correct stuff can STILL weigh less than all of the newfangled crap. I think I might use that CB1100R alloy pedal with the DRUM hub version..... And once the 'featherweight' project is finished, there are still another 6-7 pairs of decent alloy rims I picked up along the way - more 3.50x18" & 3.50x16" Super-Akront & 4.25x18" TR-profile Akront rims, a pile of extra 3.0x16" Borrani rims left over from the "KZ440LOL" and a pile of others besides - some 2.50x18" un-marked Borrani rims from AMF-era Harley rear wheels which make a decent Honda FRONT wheel, a 3.0x18" drop-center shouldered MORAD rim to match with one o
Never had a problem with these - 'cause I saw the PEENING mark right away and so I've never mashed on 'em without first drilling out that peen spot. Plus, I like to use a smaller tap with the same tooth count, to clean out the threads in the hub. This way inserting the retainer goes very smoothly. I've re-used original retainers & seals 'cause I didn't bash the hell out of 'em. The key here is to be methodical and gentle, rather than just beating 'em up out of frustration.
Probably the most ridiculous hub abuse I've yet seen was the first Suzuki 4LS drum I ever bought, where the seller had bashed on the air scoop with a ball-peen hammer more than 200x - I know 'cause I counted the dents - and tried to "shuck" the side-plate out like an oyster, which cracked the lip on one side, at which point they just folded that "hang-nail" back down so I couldn't see it in the eBay photos. Of course I wasn't returning it, 'cause I'd found the listing MISSPELLED and thereby didn't have to bid against too many other buyers. Just the seller's brother-in-law, no doubt. But yeah, THEY had given up on getting the crusted up shoes & side-plates etc out of the drum halves. So once I got it home, I tapped very gently on the LEVER ARM on each side, and the shoe plates just came free like nothing. Like a combination lock, or a secret passageway with hidden trigger,. if you will - you had to know specifically which sequence of specifically which elements to touch, and specifically HOW to touch 'em.
As for that hang-nail, it spurred me to dream up a new method of ventilation wherein the break was repeated sequentially creating meshing "teeth" which gnashed the air as the wheel spun. Ah, but I lost that drum in my 2013 house-fire, and wound up replacing it with a far better preserved specimen. Well, in some ways. And I revised my ventilation scheme, as well as figuring out how to cut down the T500 Titan/Cobra 2LS type SHOES so as to fully cover the swept area or liner of the drum itself, which measures up at a good 13%-14% greater width than the standard OEM shoes, meaning the brake itself is now that much stronger - Plus, it's got the 6 slots cut through the central wall in the Fontana/Oldani/Ceriani/Guzzi style, which works like an extractor vane thanks to the orientation of the pre-existing cross-holes in that central wall - Which required flipping the hub left-to-right, "reversing the odometer" which in turn required me to gut the speedometer and insert a magnetic sensor from a more modern speedometer, running the wire down the old cable sheath, to a new electric analog clock dial drive, that'll require new clock dial faces calculated with new increments meaning all of that radian/gradian trigonometry will finally be put to good use - the increments will be radically different thanks to the 3.0x16" Borrani alloy rim & MAXI-SCOOTER RADIAL TIRES in 110/70-16 & 140/70-16 with the all-NOS belt-drive sets on the KZ440LTD parent model for this "KZ440LOL" project -
WHICH of course, is nowhere near as interesting as my wire-spoke converted DOHC-4 "CB900K0 Bol Bomber", homage to the '65 CB450K0 Black Bomber - the first DOHC Honda street-bike, naturally - and which made the same claimed horses per Liter as the CB900F so in a sense the CB900F is two CB450K0 engines lashed side-by-side! Ha-ha.
There are some killer features on this bike but I'm shooting for ALL-OEM components, from the toaster-tank polished CB1100R 6.9-gal alloy tank down to the "CB750P7-ii" wire-spoke DUAL-disc FIVE-bolt 40-spoke front hub, which will allow use of the dished 296mm one-piece rotors from CB1100RB (in replica form via Metalgear) OR the SOHC-4 style with '78 CB750A Hondamatic front discs, OR the GL1100A/CBX1050/CB1100RC-'RD vented double-thick rotors, OR the CB1100F/CX-Turbo etc 276mm front rotors with the spiral-pattern center-carrier that has the bigger carrier & larger diameter circle of 9 rivet holes - Meaning it'll be proportional looking with a far bigger than 296mm rebuilt outer rotor, perhaps 316mm to suit the 43mm TRAC fork we could whip up from two RHS legs off the '96+ ST1100A ???
OR, for a more period-correct look, two non-TRAC RHS legs off the VF1000R for a 41mm fork with very close resemblance to the 35mm unit on the '77-'78 CB750F2 -
I'm whipping up several sets of wheels including rebuilt COMSTAR wheels, using the wider yet lighter Akront "NERVI" center-flange rims, though I've only got a couple of 2.50x18"-ers thus far, having passed over the 3.0x18" & 6.0x18" rims which wound up on that CBX1000 done by one Van-Geert over in Der Nederlanden -
I"m ALSO building wire-spoke wheels in 3.50x16" Super-Akront front & 4.25x18" Akront TR on the rear for that whole "Spencer Replica" vibe with the beefy TRAC forks, plus a decent 3.50x18" Super-Akront with a lighter weight drum hub for a 2nd 'featherweight' project, which so far seems like it'll use the COMSTAR wheel up front, with '79 style spokes (only) from the '79-'80 CM400 single-disc-only front wheel in 1.85x18" - An all-alloy '79 SILVER style front wheel in the same size as the '81 GL1100A black/silver "reverse" type front but with a 27% lighter rim, more like 45%-50% lighter than the Boomerang type rim on the CB1100F & CB1100RC-'RD etc -
With the 18" rim & 296mm rotors rather than the 19" with 276mm on the '78-'79 CBX1000 twin-shock or '79 CB900FZ, this would be an awesome set-up on the '77-'78 CB750F2 SOHC-4 Super-Sport! Or the '79 GL1000 for that matter - ANY of these bikes. Just gotta dig up that 3.50x18" rear. I've got a decent 3.0x16" Nervi rim so I suppose I could whip up a decent '82-'83 style GL1100A or CB900C, more to the point a CB750C style AHRMA racer, not a bad idea. But I'd rather see that rim used on a VF1000R or VF1000F front wheel. Just gotta dig up some decent wider Nervi rims for 18" rear wheels and the 2.50x18" and 3.0x16" sizes will BOTH make for some decent front wheels.....
Well either which way, I'd like to ditch the twin-pot calipers on my current dual-296mm brake set-up, for the earlier SINGLE-PUCK style. This will require new bracket hangers for the 296mm rotors, bumping the earlier calipers out the additional 10mm's - Which would be an awesome part for mass production, imho. Just think of all the applications!
And a new REAR brake hanger bracket for 260mm & the OEM calipers, with a custom center carrier for the CB350F-CB400F etc 260mm 6-rivet composite front rotors - With a 10-hole pattern they could fit the SOHC-4 era 6-bolt hubs OR the 5-bolt hubs from the DOHC-4 era.
Of course, you could have a decent lightweight disc in 296mm with the early DOHC-4 era dished one-piece rear disc but cut it down even further to 276mm & cross-drill it, use the FT500 Ascot caliper-hanger bracket, or from certain VF-series, etc etc. It would be interesting to see whether THAT rotor could be used much smaller than 276mm maybe even 260mm? That would represent SUBSTANTIAL mass reduction, the like of which even the later-era crotch-rocket rear discs likely couldn't even match.
Of course, you'd still have to look at the HUB ITSELF and this is why I'm looking at the DRUM hubs. It's just that the drums don't look so good with these later era Akront "TR" flat profile rims. They're gorgeous with the 1970-spec "SUPER-AKRONT" 3.50"-ers but the "TR" just doesn't look the least bit period-correct to the '70s, not even in 3" width - not to the trained eye, anyhow...... That, and I've spent far far too much time & treasure modifying my rear-sets.
I really want to use the early Brembo & similar rear master-cylinder with the integral bell-crank, which allows you to move your pedal pivot wherever the hell you want it, without bringing the master along with it - It'll also allow shedding the bull of the OEM type Bell-Crank with the heavy splined pivot shaft etc.
I mean, I've come to agree with the APPEARANCE of the OEM pivot & pedals, I've shed probably 2/3rds of the mass on an '82 CB750F pivot I even filed extended splines up the shaft so I could cut the tip off rather than cutting & re-welding the pivot arm on the back-side of the bracket plate, with a fucking NAIL-FILE in front of the Bube-Toob etc so we're talking about a LOT of wasted time if I don't use this crap!
Bought & modified a CB1100R short alloy pedal but aesthetically speaking I prefer a cut & welded CB750F/CB900F type chromed-steel pedal - You'll want to use the toe-tip pad from C70 Passport, it's identical but with a better bend-angle on the bottom side, it'll allow you to weld further up the shaft rather than under the toe-pad etc, for a more all-'round satisfactory result, just trust me on this one detail.
ANYWAY yeah, I've spent waaaay too much time thinking about the hydraulic rear-sets, and I'd like to think I've come up with SUBSTANTIAL improvements to an OEM (looking) set-up. Modifications to every last component of the OEM system, from stem to stern. Just sayin' - there's a whole other appeal to KEEPING the original bell-crank style though I sure as shit still don't want the passenger-peg brackets connected via the swing-arm pivot let alone the lower rear engine hanger bolt.....
But yeah, for MAXIMUM weight reduction in a period-correct style - Well, yeah even better weight reduction than the fugly '90s-Y2K+ crotch-rocket bits we keep seeing on the STARBUCKS RACERS with the USD forks & 17" cast wheels etc etc - IMHO the period-correct stuff can STILL weigh less than all of the newfangled crap.
I think I might use that CB1100R alloy pedal with the DRUM hub version.....
And once the 'featherweight' project is finished, there are still another 6-7 pairs of decent alloy rims I picked up along the way - more 3.50x18" & 3.50x16" Super-Akront & 4.25x18" TR-profile Akront rims, a pile of extra 3.0x16" Borrani rims left over from the "KZ440LOL" and a pile of others besides - some 2.50x18" un-marked Borrani rims from AMF-era Harley rear wheels which make a decent Honda FRONT wheel, a 3.0x18" drop-center shouldered MORAD rim to match with one o