Author Topic: CB550 Higher rev's  (Read 9494 times)

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cbrocker

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CB550 Higher rev's
« on: March 19, 2012, 12:04:16 PM »
I'm starting to rebuild my 75 CB550 super sport. So far I have got a new front and rear suspension, and started to build a frame jig to make a new but lighter and stronger frame. While almost nothing on the bike is going to be origanal I would like to keep to motor looking like it is a CB550 and not a hybrid. I was looking up some performance packages from Dynoman Performance and would like to use there stage 3 kit, but I would like to increase the overall rpm's. Does any one out there know of any possible way to increase the over all red line of these motors? I was reading the Honda Man's post and he was stating he could get 16,000 rpm's out of the CB750's. If this is true then the same could be done with the CB550's correct? I mean the CB550 has a lighter rotating mass compared to the 750 and with the new types of electronic ignitions and lighter engine components out there you should be able to gain something on the top end? I'm not looking to turn 16,00 rpm's but maybe 10-12,000 rpm's should be doable. Please feel free to comment. Anything at this point would help.

Offline Bill/BentON Racing

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Re: CB550 Higher rev's
« Reply #1 on: March 19, 2012, 01:21:39 PM »
They(500/550's) can spin up to 12.000+ easily.Hondaman was talking miget motors CB750's(I think) no transmission,they cut it off weld a plate,external oil pump etc,then they''ll turn 16,000!! ;) ;D Bill
My little Yoshi kitted race bike(592cc) ran 12,000+ a lot! ;)
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Over 35 years of experience working on vintage motorcycles, with a speciality in Honda SOHC/4 with a focus on the CB750 and other models as well from 1966 - 1985.
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1993 HRC RS125 | 1984 NS400R | 1974 Honda CB750/836cc (Calendar Girl) | 1972 CB 500/550 Yoshi Kitted 590cc | 1965 Honda CB450 Black Bomber | 1972 Suzuki T350 | 1973 88cc | Z50/Falcons Pit Bike | 1967 CA100| 1974 CB350 (400F motor)...and more.
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Offline EricHa

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Re: CB550 Higher rev's
« Reply #2 on: March 19, 2012, 01:46:15 PM »
They(500/550's) can spin up to 12.000+ easily.Hondaman was talking miget motors CB750's(I think) no transmission,they cut it off weld a plate,external oil pump etc,then they''ll turn 16,000!! ;) ;D Bill
My little Yoshi kitted race bike(592cc) ran 12,000+ a lot! ;)

What all does this entail? More than Hi-Po valve springs? I know porting and cams would be required to make power up there, but what is needed structurally?
1975 Honda CB550K1
1976 Honda CB750K6
1977 Kawasaki KZ900A5

Offline Sam Green Racing

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Re: CB550 Higher rev's
« Reply #3 on: March 19, 2012, 02:21:37 PM »
Cam and porting is one of the main things. The bigest problem when pushing the revs is reliability.
Look what sort of power can be got from a mild tuned 836 with reliability, more than the factory 750 Daytona bikes that continually wrecked the valve train because of the high revs they needed for the speed to win.

Sam. ;)
C95 sprint bike.
CB95 hybrid race bike
CB95 race bike
CB92
RS 175. sprint/land speed bike
JMR Racing CB750A street ET drag bike

Offline Sam Green Racing

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Re: CB550 Higher rev's
« Reply #4 on: March 19, 2012, 02:48:58 PM »
Bill (bellcow) was talking about the miget motors that Mark (Hondaman) had worked on in the day.
Billys bike was/is just a normal set up, but very fast.
Most Hondas will rev well past the point that they make max power, the dificult part is making them make power at the higher revs.

Sam. ;)
C95 sprint bike.
CB95 hybrid race bike
CB95 race bike
CB92
RS 175. sprint/land speed bike
JMR Racing CB750A street ET drag bike

Online Really?

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Re: CB550 Higher rev's
« Reply #5 on: March 19, 2012, 03:01:32 PM »
Do you weld?  If so, I may need to come visit you, lol.
I don't have a motorcycle, sold it ('85 Yamaha Venture Royale).  Haven't had a CB750 for over 40 years.

The Wife's Bike - 750K5
The Kid's Bike - 750K3

Offline Sam Green Racing

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Re: CB550 Higher rev's
« Reply #6 on: March 19, 2012, 03:13:35 PM »
I heard he was going to use Superglue, Really ;)
C95 sprint bike.
CB95 hybrid race bike
CB95 race bike
CB92
RS 175. sprint/land speed bike
JMR Racing CB750A street ET drag bike

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Re: CB550 Higher rev's
« Reply #7 on: March 19, 2012, 03:22:02 PM »
:)
I don't have a motorcycle, sold it ('85 Yamaha Venture Royale).  Haven't had a CB750 for over 40 years.

The Wife's Bike - 750K5
The Kid's Bike - 750K3

Offline turboguzzi

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Re: CB550 Higher rev's
« Reply #8 on: March 19, 2012, 03:32:23 PM »
put aside for the moment 16K rpm 750 motors as you are not building a midget racer.

go through the racer build threads of howell, bwaller and miine (turboguzzi) and youll find plenty of go fast tips for 500/550's. paulages has a very good thread on a hybrid 550/650 motor too.  in race trim they can be pushed to more than 65 rwhp, but not really usable on the street. with a big bore kit a 55-60 rwhp motor could be quite reliable. the 500/550 bottom end is quite a bit sturdier than the 750's, you can run stock rods and stock cam tensioner up to 12K without problems.   

do some reading, get yourself an idea of how much work you want to do and i am sure the "small block" guys here will be happy to help.

Offline Sam Green Racing

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Re: CB550 Higher rev's
« Reply #9 on: March 19, 2012, 03:47:59 PM »
Yo, what dyno graphs do we have for these motors in respect of the power produced in relation to the revs?

Sam. ;)
C95 sprint bike.
CB95 hybrid race bike
CB95 race bike
CB92
RS 175. sprint/land speed bike
JMR Racing CB750A street ET drag bike

Offline bwaller

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Re: CB550 Higher rev's
« Reply #10 on: March 19, 2012, 06:10:03 PM »
Peak power in mine was @10k. I would like to see this increase somewhat with the few small changes this year.
« Last Edit: March 20, 2012, 03:52:01 AM by bwaller »

Offline turboguzzi

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Re: CB550 Higher rev's
« Reply #11 on: March 20, 2012, 03:23:04 AM »
Sam, there are graphs in rene's and my threads.

rocker, the 500/550's have a known issue of rather small 27mm inlet valve size that severely limits breathing at high rpm, so your plan to make it peak a 12K is very optimistic to say the least.

seen quite a few dyno's of race tuned 500/550 motors, ALL of them peak slightly past 10K, ALL run out of steam by 12K.

regretfully, unless you are willing to re-angle the valve guides, the biggest inlets you can fit are 29's and even then, the small valve seat is still a bottle neck. using a 650 head is a nice work around and if you use it together with a 500 rocker cover (needs heavy welding of the head), it can be made to look almost like the original 550 head, just like you want. search for "CB500four" member's thread.

just a friendly general tip: from your posts, it sounds like you dont have too much experience tuning motors and yet, you are already talking about not only building a 550 that revs to 12K but also making a frame from the ground up,etc. Take into account that just building a race bike with a stock frame took me something like 400-500 hours. just saying this so you dont set yourself too difficult targets, bite more than you can chew and  then become disappointed when you cant finish a project. we had quite a few guys that romped into hipo with big plans to build the fastest sohcs out there that quietly disappeared, never to be seen again....

my 0.02





« Last Edit: March 20, 2012, 03:40:16 AM by turboguzzi »

Offline MRieck

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Re: CB550 Higher rev's
« Reply #12 on: March 20, 2012, 04:32:00 AM »
I agree about the intake valve....it is the main obstruction. Kibblewhite make s a1mm OS intake for the 500/550. As I have said before, if you bore the seat to 90% of the valve OD you will pick up some CFM quickly.
Owner of the "Million Dollar CB"

Offline Sam Green Racing

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Re: CB550 Higher rev's
« Reply #13 on: March 20, 2012, 05:17:56 AM »
Take a listen to this little motor, have a guess what the motor revs to when he blips the throttle.

Supercharged CBR250R initial startup & run

Sam. ;)
C95 sprint bike.
CB95 hybrid race bike
CB95 race bike
CB92
RS 175. sprint/land speed bike
JMR Racing CB750A street ET drag bike

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Re: CB550 Higher rev's
« Reply #14 on: March 20, 2012, 08:50:55 AM »
you can now.  You have hit the magic 5 post!
I don't have a motorcycle, sold it ('85 Yamaha Venture Royale).  Haven't had a CB750 for over 40 years.

The Wife's Bike - 750K5
The Kid's Bike - 750K3

Offline turboguzzi

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Re: CB550 Higher rev's
« Reply #15 on: March 20, 2012, 10:16:06 AM »
Thanks for the heads up. I was was just asking a simple question about the 550, and if i need to use the 650 head and other components that i will. No one needs to assume that I'm some "rookie with a big dream". I've built more rotary, large piston, diesel, jet engines and full tube chassis race cars than motorcycles so any help here is great news for me. Here is one of the cars that I helped build its a RX3 3/4 tube chassis with a 3rd gen. RX7 motor with plenty of getty-up. Its under the user name of 13BTXR3 in you tube. Sorry I cant post external links.


sorry CBrocker, didnt mean to offend, I knew i run the risk that you might be an expert builder under cover, but unless you tell us about yourself and your background like you did now, it would have been hard to guess from your questions.

As far as I know, only member mec has really built a performance frame from the ground up in this forum (as well as amazing hipo motors, slipper clutches and what not) so  thats the main reason why i told you about the risks of taking on too big  a project. not many have done this in this forum,

Good luck with your project then!

Offline MRieck

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Re: CB550 Higher rev's
« Reply #16 on: March 20, 2012, 10:45:54 AM »
I can tell you the 650 head has much better intake ports than the 500/550.
Owner of the "Million Dollar CB"

Offline Tews19

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Re: CB550 Higher rev's
« Reply #17 on: March 20, 2012, 11:16:27 AM »
Engine revving video is sick! How high did the RPMS go to?
1969 Honda CB750... Basket case
1970 Honda CB750 survivor.

Offline Sam Green Racing

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Re: CB550 Higher rev's
« Reply #18 on: March 20, 2012, 01:26:55 PM »
Engine revving video is sick! How high did the RPMS go to?

That's for you to guess but you will be really supprised.

Sam. ;)
C95 sprint bike.
CB95 hybrid race bike
CB95 race bike
CB92
RS 175. sprint/land speed bike
JMR Racing CB750A street ET drag bike

Offline turboguzzi

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Re: CB550 Higher rev's
« Reply #19 on: March 20, 2012, 01:29:06 PM »
Not knowing the 650 layout is it better to simply swap the head or the crank, jugs, and head? Or better put can you swap only the head and in put in after market pistons, or is that not possible?
here's a link to the guy running a 650 head that looks like a 550's.... :)
http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=63938.0
unless you are limited to a stock 550 head by vintage racing rules, cant see a reason NOT to use a 650 head, specially in a street big bore motor

Offline Tews19

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Re: CB550 Higher rev's
« Reply #20 on: March 20, 2012, 01:44:55 PM »
Engine revving video is sick! How high did the RPMS go to?

That's for you to guess but you will be really supprised.

Sam. ;)

Ah with that response probably 10k. Secondly, you are mean!
1969 Honda CB750... Basket case
1970 Honda CB750 survivor.

Offline bwaller

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Re: CB550 Higher rev's
« Reply #21 on: March 20, 2012, 04:21:04 PM »
Seems to me the stockers redlined at 18K or thereabouts.

Offline Sam Green Racing

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Re: CB550 Higher rev's
« Reply #22 on: March 20, 2012, 04:27:51 PM »
That's about right Brent. Tews, just 7,000rpm, I was  supprised and I've buzzed one.
They will spin up to over 20,000rpm. :o :o :o

Sam. ;)
C95 sprint bike.
CB95 hybrid race bike
CB95 race bike
CB92
RS 175. sprint/land speed bike
JMR Racing CB750A street ET drag bike

Offline Bill/BentON Racing

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Re: CB550 Higher rev's
« Reply #23 on: March 20, 2012, 05:50:19 PM »
Ya'll SICK,but we could have a beer or two! ;) Got a NOS 650 head '79 if interested.PM me.Bill
BentON Racing Website
OEM Parts | Service | Custom Builds
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Over 35 years of experience working on vintage motorcycles, with a speciality in Honda SOHC/4 with a focus on the CB750 and other models as well from 1966 - 1985.
______________________________________
1993 HRC RS125 | 1984 NS400R | 1974 Honda CB750/836cc (Calendar Girl) | 1972 CB 500/550 Yoshi Kitted 590cc | 1965 Honda CB450 Black Bomber | 1972 Suzuki T350 | 1973 88cc | Z50/Falcons Pit Bike | 1967 CA100| 1974 CB350 (400F motor)...and more.
______________________________________
See our latest build 'Captain Marvel' CLICK HERE

Offline Tews19

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Re: CB550 Higher rev's
« Reply #24 on: March 20, 2012, 07:43:41 PM »
AH I didn't mean to offend Sam. I know nothing when it comes to performance.. I'm still in the " these are so cool" phase for the SOHC's. But the 31 page thread CR thread has got my attention. It will take me a while to read all.
1969 Honda CB750... Basket case
1970 Honda CB750 survivor.