Author Topic: My 1975 cb550f. Sidecover Work (Read 22931 times)

Tim. · « **Reply #25 on:** June 16, 2006, 03:33:26 AM »

Ok ok - calm down

You need your manuals - both parts and service. The Service Manual is available here:

http://www.cryscom.nb.ca/PDF_Docs/CB500-550_Manual.pdf

It is 80MB to download and is very high quality.

You can go here for the Service and Parts manual pages - I have it in PDF as well, and can get it to you.

http://community.webshots.com/user/cb550f

If I recall the original bolt is like that. I have a stainless allen head bolt on mine now. I don't remember how it stays in place for you to tighten it however. If it doesn't work, replace it with a normal bolt (stainless steel).

Don't do anything to the bike without looking at the manuals.

Fish · « **Reply #26 on:** June 16, 2006, 07:25:13 AM »

tintin,

Sorry that I came across that I have to calm down. Thank you for the links.
I wasn't going to do anything to the bike until I have a shop manual - but I thought it would be fine to clean it up a bit first.
I will probably just take it to the shop to see if they can get this bolt free. It looks like it was over-tightened at one point because the square washers on either side of the bolt have been pulled right into the metal of the clamp and are touching each other in the middle even though the rest of the clap face is separated.
I was just wondering if anyone out there is familiar with this part. Looking at it, it is possible that the round head was never intended to turn but a nut on the other end was to do the tightening. If that is the case, then the nut has since been lost and the square washer buried in the metal now makes it impossible to back it out. When I figure out how to fix it, I will post here in case anyone else ever comes across a similar problem.

- Chad

Fish · « **Reply #27 on:** June 17, 2006, 03:10:35 PM »

I just ordered all of the items on my list, some of them weren't in stock and the manual was unfortunately one of them - I guess I'm grounded for a bit.
The only thing that I didn't have any luck with was new brake line. I told the parts guy that I needed some and he said "it's discontinued". I explained that I didn't want old brake line, but rather new brake line... like the stuff that was on all of the motorcycles that surrounded us

. It sounds like they don't sell it that way and I would have to come up with a modern compatable model that required the same length, diameter, etc and then oder it that way. Is this what you guys do or is there a place where a person can buy it by the foot? I am not really interested in the braided after market stuff, the regular flavour is fine.

Thanks,
Chad

csendker · « **Reply #28 on:** June 17, 2006, 06:43:31 PM »

http://www.siriusconinc.com/carb/parts.asp?category=10&supplier=6

I got mine from these guys. They do e-bay also, I got my set for about $10, both upper & lower.

bryanj · « **Reply #29 on:** June 18, 2006, 05:31:26 AM »

The 750 sohc brake lines will fit or get the stainless "Goodrich" type

Fish · « **Reply #30 on:** June 18, 2006, 09:28:18 PM »

Thanks for the info and links guys!!! I wish I could find them for $10 like you did. Maybe when my brake rebuild kit and shop manual come in, I will pull the line and take it with me to match up lengths.

I had some family over for dinner today and a couple of them were giving me a hard time about how I bought the bike and have never even started it. The truth is, I'd never tried to start it because I didn't want to be disappointed if it didn't $:-\$ . However, after everyone left, I went outside, connected the freshly charged battery, and connected the fuel lines and opened the petcock. I turned the key and from the look of the headlight and idiot lights I knew right away that the battery was pooched.
No problem, I hooked up the battery charger to the terminals and immediately my electrical perked up. The bulbs all worked but there was no "blink" to the signal lights. The next thing I learned was that the starter definitely does not work - when I pressed the button all I heard was a faint 'buzz' from somewhere under me, could have been my imagination even. No problem - having a kickstart is so awesome! I kicked on it a few times (or about 20) and only managed to produce a few barks. As a last effort I flipped the choke and tried some more. On the third attempt it fired right up! You must remember that I still have my muffler off so the unholy racket from the header pipes could probably be heard from across town

. I held the cannister in place and even without the exhaust grommet or clamp, the din instantly became that Honda purr that I first heard when I was 14 years old with my '78 550. I didn't want to cause the engine any damage by running it without knowing what condition it is in so I hit the kill.

I was grinning ear to ear and just about to put the tarp back on when the thought came to me, "maybe it was just a fluke... will it do that again?" I jumped back on to start it again, but my joy turned to dismay as I kicked and kicked. Wait a sec, what's this? The kill switch was still on

. I switched it to run and, boom, all hell broke loose again. I shut it down and got off...

.... and one more time, back on, and she fired right up! That was enough, I was satisfied. There may be a bunch of stuff wrong with this cycle but I now know that there is a bunch of stuff right with it as well. She's now tarped up and put away until I am ready to get to work.

One thing I did notice is that it looks like the front wheel is crooked. No really, when the handle bars and headlight are facing straight forward, the front tire looks like it is a few degrees to the right. I have measured the forks thinking that maybe one was low on oil and shorter than the other but that's not it. Anyone have any idea what the problem might be? It looks like the bike has been down before, the tack housing and rear right signal are bent/scraped. Is this going to be expensive ?

- Chad

TwoTired · « **Reply #31 on:** June 18, 2006, 09:38:42 PM »

Quote from: Fish on June 18, 2006, 09:28:18 PM

One thing I did notice is that it looks like the front wheel is crooked. No really, when the handle bars and headlight are facing straight forward, the front tire looks like it is a few degrees to the right. I have measured the forks thinking that maybe one was low on oil and shorter than the other but that's not it. Anyone have any idea what the problem might be? It looks like the bike has been down before, the tack housing and rear right signal are bent/scraped. Is this going to be expensive ?

Pick one or more...
Forks bent
Forks racked askew in the triple trees.
Handle bars bent.
Upper fork covers/headlight ears bent.

Front end needs a post accident rebuild/inspection.

Cheers,

Fish · « **Reply #32 on:** June 18, 2006, 09:51:07 PM »

From all the time I spent looking at it, I thought that it looked like the forks were askew in the triple tree but I wasn't sure if that was possible or not. If that's the case, I think that the headlight ears are also bent. The handle bars look like they are good and at any rate I was going off the center of the triple tree when checking the wheel. Bent forks are a definite possibility, and one that will probably keep me up at night until I know what the problem is

.
I will take it in to the shop when I have the carbs tuned and see what they think.

I really appreciate the help you've given me.

- Chad

TwoTired · « **Reply #33 on:** June 18, 2006, 10:49:21 PM »

Just occurred to me to check the steering stops for damage.

Also, if your fork seals are leaking, bent forks can be a cause. (What do you need sleep for, anyway?)

I had a curb incident with my 77 Cb550F. Three months later, my fork seal began leaking. During the fork seal change I rolled the fork tube across my table saw top, thump, thump, thump. About a 1/32 to 1/16 bend in the center.

I found and marked the crown point and was able to bend it straight again with strategic blocking and a 12 ton press... carefully. New seals, no leaks, straight bars, straight wheel. Life is good. Only cost me 5-6 hours and new fork seals.

Jumping curbs is not recommended. But, it beats ramming cars or having them ram you.

Cheers,

Tim. · « **Reply #34 on:** June 19, 2006, 08:18:23 AM »

What manual are you waiting on? Anything you buy will be the same as the free downloaded version linked in the posts above. It's high quality and good to print.

csendker · « **Reply #35 on:** June 19, 2006, 08:52:35 AM »

Quote

It's high quality and good to print.

Exactly. I just passed up a real copy last night for $9.99. I figured why? Saved my $10 for some other widget; I already have it via download. I'll wait to dig up a copy of the original when I'm rich and famous.

Fish · « **Reply #36 on:** June 19, 2006, 09:29:54 AM »

It is only a clymer manual and I spent a good deal more than $10

. The only reason is because I dont have a printer and would like to have something next to my bike that I can refer to ... I guess I could take the computer outside

csendker · « **Reply #37 on:** June 19, 2006, 09:56:27 AM »

550F Owner's manuals:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1975-Honda-CB550-F-Original-Owners-Manual_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ10066QQitemZ4651848201QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/HONDA-OWNERS-MANUAL-OWNER-1974-CB-550-F-CB550-CUSTOM-F_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ34237QQitemZ8075880670QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

Fish · « **Reply #38 on:** June 20, 2006, 12:47:23 PM »

Thanks csendker,
I will probably end up buying one of those so that I have all the original stuff. The shop manual was the one that I was waiting for though... it cost about $40 Canadian.

normalguy,
I just saw your new avatar on page two. Those pipes look awesome. Mine cleaned up really well but number two still has black pits in it that I don't know if I can get out or not. Looking good.

- Chad

Tim. · « **Reply #39 on:** June 20, 2006, 04:43:20 PM »

Fish - only buy the owners manual if you're restoring the bike to concours quality and want all the bits. There's nothing in there you need if you have the service manual.

I have an original perfect condition Honda Service manual and the original Parts manual as well. Maybe we can make a package deal on the manuals and a set of sidecovers

Surely someone you know has a printer they can use? Work? School? If you seriously can't get it printed, let me know and I'll print off a copy and mail it to you.

csendker · « **Reply #40 on:** June 20, 2006, 05:07:58 PM »

Tin- I agree that nothing beats the service manual, and the owner's manual is repetative, but it fits under the seat and it's kind of nice having it on the road. I don't normally drag along my service manual...

By the way, thanks for the pdf, I printed it off, double sided and it's WAY better than my other copy

Fish · « **Reply #41 on:** June 20, 2006, 06:03:47 PM »

tintin,
I'm currently harrassing a guy for his sidecovers but I would definitely be interested in what you wanted for your package deal

.

Ever since csendker mentioned it, I've felt like I need to have the owners manual just so the bike is complete - curse you

.

Unfortunately it's the taxpayers that would pick up the bill for any printing I did at work... maybe I'll just throw it on a disk and take it to one of those copy centers like Staples or something. I know, I should buy a printer... maybe then my computer could be used for more than just online forums and video games

.

- Chad

Tim. · « **Reply #42 on:** June 20, 2006, 06:19:35 PM »

Don't bother with Staples etc - they'll charge you at least $0.10 a page and there are almost 200 pages.

needswork · « **Reply #43 on:** June 20, 2006, 07:47:55 PM »

Hi Fish.
I missed this thread earlier, congratulations, your story is a lot like mine. I bought my '78 550K last summer for $400 CDN, did some clean up and odds and ends and took it to a shop to get it safetied (tires, battery, carb clean, chain, master brake re-build, points, timing and a few other things). There were (and still are) minor carb issues with the aftermarket pipes and pods. The mechanic was pretty good to me I thought and encouraged me to do my own maintenance and call him if I had questions. So that was my plan, get it on the road, and take care of the rest myself.
So I got the bike on the road late last summer and since then I've been fixing up what problems pop up and tweaking this and that. I can't believe how easy these bikes are to work on. I was intimidated at first but everytime there's a problem, I check this site (unbelieveable wealth of information and helpful people), then I try to fix the problem and whoa! it works! How cool is that?

Good luck!

Fish · « **Reply #44 on:** June 20, 2006, 08:13:21 PM »

needswork,
Thanks! $400 - and I thought I got a good deal. I can't wait to start to work on this thing but I feel like I'm going in a million directions at once. As soon as all my parts show up, I am going to make a list and then start checking them off one at a time.
I too have been really impressed with the members on this board. My previous hobby was salt water aquariums and my specialty was 'nano-reefs' - kinda the bonsai approach, the smaller the better (and more difficult). I had a couple really revolutionary systems and thought I knew a thing or two. When I finally decided to buy this bike, I had to sell off all of my aquarium stuff to pay for it, and now I'm back to being a complete noob

. It was a really nice surprise to find how helpful everyone here was and I felt right at home. Maybe once I get some experience, I might learn a thing or two and actually be able to help someone else out

.

- Chad

needswork · « **Reply #45 on:** June 20, 2006, 08:20:09 PM »

Quote from: Fish on June 20, 2006, 08:13:21 PM

needswork,
Thanks! $400 - and I thought I got a good deal. I can't wait to start to work on this thing but I feel like I'm going in a million directions at once. As soon as all my parts show up, I am going to make a list and then start checking them off one at a time.
I too have been really impressed with the members on this board. My previous hobby was salt water aquariums and my specialty was 'nano-reefs' - kinda the bonsai approach, the smaller the better (and more difficult). I had a couple really revolutionary systems and thought I knew a thing or two. When I finally decided to buy this bike, I had to sell off all of my aquarium stuff to pay for it, and now I'm back to being a complete noob . It was a really nice surprise to find how helpful everyone here was and I felt right at home. Maybe once I get some experience, I might learn a thing or two and actually be able to help someone else out .

- Chad

hehe, I had started my bike with a check list too, there was too much to keep track of. I have an aquarium (actually 3 of them).

Fish · « **Reply #46 on:** June 20, 2006, 08:36:29 PM »

Haha you bugger. I went by 'ninjafish' on reefcentral.com and 'Fish' on nano-reef.com and canreef.com.

- Chad

Fish · « **Reply #47 on:** June 22, 2006, 06:44:54 PM »

I just received a call from the Honda shop parts guy telling me that the muffler sealing gasket I ordered has been discontinued. He was not very helpful in suggesting a replacement either. Has anyone else run into this problem?
I am assuming that the purpose of the gasket is to prevent exhaust gas from escaping between the header pipes and muffler. Would it work if I used a couple loops of that tape that some people wrap their pipes with? It should make a seal, and withstand the temperatures as well.
While I'm on the subject, I did manage to get the muffler band clamp off of my muffler but it's completely fubar'd - I can't open it up at all. Instead of buying a new one, can I just use radiator hose type clamps to tighten the muffler on? I know, ...tape instead of a grommet, hose clamps instead of muffler band... don't worry, I'll be able to cover the whole mess up with the muffler stay

. So it will look good... but do you forsee any problems?

- Chad

Tim. · « **Reply #48 on:** June 22, 2006, 07:56:09 PM »

Don't bother with that crap tape.

www.westernhillshonda.com had the gasket when I did my 550. They ship to Canada. Get a few other bits while you're there to save a bit on shipping.

https://www.westernhillshonda.com/cgi-bin/findpart.exe?T1=&T3=&T2=390&D1=All&B1=Search

It is part number 18391-390-000 They have 10 of them at $13.95 each.

Tim. · « **Reply #49 on:** June 22, 2006, 08:01:13 PM »

Quote from: Fish on June 22, 2006, 06:44:54 PM

...While I'm on the subject, I did manage to get the muffler band clamp off of my muffler but it's completely fubar'd - I can't open it up at all. Instead of buying a new one, can I just use radiator hose type clamps to tighten the muffler on? I know, ...tape instead of a grommet, hose clamps instead of muffler band... don't worry, I'll be able to cover the whole mess up with the muffler stay . So it will look good... but do you forsee any problems?

- Chad

Which clamp do you mean? The one that will tighten over the muffler and the gasket you're missing? You might be able to use another clamp for that, or WHH has it as well for $31. It's part number 18371-390-000

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Author Topic: My 1975 cb550f. Sidecover Work (Read 22931 times)