Topic: '78 cb550 62,000 miles but looks and performs great

[Bemil]

Hello to anybody looking!
 I'm a newbie for working on bikes and engines and not always sure what I'm looking at. Currently I'm checking out a '78 cb550 with (gulp) 66,000 miles. The bike was rebuilt 5 years ago according to the seller, a good job as far as I can tell, looks great seems to perform as good as my other cb's with 14,000 to 24,000 miles, doesn't look like oil is leaking, no smoke from the exhaust, sounds good, has not had a top end rebuild.. It's registered, titled, ridden weekly and he wants $900. How concerned should I be about the 66k on the speedo and what should I be looking for.
Thanks for any help.
Bemil

[Stev-o]

Welcome bemil.  You saythe bike was rebuilt 5 years ago but the top end wasn't? Is that correct? 
These motors have been known to go 100K w/o a rebuild if properly maintained.
I would have a compression check performed, that will tell you if it is within spec.

[Bemil]

Thanks for the reply! Yes, it was rebuilt 5 years ago, mostly cosmetic it sounds like. The guy seems particular, you could almost eat off the floor in his garage. A compression test sounds like a good idea, I'll figure that out. $900 seems good for the condition, so, maybe I shouldn t be so afraid of the mileage. I know it's always a crap shoot, I've made some not so good buying decisions in the past, just trying not to do it again.
thanks!

[Stev-o]

Have you seen it in person yet?  If not, go look at it. See how it runs, then make a decision. $900 is not a lot of money but you could easily spend that much on a motor rebuild. Good luck.

[InTheStreet]

My 75 was neglected and abused.  With 52,000, I am tearing it down because it needs a primary chain and a valve seal.  It still ran great when the oil leaking past the valve seal didn't start to foul out the plug.  So far, everything else seems like it would have been fine for many more miles.  The primary probably wore faster than normal from being ridden with poorly (or not at all) adjusted carbs and points so far out of whack that 1 and 4 were only kinda firing.  That said, I'm still in the tear-down process and haven't actually put a mic' on anything yet.

[db22]

Welcome, Bemil, and keep us posted on you decision. InTheStreet, I will be interested to hear about your progress in restoring your '75. My 1975 CB550K had only 12,000 on the odo when I got it, but I will never be sure about anything on the bike, since it was partly disassembled and missing a few things when I got it. Still, I am really enjoying it and I wish you success in your restoration.

[TwoTired]

With mileage like that, the only thing I'd worry about would be the primary chain.  It has no tensioner.  And a worn chain will start chewing on the engine cases.  For everything else, continuous/regular operation is a good thing.  If it runs well and doesn't leak, $900 could be a good buy.  Of course, that is said without ever examining a specimen bike with 34 years of individually unique history.

It will have had several drive chains, sprocket replacements, tire replacements, head bearing replacement, swing arm bearings, wheel bearings, etc.  Though, it IS possible that each of these routine repairs were done properly, by owners that truly cared for top notch, knowledgeable work, rather than minimum cash outlay.

Cheers,

[bjbuchanan]

If it is a clean bike and runs buy it. You can ride it and if it blows the engine you can rebuild yourself or puck up an easy swap engine for like 400. It seems a win win to me if its a good vike. Andddd the wngine could always run like a top as well, just a thought