Topic: First bike ! 76 cb550

[Cbpunk]

Bought this 76 cb550 two weeks ago. Have had it home and been cleaning it like mad. The bike is in great shape and fires right up and growls beautifully. This was the bike I held out for and I'm so glad I've picked it up. There's some work to do of course - cosmetically it needs new bars. There are some rough looking high pullback bars on it. And a cruiser king/queen seat which will have to go as well. I just got some nice Daytona bars for it and are shopping for nos seat. Other than getting off the rest of the grime it's a real pretty ride and needs nothing more. Mechanically - it takes a good 5 min of throttle massaging to get her warm enough to idle without stalling , but I think that's pretty normal for a cold starting 36 yr old bike. But maybe a tip would help if anyone has one. I just ordered iridium plugs to help w starting and idling. Hope that will help. Other than that she runs strong and all electrical ,tires ,chain,battery, ignition, brakes, clutch, chrome and paint are great. So looking forward to getting this bike looking great and on the road eating up some serious mileage. I tried uploading a pic but it says file too large. Oh well.

Dan

[xsmooth69x]

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=88853.0

first page first post

you wasted your money on plugs. just get the NGK's these bikes are built around. you gain nothing with expensive plugs. spend the money on boots and wires if your worried about spark.

and points

battery

all the wires

rebuild carbs

check carb boots to airbox rubber for cracks

my bike starts with the first kick without the choke. i live in MN. fyi u can make that not happen

[Cbpunk]

Boots n wires look good. Carbs to be tackled down road. New battery. Haven't checked points yet but soon. Needed plugs so got iridium , only 7$ on eBay so no real big bucks wasted.

[xsmooth69x]

ya also when you re build the carbs, maybe carb syncing the bike, checking the air fuel ratio popping spark plugs in and out changing them out etc. keeping a couple sets on hand are also good too but not at $7 a piece..... also are they the right temperature? 

[Cbpunk]

Haven't received em yet. And yes syncing carbs when I clean or rebuild em is on the list.

[goldarrow]

Denso x22es-u for city commute or x24es-u for freeways. $2.50 each on amazon. 

[Gman]

Dan,
Welcome to the forum.   I have a 76 cb550, as well.  Great bike; you'll enjoy it! 

Pretty much the consensus when you pick up a new old bike is that the first thing you should do is the 3000 mile maintenance.  It will possibly solve any bugs you are having (with idle, etc.), will give you the heads up on any potential issues before they happen, and, will familiarize you with the bikes operation/mechanics, so when something does act up, you'll be in a good position to diagnose and fix it.  There's a shop manual on the faq page that you can download, but you should also pick up a Clymers or Haynes to use for reference.  It sounds like you know what you're doing, but if you run into trouble, there's a ton of info on the forum if you search, and if that fails there are a plethora of helpful folks will be ble to help.


Where in jersey are you?  I'm in MN now, but spent 6 years in Lawrenceville.  Used to love riding to the shore at night when there was no traffic...


Cheers,
G

[cosmicvision]

Choke helps with soggy idle when cold, and the big idle screw on the carb just in front of your right leg when sitting on the bike.

+1 on the 3,000 mile tuneup. None of it's hard, track down a shop manual if you can to make it easier. You'll know your way around the engine pretty well after one go-round.

As has also been mentioned, these engines prefer regular ol' plugs and regular ol' oil (non-synthetic). Stock air box & stock exhaust seem to be the ideal formula, from the standpoint of pure reliability.

Lots of smiles to be had on these bikes, welcome to the club

[Cbpunk]

G
Thanks for the tips on FAQ link. Ill ck it out. I barely have a working knowledge of motorcycle maintenance so ill be relying on my trusty original manual and another that the previous owner included thankfully. And of course the wealth of knowledge that this site provides. I have a couple of gear head buddies that are pumped up about helping me out so that's a plus too.
I love right outside lbi in Manahawkin and really looking forward to exploring the county roads north and west of me. Should be a blast. Any ideas on how to get picture files that are too large to upload from my iphone ?

Thanks for the nice welcome to the forum. Ill post updates on progress as it goes!
Thanks
Dan

[Duanob]

Welcome to the board, I am partial to thje 76 550s I have 2 of them! A K and F model.

Here is a tune up schedule that will get you started. After the 3000 mile tune up then if it still runs crappy or hard starting then go into the carbs. A vacuum sync should be the last thing you do.

As far as a seat if you can verify your pan is OEM honda for the cb550 then there are some good seat covers available for the K model at least. You can have some new foam put in that is way better than original. You can play around with half high density and half memory foam for a super comfy seat. Mine looks like original.

And don't forget to check your brakes. Your life depends on them. Lots of info on how to go about this here. Just use the search.

Good luck and have some fun they are nice bikes to ride when they tuned well.

[pilotguy1050]

So, where's the picture of the bike, Man?  Cmon....

[matt mattison]

G
Thanks for the tips on FAQ link. Ill ck it out. I barely have a working knowledge of motorcycle maintenance so ill be relying on my trusty original manual and another that the previous owner included thankfully. And of course the wealth of knowledge that this site provides. I have a couple of gear head buddies that are pumped up about helping me out so that's a plus too.
I love right outside lbi in Manahawkin and really looking forward to exploring the county roads north and west of me. Should be a blast. Any ideas on how to get picture files that are too large to upload from my iphone ?

Thanks for the nice welcome to the forum. Ill post updates on progress as it goes!
Thanks
Dan

Forked River here! Do the tune up as others has suggested. Also, you need to perform an ohm test on those boots to determine if there good. Because they "look ok" don't mean they are. Trapani's in Waretown has spark plug boots for your bike, and other parts.

F

[Duanob]

regarding boots. Most times you can unscrew the spark plug boots (caps) and cut 1/8 - 1/4" off the end of the wire to get to good clean copper again and then screw the cap back on.

[SUELZER]

+1 for a photo 

[cosmicvision]

Ya mon pics!

[Cbpunk]

Hey everyone,
Thanks for the nice welcome. Took it out for first time today. First ride ever as a matter of fact. What a blast! I'd love to get some pics up but every time I try to upload a pic the file is too large. Any ideas ?
Thanks
Dan

[Cbpunk]

Here's a pic

[bollingball]

Here's a pic

That is the same seat and bars that came on my bike Pretty popular upgrade back then. I have mine back close to stock now. As ugly as that seat is it is comfortable on a 100 mile+ trip but is is ugly did I mention it was ugly Save the pan and hinges
Ken

[Bankerdanny]

Ugly on the bike, but beautiful under your ass when you are on the road for multiple hours

[Schnell]

Butt-ugly seat. Ha, ha!

[Cbpunk]

Agreed ! Ugly but comfy. Ill keep it once I replace it , for the odd occasion where ill be takin the lady out for an extra long ride etc.

[Cbpunk]

Am I being delusional or is it not possible to get an original seat in decent shape for under $100? Been on eBay for couple weeks looking and I haven't seen much. Any suggestions ?

[bollingball]

Ugly on the bike, but beautiful under your ass when you are on the road for multiple hours

That is right. I kept it and change it up when I take a trip now any thing over 50 miles. My ass is getting thinner
Ken

[Cbpunk]

Saw a seat on eBay today for $50 bucks and before I could get confirmation from seller about compatibility it was sold. So pissed. Looked like was in great shape. Oh well. 

[Bankerdanny]

Any 550 seat should fit. I dropped a beat up '78 K seat on my '75 frame and it fit the hinges and seat lock no problem.