Topic: Tips and tricks for successful 1976 CB550K ownership

[mill1640]

Hey guys,

Newbie here and proud owner of my first SOHC vintage Japanese bike.
Recently bought a 1976 CB550K.

Not a mechanic, not a bike expert, but I'm trying to learn everything I can.
I'm a late bloomer, but I guess we all had to start somewhere.

The bike I picked up is road-ready and I haven't found a single problem with it yet--slight lag at 80mph--any idea why that might be? It has been stored for 2 years so I changed out the gas and added some seafoam--hoping that remedies the issue. Your thoughts?

It has some rusty bolts here and there that I plan to replace, but other than that it needs no work--tires, battery, and drive chain are brand new, recently tuned, fresh oil and gas (it was stored in a heated garage for the last two years). So what's the point of this post? I just wanna learn as much as I can about my bike. Tips, tricks, dos, don'ts--anything information that could be beneficial. Where to buy parts, anything mechanically I should watch out for--anything and everything. I know this is a broad topic for discussion, but you guys are the experts and I know you know it all.

Help me compile the "Vintage Japanese Motorcycles for Dummies" book.

Thanks so much for all your help.

Josh

[Dimitri13]

Clean the carbs thoroughly. That means drop the emulsion tubes, shoot compressed air through every orifice, replace rubbers and maybe jets/needles with authentic Keihin parts (if they're not marked Keihin then they're not authentic).

Perform a 3000 mile tune-up. Valves, timing/points, plugs, check plug wires/caps (probably a good idea to replace them regardless), clutch adjustment, chain slack, etc.

Read everything you can. All the FAQs especially.

p.s. Very beautiful bike, and welcome to the forum.

[db22]

Classy bike -- you chose well. Download the original Honda shop manual from this site, buy good quality tools, consider buying your own carb sych gauges (they don't cost any more than one visit to a repair shop to have it done, and it's easier than you think to do it yourself).

Slight lag at 80? You ride a 420 lb. bike at 80 very much? Braver man than me!

Enjoy your 550!

[RAFster122s]

Check the resistance of the coils, wires and spark plug caps. New NGK 5k ohm caps and resistor plugs that Hondaman recommends would be my recommendation.
Cutting 1/4" off the wire end and replacing the plug caps if out of range is recommended. Original caps specs and range is discussed in at least one of the threads.
+1 on carb teardown and fastidious cleaning and genuine Keihin parts.
If the bike isn't going to be ridden regularly you need to consider the ethanol fuels breakdown and absorb water. Seafoam I like to use just to keep things clean and fuel a bit more stable. But if the bike is going to sit for a bit, then draining the carb bowls is recommended.

[Untold]

Keep an eye out for a valve cover from a '77 or '78 550.  There is a known issue with the rocker shafts developing play, and the later model versions had an improved rocker cover to address this issue.

[Gman]

And, double check to make sure the chain isn't an o-ring chain.  They are slightly too wide and can rub against the case and gouge a hole in it.  You can run one if you get offset sprockets, but many people have "upgraded" without realizing the potential damage.

G

[dave500]

if its running fine dont tamper too much with carbs etc,you might just clean all the electrical connectors you can find,replace the brake fluid and fork oil if its not already done,you could tap any dust out of the air filter,if it starts easy etc leave it be as youve mentioned your just learning about bikes etc,enjoy riding it.

[Bankerdanny]

I'm going to disagree with Dimitri. If it runs well leave the carbs alone. Maybe you can get it to run slightly better, but I can assure you that as a newby to this sort of think you are far more likely to make it run worse.

[dave500]

on the fuel tap/valve underneath is a filter bowl,if you switch the fuel to off you can remove this and see if it has any gunk in it,thats about as far as it sounds you need to tweak any fuel issues,that and make sure the fuel cap vent is clear.