Topic: 75 CB550 Rebuild / Restart

[DrTowner]

Hey everybody, I joined a year ago or so and have been sitting back and reading and trying to do some learning.  I have been neglecting a 1975 CB550 I have.  I guess I have finally narrowed down which way I want to go with it and have started to collect some parts.

This is how it looks now....



The Wheels....



Some Parts...



In the beginning I had this bike running and I kind of went the style route instead of really diving into making this bike a great solid rider.

My plan now is really get to work and do things right and do some good old fashion learning.

I am a pretty handy guy, but I have never worked on one of these SOHC engines.  So I have a few start off questions....

1.  I would like to rebuild and repaint this engine, is it feasible for someone to do this with the aid of this forum and some youtube videos? with some quality learning along the way?

2. Does anyone have a list or a thread that lists some concrete areas that should be covered when rebuilding an engine?

Anyways thanks for such a great place to find information, learn and be inspired.

[Bankerdanny]

1. Absolutely. Between the shop manual and this site I am sure that you would be able to rebuild the engine.

Now the question is, why? Is it high miles? Does have poor compression? Burn oil? The SOHC4 is pretty robust and can cover a lot of miles before needing a full rebuild. It is not hard to paint an assembled engine. I did mine last month.

2. If you decide to tear it apart you determine what to replace by visual inspection and measurement.

The 500's had some transmission issues, but I don't think there was any particular weak spot on the 550 to look for.

[davidtime]

Danny is right about the forum getting you through this. To me it looks like the engine is pretty clean. I have 14k on the bike I am putting together and when I opened it up the thing looked brand new.

I painted my engine assembled and it turned out alright. My advice is to be patient and prep it right. I had a couple trouble spots on the motor due to not enough cleaning. I think a pressure washer would make it much cleaner and use plenty of degreaser. Search the forum for good tips.

[jtran000]

hey fellow builder/learner!  I just started tearing into my build also and everyone here as been super helpful.  don't be afraid to ask questions even if they sound stupid.  for engine rebuilds see socomoto's videos on you tube, here's the link to his channel.  very good vids in there that give you a visual idea what to do.  I'm more of a visual learner and sometimes sifting thru all the threads gets my brain all boggled up so vid is nice to watch.

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7je6utExaNLmiVOZT77c4g

[goldarrow]

If you're letting go of those pipes, I'd be interested.

In al seriousness, Looking forward to see and hear it runs.  Nice pipes

[free85]

Good luck and welcome!

I have a 78 CB550. And this is my first bike as well. Allow me to "pay it forward" with some things I've learned over the last month.

Start with a tune up. No. Really. Just see how she runs with a tune up. I could have done this, and had I my bike would be on the road right now. I didn't need to tear her apart. That said I am learning an awful lot.

Evaluate the parts you think you need. Then take whatever you've decided to replace apart and look at it. I thought it would be smart to "order forward" parts that I assumed would need replacing. When I got into my bike I didn't need about $200 worth of the parts I ordered. And I'm not talking "Oh, this looks a little old/beat up but will probably work." I'm talking "Holy hell... this part looks BRAND NEW and shows no wear (or exceptionally little wear)". It's been an amazing and humbling experience for a noob.

If you're taking the head off, do it right. There's a bolt pattern. The same goes for putting it back on. I "followed the rules" putting the head back on, but didn't follow the bolt pattern taking it off and it's causing me some "do I have bent valves?" anxiety. 

OH - My favorite - Do some research to see if your carbs have felt washers in them. Mine did, until the carb cleaner ate them out... These are made of unobtainium. And now I am stuck with the task of punching these little washers.

Everyone here is pretty spectacular and helpful. Most of the things I've needed have been addressed before, 400 times, in pretty clear terms.

I hope you enjoy your project and it turns out well, on time, and in budget!

[davidtime]

"OH - My favorite - Do some research to see if your carbs have felt washers in them. Mine did, until the carb cleaner ate them out... These are made of unobtainium. And now I am stuck with the task of punching these little washers. "

I can't believe this is a word. I thought for sure someone got one over on you with that one as a prank.

[free85]

"OH - My favorite - Do some research to see if your carbs have felt washers in them. Mine did, until the carb cleaner ate them out... These are made of unobtainium. And now I am stuck with the task of punching these little washers. "

I can't believe this is a word. I thought for sure someone got one over on you with that one as a prank.

Haha, no. It's just a word I like to use for parts that I can't find easily... And the felt fits that description pretty well.

[Bankerdanny]

Not an official word, but a common one among car/bike restorers.

When I was refreshing my first 550 2 years ago somone posted instructions on how to make your own replacement felt washers.