Topic: Hi from Minnesota!

[jdtim]

Greetings all!

My name is Tim, and I'm new to the bike world. I've been a longtime admirer of motorcycles in general, but never had the funds nor the time to get one of my own. Long story short, now I do!

I've always been a fan of the cb series. I've only heard nothing be great things about them. So what better place to learn more, then sohc4?

So that's why I'm here. To absorb knowledge, and to hopefully own one (preferably cb550  ) for myself one day!

Cheers!
-tim

[dhall57]

Welcome from North Carolina Tim. Great forum and plenty of help and info here. The CB550 is a good choice. I had a 76 CB550 back in the 70's and their great bikes. Not as many 550's out there as 750's, but keep your eyes open and you'll find one. Check this one out.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Honda-CB-1976-honda-cb-550-unrestored-/111154231428?pt=US_motorcycles&hash=item19e14ef884&vxp=mtr

[tool14]

welcome,great place to learn about bike.

[70CB750]

Welcome!

[jude0007]

Tim,

Welcome, I live in Minneapolis myself. Currently working on a few CB projects.

-Nick

[WrenchMonkey]

Welcome!  A 550 is bound to pop up sooner or later.  I've seen a few of them for sale in the classifieds here on SOHC4 from time to time.

[vance]

Welcome to the forum. There are many members from the twin cities. I hail from Robbinsdale myself. Keep your eye on Craigslist for SOHCs.

[jdtim]

Wow, thanks for the warm welcome! I can see this place will be a wealth of friendliness and knowledge for when I find my CB!

Question for you guys:
I'm VERY new to bikes, and will be my first time diving into them. Do you guys think a cb750 would be more of a feat for me to take on than the cb550? I'm gravitating toward the 550 because it's less motor. Plus I'm kind of short (5'6"), and feel as if the 550 may be a better for me. What do you guys think?

Tim,
Welcome, I live in Minneapolis myself. Currently working on a few CB projects.
-Nick

How are the projects going? Are you tracking the progress you're making on them?

Welcome to the forum. There are many members from the twin cities. I hail from Robbinsdale myself. Keep your eye on Craigslist for SOHCs.

Sweet! More MN folks! I had no idea there were that many CB lovers nearby! And yes vance, I've been trolling the  classifieds for quite some time. Hopefully a good deal will pop up =)

-tim

[WrenchMonkey]

Question for you guys:
I'm VERY new to bikes, and will be my first time diving into them. Do you guys think a cb750 would be more of a feat for me to take on than the cb550? I'm gravitating toward the 550 because it's less motor. Plus I'm kind of short (5'6"), and feel as if the 550 may be a better for me. What do you guys think?

The 750 is physically a large bike.  Not only is it tall and fairly heavy, but also quite wide.  I'm right at 6' tall and feel I'm almost to short.  Standing flat footed while astride the bike my crotch barely clears the seat.  For a first bike the 550 is just about perfect in my opinion.  YMMV

[KC_Northstar]

Welcome Tim!    I'm up in Ely.  This site will be a big help to you.  Lots of valuable info here.

KC

[BeSeeingYou]

There is little difference in seat height between the 550 and 750, 31.7 vs 31.9 inches so from that standpoint it matters little which one you get.  The 550 is lighter and will feel a bit easier to handle as well as push and move around the garage.  My XS650's are close in weight to the 550 and there is a noticable difference when I go from from them to the 750.  I would also say that I have never felt the 750 to be too much or too difficult to handle in any situation...except for pushing it around in the garage.   I am 5,11 and 160lbs.  Either would be a fine choice and are bikes you won't outgrow.  A 550 might feel less intimidating to a rookie and the 750 might feel huge but after some time in the saddle you will look back and wonder what all the fuss was about.  Check out the local bike nights and maybe get a close up look at a few.  3rd Thursday at Blue Cat Motors is coming up and is mostly vintage stuff.  The 1st Thursday at Dulanos is huge but seems to have fewer and fewer vintage bikes.  100's and 100's of bikes but this last time no more than a handful of CB's

[jdtim]

Welcome Tim!    I'm up in Ely.  This site will be a big help to you.  Lots of valuable info here.
KC

Sweet! Ely is quite a ways north lol. Do you ever make it to the cities?

There is little difference in seat height between the 550 and 750, 31.7 vs 31.9 inches so from that standpoint it matters little which one you get.  The 550 is lighter and will feel a bit easier to handle as well as push and move around the garage.  My XS650's are close in weight to the 550 and there is a noticable difference when I go from from them to the 750.  I would also say that I have never felt the 750 to be too much or too difficult to handle in any situation...except for pushing it around in the garage.   I am 5,11 and 160lbs.  Either would be a fine choice and are bikes you won't outgrow.  A 550 might feel less intimidating to a rookie and the 750 might feel huge but after some time in the saddle you will look back and wonder what all the fuss was about.  Check out the local bike nights and maybe get a close up look at a few.  3rd Thursday at Blue Cat Motors is coming up and is mostly vintage stuff.  The 1st Thursday at Dulanos is huge but seems to have fewer and fewer vintage bikes.  100's and 100's of bikes but this last time no more than a handful of CB's

Thank you very much for your input Wrenchmonkey, srust58, and everyone else. Well, I'm set. On the hunt for a CB550 now, hopefully in time before winter hits!

-tim

[RAFster122s]

Tim, welcome to SOHC4s. I like the 550 better than the 750, better & easier handling I think and will be a good bike for you. Easy to work on and most parts are available. Buy as nice a bike as you can afford. Things like chrome fenders and headlight ears are difficult to find in very nice to excellent shape, so buying one with nice ones already will have you spending less in the long run.

[goldarrow]

Greetings all!

My name is Tim, and I'm new to the bike world. I've been a longtime admirer of motorcycles in general, but never had the funds nor the time to get one of my own. Long story short, now I do!

I've always been a fan of the cb series. I've only heard nothing be great things about them. So what better place to learn more, then sohc4?

So that's why I'm here. To absorb knowledge, and to hopefully own one (preferably cb550  ) for myself one day!

Cheers!
-tim

Welcome Tim.  Make sure you read up a lot.  Not sure where you have heard nothing but great things about these bikes cuz all I hear is problems after problems.  Carbs on, carbs off, chain noises, oil leak, just to name a few.  Yet many of us have at least a few sohc4, including myself

[jdtim]

Greetings all!

My name is Tim, and I'm new to the bike world. I've been a longtime admirer of motorcycles in general, but never had the funds nor the time to get one of my own. Long story short, now I do!

I've always been a fan of the cb series. I've only heard nothing be great things about them. So what better place to learn more, then sohc4?

So that's why I'm here. To absorb knowledge, and to hopefully own one (preferably cb550  ) for myself one day!

Cheers!
-tim

Welcome Tim.  Make sure you read up a lot.  Not sure where you have heard nothing but great things about these bikes cuz all I hear is problems after problems.  Carbs on, carbs off, chain noises, oil leak, just to name a few.  Yet many of us have at least a few sohc4, including myself

Thanks for the welcome goldarrow, I'm already bookmarking all the informative stuff I find =). I pray that I don't run into too many headaches when I find the cb for me. But if I do, I feel much better knowing that there's a community like sohc4 to help me out.

Just saw your sig too btw. You have seen your fair share of cb's!

-tim

[BeSeeingYou]

Greetings all!

My name is Tim, and I'm new to the bike world. I've been a longtime admirer of motorcycles in general, but never had the funds nor the time to get one of my own. Long story short, now I do!

I've always been a fan of the cb series. I've only heard nothing be great things about them. So what better place to learn more, then sohc4?

So that's why I'm here. To absorb knowledge, and to hopefully own one (preferably cb550  ) for myself one day!

Cheers!
-tim

Welcome Tim.  Make sure you read up a lot.  Not sure where you have heard nothing but great things about these bikes cuz all I hear is problems after problems.  Carbs on, carbs off, chain noises, oil leak, just to name a few.  Yet many of us have at least a few sohc4, including myself

    I have long thought that many of these "problems" are self inflicted.  It seems the standard advice to any carb problem on the forum is to "take the carbs off, take them apart and clean them".  Well the carbs have never been off my 750F1 and it runs just fine.  My 79 XS650 I have had for 34 years and the carbs will come off for the first time this winter and I have racked up miles on this bike.  Just be skeptical of any advice that tells you to start ripping stuff apart at the first sign of a problem.
     RAFster offers some good advice.  Spend the money and get a bike in nice running and cosmetic condition...they are out there just be patient.  It will be cheaper in the long run than taking on a project.  Avoid somebody's half finished cafe/bobber/chopper project as well as ill maintained bikes with a dubious ownership history.   A stock bike in nice shape points to good owners over it's life.   If you take good care of it it should hold it's value.   Once you have a good running bike THEN you can take on another as a project if you so desire to test your mechanical skills.

[jdtim]

So after months of looking, I finally found a CB550 that fit my incredibly small budget. 1975 CB550 with 26.5k on the clock. I got it off an older fellow who got it from a lady friend of his that owed him $$. His lady friend had the bike sitting in her barn for 9yrs untouched since her husband had passed. So in essence, this was kind of like a barn find lol.

I JUST got it a couple of hours ago, and haven't had time to fully check it out yet. What I can see, is that it's going to take a lot of work. But i'm looking forward to the learning process =)

-Tim

[754]

Looks really good..hope you dont repaint it ..welcome..

[vance]

Nice find, Tim! Hope to see you out on the road soon.

[xsmooth69x]

Wow sweet find!

[spazz1984]

Wow never thought I would see ppl from the twin cities here that cool plus someone talking about bluecat lol
Tim welcome to the club and nice find too I'm from east side of St.Paul if you ever needed more help bluecat is a good place to stop by ask for ryan or rob good ppl ryan is a friend of mine

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[WrenchMonkey]

Nice find!!!  Looks to be in pretty good shape.  You'll have to source some of the front lighting parts if you don't plan on running with the Vetter fairing, but otherwise looks to be complete.  +1 on what 754 said.  I like the color!

[jdtim]

Looks really good..hope you dont repaint it ..welcome..

Before I actually got the bike, I had plans to paint it. But the more I look at it and work on it, the more the color grows on me. It kind of gives it character 

Nice find, Tim! Hope to see you out on the road soon.

Thanks! I'm hoping to have this thing going by next summer. I absolute deadline is next next summer 2015. I'm on an extremely tight budget, so it will be a slow-moving project.

Wow sweet find!

Thank YOU for giving me info on the MN laws!

Wow never thought I would see ppl from the twin cities here that cool plus someone talking about bluecat lol
Tim welcome to the club and nice find too I'm from east side of St.Paul if you ever needed more help bluecat is a good place to stop by ask for ryan or rob good ppl ryan is a friend of mine

I'll definitely keep that in mind, thanks!

Nice find!!!  Looks to be in pretty good shape.  You'll have to source some of the front lighting parts if you don't plan on running with the Vetter fairing, but otherwise looks to be complete.  +1 on what 754 said.  I like the color!

Yeah, I've been slowly looking around for a headlight. Not a huge priority yet, as I just want to get this thing started first. Keeping an eye out for one locally. And if I can't find one, there's always DCC or Cyclexchange.

Thanks for the support guys! I plan to start a project thread soon   
-Tim

[spazz1984]

Looks really good..hope you dont repaint it ..welcome..

Before I actually got the bike, I had plans to paint it. But the more I look at it and work on it, the more the color grows on me. It kind of gives it character 

Nice find, Tim! Hope to see you out on the road soon.

Thanks! I'm hoping to have this thing going by next summer. I absolute deadline is next next summer 2015. I'm on an extremely tight budget, so it will be a slow-moving project.

Wow sweet find!

Thank YOU for giving me info on the MN laws!

Wow never thought I would see ppl from the twin cities here that cool plus someone talking about bluecat lol
Tim welcome to the club and nice find too I'm from east side of St.Paul if you ever needed more help bluecat is a good place to stop by ask for ryan or rob good ppl ryan is a friend of mine

I'll definitely keep that in mind, thanks!

Nice find!!!  Looks to be in pretty good shape.  You'll have to source some of the front lighting parts if you don't plan on running with the Vetter fairing, but otherwise looks to be complete.  +1 on what 754 said.  I like the color!

Yeah, I've been slowly looking around for a headlight. Not a huge priority yet, as I just want to get this thing started first. Keeping an eye out for one locally. And if I can't find one, there's always DCC or Cyclexchange.

Thanks for the support guys! I plan to start a project thread soon   
-Tim

You could go down to sport wheels in jordan, mn off of 169 south its a salvage yard. I think its about 10 Acres of just bikes
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[jude0007]

I've personally had much better luck on ebay than Sport Wheels.  You can usually find the part, don't have to go search for it in 30,000 bikes and you don't get ripped off all from your couch (cheaper on ebay)!

[spazz1984]

I've shown them prices off eBay and got a better deal that way

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[kammery]

 Great find Tim !! Keep it all stock . I have owned  a CB550 for 28 years , love riding it . Good for around town and on the highway . If your going to disassemble any thing take pictures and keep the part organized .Use small ziplock sandwich bags to keep small parts in. There are several websites to get parts from .Good luck and happy riding !!

[ricvicious]

Hi Tim. I justed up my first CB550 as well. Looking forward to seeing what you do with it.

[jude0007]

I've shown them prices off eBay and got a better deal that way

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That was my problem, I just rushed out there not having priced items out first.  Do your research on what parts should cost and one will do much better out there.

[spazz1984]

I've shown them prices off eBay and got a better deal that way

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That was my problem, I just rushed out there not having priced items out first.  Do your research on what parts should cost and one will do much better out there.

Finding the parts is half the fun too I could spend hours out looking if I the time

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[Tews19]

Wow great find! I'm with 754. Do not paint.. Shoot. Get a seat and do a tune up.. new tires and call it a day...

[jdtim]

Great find Tim !! Keep it all stock . I have owned  a CB550 for 28 years , love riding it . Good for around town and on the highway . If your going to disassemble any thing take pictures and keep the part organized .Use small ziplock sandwich bags to keep small parts in. There are several websites to get parts from .Good luck and happy riding !!

Great tips on the the disassembly! I've been snapping photos of anything on the bike prior to me messing with it 

Wow great find! I'm with 754. Do not paint.. Shoot. Get a seat and do a tune up.. new tires and call it a day...

I've been contemplating this (keep it stock)...but then I look at your build thread, and my mind is changed lol

[Tews19]

JD if you really want a bike to cut up and cafe. I am more then willing to find a nice one for it and trade you yours... I am serious.

[jdtim]

JD if you really want a bike to cut up and cafe. I am more then willing to find a nice one for it and trade you yours... I am serious.

Tews, you're the second person that has presented that offer to me since I got the bike! It must be the picture lol. There are more imperfections to the bike than the picture shows (rust, bent parts, missing parts, etc.); but I love the bike so far! I don't plan to go full on cafe. Just some minor changes. Different bars, smaller turn signals, smaller taillight, possible HID headlight, a smaller seat, and lower it a little (I'm short). That's about it. But if i ever decide to part with it, i'll let you know Tews. 

UPDATE: I plan to start a project thread soon. It would be an extremely slow moving project thread, as this bike is funded with whatever little money I've been able to budget with my checks...but I'll eventually do it!

-tim

[Pedro 64]

Welcome to this forum, there is lots you can learn from here, heaps of handy hints & Info.
                    Cheers from Me in Oztralia.