Topic: 1976 CB500/550 Project "Squirrel"

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Thanks for the tip Gersh.

Today my fender struts arrived. They are in excellent shape. I really think it makes the front end look so much better.



I couldn't help myself.

Great looking bike!  Did you make BRAAAP noises while you were in that tuck?

[riverfever]

Thank you sir. I also dropped your name today to a certain fella who's made a decent exhaust or two. I'm a little worried though about installing a 4-1. Eventually I'd like to run pods as well and de-tab the frame and clean things up more but I'm not sure how living at 9,000' is going to impact things and make the carbs act.

And those are the tires I've been looking at Cal.

[riverfever]

That's what I was afraid of. Wonder if I should just stick with the current exhaust? I kinda like the way they look and they're in great shape. If I keep the stock box then the electrics will stay there as well. Less work but not quite the look I was hoping for in the long run but running down to Colorado Springs is a drop of 4,000'. Gotta be tough to tune for that.

[riverfever]

Looking for an alternator cover. I don't need the entire cover...just the piece that pops into place with the Honda logo on it. Anyone got one collecting dust? In looking for one, I've seen 500 and 550 motors with two different types of covers. This is what mine looks like.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

David Silver Spares sells NOS ones. $45 but it's nearly impossible to find an undamaged used one.

http://www.davidsilverspares.com/CB550K1-1975-USA/part_70551/

[TyMatthews]

I've got a stator cover insert collecting dust.  It has two scratches in it from the PO.  I ended up buying a replacement from DSS as Cafe Racer Fan suggested, as I didn't have the patience to buff these out.  It's a solid chunk of aluminum, though, so if you've got the time you could probably make the scratches disappear.  Make an offer on PM and I can ship it off this coming week.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

I've got a stator cover insert collecting dust.  It has two scratches in it from the PO.  I ended up buying a replacement from DSS as Cafe Racer Fan suggested, as I didn't have the patience to buff these out.  It's a solid chunk of aluminum, though, so if you've got the time you could probably make the scratches disappear.  Make an offer on PM and I can ship it off this coming week.

That's a good option. I just checked the DSS site and they are temporarily out of stock.

[riverfever]

Yeah I checked DSS a while ago and they were out. Mine is bad. It's not even worth trying to sand. It's dented pretty badly. PM coming Ty.

And yes 750 Fan...I made all kinda noises sitting on it. Really liking the way it's looking.

[riverfever]

I've got a stator cover insert collecting dust.  It has two scratches in it from the PO.  I ended up buying a replacement from DSS as Cafe Racer Fan suggested, as I didn't have the patience to buff these out.  It's a solid chunk of aluminum, though, so if you've got the time you could probably make the scratches disappear.  Make an offer on PM and I can ship it off this coming week.

Hahaha. The theme of this build is "Got more time than money."

[riverfever]

I got the inside of the tank cleaned with Works. This is the second time I've done that job now. Rinsed it with soap and water afterwards then used denatured alcohol and, finally, acetone. I blew the tank out with compressed air for 15 minutes and now it's sitting. I may try and do the Red Kote later tonight or I might wait until tomorrow.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

I got the inside of the tank cleaned with Works. This is the second time I've done that job now. Rinsed it with soap and water afterwards then used denatured alcohol and, finally, acetone. I blew the tank out with compressed air for 15 minutes and now it's sitting. I may try and do the Red Kote later tonight or I might wait until tomorrow.

I would use a hair dryer on it and coat it ASAP.  Otherwise, you might get some flash rust.

[riverfever]

Red Kote is in and drying now. Seems like coverage was good.

[riverfever]

Well I put the tank back on the bike, put a few gallons of gas in it, kicked it over and it fired right up. I rode it around the neighborhood for a bit to get it warm and then brought it back to the garage to check the compression. Cylinders 1-3 were at 100 and cylinder 4 was 105. I found the white wire from the alternator was cut so I got that fixed as well. I need to get the carbs vacuum synced now. Snow is coming tonight. Here's a picture from the ride.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Well I put the tank back on the bike, put a few gallons of gas in it, kicked it over and it fired right up. I rode it around the neighborhood for a bit to get it warm and then brought it back to the garage to check the compression. Cylinders 1-3 were at 100 and cylinder 4 was 105. I found the white wire from the alternator was cut so I got that fixed as well. I need to get the carbs vacuum synced now. Snow is coming tonight. Here's a picture from the ride.

What a beauty!  That tank looks so good.  Tune those carbs and get ready to ride the bejeezus out of it -- once that annoying white stuff is melted.

[riverfever]

When I first got this bike it ran really rich and would foul plugs out. The rebuild/bench sync helped a ton but the plugs still look a bit black. Isn't the point of vacuum syncing the carbs to really dial things in? This will help right?

[riverfever]

Thanks Cal. I'm fine having to get to know the carbs better but will need some guidance.

I went back and looked and found some info. Mains are 100. Idles are 40 (both are the stock brass). Mixture screws are backed out 1.5 turns. Floats set at 22mm. The rebuild kits I ordered came with jets, needles, etc. I did use the new needles but put them in the same clip position as the stock ones were. Here's the stock ones.



There are 5 positions the clips could be in. Mine were in the second position from the tip of the needle.

When I first got the bike, I suspected it was running super rich. There was a lot of smoke out of the tail pipes and the plugs kept fouling out. I started and rode the bike for the first time in a while the other day. I pulled the plugs after a 20 minute ride and some still seem pretty black. Although I don't have any experience, I think the throttle feels sluggish/inconsistent. I'm not sure what to do at this point. Carbs were bench synced but have not been vacuum synced yet but I hope to get that done soon. What are some suggestions for things I should try?

[Tews19]

Do you have the original brass for the carbs? I bought a rebuilt kit for an old 550 I had and I replaced the parts with the original parts. New rebuild kits come with shotty stuff.

[riverfever]

Original jets were used in the carbs. The only pieces I used from the kits were the floats, needles and the gaskets.

[Tews19]

Needles are what I specifically was referring too. Sorry I should have stated that.

[riverfever]

Sorry. I still have those as well. Are you suggesting that I pull the carbs off again and swap the needles?

[Tews19]

I forget but which carb bodies do you have? 22a or the 069?

[riverfever]

I'm sorry I don't know which bodies they are. Where would the numbers be?

I also just went back down and looked through my box and need to make a correction. I used the stock idle jets (40). I used the replacement main jets (100) and replacement needles, valves, valve seats, and air mixture screws. The reason I didn't use the replacement idle jets is because they were really smaller. I think used the replacement stuff because I was concerned about the o-rings on the old stuff.

[riverfever]

The ONLY numbers I see are 627B.

[riverfever]

One thing I did see in the manual for those carbs is that the air screws are supposed to be out a turn +- 1/8 and I know mine are more than that.

[riverfever]

Tonight I noticed that there isn't much difference in the new tail light with the lights on and when hitting the brakes. With the stock light the difference was much more noticeable. The light I installed is not an LED. What might cause this?