Author Topic: 1976 CB550F - making it good, one step at a time (Read 122051 times)

Godffery · « **Reply #550 on:** June 19, 2017, 10:48:44 AM »

Quote from: flatlander on June 18, 2017, 10:12:55 PM

thanks! i am aware of that, and have you already on my mental list. probably that's something for next winter.

Ah, okay. Sorry, I'm always afraid of making post's that may come off as being Spamy.

flatlander · « **Reply #551 on:** June 19, 2017, 12:16:50 PM »

no worries! it didn't come across as pushy and people who do good work are always welcome.

Godffery · « **Reply #552 on:** June 19, 2017, 01:58:24 PM »

Quote from: flatlander on June 19, 2017, 12:16:50 PM

no worries! it didn't come across as pushy and people who do good work are always welcome.

Groovy!

strynboen · « **Reply #553 on:** June 20, 2017, 03:56:53 AM »

scary....

flatlander · « **Reply #554 on:** December 28, 2017, 12:13:43 PM »

while i'm mostly hibernating i remembered that i still have these picture that i can add to this thread:

hope you all had a good x-mas holiday!

Stev-o · « **Reply #555 on:** December 28, 2017, 12:35:50 PM »

Looks fantastic FL. What is the weather like in your part of the world?

Happy Holidays!

flatlander · « **Reply #556 on:** December 28, 2017, 12:56:10 PM »

thanks stev-o!
weather is pretty mild now, about 35F. we've just been talking about maybe going on a new year's ride on jan 1st?
earlier in december it was colder, with a bit of frost and snow.

Stev-o · « **Reply #557 on:** December 28, 2017, 01:10:14 PM »

Quote from: flatlander on December 28, 2017, 12:56:10 PM

thanks stev-o!
weather is pretty mild now, about 35F. we've just been talking about maybe going on a new year's ride on jan 1st?
earlier in december it was colder, with a bit of frost and snow.

35F is not bad, only 48F here which is below normal.

We must ride on Jan 1, it's a tradition! Better charge the 550F batteries...

flatlander · « **Reply #558 on:** December 28, 2017, 01:19:51 PM »

i don't ride when it's below freezing, mainly because of the salt they put on the roads here. but 35 is balmy for this time of the year and the weekend is meant to be somewhat warmer, even. so chances are good.

RAFster122s · « **Reply #559 on:** December 29, 2017, 11:23:24 AM »

Bike does look great flatlander!

Hope you can squeeze in a good ride when it is nice and you can dress for the ride. Sometimes when it is cold, merely having something to stop the wind is better than a thick layer. Hands and feet sometimes are the weak link. It is cold weather when we want a big unattractive fairing to keep the wind off of us.

Are you happy with the mufflers?

SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan · « **Reply #560 on:** December 29, 2017, 02:36:14 PM »

Just cozy up to those beautiful Benelli-esque pipes for warmth!

Godffery · « **Reply #561 on:** December 29, 2017, 02:49:43 PM »

This bike turned out absolutely Gorgeous!
Has is been up for MOTM yet? If not, It's got my vote!

flatlander · « **Reply #562 on:** December 30, 2017, 02:34:06 AM »

david, i'm happy with the pipes now that i finally got them to fit. but the guy who makes them is a complete pain in the arse who doesn't stand by his word and acts like a complete d*ckhead when things go pear-shaped as a result.
the mufflers, being straight-thru with only minimal baffling are pretty noisey. the sound is good but gets pretty loud on longer highway runs. i'm thinking i might try tuning them down just a tad.

godffery, it was up for voting in july. and there's some further evolution coming up in the future so stay tuned...

Godffery · « **Reply #563 on:** December 30, 2017, 02:38:07 AM »

Quote from: flatlander on December 30, 2017, 02:34:06 AM

godffery, it was up for voting in july. and there's some further evolution coming up in the future so stay tuned...

Groovy, I'd say it's worthy of another run!

flatlander · « **Reply #564 on:** April 21, 2018, 12:00:28 PM »

thanks for the nomination, godffery.
here's the voting thread: http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,171686.0.html ... and it will be a tough choice!

jakec · « **Reply #565 on:** July 12, 2018, 12:26:33 PM »

Flatlander, I was doing some research about the dual dsic 550 swap and it seems that it's more than just a direct bolt on and that some fabrication is required. After reading this post (well, skimming it), It seems that the bike you have came with the conversion already done. Is that correct?

flatlander · « **Reply #566 on:** July 12, 2018, 02:03:42 PM »

correct, mine already came with dual discs from the PO. but it's not hard to do, with stock parts.
there's a description here: http://manuals.sohc4.net/cb500/technical_reference/TR500550_DUAL_DISK.pdf
if you want to go a bit more fancy godffery sells thinned and drilled rotors for either left or right hand side use, and also the adapted speedo drive.

jakec · « **Reply #567 on:** July 12, 2018, 03:19:39 PM »

Excellent stuff! Thanks. I knew the primary problems to overcome were the speedo drive and the offset for the right hand rotor. I am looking at a front end rebuild for my 400 (perhaps this winter) and I'm doing a little research to see if I can do a 550 swap

RAFster122s · « **Reply #568 on:** July 12, 2018, 04:04:43 PM »

EBC now makes sintered pads for our bikes, worth the little extra for a much more aggressive pad for better brakes when everything is setup properly.

SF · « **Reply #569 on:** July 13, 2018, 07:05:38 AM »

+1 on Godffreys work.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Godffery · « **Reply #570 on:** July 15, 2018, 08:17:51 PM »

Thank you for the reference regarding the "Godffery Goods"

If you would like to check out some of the bitz, here is a link to my new (still under construction) Website: https://godfferysgarage.com/

flatlander · « **Reply #571 on:** August 18, 2018, 03:01:33 AM »

went for a few days on a camping trip to the belgian and french ardennes - that's beautiful curvy roads in the hills and along creeks, nice little villages and great beers

there were 6 of us, a larger group than i usually prefer but it went all well. bikes were a mixed bunch: 2 k100 (one rs, one regular), a thruxton, a multistrada duc, an r80/7 and my 550.
so yes, the beemer fraction was strong and apart from the minority brit we were joking about being a two-wheeled representation of the axis powers... yeah we're not exactly a politically correct bunch

all the bikes lined up in some tiny place in belgium

campsite on the semois river

breakfast prep

lined up outside a roadside cafe/bar

planning session in the evening

in floreffe, in the baground the abbey where they make the famous beer.

sampling the local brews

as this is a build thread not some vacation blog, here some observations:

i took a litre of oil just in case - you know how much i used? nothing. nada. niente. that with luggage and pushing it hard on small roads, lots of accelerating and high rpms. considering that many people say that these old CBs will always leak or burn some oil, i'm pretty chuffed with that.

my 550 was the oldest and smallest capacity bike in the pack. however, it was definitely not slowing anything down. in fact, most of the time on these small roads it was me and the thruxton leading with the rest lagging behind. so the work put in the bike so far seems to have worked

of course on a wide straight highway it would've been a different game...

and <cough> <cough> the new cam worked a treat, especially for touring with gear it pulls rather nicely.
yeah i know... i owe an update on this but didn't get to writing it up yet.

calj737 · « **Reply #572 on:** August 18, 2018, 04:17:03 AM »

You left Lilly behind

flatlander · « **Reply #573 on:** August 18, 2018, 05:24:42 AM »

yes sorry, no side car. so both ladies had to stay home.
earlier this summer we went on a van trip through the alps, lily was part of it and loved it.

SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan · « **Reply #574 on:** August 18, 2018, 08:57:28 AM »

Quote from: flatlander on August 18, 2018, 03:01:33 AM

my 550 was the oldest and smallest capacity bike in the pack. however, it was definitely not slowing anything down. in fact, most of the time on these small roads it was me and the thruxton leading with the rest lagging behind. so the work put in the bike so far seems to have worked
of course on a wide straight highway it would've been a different game...

I've found this to be true as long as the road is technical and twisty -- the middleweight bikes can carry so much more corner speed, but lag on the open highways unless you rev them harder.

Great looking trip!!

News:

Author Topic: 1976 CB550F - making it good, one step at a time (Read 122051 times)