Topic: 1978 CB550K4 Project

[Blackfin5]

Don, sorry caught this thread so late.  But WTH?  No wonder my buddies can't find any K3 or K4s.  They're all sitting in your garage!  Share the wealth, baby!

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Don, sorry caught this thread so late.  But WTH?  No wonder my buddies can't find any K3 or K4s.  They're all sitting in your garage!  Share the wealth, baby!

Kevin,

You can have the CB650 frame, forks, front wheel and gas tank IF you want them!  I just want the engine, stands, motor mounts and electrical components.

What they looked like new:



What they look like NOW:





It would be easier to just build off the CB650 frame, BUT I don't want to have to modify the seat frame rails to flatten them out (parallel to the ground). 

[Blackfin5]

LOL.  I was trying to think of a plan to talk you out of the 650 engine and sell it to me!  Kidneys don't grow on trees, you know.  Nice find BTW.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

LOL.  I was trying to think of a plan to talk you out of the 650 engine and sell it to me!  Kidneys don't grow on trees, you know.  Nice find BTW.

Thanks. If you decide you'd like the other 650 parts, come with a truck!

[Blackfin5]

You should see my Seatrain - full of 550/750 junk, er, I mean vintage cast off parts.  Any more and I won't be able to close the doors.

Been looking for a CB650 motor to put on a shelf for some future build.  Nice pick up by you.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

You should see my Seatrain - full of 550/750 junk, er, I mean vintage cast off parts.  Any more and I won't be able to close the doors.

Been looking for a CB650 motor to put on a shelf for some future build.  Nice pick up by you.

Thanks.  Too bad it had to come with the bike, but I did get some useful extras (engine mount and bolts, side and center stands, etc.).  It's a pity the frame will otherwise be waste.  I'll probably CL list it.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Does anyone know if you can mount a 550 oil filter on the 650 motor. (The crankcases are nearly identical, but the oil pumps are different.)  I'm wondering if I can mount my Cycle X spinoff oil filter housing on the 650 motor.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

I have yet to harvest the motor out of the 650 frame.  The engine is a little bit crusty on the outside but not too awful.  Mostly oxidation and dust from sitting.  Who knows what it will look like on the inside.





In the interim, I've been trying to source a spare, clean looking 81-82 head to simply send to Mike Rieck.  A couple of members were helping on this, but I'm not sure what a fair price would be for the head.  Opinions?

[Tews19]

CB may you please slow down on the projects! I haven't been visiting the project section but dang! I follow all your builds and seemed to miss this one.

As for the head on the 650 send a PM to Godffrey. I saw a few 650 engines at his place. He is always more then fair and knows of a part is good or not.

[MiGhost]

To answer the oil filter question. Yes, the spin on filter should work on the 650 engine.
On the cylinder head. I have this 82 650SC head ( same as the 650, but painted black) that would need rebuilding. Let me know if you are interested.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

CB may you please slow down on the projects! I haven't been visiting the project section but dang! I follow all your builds and seemed to miss this one.

As for the head on the 650 send a PM to Godffrey. I saw a few 650 engines at his place. He is always more then fair and knows of a part is good or not.

No worry about slowing down on this project.  It's what I would call a down-the-road, back-burner, rainy day project.  I'm just trying to gather parts for when I do it in earnest.  I'm presently focused on my new 750 build, but I get distracted by the bright, shiny idea of a nearly powerful middle weight bike.  I love the grunt of the 836 in my Nine Lives bike, but I also love the weight of my 550 stocker. 

[Tews19]

Stage 3 head, 692 Piston kit, Carillo rods, CR carbs, and a hard weld set of rockers and cams. GSXR front end, and a GSXR mono rear. Use the modern wheels and brakes, brace the frame, and MotoG for electronics. Should take about 6 months, $11,000 and you'll have the sweetest ride after you sell that neglected CBR in your garage...

Did I miss anything?

Cal you missed the HP gains? I'd be curious what that set up would bring.

[Tews19]

Lol Cal I'm not broke, I'm poor!

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Stage 3 head, 692 Piston kit, Carillo rods, CR carbs, and a hard weld set of rockers and cams. GSXR front end, and a GSXR mono rear. Use the modern wheels and brakes, brace the frame, and MotoG for electronics. Should take about 6 months, $11,000 and you'll have the sweetest ride after you sell that neglected CBR in your garage...

Did I miss anything?

Cal you missed the HP gains? I'd be curious what that set up would bring.

I think Cal was contemplating a 692cc kit for a CB500/550, as opposed to a CB650 kit.  That said, it appears that Paulages big bore kit for his 550/650 engine (lower/upper) produced 70ish hp.

What I am planning out is a CB650 with a Dynoman 674 kit (stock sleeves bored out), and a Mike Rieck stage 2 or 3 port job.

I have to figure a way to do this bike on the cheaper side, since I have already spent enough on my new 750 project.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

I'm not sure how "pretty" this bike will be.  I have already adapted a 750 Super Sport tank to fit the 550, with knee recesses and added clearance dents for Woodcraft clip-ons.  I will make it as light as possible (but add some bracing for handling and the added grunt of the motor). This thing will be meant to GO, handle and stop quickly.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Unfortunately, this project is being re-thought.  It turns out that the spare frame I got from Justin has a minor twist in it.  It would likely go down the road straight but never be "right," and maybe unstable at higher speed.

For now, the 650 swap project will be on hold (more spare parts in my storage space).  The existing 1978 complete bike is still registered non-op so it's not out of the system yet.  I'll have to wait and see whether it will fall out of the system, so I can register it and get it roadworthy, or look for a titled donor frame to swap in the parts.  PITA!

[goldarrow]

The existing 1978 complete bike is still registered non-op so it's not out of the system yet.  I'll have to wait and see whether it will fall out of the system, so I can register it and get it roadworthy, or look for a titled donor frame to swap in the parts.  PITA!

Why can't you register it from non-op status?

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

I bought the complete from someone who bought it from the registered owner and I only got a bill of sale from the secondary owner to me. I've never spoken with the titled owner. It's possible he might sign a bill of sale to me if I did contact him or claim ownership and either demand money or the bike. The seller told me the bike was due to fall out of the system but that doesn't happen if it's registered as non-op. If it falls out of the system, you can then obtain a clean new title. Of course, the seller is long gone.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Update:

The 1978 CB550K4 didn't fall out of the system, but I am working with a DMV expeditor to get me a title for the bike.

I also purchased Jordan aka KrautKoffin's entire project since he is preparing a move with his wife.  I got a virtual treasure trove of goodies: frame, engine parts including spare ported head by Bob Smalls (local engine machinist), APE knife-edge crankshaft, cruzinimage big bore kit, cylinders bored by APE, spare head, 650 cam, wheels, spare rims, gas tanks (550, 350, 750K7), GL forks and triples, 2 sets of carburetors (1 with rebuild kits), Progressive shocks, spare triple tree, sprockets, reg/rec, etc.  Jordan gave me an unbelievable deal, after I was unable to talk him into completing the build or to sell it to someone else.

My plan is to use as much of the go-fast parts (big bore kit, crank and head, etc.) to rebuild the leaky motor in this bike -- instead of doing the full Monty on a full 650 motor.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Still not exactly sure what will happen with this specific bike.  DMV has yet to say no or yes to a title.

In the interim, I stripped the '82 CB650 this weekend. 





Surprisingly, for a bike that had not run for at least 10 years (maybe double that), the oil was pretty clean.  The 650 has a "frame kit" built into the bottom right frame rail that unbolts dropping the engine.  In my opinion it would be more helpful to have the detachable rail on the side or top so that it can be removed with the motor being slided or lifted out.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Cal,

I'm not planning a tear down for a while, but I'll see if I can pull the valve cover off and take a picture.  I tucked the motor away in back of my storage space, so I'm not sure when I'll pull it out.  Even though it's much lighter than a 750 motor, it's still an awkward hunk of metal to pick up!

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Cal,

I'm not sure if this will help in the interim, but check out the pictures in this ebay auction of a 1981 CB650 cam shaft for $176!!! (the seller is smoking CRACK).  http://www.ebay.com/itm/Honda-650-CB-CUSTOM-CB650-C-Used-Engine-Cam-Camshaft-1981-SM59-/151547011648?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2348e7e240&vxp=mtr

[Stev-o]

Update:

The 1978 CB550K4 didn't fall out of the system, but I am working with a DMV expeditor to get me a title for the bike.

I also purchased Jordan aka KrautKoffin's entire project since he is preparing a move with his wife.  I got a virtual treasure trove of goodies: frame, engine parts including spare ported head by Bob Smalls (local engine machinist), APE knife-edge crankshaft, cruzinimage big bore kit, cylinders bored by APE, spare head, 650 cam, wheels, spare rims, gas tanks (550, 350, 750K7), GL forks and triples, 2 sets of carburetors (1 with rebuild kits), Progressive shocks, spare triple tree, sprockets, reg/rec, etc.  Jordan gave me an unbelievable deal...

Sounds like you got lucky!

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Update:

The 1978 CB550K4 didn't fall out of the system, but I am working with a DMV expeditor to get me a title for the bike.

I also purchased Jordan aka KrautKoffin's entire project since he is preparing a move with his wife.  I got a virtual treasure trove of goodies: frame, engine parts including spare ported head by Bob Smalls (local engine machinist), APE knife-edge crankshaft, cruzinimage big bore kit, cylinders bored by APE, spare head, 650 cam, wheels, spare rims, gas tanks (550, 350, 750K7), GL forks and triples, 2 sets of carburetors (1 with rebuild kits), Progressive shocks, spare triple tree, sprockets, reg/rec, etc.  Jordan gave me an unbelievable deal...

Sounds like you got lucky!

It was almost criminal. I like the deal I got but souls have preferred that Jordan had finished his build. He bought a lot of good parts/work and got help from forum members. I get that he got screwed by his builder, and that he's on a student budget, but wish he had finished it.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Wax on, wax off; engine in, engine out.