Topic: 550 Four Score

[Humble Pie]

2 weeks back a friend asked if I'd be interested in an old bike sitting outside next to his neighbours shed,,I said sure, I like all motorcycles. He thought it was a Kawasaki, then few days ago said ,,no its a Honda 750. Well today I got a look at it, 1974 550 Four, all there , motor stuck . cables semi stuck been outdoors, side cover excellent and tanks seems so ( did not look under or inside ) but its free with keys and title. If I can't get motor running gonna find another for it and rebuild cause this ones pretty cool.

Spotted the metalflake orange across the yard,,so awesome a colour

[CoachDoc]

Gonna be a lot of work, but the end result should be fantastic. Take your time. Hoping it was never totally immersed in water.......looks like its in a bog.

[goldarrow]

Often times they say free bike is expensive bike.  But should be a fun project regardless

[fmctm1sw]

The guy I got my 550 stuff from said don't even bother trying to rebuild the stuck motor that was in the K1.  What did I do?  Rebuilt it.  That was 500+ miles ago.  Anything is possible with the right motivation but as mentioned, that's going to be a lot of work.  A lot of times that paint on the tank fades, it's hard to tell from the angles but are the body parts faded?

[Humble Pie]

Not faded that bad,, and no bog..just where leaves and such collected around where the cover did'nt reach, side covers have no fade at all,, tank has some minor on top..gonna compound it and see how it comes up. Will get some clean up pictures soon.

[Lostboy Steve]

When I got my 77 my tank looked flat black. After a good buffing on low speed with 3m compound, it is beautifully gloss brown. Be patient and work slow.

[ekpent]

Can't beat that price.  How many miles does the poor girl show on the odometer ?  Nice she found a good home.

[Humble Pie]

Can't beat that price.  How many miles does the poor girl show on the odometer ?  Nice she found a good home.

 17,000 ,, Vin 1018***    Motor and trans very shot, so gonna look for another motor.

[goldarrow]

Not far away at all ,,thanks will check that out

Meanwhile, you can try to free up motor by removing spark plugs, put in ATF/acetone mix in the whole and let it sit.  Check back every so often and refill the holes.  Rock the bike back and forth in 5th gear. 

[Humble Pie]

That is what I always do , but will not help this motor,,exhaust ports are so oxidized need hammer and chisel the crap out,,and bike will not go into any gear.

[Mcwilliams570]

Looks great man let me know if you need any help or parts. I have two 500 motors but they will need some work and the 550 motor I am hanging onto for a few weeks till I get some bikes shipped to me to see what directions I am going.

Matt

[Thamuz]

Great score!  Im in the middle of the same exact bike on making it run.  Don't be too surprised when you dig into carbs to see layers of varnish.

[Humble Pie]

Great score!  Im in the middle of the same exact bike on making it run.  Don't be too surprised when you dig into carbs to see layers of varnish.

Think i might be ok there, seems the guy emptied the gas tank and dissconected the battery when he took it off the road,, a first for old bikes i've come across

[Thamuz]

Would be for me.   Im not having stellar luck with a PO yet.  The survivor cb550 is going to work to just decrud the carbs.  At least motor spins, the controls are not bugered up, and I got replacement handlebars if these are beyond saving.  At least yours had a cover.

[Humble Pie]

so just thinking about getting on the road as will take time before I rebuild the motor ( or replace it )  550's seem a lil harder to find than 500 ,,what year 500 will fit ? and since I have the 550 mounts and clutch cable, should just be a bolt in correct ?

Thanks

[Humble Pie]

cool thanks,,

[Stev-o]

Please order a new air filter!  Aeresol tire cleaner works wonders on all that plastic and wiring under the seat, will make it look like new.