Topic: '74 CB550 - My First Build

[MrVance]

Not sure if anyone is interested in this, but thought it would be cool to have a place to track my build and to vent my frustrations along with sharing my joys. I picked up a non running 74 CB550 with a clean title for $300 a couple weeks ago. It had a spark plug broke off in the head and had been sitting for an unknown amount of time. Here it is the day I picked it up:



So, that same weekend I got her to the garage and started the tear down to see what I was dealing with. There was some surface rust, but nothing major on the frame.. should clean up nicely. The bike was EXTREMELY dirty and looked completely different after:



I fiddled with the bike last weekend trying to get the spark plug out, but to no avail. I purchased a new head that was in really good shape and started the removal of the old one. I'm about halfway through this process and will be spending this weekend getting the old gasket off the head and putting it back together.



I'm going to be taking my time with this but I have a pretty clear vision of what I want. I've build a couple different cars and worked a lot on other bikes but this is my first through and through build so I'm sure it will be filled with my own mistakes as time goes on, but I'm looking forward to the memories!

[MrVance]

Alright guys, so lots of good progress over the weekend! I got the 750 tank fitted, and put the drag bars on just to get one last visual before the complete tear down. I also got the engine back together to make sure all was in order and also to visualize what color scheme I want to go with... Still not sure. Here are some pictures for you to enjoy!

[Bankerdanny]

You will definitely get lots of interest.

Tell us about yourself too. I see a couple other SOHC4's in that garage.

[flatlander]

keep it coming, vance. what's your plan with the bike? looks like it could be restored to something stock-ish.

[2strokeTrush]

Not sure if you will get interest?....Man you are new!!   Great progress so far man! is that a 400F I spot there?  If you have a Dremel, they  makes a not metallic abrasive that will aid greatly in that old gasket removal.  Just make sure to cover your pistons up.  keep updates coming!

[MrVance]

Hey guys, thanks for the replies! Good, eye, we have two '75 CB400F supersports. Once is 100% factory, and the other one has some minor modifications but mostly factory. I have put some pictures at the bottom of this post. (The black one is actually the very first bike I ever rode on when I was 3 years old).

The 550 I'm building had been sitting in MI for a long time and pretty much everything needs replaced. I am wanting to mod it to look like a.... well I don't really know. I have a vision of what I want it to look like and I'm not sure what specific "style" it falls into. With that being said.. I want it to be simple, comfortable, reliable, and it has to look rad 

I've had a couple different bikes over the years, and have a lot of knowledge working on cars but this is my first time tackling a bike and I wanted to give myself a good challenge.

Back to the 400's-

The blue one hasn't been run in like 19 years and the black one wasn't run for like 10-15 years. We recently just had it tuned and rebuilt the carbs/cleaned the tank out and got it back running. It still needs minor adjustments but it runs pretty well. The motor on the Blue bike is free and we are going to tackle that one at some point.. probably after my build. They have been maintained in this time span and always kept away from moisture and indoors. (They didn't get rode a lot because we did a lot of moving and had so many other bikes.