Topic: 1975 CB550F ss from parts THREE years in getting closer now

[jonda500]

At least I had some outstanding luck with my 1st 500 (in my avitar),- back in 2005, I found it advertised in the local paper for $1600 - it turned out to be a 3 owners from new, nearly completely original bike, for which I payed the nice gentleman $1400. A bargain I think as a few weeks later I was offered $3500 for it - I seriously doubt I will ever sell it though!!

My 2nd 500 my next door neighbour lined up for me back in 2007 - he knew a guy that had one which he'd started parting out but then decided he didn't want to get stuck with it - I scored it for $200 but with all the missing parts now replaced, a new paint job done on the tank & covers and the carbs rebuilt, I am quite sure it owes me far more money than my 1st one!
 
I think I'd have had a lot more trouble with this project if I didn't have 2 cb500 fours to use for reference, diagnosis(by switching parts back and forth), and to borrow parts off while waiting for the latest ebay part to arrive. I have been very careful along the way not to lose track of which part originally belonged to which bike and as soon as possible I always return the part(s) to the bike they belong to. (Well nearly always - I have muddled up some of the rear brake parts and the headlight buckets for example and have no way of knowing which bike they originally belonged to - they don't really matter to me, but I am more careful since then!)

[jonda500]

The later model centre stand spring has a clear plastic tube over it which makes jamming washers in it impossible and it seems has maybe made it corrode quicker? I found a nice clean one in my spring collection that appears to be an oem one - dunno where it came from but I sure felt lucky! I spent a bit of time bending it back and forth while tapping thin washers in either side until the point where every new washer I pushed in was causing another to fall back out. This stretched the spring to within a mm of reaching, I used a hook tool to pull it the last mm and slip it over the lug.
   Sure is nice how the side stand doesn't get snagged on the centre stand any more, so I am pleased I decided to change it. (later model stand has a diagonal brace to the foot lever.) I was quite surprised that I had to lower the bumper to keep it clear of the chain though, I sure didn't expect that!
   Actually I am also very pleased I decided to change the seat lock - the double sided key one is much more convienient to use when I'm locking my helmet to the bike.

[jonda500]

Some Eye Candy!
Last fortnite I splurged on a new oem points cover with free shipping from japan to replace the aftermarket finned unit - it was not cheap, but they ain't gonna get no cheaper - when I bought a new oem tailight on ebay for my 500 for around $200, directly afterwards I looked at the listing and the price had gone up by $50!
Sure looks nice next to my freshly polished clutch cover - which so far hasn't leaked any oil

So just what exactly did I have against the finned points cover? - well it's nice enough, but the alloy when polished is a different color to the the bikes other polished alloy parts unlike the period accessory aftermarket finned stator cover which I love!

[jonda500]

Well I have no visual progress but I have an excuse for my lack of motivation and progress - two and a half months ago I ordered a used oem speedo/tacho set on ebay from Poland - I am very pleased that I found these as new bikes in Australia had all changed to kph by 1975. I have spent an awful lot of time waiting for parts to come over the last three years so I should be used to it - but it just doesn't seem to get any easier! I have been in contact with the seller and realised they are coming by boat! Luckily I am aware that this can take up to three months...
Got an email from the seller today just to let me know the guages have arrived in Sydney Australia!!
Wont be too much longer now!
To get this part right has been a royal PITA! In my spares I now have two green face kph speedos that work (one light one dark green), -but two green face tachos that do NOT work, an aftermarket tacho that turned out to be for a 750 NOT a 550, an after market mph speedo (still on the bike) and a spare tacho just like the one that's on its way here (also still on the bike).
 

[jonda500]

While I have been waiting for the guages I have collected quite a few goodies which I will install when the guages are here too.
Let me think... (i am not in the garage)...

I have waiting in the garage:
- A nice (original paint) guage bracket and idiot light cluster with all original oem rubbers intact
- A single brace front fender which cleaned up quite well
- A headlight bucket which I have repainted
- An oem master cylinder and caliper which I have rebuilt
- A 500/550 used brake disc
- A wiring junction box
- A pair of front blinker screw on stalks (I had to buy some bent up fork ears to get these from)
- A pair of fork ears from which PO had ground off the blinker stalk mounts (-for these I had to buy bolts, drill wiring holes through them and grind the heads down)

[jonda500]

-and
Also I have in the garage and coming in the mail:
- a supersport decal set + a set of the black supersport tank decals
- an original muffler mounting bracket (but still no oem muffler to go with it!)
- NOS supersport sidecovers (one blue, one presto red)
- a good condition '76 orange supersport tank
- new flexible brake hoses
- a used cb550 F seat and a new cover to suit
- an oem dual outlet '75 petcock (yes by some fluke I found one on ebay AGAIN!! )
- a set of oem honda badge mounting clips

I am eligable for a loan in december, so my current plan is to take the orange tank and the nos covers to the paint shop to be professionally recoated in flake sunrise orange !!!
The aftermarket covers and the '78 tank I am gonna try and do my best ametuer home paint job on - either black or original honda blue. The oem badges from this tank will go on the orange tank as it came with repro stick on ones  

[Davez134]

Just came across your thread, and enjoy it! Love starting with just parts, as you can do exactly what you want without the hassle of tear down! 

[jonda500]

Thanks Davez, in retrospect, I am now wishing I had the brains to paint the frame when I had it as a bare frame rather than being so impatient to start bolting bits on that all I did was to scrub it down with kerosene and wipe it clean with rags - I didn't even get a photo of it completely bare.
...So now my plan is at some point in the future after it is 100% finished and when I am 100% happy with every part of it:
- strip it back down to a bare frame
- repaint frame, brackets, mounts, stands, etc in gloss black enamel
- install new primary chain & crankshaft seals
- replace piston rings & hone bores (+check cyl head for probs)
- assemble, again!!

[jonda500]

My guages from Poland finally came!
After cleaning they came up very nice

[jonda500]

The aftermarket cradles are stainless steel - the oem chrome ones look much nicer. - I have some spare old dented oem cradles, two different types, one with guage light wiring grommets and one with the edges of the wiring holes rolled instead (& no grommets). My new cradles are different again with bigger drain/breather holes and a no grommet design. My parts list didn't specify grommets but I went ahead and added grommets any way. No idea which of the three cradle types is correct for 1975...

Whilst fitting these I was examining the parts list and realised that the '78 triple tree top on the bike and the new '78 guage bracket that I have are different to 1975 ones - ahhh, that's why I mysteriously had to bend up the guage bracket on the bike to get the angle to match the ignition lock!

I probably have the wrong colour instrument faces for a '75, meh... just another of many deviations from ideal

I am pleased with the new guages, they work like new! I have put the idiot light cluster crooked on the bracket though - I'll have to fix that!
Annoyingly, the face plate on the light cluster vibrates audibly now that I have all the correct rubbers in place!

I couldn't find a good set of guage lights in all the spare ones I have, they all have broke the rubber grommet that pushes into the guage, so I used the after market guage lights and wiring. These are a lot dimmer than oem bulbs and a different type of fitting - think I'll have to hunt for some oem ones!

[jonda500]

I didn't like the ugly gap between the shrunken oem cushion rubbers and the guages, so I put in the aftermarket cradle cushions instead.
I considered shortening the collars(spacers) in the mounting grommets but I may want to get new oem cushions one day...

[jonda500]

Well I've been slack with the updates - I'm struggling to learn to use my new old macbook (my pc laptop died!).

I tried to fix the buzzing idiot light panel by squirting glue under it - didn't work.. so I removed the face plate, cleaned the underside back to clean aluminium, cleaned the plastic around the lights and superglued it back on - buzzing noise gone!

I put on new oem cradle rubber cushions then the next day the new speedo decided to start exaggerating wildly or sticking on 100kph every time I went over 80kph.   I wondered if I wrecked it by sitting it upside down while I put the new rubbers in, but the tacho didn't die so I don't think so!

So I bought another set of gauges (mph) and swapped in a kph one whose tacho mate doesn't work (this was my first set I got), but the new tacho reads low - not ridiculously low like the aftermarket 750 ratio one, just 500 or so lower rpm than it should - dagnammit!!! I have to just live with that for now and think about what to do....   

[jonda500]

Put on the new fork ears and boots and went to put my freshly painted headlight bucket on... but oh no the ignition switch was in the way! -because the 'F' fork ears are shorter!
I cut a hole in a spare old cracked bucket that I had so I could put it back together with the new fork ears on and ordered a 75 oem matching lock set that happened to be available on ebay. The locks came with original keys - two of them! -and I am very pleased to have them, but still the lock protruded into the headlight! Stevo enlightened me- the 'F' model has a different headlight bucket to the 'K'. I had no idea sooo many parts were different on F models to K models!

[jonda500]

The day after I figured out how to put the blinker stalks onto these fork ears that a PO removed the stem threads from(bottom picture), a brand new set came up on ebay - not perfect but as I had the money, I had to have them!

[jonda500]

I am afraid this build thread is all out of order, oh well - my computer skills suck!

The new mudguard was a pain! Firstly I had to get a thinner tyre so I didn't have to modify the brake hose hook which the tyre rubbed on. Then much to my dismay the tyre came out of the front of the fender not in the middle, but right over on the brake side... after having the fender on and off many, many times I managed to get the wheel to sit in the middle of the guard by carefully bending the forkbrace/mounting part.

The new brakes were a breeze - put an after market kit in the master - first time I've done one - once you get the circlip out the rest is a piece of cake! Put new flexible hoses, new pads, new oem calliper seal and a new stainless steel piston- these are solid metal and very heavy compared to the original chrome plated hollow steel ones! I only had to bleed it once to get an awesome feeling lever, then later had to tighten one of the banjo bolts a little more and also the bleeder nipple.   

[jonda500]

The compression has improved now that I have >5000k's done - the lowest one came up a lot and the other two came up a little but the best one went down?- so they are all within 5 psi of each other now!
I have seen a flake sunrise orange test card my painter did to show me - and I love it, and can't wait for the tank to be finished! I need to get motivated and get the seat cover on!! -does any one know what this soft squishy filler stuff used at the rear of the seat pan is?? my only idea currently is to use body filler instead

[jonda500]

These are the pictures (off ebay) that I showed my painter of how I'd like it to look.

[jonda500]

Today my painter called me out to make sure I was happy with the colour - he had a second test card done which he went ahead and picked/replicated on my parts because the first one when taken out into the sunlight looked rather dark even though the flakes on it did have a little more sparkle... but the second that he went with has a lovely golden look where the light hits it - I think I'd have been happy either way!
 

[calj737]

That looks awfully close from here 

[jonda500]

Thanks calj! I appreciate the extra input . It's hard to get anyone in my normal life to approve of or understand why the hell I'd want to blow so much money on a paint job, but I knew there'd be people in here that would get it!

My painter (Paul) is a top bloke - he was happy do re-do it if I didn't like the colour... but I love it! If I was really fussy - like some of his customers are - I might ask him to start again using slightly larger flakes, but I couldn't do that to him when I like how it looks so much - I don't think there'd be that many people here in Australia that have ever even seen an original flake sunrise orange honda in the flesh.

Below is a picture of the muffler I scored. It took a LOT of cleaning to get it looking decent.
My 4 into 1 has a larger diameter outlet welded on it - so I have to cut it off and weld the right size pipe in there. To make the right size pipe I cut some 2 1/4" pipe lengthwise and welded the seam back together with one end stuck in the muffler - but 'Mr Shrink' pulled in the size as the weld cooled so it's not quite as tight a fit as it could be... I haven't decided whether to start again or just glue some shimming around it after welding it on (or renew the muffler seal). 

[jonda500]

Bit of a disaster out at the paint shop - he's accidentally put one of the sidecover decals along the side rather than the top... this means getting new decals and probably redoing the paint from scratch on both sidecovers unless the new decals are identical ... after he described having a lot of trouble with these decals I felt bad as I purchased them over 2 years ago so I offered to pay for the replacement decals... I am disappointed I have to wait longer but also feel terribly sorry for Paul with all the extra work this mistake is costing him!

[jonda500]

Got my parts back from the paint shop yesterday - badges came up nice, and I still love the color, but I wish he'd stuck the decals on higher/closer to the top like I instructed him to -that was back in December- he's very busy, I should have got him to write it down! I think it'll look better with the seat on though. I have used balsawood to replace the soft pink putty at the back of the seat but I still have to make a strap...

[calj737]

Here's a stocker for comparison. But I rather like the look of yours-

[Stev-o]

Beautiful!

[jonda500]

Chrome seat trim:
I carefully pried the push nuts off the aluminum trim pins without straightening the pins. I baked the pins in the oven on max temp for a couple of hours and then turned off the oven and let them slowly cool off completely in there before I opened the door. Then I straightened them all out without breaking any of them and baked them again in case I end up wanting to bend them back over when the seat's all finished. I poked holes for the pins through the new seatcover after fitting it with an o ring pick from the inside and used locking pliers to clamp the chrome trim to the seat so I could get the push nuts on far enough to hold the trim tightly against the seat.