Author Topic: West Texas CB550 (Read 4788 times)

ccasey75 · « **on:** April 11, 2016, 11:33:28 AM »

Intro post Here.

I got my feet wet doing a couple of Honda twin rebuilds (1972 CL350 and 1975 CB360) and now I am starting on my first Honda SOHC 4. All '70s Hondas are rare out in West Texas, so I had to luck out to get my hands on a 1975 CB550K.

My local vintage motorcycle guru has a massive collection of restored and parts bikes. He did some machining and welding work for me on my twins and actually rarely if ever sells bikes. Large letters on the door of the shop read "WE DO NOT SELL BIKES". Long story short, he decided to sell off about 150 bikes and gave me a shot at a pair of 750s (one for me and one for a friend). My buddy quickly made a deal for one 750 (K1) and I foolishly took a day to think about it. That bike was taken by another friend of the guru, but he had one more 70's SOHC4 Honda buried in the rows of bikes. I made a deal and here is what I am starting with:

ccasey75 · « **Reply #1 on:** April 11, 2016, 11:34:41 AM »

This guys collection of bikes is pretty impressive. Here are a few shots:

ccasey75 · « **Reply #2 on:** April 11, 2016, 11:48:12 AM »

I forgot to mention that my bike is the second headlight from the left in the first pic on the first post. It took moving a lot of bikes to get the two bikes out the my buddy and I made deals on. We both ended up with clear titles, so that is an added bonus. First thing I did was remove the crashbar and rack. The bike has an oil cooler that I will also be removing. Then I picked up a descent seat (needs cover) and a set of carbs.

I am working through the carbs now and hit a snag with some serious corrosion and an old float post repair on my #1 carb. I bought a #3 body the I plan to modify to run in position #1 (#1 bodies in good condition seem to be pretty tough to locate for a reasonable price). Here are a few pics of progress so far...

SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan · « **Reply #3 on:** April 11, 2016, 12:43:58 PM »

That is not a collection. That is a horde!

Stev-o · « **Reply #4 on:** April 11, 2016, 02:26:59 PM »

Welcome from Lake Travis! My niece lives in Midland, I should visit soon!!
I noticed he has some two strokes in that horde.

May be interested in that oil cooler if you want to sell?

calj737 · « **Reply #5 on:** April 13, 2016, 07:24:54 AM »

There's a member here, Jim Frecnh who does immaculate micro welding to repair that post. Very reasonable fees, and better than stock quality. Give him a shout on that #1 before you alter a 3...

rb550four · « **Reply #6 on:** April 13, 2016, 09:23:24 AM »

Nice find. So your 550 is the green one with the 650 chrome headlight right pictured alone? good start. So what's the plan for it?
This hoard may still be considered a collection , by some. Although the parts bike area certainly looks in disarray and hoardish. It's the boxes , ya know, if there wasn't any boxes and dusty everything, it could be considered a parts storage area....just needs some organization. Yeah that's what it needs. The rest of the collection is in line ,not clean, but forms some kind of presentation that could be viewed as a collection. Some might say. I wouldn't mind a pile of bikes like that.... if I had the time,space and funds to maintain them all.
Did the 550 pipes survive? Engine seized or free? Interesting. How many miles are on it?

ccasey75 · « **Reply #7 on:** April 13, 2016, 09:35:54 AM »

Yeah - the tank is greenish on top, but was originally brown.

Engine is free - trans will shift through the gears. Odometer shows ~26,000.

Exhaust is intact. Right top muffler has a small dent.

Has no advancer or points/cover. One fuse block connector is melted (red wire). Coils were just sitting in frame and are marked as from a 76 550 - tested ok

Harness has been altered a bit. My plan is to get it running just enough to confirm that the bottom end is solid - then tear down and build back up - mostly stock.

I have a lead on a #1 body and possibly another 022A set of carbs.

ccasey75 · « **Reply #8 on:** April 13, 2016, 09:41:17 AM »

Stev-o -

If you visit Midland, you should check out Mike's collection:

Summary video here

He is not usually in the selling mood for bikes or parts (from his parts bikes), but is a wealth of knowledge.

rb550four · « **Reply #9 on:** April 13, 2016, 06:53:35 PM »

Everything is so shiny in the video. What a nice collection.

Stev-o · « **Reply #10 on:** April 13, 2016, 08:02:39 PM »

Quote from: ccasey75 on April 13, 2016, 09:41:17 AM

Stev-o -

If you visit Midland, you should check out Mike's collection:

Summary video here

He is not usually in the selling mood for bikes or parts (from his parts bikes), but is a wealth of knowledge.

That is incredible! It's on the list, thanks for sharing.

CycleRanger · « **Reply #11 on:** April 14, 2016, 09:25:40 AM »

Daaaayam! That is amazing! An actual reason to go to Odessa!

ccasey75 · « **Reply #12 on:** May 18, 2016, 11:53:35 AM »

I've been working slowly to get my carbs in a position to be re-assembled. I considered altering a #3 body to take the #1 position, but ultimately I just bought a proper #1 body. Once I got the #2 and #4 bodies cleaned up I had some more serious pitting. I ended up sending these two bodies out to Jim French (www.jmfmicroweld.com) in Georgia for repairs. He is a great guy, easy to work with, and I will have some serious peace of mind knowing that my main jet towers are not on the verge of corroding through. Here are a few before and after pics of the repairs to the carb bodies:

ccasey75 · « **Reply #13 on:** May 18, 2016, 12:00:03 PM »

In other news on this project, I picked up some more missing items:

- Points cover
- Spark advancer (with mounting bolt and end nut)
- Points / Points plate / condenser(s)

~$45 on eBay didn't seem unfair to me for all of this:

Stev-o · « **Reply #14 on:** May 18, 2016, 02:14:39 PM »

Depends on what brand of points. I wouldnt take Chinese made Daiichi if you gave them to me.

ccasey75 · « **Reply #15 on:** May 20, 2016, 08:15:52 AM »

Stev-o, TEC points - I'm with you on the Chinese points

zammykoo · « **Reply #16 on:** May 20, 2016, 09:09:57 AM »

Nice job cleaning up the carb corrosion deposits! What did use?

ccasey75 · « **Reply #17 on:** May 20, 2016, 09:19:27 AM »

Zammykoo - thanks - I usually use Berryman dip (1 hour), Berryman spray, and light soda blast to finish them up.

Stev-o · « **Reply #18 on:** May 20, 2016, 02:42:23 PM »

Quote from: ccasey75 on May 20, 2016, 08:15:52 AM

Stev-o, TEC points - I'm with you on the Chinese points

Good deal!

SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan · « **Reply #19 on:** May 23, 2016, 12:05:56 AM »

Quote from: ccasey75 on April 13, 2016, 09:41:17 AM

Stev-o -

If you visit Midland, you should check out Mike's collection:

Summary video here

He is not usually in the selling mood for bikes or parts (from his parts bikes), but is a wealth of knowledge.

Holy smokes! What a collection!!

ccasey75 · « **Reply #20 on:** May 23, 2016, 06:43:12 AM »

Made a small amount of progress this weekend:
*Polished up my carb tops
*Have carb parts just about ready for re-assembly
*Worked up a parts-list for a Partzilla order (parts required to get a runner)
*Ordered replacement fuse block, carb kits

I still have to come up with an air filter solution. My experience with Honda twins is that stock is best, but I see several reputable recommendations to go with the UNI replacement...

ccasey75 · « **Reply #21 on:** May 31, 2016, 07:16:12 AM »

Steady progress in small steps on this project... Two carbs back together. My slide on carb #4 has some surface scratches on one side parallel to the axis. Its movement feels a bit rough in a spot or two, so I am considering replacing that slide. I wonder if I could smooth it out a bit with some fine sand paper??? It looks to me like the slide has some sort of coating (makes sense for a "sliding" part...), so I don't know if that is really an option. Here is where I am on the carb rebuild:

SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan · « **Reply #22 on:** May 31, 2016, 09:03:35 AM »

Are you going with an original-style tube fuse block or newer blade-style block. The newer blocks are pretty inexpensive (about $5-7) and have the added benefit of having fuses available at auto parts stores if you have a short on the road. You can also get one with a few extra channels to carry spare fuses. Just saying.

Cityscapedview · « **Reply #23 on:** May 31, 2016, 09:10:26 PM »

I feel like it's going to take a second for us all to process your project after witnessing that awe inspiring collection.

Subscribed.

RAFster122s · « **Reply #24 on:** May 31, 2016, 11:18:30 PM »

I wouldn't use sandpaper on the slides unless you are talking about a 1000-1500 to polish them... If there are any bumps or nicks in them they can cause the hangups. You don't want to introduce an air leak. Maybe start with scotchbrite pads or 0000 steel wool , preferably the former.

David

ccasey75 · « **Reply #25 on:** June 01, 2016, 07:37:25 AM »

CB750 CR Fan - I picked up a 4 fuse modern block like you described. It is a bit larger than the original, but I may be able to make it work. Thanks for the suggestion!

Cityscapedview -
It is an amazing collection. The video only shows part of it...

RAF122s - thanks for the advice! I did go ahead and order a replacement slide for my #4.

SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan · « **Reply #26 on:** June 01, 2016, 09:22:33 AM »

Quote from: ccasey75 on June 01, 2016, 07:37:25 AM

CB750 CR Fan - I picked up a 4 fuse modern block like you described. It is a bit larger than the original, but I may be able to make it work. Thanks for the suggestion!

Cityscapedview -
It is an amazing collection. The video only shows part of it...

RAF122s - thanks for the advice! I did go ahead and order a replacement slide for my #4.

It's nice to know with the blade fuse block that you can get a spare fuse almost anywhere, whereas tube fuses are definitely more scarce.

News:

Author Topic: West Texas CB550 (Read 4788 times)