Author Topic: Cb550 one of a kind  (Read 4623 times)

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Offline Banditoloco

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Cb550 one of a kind
« on: November 17, 2016, 04:47:21 pm »
Hi all. I've been lurking and reading here for a few months so I decided it's time to post my project. It's early in the process and I've changed my mind twice already.  I don't want to reveal the final project yet but I want to share some and get some help too. So here it is. She's a 1976 cb550. Given to me by my good friend who felt bad about letting her sit too long. After putting a little marvel mystery oil in each cylinder and letting it soak for a week the engine turned over easily with the kick starter. I've got the carbs torn apart and cleaning so I have to rebuild them and get her running now. Enough for now.

Offline calj737

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Re: Cb550 one of a kind
« Reply #1 on: November 17, 2016, 05:45:24 pm »
Overall appears to be in decent shape. May have sat, but seems it sat indoors at least. WTH is that under the seat??
'74 550 Build http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=126401.0
'73 500 Build http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=132935.0

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of it's victim may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated, but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." - C.S. Lewis

Offline Banditoloco

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Re: Cb550 one of a kind
« Reply #2 on: November 17, 2016, 05:55:00 pm »
Haha. I wondered when someone would notice that. Here's a close up. It's a rodent condo. :)  The bike was stored in a nice shed in my buddie's back yard. It had the side covers on it so he never noticed that a squirrel had built a nice little home in there. Plastic bags, leaves and a shop rag or 2.

Offline Banditoloco

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Re: Cb550 one of a kind
« Reply #3 on: November 17, 2016, 05:57:22 pm »
More goodness

Offline Banditoloco

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Re: Cb550 one of a kind
« Reply #4 on: November 17, 2016, 06:00:33 pm »
So here's how she sits now. It's my winter project.

Offline Banditoloco

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Re: Cb550 one of a kind
« Reply #5 on: November 17, 2016, 06:02:10 pm »
My current predicament. 

Offline Banditoloco

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Re: Cb550 one of a kind
« Reply #6 on: November 17, 2016, 06:03:28 pm »
Almost done with disassembly.

Offline Stev-o

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Re: Cb550 one of a kind
« Reply #7 on: November 17, 2016, 06:05:36 pm »
Nice project, subscribed.

I hereby officially name this project "Rat's Nest"!
'74 "Big Bang" Honda 750K [836].....'76 Honda 550F.....K3 Park Racer!......and a Bomber!............plus plus plus.........

Offline bill440cars

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Re: Cb550 one of a kind
« Reply #8 on: November 17, 2016, 06:57:25 pm »

   
                   Definitely watching, as this one develops.  8)  ;)     
Member # 1969
PRAYERS ALWAYS FOR: Bre, Jeff & Virginia, Bear, Trevor & Brianna ( Close Friend's Daughter)
"Because HE lives, I can Face Tomorrow"                  
 You CAN Teach An Old Dog New Tricks, Just Takes A Little Bit Longer & A Lot More Patience!! 
             
Main Rides: '02 Durango, '71 Swinger & Dad's '93
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Offline Banditoloco

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Re: Cb550 one of a kind
« Reply #9 on: November 17, 2016, 07:09:09 pm »
Spoiler alert. It won't be a restoration guys. I intend to preserve the frame and parts for a possible future restoration.  I have a complete rolling chassis set aside in case my design requires frame mods. So if anyone is a purist don't fret. No good parts will be harmed in the making of this movie.

Offline calj737

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Re: Cb550 one of a kind
« Reply #10 on: November 17, 2016, 07:17:22 pm »
Clean up and retain all the stock brass from your carb internals. They can be rescued on this motor. Aftermarket o-rings and gaskets is all you want to use.
'74 550 Build http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=126401.0
'73 500 Build http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=132935.0

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of it's victim may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated, but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." - C.S. Lewis

Offline TjTalan

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Re: Cb550 one of a kind
« Reply #11 on: November 17, 2016, 08:31:01 pm »
Great start, The hush-hush thing has got my attention haha.


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Offline Medyo Bastos

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Re: Cb550 one of a kind
« Reply #12 on: November 18, 2016, 06:22:51 am »
looks good locito

Offline Banditoloco

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Re: Cb550 one of a kind
« Reply #13 on: November 18, 2016, 07:33:16 am »
Thanks guys. Dang Stev-o that's harsh. This will not be a rat bike. Haha. The other frame might be. Let's save that name for it. I plan to use honda carb kits. If I need brass. But I think it's fine. They have cleaned up great so far. Might have to jet up after I get it running and dyno tune it. It's got a nice Jardine 4into1 on it. My buddy said it had a great sound.

Offline Banditoloco

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Re: Cb550 one of a kind
« Reply #14 on: November 18, 2016, 07:50:27 am »
I could use some input on fork swaps. I tried the search function but get 0 found. Maybe it's me or because I'm on my phone instead of a computer. I'm looking to do a complete usd fork assembly.  I'm going to this for several reasons. Looks, performance,  brakes, tires and wheels. I searched for fork swap and front end swap but got zilch. I read fun jimmy's thread and 1 or 2 others but I know there has to be more and opening every thread and reading them is fun but not very efficient.  Time I could spend working on the bike ya know.

Offline TjTalan

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Re: Cb550 one of a kind
« Reply #15 on: November 18, 2016, 10:13:52 am »
I have actually done a lot of research on swapping forks. The best option for me at least is the Cognito Moto tree. That way the angle can be stock or whatever you would like it to be. You can also run just about any fork set up.


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Offline bill440cars

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Re: Cb550 one of a kind
« Reply #16 on: November 18, 2016, 10:24:40 am »
     There are charts on ohiocaferacer's (a member here, or at least was. I haven't seen him in quite a spell though. might be too busy with his business) site online (ohiocaferacer.com) that include the fork tube sizes and tripletree stem size of a lot of motorcycles. might at least give you a starting point. biggest thing I know to tell you, though I have only seen it done, is that the triple tree stem can be removed from both the stock tree and the one to be used, put the stem from the stock tree, into the tree to be used, weld or have it welded in place and then the new tree can be installed on the current bike. Of course, some forks will change the rake and trail (I think that is what I have seen discussed on here, on the rake and trail. All I can offer is some tips, someone else, with actual experience needs to chime in here and give the needed info. But, an example is I have a complete fork setup, with the brakes tubes (38mm tubes), built in fork brace and air assist, on the tube/leg assys, & triples from a VT750 That I am wanting to put on a build and I have found that the only difference in the tree, is the stem might be a little longer on the VT part. So, I should be able to swap out the stems and be good. At least, that seems to be all. several different fork assys have been used, but one that comes to mind is the GSXR unit. And Greg (ohiocaferacer) used one on a CB350 racer he built and I think he detailed it on his website and maybe on here. Lot of wording here, but I don't know if it helped any. Hopefully it helped, at least some.  ;)  Now, I see that TJTalan posted while I was typing. Great.  8)
Member # 1969
PRAYERS ALWAYS FOR: Bre, Jeff & Virginia, Bear, Trevor & Brianna ( Close Friend's Daughter)
"Because HE lives, I can Face Tomorrow"                  
 You CAN Teach An Old Dog New Tricks, Just Takes A Little Bit Longer & A Lot More Patience!! 
             
Main Rides: '02 Durango, '71 Swinger & Dad's '93
                  Dakota LE 4x4 '66 CB77 & '72 SL350K2
Watch What You Step Into, It Could  End Up A Mess!

Offline Banditoloco

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Re: Cb550 one of a kind
« Reply #17 on: November 18, 2016, 11:10:02 am »
Thanks. I've been doing more reading over at do the ton also. I'm gonna swap everything triples, stem, tubes, controls, wheel, brakes etc. I just need a doner  front end. I'd like to keep it all honda but it really isn't that big a deal. I'm gonna check some fork lengths and rake numbers. Gotta see how much clearance I need on that Jardine header too. I intend to ride it hard so before I buy I'll be sure my numbers work.

Offline calj737

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Re: Cb550 one of a kind
« Reply #18 on: November 18, 2016, 01:56:10 pm »
You just need to decide whether you want conventional or USD forks. Once that decision is made, the rest gets pretty easy.

Gold valves/emulators from Racetech can make your stock forks very, very good. A fork brace, some better brakes and upgraded rims/tires and you'll have a very hard time outriding the suspension. Spend some quality dough on top quality rear shocks, and bingo! You've got yourself a handful.

If you want USD forks, as mentioned, CognitoMoto probably has the easiest solution for fork/wheel/triple swaps. They offer fixed or adjustable offset triples and they're spaced for exact dimensions for donor front ends and use their hub, and you can keep your spokes. A common swap is 18s front and rear, and many even drop to 17/17 or 18/17 for wider variety of rubber.

Sky's the limit... So where do you want to go?
'74 550 Build http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=126401.0
'73 500 Build http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=132935.0

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of it's victim may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated, but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." - C.S. Lewis

Offline Stev-o

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Re: Cb550 one of a kind
« Reply #19 on: November 18, 2016, 02:42:33 pm »
'74 "Big Bang" Honda 750K [836].....'76 Honda 550F.....K3 Park Racer!......and a Bomber!............plus plus plus.........

Offline bill440cars

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Re: Cb550 one of a kind
« Reply #20 on: November 18, 2016, 03:04:02 pm »
hey 'loco....

http://www.letmegooglethat.com/?q=cb550+front+end+swap

  Cool enough, Sometimes, I forget myself, but am getting to where I google more and wonder less. Lesson learned on this one, by me, for sure.  ;)
Member # 1969
PRAYERS ALWAYS FOR: Bre, Jeff & Virginia, Bear, Trevor & Brianna ( Close Friend's Daughter)
"Because HE lives, I can Face Tomorrow"                  
 You CAN Teach An Old Dog New Tricks, Just Takes A Little Bit Longer & A Lot More Patience!! 
             
Main Rides: '02 Durango, '71 Swinger & Dad's '93
                  Dakota LE 4x4 '66 CB77 & '72 SL350K2
Watch What You Step Into, It Could  End Up A Mess!

Offline TjTalan

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Cb550 one of a kind
« Reply #21 on: November 18, 2016, 03:04:57 pm »
hey 'loco....

http://www.letmegooglethat.com/?q=cb550+front+end+swap
Haha, and in a nutshell! Everything mentioned above on the first page, got to love Google.


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« Last Edit: November 18, 2016, 03:10:39 pm by TjTalan »
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Offline Banditoloco

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Re: Cb550 one of a kind
« Reply #22 on: November 18, 2016, 04:21:27 pm »
Thanks Stevo I'll wade thru hours of crap that Google throws up doing a keyword search. Are u helping me or trying to slow me down. Any idea why my search function on our sohc4 website won't work for me? Are u mad at me because I didn't like the rats nest name?

Offline Stev-o

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Re: Cb550 one of a kind
« Reply #23 on: November 18, 2016, 04:28:11 pm »
Thanks Stevo
Are u mad at me because I didn't like the rats nest name?

Yes, I'm mad cuz you wont accept the name! 

The search feature on this website hasnt worked for quite some time. Just Google what ever info you are looking for and include "SOHC4" and it will bring you back here. Whatever you want to do, it's been done here before, we all have 1 of a kind bikes!  Google "Park Racer" for mine!!

Hope that helps...
'74 "Big Bang" Honda 750K [836].....'76 Honda 550F.....K3 Park Racer!......and a Bomber!............plus plus plus.........

Offline Banditoloco

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Re: Cb550 one of a kind
« Reply #24 on: November 18, 2016, 04:39:40 pm »
I'm going for the modern suspension look and performance plus tire size. Seems more cost effective to swap a complete modern fork setup to achieve my goals.

Offline Banditoloco

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Re: Cb550 one of a kind
« Reply #25 on: November 18, 2016, 04:42:27 pm »
Thanks stev-o. I was just busting your chops.

Offline calj737

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Re: Cb550 one of a kind
« Reply #26 on: November 18, 2016, 05:54:38 pm »
I'm going for the modern suspension look and performance plus tire size. Seems more cost effective to swap a complete modern fork setup to achieve my goals.
Then a perusal of CongitoMoto.com would be informative. Devin is a very good guy and has outfitted hundreds of bikes with modern front ends. He's a member here also, and over at DTT (speedbump there).
'74 550 Build http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=126401.0
'73 500 Build http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=132935.0

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of it's victim may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated, but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." - C.S. Lewis

Offline Banditoloco

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Re: Cb550 one of a kind
« Reply #27 on: November 18, 2016, 06:15:46 pm »
Thanks. I'll call them. Thought I might need to narrow it down some from past experience from board members before I called. I'll give them a try.