Topic: And so...it begins - 1975 CB550F

[Stev-o]

I noticed this clip, but I have no idea what it is used for:

 Can anyone tell me what this is for?

That holds the speedo cable.

[flatlander]

really? it seems to be at a wrong angle for that.
do you have pic of how it should be, with the cable? it might be a missing piece on my bike!

[Stev-o]

really? it seems to be at a wrong angle for that.
do you have pic of how it should be, with the cable? it might be a missing piece on my bike!

This is how it came to me, so it is my assumption [bike was not modified, other that some stupid stickers]
This shot is taken from the front, the holder is at "9:00"...

[flatlander]

ah yes, at 9:00 it makes more sense. thanks!

[Jooky]

That holds the speedo cable.

Appreciate the info as always Stev-o. No new pictures to post, but a general update. Spent some time over the Thanksgiving holiday working on the CB. Completed both forks seals, added some 15w fork oil, and got them installed back on the bike (Sorry Stev-O, still haven't polished them  ).

Green ScotchBrite pads work really well on cleaning the aluminum cast parts. That seal groove needs to be spotless

Thanks for the tip Cal. I cleaned the front brake caliper with a ScotchBrite pad and replaced the piston and seal (after getting that channel spotless). Re-plumbed the brake system with some new upper and lower hoses and replaced the hydraulic brake switch. With everything back together, I did run in to some leaks once I loaded the system up with brake fluid; but I addressed all of them and the front brake is now bled and firm.

Next up was replacing my ignition/engine kill switch assembly and throttle cables. The ignition-engine kill switch that came with the bike was devoid of an actual ignition button. Someone had jerry-rigged what basically looked like a doorbell into the wiring to act as the ignition switch. I tried to locate a replacement, but Honda part 35130-377-670 are few and far between and about $100+ when available. I did read that part 35130-377-670 was superseded by part 35130-377-P00 and should work for a 75 CB550F (https://zoomdune.com/always-on-always-a-problem-honda-starter-button-woes/). The cables were well worn and exposing the metal housing in some places where the plastic had worn through or been damaged.

I found a NOS ignition/engine kill switch on eBay for $40 and rolled the dice (part #35130-377-P00). Everything was going well until I went to install the push throttle cable. The lower housing on the 35130-377-P00 is ever so different in that the mold allows the head of the push cable housing a few extra mm of insertion. As a result, the nut that is supposed to cinch up the cable housing to the lower half of the ignition/engine kill switch assembly, fails to do so. Now, both of my cables are taught and not slipping off of the linkage on the carbs, but if you roll the throttle forward, the push cable exerts pressure against the inside of the housing and it pops the "L" shaped bend in the bottom of the ignition/engine kill switch out a couple mm. Rolling the throttle on, sucks that "L" shaped bend back up into the lower portion of the ignition/kill-switch housing.

I'm sure a picture would be worth a 1,000 words here, as I'm likely not explaining this well; but aside from a little tick and the housing moving about a couple mm, the cables are secure and the throttle seems otherwise unimpeded. I may wrap a couple loops of some wire around the push cable housing and re-cinch down that nut in hopes it takes up the extra slack.

I suppose the old adage is appropriate here...."buy once, cry once" 

[RAFster122s]

If you have a dremel a brass brush in the tool with dremel at about 1/2 power , the rotary brushes are only to be ran at 15,000 rpm or below, does a nice job cleaning the groove.  Otherwise attack it with dental tools to get the corners clean. A sharp point won't do a good job with that, but a pick that can be used to scrape the slot clean is ideal.  Brass will not harm your caliper body as it is softer than the aluminum.
HF sells brass toothbrushes that are real brass, not a brass coated steel brush.  The later can damage any aluminum you use it on.

[Smudgemo]

Hey Jooky, an option (if I'm reading this correctly) for a starter button fix is to replace the plastic housing with all of the original parts and you'll be back in business.  Since it sounds like your parts are long gone, you'll need to find an old one with the important parts.  My neighbor and I created a replacement for the plastic switch housing that is a perfect match for three '76 550s I've fixed.  I don't know if it's the same part for your bike, but it's an option.  If I've read this wrong, then never mind.  The how-to is in my signature below and the part can be got here: http://shpws.me/NkB8

[Jooky]

Well, almost 6 months of radio silence....but I'm back with a big update. Spent the past 6 months working on the bike off and on when time allowed. After addressing the Ignition/Kill Switch assembly, I ordered a new exhaust from Delkevic:

Installation was a breeze and the parts, welds, etc. all seem to be quality, so I'm hoping to get good service life from it. With the exhaust on the bike and much of the ancillary tasks complete, I only needed to get the air box reconnected to the carbs and the gas tank re-plumbed. My original petcock was toast and tracking down a replacement was quite a chore, but thanks to the wisdom of the forums, I located a seller on eBay with NOS Honda parts (granted, it was a $100 just for the petcock; but buy once, cry once I suppose). Everything buttoned up and I rolled her out of the garage for a quick shot:

Things were going well until I installed the battery and encountered a number of electrical issues. No headlamp, no starter button, no tail light, significant voltage drop between the battery and end components. Turns out, despite tending an otherwise new battery from when I bought the bike, the battery was toast. Had a friend come by to help me diagnose the electrical gremlins and after putting his larger battery in series with mine via jumper cables and discovering a blown 7A fuse, we brought this old girl back to life:

Delkevic exhaust sounds pretty good and I think it should open up some more once I put some miles on the bike:

New AGM Scorpion battery from BatteryStuff (thanks forums!) showed up yesterday, so I'm done kick-starting the bike. Also got a fist full of 7A and 15A fuses for future use. My helmet arrived yesterday and I'm on the hunt for a decent textile or leather jacket and gloves (And recommendations folks?). As this is my first bike, I'm playing it safe and respecting ATGATT before hitting the open road. Planning to put some miles on the bike around the neighborhood to wake everything back up in the chassis and see what, if anything, needs tending to.

Fortunately, this bike was in pretty good shape when I bought it in October. It ultimately didn't require a whole lot of effort/parts to get running again. I've never done anything like this before and am super proud and excited to call this mine. I can't wait to ride.

[calj737]

Really nice looking bike! I'm a huge fan of Rev'It riding gear. Check out Revzilla for their product line, or conversely, you can order through Motostorm.it. Despite it being in Italy, prices often are better and shipping is often waived.

[RAFster122s]

congrats on bringing her back to near riding form again. Sign up for a MSF course, best money you can spend.
Don't forget when going AGATT you need to protect the legs and backside and dress for the slide. You don't want to deal with skin grafts if you can avoid it.

[Jooky]

Made a couple of maiden runs around the neighborhood and close to home and the bike was running great! Today, I took a little bit of a longer ride to a work event. On the way out, the bike ran great. Good power, response, etc. After the event the bike started right up, but as I was cruising home on a level grade at about 45mph, the power started to roll back. I knew I didn't have a full tank, so I switched to reserve and tried to give it more throttle, but the RPMs just kept slowly winding down until the motor cut off. Pulled over and gave the chassis a shake and could feel fuel in the tank and after a min or two of trying to start, it fired back up. Went back on my way and another mile or so down the road, the same thing happens - power gradually rolls off until the engine cuts off. Happened about 3 times on the way back, but I was able to get home under power with the engine running strong.

I think my gas tank may not be venting properly. Before I left the house yesterday (bike was off and cool) I was in the garage getting ready and noticed an odd sound and traced it back to the gas cap venting vapor. Opening the cap was like taking the lid off a partially full soda. When the motor was cutting out yesterday, I can't remember how many times, but I definitely opened the gas cap at least once to check fuel and it was the same thing - bunch of vapor escaping. There wasn't a ton of fuel in the tank yesterday (maybe 2 gallons to start the trip), so I'm thinking between the hotter temps of the day and the motor heating up, there was more vapor in the tank and if it's not venting properly, I was starving the carbs.

Where/how exactly do these 75 Super Sport tanks vent vapor? The gas cap has that hinged lever on the top, but I can't discern any other aspects to the cap that would otherwise vent to atmosphere. There's a small hole on the top of the tank by the filler opening, but I believe that's just for overflow and drains directly under the tank. I replaced the rubber gasket with NOS OEM Honda part and it seems to seal tightly to the tank, but maybe it's too tight? Any guidance from those much more knowledgeable than me would be greatly appreciated!

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Made a couple of maiden runs around the neighborhood and close to home and the bike was running great! Today, I took a little bit of a longer ride to a work event. On the way out, the bike ran great. Good power, response, etc. After the event the bike started right up, but as I was cruising home on a level grade at about 45mph, the power started to roll back. I knew I didn't have a full tank, so I switched to reserve and tried to give it more throttle, but the RPMs just kept slowly winding down until the motor cut off. Pulled over and gave the chassis a shake and could feel fuel in the tank and after a min or two of trying to start, it fired back up. Went back on my way and another mile or so down the road, the same thing happens - power gradually rolls off until the engine cuts off. Happened about 3 times on the way back, but I was able to get home under power with the engine running strong.

I think my gas tank may not be venting properly. Before I left the house yesterday (bike was off and cool) I was in the garage getting ready and noticed an odd sound and traced it back to the gas cap venting vapor. Opening the cap was like taking the lid off a partially full soda. When the motor was cutting out yesterday, I can't remember how many times, but I definitely opened the gas cap at least once to check fuel and it was the same thing - bunch of vapor escaping. There wasn't a ton of fuel in the tank yesterday (maybe 2 gallons to start the trip), so I'm thinking between the hotter temps of the day and the motor heating up, there was more vapor in the tank and if it's not venting properly, I was starving the carbs.

Where/how exactly do these 75 Super Sport tanks vent vapor? The gas cap has that hinged lever on the top, but I can't discern any other aspects to the cap that would otherwise vent to atmosphere. There's a small hole on the top of the tank by the filler opening, but I believe that's just for overflow and drains directly under the tank. I replaced the rubber gasket with NOS OEM Honda part and it seems to seal tightly to the tank, but maybe it's too tight? Any guidance from those much more knowledgeable than me would be greatly appreciated!

I believe the vent on the cap is to facilitate flow down through the petcock. The sound you are hearing when opening the cap is likely air being pulled in versus being pushed out.

[Jooky]

I believe the vent on the cap is to facilitate flow down through the petcock. The sound you are hearing when opening the cap is likely air being pulled in versus being pushed out.

Pretty sure it was vapor escaping the tank, but I'm a complete novice here. It was noticeably more present once the bike sat out in the sun during the afternoon and I opened it while warm.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

I believe the vent on the cap is to facilitate flow down through the petcock. The sound you are hearing when opening the cap is likely air being pulled in versus being pushed out.

Pretty sure it was vapor escaping the tank, but I'm a complete novice here. It was noticeably more present once the bike sat out in the sun during the afternoon and I opened it while warm.

On second thought, I think the vent is designed to also vent pressure.  If it's not doing that, it could be problematic.  If it's not able to allow air in, it might also create a starvation issue.  Just my speculation. 

[Jooky]

On second thought, I think the vent is designed to also vent pressure.  If it's not doing that, it could be problematic.  If it's not able to allow air in, it might also create a starvation issue.  Just my speculation.

Any idea on where the vent is located on these CB 550 Super Sport caps? I did some searching on the forum and from a really old post, it sounded like the cap was designed such that the vapors simply escape up the sides of filler hole and over the top of the rubber gasket. As stated, I purchased a NOS OEM Honda rubber gasket for the cap and the fit is pretty tight, so I don't see how this would otherwise be possible as described.

[calj737]

Can you post a picture of your cap and filler neck? My recollection is the F model had a fuel lid and screw on cap, not the hinged type cap. I was alway under the impression the hinged was K model cap.

https://www.cmsnl.com/honda-cb550f-super-sport-550-four-1975-cb550fk0-usa_model469/partslist/F++12.html#.WxgNsYopChA

[Jooky]

Can you post a picture of your cap and filler neck? My recollection is the F model had a fuel lid and screw on cap, not the hinged type cap. I was alway under the impression the hinged was K model cap.

https://www.cmsnl.com/honda-cb550f-super-sport-550-four-1975-cb550fk0-usa_model469/partslist/F++12.html#.WxgNsYopChA

Hey Cal - sorry I may have not described it well. Mine is a screw on cap underneath a hinged fuel lid. Take a look at Page 1 of this thread for a bunch of pictures of the filler neck and cap.

[calj737]

Yep, definitely an F tank and cap. Did you by chance, fully de-rust that cap? It would have needed an immersion bath and ample flushing to purge and rust/debris from it.

[Jooky]

Yep, definitely an F tank and cap. Did you by chance, fully de-rust that cap? It would have needed an immersion bath and ample flushing to purge and rust/debris from it.

Submerged it in EvapoRust overnight a couple months ago and then washed it out really well. It sat for a while before being installed back on the bike with gas in the tank, so some flash surface rust came back, but nothing like how it was originally. Is there some vent or other vapor escape in that cap that I'm not seeing?

[calj737]

I’ll bring a spare over and we can see if it makes a difference.

[calj737]

Hung out with Jooky on Sunday. He's been having some issues with his bike after taking it to a repair shop. Running super rich, clutch slipping, and crappy brakes.

Well, tearing apart his carbs revealed the "shop" installed 40 pilots, 105 mains, completely wrong air screws, and had the needle clips in the second groove from the tip! What the Ef already!

Resetting everything to stock, installing his stock brass after a couple day soak in Berrymans, blown out and spotlessly clean. After I arm wrestle his carbs back on (stock airbox) I'll fire it up and it should be heaps better!

[Jooky]

Meanwhile, I’m trying to decide what medium is most appropriate for the monument I’m building for Cal in tribute. This man is a saint and I greatly appreciate all his time and knowledge. It’s been good hanging out and learning from him both on and off the bike. Thanks Cal!

[flatlander]

Meanwhile, I’m trying to decide what medium is most appropriate for the monument I’m building for Cal in tribute.

stack up a pyramid from a few bottles of gosling's rum 

[calj737]

Meanwhile, I’m trying to decide what medium is most appropriate for the monument I’m building for Cal in tribute.

stack up a pyramid from a few thousand bottles of gosling's rum 

FTFY. I understand Amsterdam is finally recovering inventory from my last trip "east". Might be time to pop in again 

[calj737]

Amazing what too rich jets, needles and screws will do to a set or plugs. #1-4 bottom to top. The other day riding it, it was so rich, it couldn't get underway with a nearly full throttle.

Also, clutch issues while riding. A little look around revealed.... what's wrong with this picture?  No wonder the clutch won't fully engage and has no freeplay.

Got his list of "to-do's" buttoned up most of the way. Carbs rebuilt and reinstalled. Throttle cables corrected. Wiring sorted. Have to vacuum synch the carnies tonight. Then test ride the clutch adjustments before the monsoon tomorrow.

Now where did I put that adult beverage...