Topic: 1975 CB550F stock refresh

[02z06dave]

It’s nice bike
I have one but earlier one I think 69
Have been looking for stock left muffler




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Nice! I like the early ones. I picked up a 70 about 2 weeks ago, but i parted that one.

[02z06dave]

Well some bad news for me today. The body shop called and said my tank is full of pin holes. It looked spotless inside and showed no bubbling paint, so I was not expecting that at all. So now my choice is to delay paint several days to a week and buy a tank, or pull the tank from my 78 and have him paint that. As far as i can tell, the only real difference is the petcock is a single outlet instead of dual so ill have to run a splitter to the carbs. Not the biggest deal in the world, but im not thrilled about it.

[02z06dave]

Ive been very slowly trying to get the engine sorted out. It had a head gasket oil leak so I wanted to just do a quick, simple head gasket swap and leave it at that. I've got the head off now and the gasket is like nothing I've seen before. Its extremely hard and stuck like glue to both the cylinders and head. A plastic scraper doesn't do anything, the gasket remover spray didn't help and neither aircraft paint stripper. Ive used one of these before https://www.amazon.com/3M-18733-Roloc-Bristle-Disc-Grade/dp/B002P50DS2/ref=mp_s_a_1_11?crid=2FL2OQV6AELJ1&keywords=gasket+remover&qid=1555273079&s=gateway&sprefix=gasket&sr=8-11 with good results and no leaks, but thats not something i can use on the cylinder top because the studs are in the way. So i would need to remove the cylinders which i don't want to do because its a bit of a pain to get them back on, especially with the engine still in the frame. I also feel that if I'm going to remove the cylinders, I may as well do a hone and new rings and if im going to send it all off to do that, I might as well do a big bore kit. So that brings me to my question of which one is good for a budget and will I see any effects without doing any other top end work? And would I need to rejet the carbs? I generally keep things pretty stock so that I don't have to worry much about tuning, i can just go to stock settings and tweak a little from there. I have, however, always been interested in doing a big bore to try something new. My paint work will be done within the next week or so, so I'll need to make a decision on this pretty quick. CycleX has a quick turnaround time, so I would probably send it all to them. It would probably be a good idea to go that route, so they can get the surfaces nice and flat too. I don't want to have to get into this thing again in the future.

[02z06dave]

I got my parts back from paint today. The color isnt quite the same as factory, but I really like it and I'm pretty happy with it.  I should be ready to fire it up in the next day or so. The checklist is install carbs, ble the front brake and install the #2 spark plug. My socket wouldnt fit so I had to order the thin walled socket.  I'm excited to finally be coming down the home stretch.

[BRG-BIRD]

Looks nice!

[Stev-o]

Looks great!  I see a BOTM...

[02z06dave]

Thanks. I cant wait to finish it off and get it out on the road.

[flatlander]

yes looks great.
what did you decide to do with the cylinder and head, in the end?

[02z06dave]

yes looks great.
what did you decide to do with the cylinder and head, in the end?

I painstakingly removed all of the gasket material and put it back together. I worked on it for 30 minutes at a time over the course of about a week. After thinking a while about puling the cylinders, i decided there was a good chance I'd run into the same issue with the cylinder base gasket which wouldn't be any easier to deal with. I made sure the head was good and flat before reinstall. I will hope for the best with the cylinders. If a leak develops, ill wait until next winter and do a more thorough top end rebuild. Right now getting it on the road and keep cost down is the bigger priority.

In other news...
I got a much anticipated arrival yesterday

[Stev-o]

Ooooh, an Italian red bike, I'm jealous!  What is the plan?

PM sent re:hoses.

-S

[02z06dave]

Ooooh, an Italian red bike, I'm jealous!  What is the plan?

PM sent re:hoses.

-S

No real plan for it other than ride it. It doesn't need anything as of now.  I may swap for a solo seat this winter.

[02z06dave]

The bike is now totally back together and running strong. It smokes just a tiny bit, as I expected it would as its been off the road for a couple decades. I did just a short ride because the weather is bad today. I need to bleed the brake better and adjust the clutch a little and that seems to be it, so far. I need to do a bit more clean up on it, as well. When I got towards the end, I just really wanted to get it together and ride it, not clean parts. Ill have to get better pictures when its not so cloudy out.

[Can550]

Looking good
I’m far from this stage but very far. In between caught up with my 1976 GL1000 LTD project


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[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Great 900ss!!

[Bankerdanny]

Heres a few pics of the 175. Its a 73 model. Its nothing exciting, but im happy with it. Its a fun little ride.




Great little bike! Perfect for a beginner.

My 2nd bike when I was 16 was an SL175. I loved that little bike.

[02z06dave]

Great 900ss!!

Thanks! I had one last year, and got rid of it. I've wanted another ever since and this has a few nice upgrades.

[02z06dave]

Has anyone else that has a cb550f found that the shifter is too long? Its only about an inch away from the stator cover so my foot keeps catching on the cover. I have to position my foot so that i move the shifter with just the edge of my toe or shoe. Its very unnatural. Im wondering if maybe there is a 3 or 4 inch shifter to use instead of this 5 inch.

[02z06dave]

After making a few little adjustments, the bike seemed like it was ready for a longer ride. I noticed before I left that after each short ride, the battery seemed to be losing charge.  I was hoping it was just that i hadn't been riding long enough for it to recharge the battery. That is unfortunately, not the case. After making it not far at all, I had no lights then the bike died. My wife had to come get me. It would seem something in the charging system is not working. I have never tested charging components before, so I need to do some research then get to testing to see what needs replaced. For nlw, the battery is plugged into a charger.

[Stev-o]

OMP has a good diagnostic write up...

 http://www.oregonmotorcycleparts.com/FAQ.html

[02z06dave]

OMP has a good diagnostic write up...

 http://www.oregonmotorcycleparts.com/FAQ.html

Thank you for that. I bookmarked it for later.

I pulled the sprocket cover to check the condition of the wiring to the stator. Sure enough, i had pinched the harness between the case and sprocket cover cutting one of the wires. I fixed that so it should be good now. Barring any future issues, that pretty much wraps this one up. Next will be my cb400f that i got from Momo last summer.

[Stev-o]

Been there!


Nominated for BOTM....

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Nominated and seconded.  Dave: please post in the following thread that you "accept" the nomination:  http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,176614.0/all.html

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Nominated and seconded.  Dave: please post in the following thread that you "accept" the nomination:  http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,176614.0/all.html

Bump!!  C'mon, Dave!  Accept!  http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,176614.0/all.html

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Nominated and seconded.  Dave: please post in the following thread that you "accept" the nomination:  http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,176614.0/all.html

Bump!!  C'mon, Dave!  Accept!  http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,176614.0/all.html

Hey Dave,

When you come up for air, please post that you "Accept" the nomination in the following thread:  http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,176614.0/all.html

[Stev-o]

Nominated and seconded.  Dave: please post in the following thread that you "accept" the nomination:  http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,176614.0/all.html

Bump!!  C'mon, Dave!  Accept!  http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,176614.0/all.html

Hey Dave,

When you come up for air...

He's been on vacation...