Topic: New Guy from Austria

[Hariii]

Good morning guys,

my name is Harald and I'm from Austria, the little country next to germany  I'm 28 years old, a medicine student and recently bought myself a beautiful Honda CB 550 F from 1977 in a nice condition.
Please forgive me if my english is not always right, I'm still trying to improve my language skills.

Well, what else is there to say? I'm quite new to old bikes and especially carbs and i really hope that i can learn a lot from you guys.

My plans for the bike a quite small. I want to improve the board electricity (maybe M - Unit), maybe the breaks, remove the rust from the metal parts, change the muffler because the one i have is a little bit damaged and change the turn the signals etc. I absolutely want to maintain the original look and classic look and i won't go for a cafe racer look.

Here are some pictures from my new love:

[seanbarney41]

thing is...you already went for a cafe look, that is what the f model is!  Welcome to the classic japanese motor cycle world.

[Hariii]

In my eyes it's not a really caferacer if there are no clip ons or at least a m - handlebar But yeah, i know what you mean.

[MD]

Welcome from Lake Superior,

Nice looking 550. 


-MD

[FourUsTry]

Welcome from a fellow 550 owner near Boston. Bike already looks sweet!

A nice electrical upgrade is to put LED bulbs in the signals and taillight and instruments: you can really reduce the battery drain rate when the RPMs are low, like in traffic. And there are lower power headlight options. This lets you keep the stock signals, unless you really want to change them. I can post a list of the bulbs I ended up using in my '78 CB550K if you want.

Otherwise, aside from replacing old rubber/seals and wear items and repacking or replacing wheel bearings, a good upgrade on these bikes is bronze swingarm bushings and better shocks.

Have fun!

[Hariii]

Thank you very much for the warm welcome

I spend the last few days doing some research about aftermarket products for the 550 and drove the first few miles (kilometers here in Austria). Now i can say, i absolutely love this stunning bike. It makes so much fun and feels just great, although there is still much to do.

To be honest, I'm not a big fan of the stock signals and I'm thinking about changing them. Maybe with the chrome drops from motone. Nice, timeless design, not too big, not too small.
What i will definitely change are the grips and the stock mirrors. Can't see a damn thing and due to wind, they always change their position. Also, i have to look around for a new silencer...A mission, almost impossible because we have strict regulations here in Austria and it's quite hard to find a legal one. I spent hours searching on the internet but couldn't find anything.

I will also contact an expert who will check the wiring and hopefully improves the electricity of the bike. He told me that the M - Unit makes no sense and that it won't make anything better. So, that idea is off the charts for now.

Last, thank you all and cheers from Austria.

Harald