Hi all,
I joined this forum after a friend bought a 1977 CB550F(? not sure exactly if it's a F or a K yet. It's been modified).
Bike seemed to be fairly complete, had been converted into more of a Café style, which is what my friend was looking for. It had recently been in the shop, new plugs, new plug wires, carbs stripped, rebuilt and synced, new tires, new brake pads and fluid. Test ride it seemed pretty good. I think the motor may have been overhauled, it has very little primary chain noise and no smoke. He rode it 37 miles home averaging 70 mph, bike sounded good. Front brakes are sticking so he used rear only. When we got home it was idling very fast. So I told him to do some tests in front of his apartment complex the next day. He ended up riding it 3 miles away even though the bike was misfiring, not running off the choke and getting hot. I suspect an air leak, probably from the carb boots or manifold, I understand that's common on these bikes. Anyway, he's pissed and I can't get hold of him. He wanted a project and he has one but is not acting very good about it right now. So, I thought I'd come on here and get some opinions on the things to look for. For example, I have no idea if the points are burned, or if the timing is correct or even if it has been changed to electronic ignition. I'm most likely going to be the one to help him since he's fairly inexperienced on wrenching and not too good at troubleshooting.
So, sorry for the long winded introduction. Looking forward to digging into this old iron.
Mad
