Topic: CB550K1 "Keep on the road"

[chiefum]

I picked up this beautiful cb550k1 a while back, and I've been going through and doing some maintenance.  As soon as I seen the color and condition, I knew it was meant to be. As this isn't really a project thread, it's more of a way for me to keep track of what I've done. 

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[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Nice looking bike.

It reminds me of mine before I couldn't stop tinkering with mine.

14_zps73e612d9 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

[chiefum]

First order of business was to take care of the leaky carbs. As soon as the petcock was turned on, it would leak out of the overflows.  I tried tapping on the bowls, but they continued to leak. So I decided to inspect the carbs. I replaced the float needle valves, carb boots, and bowl gaskets.  I also adjusted the float heights and verified with clear tube. A vent tube had also pulled out.


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[chiefum]

After some short rides I noticed a small oil leak. It appeared to be coming from the shifter area. I ordered the shifter seal and the seal behind the front sprocket.  I started with the shifter seal, and the leak appears to be stopped.


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[chiefum]

I changed the oil and found the filter washer missing.  Added the filter washer. The gas tank key mechanism seemed a little wonky, and a special key was used to unlock it. I found a nos replacement on ebay, and I replaced that and put a new gasket on.

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[chiefum]

I pulled the plugs out, and replaced,  I'll keep an eye on them.
 

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[chiefum]

I set the valve lash, adjusted cam chain tensioner, set points gap, and adjusted timing with a timing light.

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[chiefum]

The front brake seemed to not be releasing all the way. I replaced the seal, piston, and pads. Then I took the master cylinder apart, cleaned and honed it, and put it back together.  Seems to be working now, but I don't get a very powerful squirt back out of the return hole with the master cylinder cover off. I also did my best to deglaze the rotor.

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[chiefum]

I had the old tires replaced with some Heidenau k36 and k44. I decided to try a compression test, the numbers are all close to each other.


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[chiefum]

The ignition switch was relocated to the top, so I found a bracket on ebay and moved it back to the stock location.  The reset knob for the trip meter was missing,  and a kind forum member sent me a replacement at no charge. I believe the rear grab bar was from an F model, and it appears to be hard to find the K model in decent shape. I found an ok one and cleaned it up,  it'll work for now. The flasher relay was also not functioning properly,  changed that and the battery too. The side covers are in beautiful shape, so I replaced the grommets and added a little grease to them.


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[chiefum]

Nice looking bike.

It reminds me of mine before I couldn't stop tinkering with mine.

14_zps73e612d9 by Donald Leonhardt, on Flickr

Beautiful!! I've watched your build thread and it's amazing!!

[seanbarney41]

Cool!  Happy to follow this..

[chiefum]

Cool!  Happy to follow this..

Thanks Sean! She sure is pretty, thanks again for an easy buying experience.

[PeWe]

A really good flow of fixings things!

[chiefum]

A really good flow of fixings things!

Thanks! I'd be lost without this forum, such a wealth of knowledge and information. 

[chiefum]

My first attempt at vacuum syncing carburetors.  I first tested the gauges by fitting them all to one port. Then I tested where they were at before adjusting, 2,3, and 4 were very close. Then I made some adjustments to 1 and 4, and I think they should be close enough.

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[PeWe]

Good detail to check the clocks on one port.