Topic: Dad's 1978 Honda CB550k

[BenelliSEI]

Try four new plugs.

[joegeis]

hey guys, so today I installed my new coils wires and caps as well as the Hondaman ignition system. All went well and the bike started up, but I continued to have the "walking idle" problem. However, as I attempted to sync, the idle began to smooth out. #4 needed a lot of adjustment, and as I got it in line with the others, that seemed to solve my issues. I took the bike for a rip around the neighborhood and the engine felt very smooth and even. No problems holding idle at stop signs. I forgot to check the temperate of each header afterwards, but I will do that next time.

My new caps are 5 ohms resistance, with regular Autolite equivalents for NGK D7EAs. Should i experiment with the D7REAs? I found a few old threads that never really seemed to land on a solid conclusion. I tested my old caps as I replaced them. One had 4.2 ohms, one had 4.7 ohms, and two of them I could not get a reading on.

Next up, I think I need to play with the clutch. It feels... sluggish? The friction zone is almost all the way out as well, even though I have adjusted all the slack out of the cable and the pivot arm by the brake. I'm headed out of town for the week with work, so I'll start researching that when I get back.

Thanks guys!

[BenelliSEI]

It’s surprising how often a carb sync cures multiple problems. Well done. Put some miles on it and change the oil, before worrying too much about the clutch (unless it starts slipping).

[joegeis]

Back from out of town and tried to take the bike for a ride. I could not get it to start, and thought maybe the battery was low. I threw it on the trickle charger (I don't have a regular charger/ jumper) and used some starting fluid to get it going. About 2 blocks later, it died on me, losing all power. I pushed it back to the garage and found that I had blown the 15 amp main fuse in my new Hondaman fuse block (with blade fuses). This seems very strange to me.

Also, it may be relevant, but while I was waiting for the battery to charge, I did swap out my headlight to the Philips MotoVision. I did not blow the 7 amp headlight fuse.

I've got the battery back on the charger. We'll see how it starts and runs tomorrow.

Oh, and I also painted "HONDA" on the back of the seat with the stencil. It looks great!

[grcamna2]

Joe,did you install the headlight I sent you ?

[joegeis]

Yep! Took care of that today while the battery was charging.  It was missing a retaining wire to hold the bulb in,  but I stole one from the Hella lamp that I bought.  All good! Would that have have blown the main fuse?

It worked out very well,  thank you!

[grcamna2]

Yep! Took care of that today while the battery was charging.  It was missing a retaining wire to hold the bulb in,  but I stole one from the Hella lamp that I bought.  All good! Would that have have blown the main fuse?

It worked out very well,  thank you!

Ok 
How many watts is your Philips MotoVision bulb drawing ?

[calj737]

All good! Would that have have blown the main fuse?

Unlikely. More likely it would have blown the headlamp fuse. Main fuse blowing is often attributed to a wiring short in the hand controls, coils, a flopping battery shorting out against the frame perhaps?

[joegeis]

Bulb draws 55 watts. I'll run through the wiring harness tomorrow to check for shorts. It likely has to do with my install of Honda Hondamans ignition. Prudent have something shorting out there.

[joegeis]

Ok, working on electrical issues today. I tool the bike off the charger 6 hours ago once it was fully charged. Here is a fresh set of readings:

Bike off:
Battery Voltage 12.99
Main Left: 12.99
Main Right: 12.99

Bike on:
Battery Voltage: 12.12
7am Tail: 10.95 / 10.99
7amp Head: 10.55 / 10.55
Main: 11.88 / 11.79

I checked all the wires from my Hondaman ignition install, and all the bullet connectors are secure and fully covered with the plastic sleeves, so nothing should be shorting out. I checked my headlight bucket connections and I had a Brown and White connection not made, so I reconnected that. Otherwise, everything looks good. I am getting 11.19 V low beam and 11.12 volts hi beam in the headlight in the bucket.

I'm going to take it for another spin (assuming it starts) and see how it goes.

[calj737]

So you’re losing a full volt with the bike ON between the battery and the headlight. This is not the cause of the MAIN fuse blowing, but it is indicative of corrosion or too much resistance in the headlamp circuit.

Besides checking the ignition module for loose wires, did you check carefully under the RH control, around the coils under the tank, and do a thorough job of wriggling the battery cables themselves. A loose ground can easily cause your latest issue.

[joegeis]

I definitely rebuilt the left hand controls,  but I don't remember doing the right.  I'll check that and the other items you mentioned. 

Also,  the bike started up just fine.  I put 15 miles on it today! I received my petcock o ring and filter tube also. I'll throw those in so I can get rid of the in line fuel filter before that causes me any problems

[joegeis]

I tried to install the petcock strainer and o ring today. The strainer doesn't fit, unless I'm really not understanding how it works. The o ring was the right size, so I put that in. The old one came out in little pieces. Its a miracle the thing wasn't leaking! I'm guessing maybe the petcock was replaced when the bike was worked on in the 90s?

Also, the bike died on me as I was coming up to a light yesterday. I thought maybe the fuel was low. I switched to the reserve tank and it was able to start back up again. It held idle just fine. However when I took the tank off today, the level was actually still pretty high, and high enough that gas was flowing when set to main. Not sure what caused the issue. I did not lose power that time. Strange...

Later this week when I have more time I'll take apart the RH controls and clean/lube/tighten everything back up. I've checked all the grounds many times. Everything is in good shape and tight.

Also found that neither my front or rear brake switch is tripping the brake light. I haven't changed the bulb so that may be it. I had both switches working fine a month ago. More to diagnose later this week!

I'm going to take the bike to the office tomorrow. It's ~10 miles each way. Hopefully it makes it!

[BenelliSEI]

Put the strainer in the tank first. The small flair at the bottom helps it fit snugly in the slight radius of the hole in the tank “nipple”. Put the rubber in the petcock and screw it up, into place. Don’t over tighten or you’ll tear the rubber. It’s odd, but works.

P.S. Make sure you’ve picked out the old strainer first. Lots of people miss the old one stuck up in there!

[joegeis]

Today I rebuilt the right hand controls. Everything was fine, just a little dirty. Now it's clean and lubed. It did not solve my issue though, half a block from my house it died again. It blew the 15 amp main fuse. What could be causing this?? Could it be related to the Hondaman ignition install?

[grcamna2]

Put the strainer in the tank first. The small flair at the bottom helps it fit snugly in the slight radius of the hole in the tank “nipple”. Put the rubber in the petcock and screw it up, into place. Don’t over tighten or you’ll tear the rubber. It’s odd, but works.

P.S. Make sure you’ve picked out the old strainer first. Lots of people miss the old one stuck up in there!

The bottom of the threaded 'tank nipple' also has a type of ridge up inside it where the filter 'sock' base fits neatly into.
That 'ridge' needs to be cleaned out well for the bottom of the filter/strainer to sit snug into.

[joegeis]

Fixed the fuse issue and things are very good now! I put a solid 80 miles on it today. It was the first true "ride" I've taken the bike on. A few things I noticed:

+ Suspension is FANTASTIC. I'm really glad I went with the Ikon upgrades!
+ Handles much better than I expected. I'm glad I kept the stock wheel sizes and replaced all the bearings. It may not manuever quite as quickly as my MT07, but it's smooth like butter and very confidence inspiring.
- I'm still chasing a smooth idle. It died on me twice as I came to an intersection because the idle dropped so low. Other times it was idling at 3,000 as I rolled to a stop.
- I'm not sure about the clutch, especially going into first gear. The friction point is nearly all the way out, and it gets into first gear kind of roughly. It slipped into neutral as I tried to shift between 4 & 5 once or twice as well.

I'm absolutely in love with the bike. I'll be commuting on it for the rest of the riding season to try and get as many miles as I can on it.

How soon should I do the first oil change? I heard that you want to do it pretty soon on an engine that has been sitting a long time. I'm going to run Shell Rotella 15W-40 with an ounce or two of ZDDP added. I currently have Yamalube 10W-30 in it, since that's what I keep on hand for my other bike.

Big thanks for all the help you guys! While I suspect you never "complete" a vintage bike like this, we made it road worthy before the end of the season. I could not have done it on my own! Here's a few pics I grabbed while out today:

[grcamna2]

The rolling idle would bother me also;it can give you a problem with shifting if the idle is high.
The bike looks good and so does the scenery.

[seanbarney41]

Bike looks great!  You are doing an excellent job!  Keep working at these last few Gremlins...

[BenelliSEI]

I’m impressed! Bike looks great. Did you dismantle and clean the advancer? If it’s slow to return it can cause the slow idle return. Well done!

As the bike has sat for so long, I’d do the oil/ filter after a few hundred miles.

[joegeis]

I’m impressed! Bike looks great. Did you dismantle and clean the advanced! If it’s slow to return it can cause the slow idle return. Well done!

As the bike has sat for so long, I’d do the oil/ filter after a few hundred miles.

Thanks! I don't think I understand the the advance thing... What do you mean?

[grcamna2]

I’m impressed! Bike looks great. Did you dismantle and clean the advanced! If it’s slow to return it can cause the slow idle return. Well done!

As the bike has sat for so long, I’d do the oil/ filter after a few hundred miles.

Thanks! I don't think I understand the the advance thing... What do you mean?

The centrifugal advance mechanism is a set of spinning weights with 2 springs which is underneath the points plate.
They need to be maintained:taken apart,cleaned and lubed with just a touch of the proper high temp grease in a few spots. The 2 springs can also lose a bit of tension and allow the timing to float around.

[BenelliSEI]

Apologies for my poor question (and spell check)! The advancer plate is what rotates the point cam to advance your timing as you increase revs from idle. If it does not work smoothly it can affect how the engine drops back down to idle.

[joegeis]

This could be it then.  I never did that maintenance task! It would be amazing if this solved my idle issue!

[BenelliSEI]

Might be. “Varnish” builds up on the centre shaft, which makes the return slow or sticky as the revs drop. A simple check is to just grab the cam and manually twist it (engine off!). It should rotate a few degrees and go back freely.

To clean it up, you will have to remove the points plate and then do points gap and ignition timing again….. have you checked ignition timing with a strobe light? You also want to make sure you have it spot on for total advance. Too much advance can also slow the return to idle.