Been lagging on updating this, mostly because It's been rainy season and I wanted to wash it but didn't see the point. Don't ride in the rain regularly but during rainy season frequently get caught in it, from a drizzle to a downpour.. It hasn't rained in two days, looks like the season is over, so I took it out for a wash.
Cleans up pretty nicely, definitely not perfect. I'm going to rechrome the header and grab bar (after straightening), and a couple other pieces, including the stock fender if they can straighten it. The black mark on the header is from my shoes -- the brake lever is bent inward (my nephew tipped it over twice when he had it, one on each side) and if I'm not paying attention my shoe brushes the header and leaves a little rubber behind. Shifter has a small bend in it too. May rechrome the ring around the headlight -- it looks great, but in strong light shows some pitting.
The stator cover plate went on nicely and is staying in place with just the stays.
I bought a stock headlight bucket but it was pretty sun faded and had a couple dings, so I filled it, and rattle canned it (with a rattle can clear). It's not perfect and shows some texture, at some point I will work on it again. But I got the correct bolts with ground wires for inside the bucket (DSS shipped to Mexico, so that's good to know). LHS turn signal has been rewired so the wires are red and black, but it works fine. Might clean up the turn signals or replace as they have a little pitting and some scratches, but they work for now. And I'm keeping it as stock as I can, so big turn signals it is.
I removed the oil filter adaptor and replaced it. The filter housing is off of a 400F, just one I had laying around. I scraped it and repainted it -- looks a little new compared the rest of the engine but I'm sure it was start attracting dirt in its own time. Had an OEM small head filter bolt as well. The top of the housing, where the little tab on the filter is supposed to fit in a space on the engine, fits jsut fine but sticks out a little -- I think the things it fits into are more pronounced on a 400F. Seals up just fine. Took off and inspected the oil pan. Cleaned it up.
The replacement front fender from Vietnam works and looks good. It had some issues -- including the brake line holder and the screws for the struts, but it came together just fine.
I'm heading to PHX in a few weeks, and have a few more things I want to get. I want to replace all of the allen bolts -- just don't like 'em. I have a ton of old bolts sitting around in PHX and some here so I will look there first, then order what I don't have. One of the tappet covers stripped when I adjusted the valve lash a while ago. I had a spare here but I'll probably order 4 new ones so I've got spares again (and the nice new ones will face out). Crankcase cover screws, alternator cover screws, carb top screws -- all gonna be replaced. Head cover as well -- it's weeping just a little, not enough for me to worry about and also not enough for me to worry about replacing the screws. I'll replace the seal when it gets worse. The allen bolts actually dig into the tappet covers.
It's in really nice shape, but it's going to remain a rider. There are a couple scuffs on the muffler but I think I'll just leave it be. It needs a new chain and sprockets, that's on my list too (and luckily there is no damage to the seal under the crankcase cover from a too-wide chain). It's been fun riding it around -- I've got a 350F here that has a pretty tired (and smoky over 5k rpm) engine, and so I keep it pretty close to home. The 550F has been great for linger trips and ripping around. I ran a couple errands today and took the long way home. Pretty happy with the stuff I've done so far, have a few more things on the list, but it's a blast so far.
