Topic: CB550K Oil Pressure Gauge

[KvilleRelic]

Has anyone successfully mounted an Oil Pressure Gauge on a CB550 K0? My current sensor is not working and am waiting for delivery of replacement, but would like a redundant method of verifying oil pressure at a glance after starting engine. The 750's have a convenient oil galley port up high, but not seeing a nice spot for the 550 that is easy to view.

[newday777]

You will have to set up a Tee at the pressure sensor to add a gauge remotely.

[Deltarider]

You don't need an OEM oil switch. Every auto shop has ones that are just as good and possibly even better as the originals all seem to die prematurely.
Oil pressure is the last thing to be concerned about riding a SOHC CB Four. An oil temperature gauge - in the view of the rider by all means!! - might be useful, but then primarily to see when the oil is hot enough to submit your bike to full throttle.
I remember having seen a maintenance schedule for professional mecs in a Honda dealer workshop in which Honda suggested to check the oil pressure once every... 24.000 kms. No mechanic ever did.
The gauge in the pic is just a silly gadget - and from an ergonomic point of vue - outright dangerous. Every experienced biker knows that it takes only a second looking down at a thing like that, to find your self in the lane with oncoming traffic. Would you like to be such an oncomer?

[calj737]

You don't need an OEM oil switch. Every auto shop has ones that are just as good and possibly even better as the originals all seem to die prematurely.
Oil pressure is the last thing to be concerned about riding a SOHC CB Four. An oil temperature gauge - in the view of the rider by all means!! - might be useful, but then primarily to see when the oil is hot enough to submit your bike to full throttle.
I remember having seen a maintenance schedule for professional mecs in a Honda dealer workshop in which Honda suggested to check the oil pressure once every... 24.000 kms. No mechanic ever did.
The gauge in the pic is just a silly gadget - and from an ergonomic point of vue - outright dangerous. Every experienced biker knows that it takes only a second looking down at a thing like that, to find your self in the lane with oncoming traffic. Would you like to be such an oncomer?

Not being concerned bout whether there is adequate oil pressure just might be a hazard. Oil temp is also important, though millions upon millions of motorcycles never (still aren’t)  were equipped with them.

As for “safety and ergonomics” wasn’t it you who posited that manually adjusting the idle screw intermittently while riding was wholly appropriate? That is certainly far more distracting and dangerous than a glance at a gauge in my experience. Ironic logic to me…

[bryanj]

Not for nothing is that red light known in the trade as the "its too late" light.
One thing is that the Honda motorcycle switch is a different pressure to the car one although visibly identical

[Bodi]

The pressure gauge is sorta a temp gauge as well. Idle pressure is 60psi cold, if it gets below 5 I know the engine is getting too hot. That only happens in bad traffic, and pulling to the shoulder for 15 minutes to cool down a bit doesn't make much difference in travel time compared to going walking speed in traffic.
Looking down at the gauge stopped at idle is hardly dangerous. I do check it riding but obviously not in a situation where something dangerous is possible. On a straight stretch of road without traffic, nothing is going to happen in the second I look down.

[Deltarider]

[...]
As for “safety and ergonomics” wasn’t it you who posited that manually adjusting the idle screw intermittently while riding was wholly appropriate? That is certainly far more distracting and dangerous than a glance at a gauge in my experience. Ironic logic to me…

Goodday Calj, always good to have you on, mate and let me grab the occasion to express how honoured I am you still read my posts.
There's nothing wrong with adjusting the idle screw at the first or second red traffic light as I have suggested multiple times before. I must have forgotten it this time. Thanks for reminding me.

[Deltarider]

[...] I do check it riding but obviously not in a situation where something dangerous is possible. On a straight stretch of road without traffic, nothing is going to happen in the second I look down.

Thank you, Bodi. That is exactly where the danger is. Every time you do it, your brain learns - unconsciously - that it can be done. This 'experience' will be confirmed every time you do it. Over and over. It builds so to speak, every time.
But alas, like Confucius said: all things go right... until one day things go wrong.
In The Netherlands we have quite some casualties in traffic due to people who have 'trained' themselves to multitask. Think: cell phones.
But hey, if you're really concerned over oil pressure - Honda clearly wasn't - you could add a gauge in the view of the rider (see pic).
Bonus is, there will be less risk of the sender leaking all of a sudden, due to hitting it against something, like when parking. When this happens unnoticed, you will never forgive yourself having fitted the damned thing.
It is just a gadget. Young girls also like gadgets... for their Barbie dolls.

[70CB750]

Has anyone successfully mounted an Oil Pressure Gauge on a CB550 K0? My current sensor is not working and am waiting for delivery of replacement, but would like a redundant method of verifying oil pressure at a glance after starting engine. The 750's have a convenient oil galley port up high, but not seeing a nice spot for the 550 that is easy to view.

Oil pressure gauge is great to have.  Following since am getting ready to put one on my 900C   In my jeep I replaced the oil gauge with a mechanical one - reading pressure, not interpreting electrical signal - it's bulletproof.

As somebody mentioned - you can also estimate how hot the engine is from the pil pressure at idle. 

[BenelliSEI]

Has anyone successfully mounted an Oil Pressure Gauge on a CB550 K0? My current sensor is not working and am waiting for delivery of replacement, but would like a redundant method of verifying oil pressure at a glance after starting engine. The 750's have a convenient oil galley port up high, but not seeing a nice spot for the 550 that is easy to view.

Oil pressure gauge is great to have.  Following since am getting ready to put one on my 900C   In my jeep I replaced the oil gauge with a mechanical one - reading pressure, not interpreting electrical signal - it's bulletproof.

As somebody mentioned - you can also estimate how hot the engine is from the pil pressure at idle.

+1 to that. I like to glance down occasionally and see that needle pointing forward.

[MauiK3]

I have my K3 750 gauge as a pacifier, I check it once every so often just to make sure. It's really not necessary but neither are pacifiers.

[70CB750]

I have my K3 750 gauge as a pacifier, I check it once every so often just to make sure. It's really not necessary but neither are pacifiers.

 

[BenelliSEI]

I have my K3 750 gauge as a pacifier, I check it once every so often just to make sure. It's really not necessary but neither are pacifiers.

Good one!

[KvilleRelic]

All good info, I originally liked the "idiot" light because after oil chainge I always would crank the engine with kill switch in off position to allow oil to slosh around before starting .... the indicator light would go off letting me know I've done that... then I would start it up.

[Godffery]

 Back in 2010 I plumed a gauge directly into the oil pump of a 550, and ran it out threw the side of the sprocket cover. Although admittedly, the draw back with that method is needing to remove the gauge and pipe when servicing the bike under that cover.

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