Topic: Barn find CB 550 awakening

[radcb550]

So I picked up this very good condition '76 CB 550 Four yesterday.  Not pristine but as good as I have seen in recent years and having owned four 550s previously.  Purchased from the second owner, 22K miles and complete with some gawd awful period accessories, most of which I have already removed.  The ape hangers are coming off post haste.  Light surface rust on the header clamps and not much else, that legendary 70's chrome will polish up well.   The aluminum has that usual oxidized surface on the covers etc.
The exhaust is an odd one, two into one on each side and it seems to be the entire system from the head.

Good spark, compression, bought as a non runner but I have faith...  This is just the way I transported it home sans the rear rack and sissy bar, no cleaning yet.   I May retain the front engine guard just because... dunno yet.
The spare key has the dealer stock tag still with it, an original tool kit that looks as if Soichiro Honda himself packed the pouch. 

Last registered in 1999 according to the plate so off the road for twenty-five year...!  And seemingly stored properly.  I will replace the tires, wheel bearings etc...

Wicked excited to have another one of these 550 Fours, this one will stay.

I need to source the replacement cables to go with the newly ordered OEM bars.  The wiring May need to be shortened but I'll figure that out when I pull the existing bars off...

New battery is in, and she spins up like crazy.  The installed oil pressure gauge indicates great oil pressure.  The carbs will need to come off for cleaning.  Oh joy, into the ultrasonic cleaner for all the bits.

More later,
rad

[denward17]

Nice looking bike to start with, Good Luck...

I am just about finished with my '76, link in my signature.

[CycleRanger]

My, the paint looks nice on that one!
I would guess those pipes are Jardine 4-into-2's.

[newday777]

Sure is Purdy washed up Rob.
How's the inside of the tank and carbs? Did the POs empty the gas?

[Mark1976]

   That's a great find and a great starting point!!!!

[Tracksnblades1]

Score 🎯

[BenelliSEI]

Very nice find!

[bryanj]

Personaly wheel bearings only if play but full brake system overhaul including rear shoes as the glue holding the linings gives up

[Deltarider]

[...]  The carbs will need to come off for cleaning.  Oh joy, into the ultrasonic cleaner for all the bits.

I'd rather not. With carbs in situ, I would remove a floatbowl first and see what it looks like. A friend who had left his Yamaha for over 12 years, just drained the bowls of what was left inside. He filled the tank, fitted a new battery, opened the petcock and a few kicks later it was alive and ran without a problem. Fresh gasoline took it from there. He hadn't opened anything.
Your carbs can be cleaned manually easily. Using ultrasonic can bring a risk of losing a small part and then you have a hole in your carbs.

[bek1966]

Terrific looking bike, following!

[radcb550]

CycleRnger,
Cool, thanks. If they sound good then they can stay. I gonna bet that OEM pipe set and cans would cost more than I paid for said 550...!

newday777,
Clean as a whistle,amazing in fact.




bryanj,
Copy that on the wheel bearings, only if needed and I will check on the rear shoes. The front caliper and master cylinder seem fine so hoping they will bleed up well.

Deltarider,
Ok, I'll drop the bowls and clean the primaries and see what happens.

Thanks all,
More later.
Rob 

[Deltarider]

Deltarider,
Ok, I'll drop the bowls and clean the primaries and see what happens.

As a matter of fact, you can clean all* what is needed by just dropping the bowls.
Having sad that, it certainly helps if you've been there before.
* slow jets (can easily be unsrewed) as well as main jets** and - if needed - the needle jets.
** You may want to check the main jets O-rings are Ok and still seal well.

[newday777]

CycleRnger,
Cool, thanks. If they sound good then they can stay. I gonna bet that OEM pipe set and cans would cost more than I paid for said 550...!

newday777,
Clean as a whistle,amazing in fact.




bryanj,
Copy that on the wheel bearings, only if needed and I will check on the rear shoes. The front caliper and master cylinder seem fine so hoping they will bleed up well.

Deltarider,
Ok, I'll drop the bowls and clean the primaries and see what happens.

Thanks all,
More later.
Rob

👍

[radcb550]

I did not know whether to keep this thread going with all that I need to do or start new... Perhaps when this gets too crowded then I'll diversify.

So, first off... the new bars arrived, and I started to pull the waaaay too tall bars off and the wiring is a puzzle or actually, the process of changing the switch wires is. 

I started with the right side and promptly pulled the connector out of the switch... great.  I cannot see repairing that connector, it looks a bit butchered and repaired in there plus the shorter bars are going to require shorter wires so I suppose replacement is the way to go.

Now, I have no problem with buying spendy OEM switches even though they are pricey.  Are the aftermarket switches of decent quality...?  Good wire connectors and appropriate length etc...?

Secondly, When pulling the wires out of the headlight bucket, what is the preferred method..?  I can look at the wiring diagram and pull each wire from the connectors in the bucket but... is that the way to do it...?  I Really hate the idea of pulling the gauges and all that. 
 
I actually am not in love with the idea of running the wires for a new switch through the bar but, probably must.

Right hand switch connector...



Connector clip in the switch housing...



Your basic headlight full of wires and connectors...



And as a side note, do I need to disturb the dash light board...?  Not certain if you can make it out here, that bale seems to hold the light sockets in place.



All right, thanks much,
Rob 

[HondaMan]

Yep, that's just what that bale does!
What a sweet find! That is one nice bike.

[newday777]

As to the aftermarket switches, I had a problem with the right side aftermarket switch binding the throttle tube in the housing when screwed tight as it was designed to be on a 750, over the winter. I ended up getting a good used original switch for that bike.
On another 750 after that, I bought a NOS right switch for yes more money and it worked perfectly.
You can leave the gauges in place and I just unhook all the wires in the bucket and clean the pins and barrels, and tighten the barrels slightly for a clean and tight connection. Hint. Take pictures of the different connections before pulling apart. There will be a short jumper on one, 2 male ends on it and one end will plug in a wrong color.

[radcb550]

As to the aftermarket switches, I had a problem with the right side aftermarket switch binding the throttle tube in the housing when screwed tight as it was designed to be on a 750, over the winter. I ended up getting a good used original switch for that bike.
On another 750 after that, I bought a NOS right switch for yes more money and it worked perfectly.
You can leave the gauges in place and I just unhook all the wires in the bucket and clean the pins and barrels, and tighten the barrels slightly for a clean and tight connection. Hint. Take pictures of the different connections before pulling apart. There will be a short jumper on one, 2 male ends on it and one end will plug in a wrong color.

Got it...  I just placed an order for a new OEM/NOS Honda right hand switch.  I like to avoid drama with fit issues.

I'll take the time to identify all the correct wires to pull and SLOWLY pull the nest apart.

In all my years (and I'm old) I have never had the pleasure of pulling wires from a high rise bar like this.

Is there good method of pulling wires from bar out through the inlet hole...?   Use some Dawn soap or...?  Lots of patience...?
The left side appears to be in good condition and I would like to be able to pull that wire harness out without damage.

Can I get a hint on the short jumper wire, color maybe...?

Thanks much, good info.
Rob




 

[jlh3rd]

silicon spray?

[grcamna2]

Wonderful 550 Rob;welcome.

[newday777]

Can I get a hint on the short jumper wire, color maybe...?

Thanks much, good info.
Rob
 

I don't remember the color of the short jumper.

As to getting the wires out of the bars I heat up the bars with a heat gun to warm the old sheath so it's a bit more flexible, use gloves, clamp the bars in a vise to use both hands, one to gently pull and one to push/feed the bottom end into the hole.

[seanbarney41]

+1 about stuff some into one end and pull out the other.  But be careful mixing potentially flammable spray lubes and heat...please don't ask how I know!

[grcamna2]

The switch wire outer covers get very hard over time,while the wires inside the cover stays flexible.
I think using only the heat-gun will soften the outer covers enough to be able to extract each one.
The first switch wire is the most difficult;with the first one out of the way,the 2nd wire is 50% easier.

[newday777]

The switch wire outer covers get very hard over time,while the wires inside the cover stays flexible.
I think using only the heat-gun will soften the outer covers enough to be able to extract each one.
The first switch wire is the most difficult;with the first one out of the way,the 2nd wire is 50% easier.

Exactly 💯

[RAFster122s]

You have a lucky find and the Jardines are a respectable vintage exhaust…shouldn’t be too noisy.
Patience and start creating a list of your work list…
Cleaning up every connector on the bike using fine brass brushes, electrical cleaner safe for plastics, some heat and if you patiently work through the list you should have a nice running bike.

Check the rocker arm shafts for eccentric wear in the rocker arm cover by taking the end caps off the cover. Snap a couple photos of the shaft ends and if the hole around the shaft is not round and even you have the dreaded eccentric wear in the rocker arm cover. A design issue Hinda solved in the 77 and 78 models with pinned rocker shafts with only 4 rocker shafts instead of 8…
Denward just went through discovering the wear in his cover and snagged a used cover for about 200.

If you have excessive wear it will cause valve clearance issues which leads to other problems in running and wear. Some wear will have a few running issues or inconsistency but when they only have a little wear they are tolerable…as you search for and find a 77 or 78 rocker cover complete with the tach drive and the rocker shafts and rocker arms.  Yours if it has eccentric wear usually destroys the hardened layer of metal on the rocker arms and wears the arms badly and it eats your cam if continued to be pushed…
A lot of old 550s off the road for decades have these issues.  With some injections of cash frugally you can bring her back to reliable and fun transportation when you invest in things that enhance the good handling to even better.  Cheap out on tires and suspension and when pushed you will be very disappointed. Not that all cheaper options are bad, there are trade offs sometimes and you build what you can afford… but just like any engine work it has to be done with a plan. A stock cam won’t need heavy duty springs, only higher lift cams would need that or bikes spending time at the 9500 rpm redline. A radical cam won’t deliver either unless you have the compression and flow through the head and the fueling has to deliver a good atomized mixture with sufficient flow of air and fuel… seen people slap stuff together without the needed improvements to use that go fast or better part and the end result was not reliable nor efficient nor that fast and it led to a rebuild long before it should have needed one.
Maybe you don’t like running the bike through corners quickly and the torque to pull through a series of curves increasing power out of the corner. I enjoy taking curves quickly and it is at a cost I do so, but always enjoyed going through a curve quick and seeing how far another vehicle is as I’m coming out of the corner when they were close to me before that curve or set of curves… a lot of people simply cannot drive well and aren’t efficient in their driving.
Sorry for the tangent…
You have a nice bike and briar brown in nice shape and not heavily faded is signs of a well kept or refinished bike as those exposed to a lot of sun the brown burns away leaving a green base color, the transparent red applied on top of the green base… optical illusions or combinations…

Fuel spills on the tank aren’t uncommon, a few have clear coated their cleaned up original paint with a urethane clear top coat, it is no longer original then but you gotta decide if you are improving in the long run or short run… the peace of mind having that urethane clear coat protection really helps with piece of mind…
David

[radcb550]

RAFster122s,Good to know about the Jardines, Not a big fan of loud. 

I'm possibly going about the recommissioning in a bass-ackwards manner, changing the bars and wiring prior to touching off the engine but there is plenty to do so...  I do have a list, my wife says I have a list for my lists...   

That is a bit alarming regarding the rocker shafts, I'll check them in the AM and report back.  Wow...  And I have no plans to install a hot cam, not in this one.  Although I do enjoy spirited bend swinging... 

So the color is Briar Brown, nice.  I have seen that fade to green that you mentioned on others.
 
As far as I know, the paint is original, I purchased it from the second owner who had talked at length with the original owner about the history of the Honda.  Some of which was passed on to me. 

I'll get started on the handlebar wiring next...

All good info.
Thank you,
rad