Topic: bought a new bike need some help

[200bucks]

alright well going to a garage sale this past weekend i ended up getting a 1978 CB550K for $200, its not in bad shape, only has 8300 miles on it, well the guy said it didnt run, so i got it home went through it, took the carbs off cleaned them, cleaned the points and well it runs on 3 cylanders, one of the cylanders hits once and a while, what is there inside the carb that i can clean, i adjusted the floats because they were not closing all the way on the 1 and 4 now there good, and now the 3 is leaking, and 4 is the one thats hitting and missing, another problem i got is the front caliper is seized anyone got any advice on that, thanks guys this is my first bike and i need a little help with it, so anything is appreciated thanks again

[Gordon]

Welcome!

Sounds like you got a pretty good deal there.  The problems you described are very common for a bike that's been sitting unused for a while.  Spend some time looking through the FAQ's and searching the archives and you should find solutions and procedures to fix those issues.  Give the carbs a good, thorough cleaning, go through the full tune-up procedure, and anything you get stumped on you'll find plenty of folks here willing to help out. 

[cleveland]

First of all, welcome to the forum!  You picked a good starter bike and came to the right place.

Pull the caliper and rebuild.  Rebuild kits are cheap. 

Do you have a manual?  If not do a search here on the forums and you should find a few that you can download.

[dusterdude]

welcome

[200bucks]

alright well i cleaned the carbs and now it will fire on all four above idle, so if i give it throttle i got all four, so i took the points off last night filed them and im going to put them back on today, the gap is .012-.014" correct? and where do i buy a caliper rebuild kit, i cant get the old brake pad out of it, its seized right into it, and thanks for the welcomes guys

[dustyc]

Welcome.

The search box is going to be your friend.  It searches the level you are on, so if you type in something to search for while you are on this topic, it will just search this thread.  I usually go to the top level so using  "The Single Overhead Cam 4 Forums > Tech Forums > SOHC/4 Bikes > Post reply ( Re: bought a new bike need some help )"  as an example, I first click "The Single Overhead Cam 4 Forums" which takes you to the uppermost level of the forum and type in what I'm looking for from there. 

As to your question, I used the action of the brake itself to push out the old pad by backing out the bolts and giving it a squeeze, then backing out a few more turns and squeeze the lever again until it was out.  Some people have used compressed air or a grease gun.  If you do a search, you'll find all the info on those techniques and what to watch out for(like the pad flying across the room.)

It's a little bit of a challenge to get these bikes running well again if they were sitting for a while or not cared for, but keep going through the systems fine tuning and you'll get it going again. 

If you search for "manual download" you'll find a bunch of models manuals for download posted by Einyodeler.  The ones he posted are alot clearer scans than other ones found on the net.

[TwoTired]

alright well i cleaned the carbs and now it will fire on all four above idle, so if i give it throttle i got all four,

This is typical of carbs with clogged idle jets.  Your carbs have them pressed in, and many overlook cleaning them.  They should be yanked from the carb, cleaned, as well as the passagway behind it and tapped back into place.  Then the carbs should provide fuel at idle throttle settings.

Cheers,

[200bucks]

i cleaned and adjusted the points and now it fires right up and idles but one cylander cuts in and out im going to tinker with it more tomorrow

[canyon750]

Welcome!  Follow the link, they will be your best friend... (Along with Two Tired, King of the 550!!) 

http://www.davidsilverspares.co.uk/

[MgMt CB550K]

I am also working on my first bike which is a '77 CB550k with low milage as well.  I'm not sure if you have do this but once it is running using a mercury sync to sync the carbs helped a lot.  One of my buddies had on so i borrowed it one day.  You will need to take the tank off and figure out a way to get fuel to those carbs (I used a plastic water bottle).  But there is a bunch of information around the forum on how to sync the carbs.  Good Luck

-Keith-

[200bucks]

little bit of an update, i filed down the points cleaned them up, put them back on then adjusted them to .014" and the bike ran like a champ so i ran it up and down the road and it started having 1 & 4 cut in and out then it was back to where i started, so i took off the cover and the points were burnt again, any suggestions, if i get new points it shouldnt eat them should it, if so whats causing that, and also how much are they from honda, and would you suggest new condensers also, maybe its the 1 & 4 coil?

[wadarush]

burnt points = to large of a gap or bad condensors

[TwoTired]

Do you still have the stock ignition coils on it?
What are you using to clean the contacts?

Cheers,

[200bucks]

alright the gap was set at .014" im pretty sure thats correct, i used a points file to clean them, and yes it has the stock coils on it