Topic: 1978 CB550 Four K project

[kevio]

I was just given a 1978 CB550 Four K.  Long story short, my father-in-law bought it off a friend of mine a few years back.  It sat in a storage shed since then.  The other day I was fawning over a Triumph Bonneville bobber on eBay and he offered to give me the Honda.  Sold for $0!  So the plan is to completely overhaul this beast.  I have cleaned it up and got it running since that photo.  I started a project blog and will be adding more photos soon.  But I'm sure I will be asking lots of questions here in the forums.  Also, I will probably have a lot of original parts for sale as I go through the overhaul.  I'm ditching just about everything to try and create something very original.  Something between a bobber and cafe racer if that's possible.

[neil young]

I dunno man.
it looks to be in good shape before your cleanup.
i personaly wouldnt change a thing....unless your exhaust is rusted out or anything of that nature.
I think you have a great looking bike there.
my 2 cents

[Tom in Newcastle......Ontario]

I have to agree with Mr Young........I like them stock also....but if you are getting rid of stock parts........also put your City or town in your profile might help with selling stuff later

[kevio]

Thanks guys.  I updated my profile with more info.  Right now I'm in Karnes City, TX.  Which is about 1 hr from San Antonio.  But we will probably move to Austin later this year.  Anyway, you are right, the exhaust is rusted out.  Complete with mud dobber nests.  Overall it was in pretty good shape.  My friend was the original owner.  But I'm not big on the styling of the bike.  I plan to completely change it.  I'm sure you guys are squirming in your seats.  But I think it will turn out pretty cool when it's done. 

Just as an update.  I ended up running some Sea Foam through it and got it running again.  I filled it with 3 gallons of premium yesterday (Cost me over $10!) and warmed it up till the idle was smooth.  I may take it for a quick spin today and run it though the gears.  I just want to make sure everything is working before I start to take it apart.   

[magnus72]

I'm no purist. Do what you want, but that bike does look like it could be fixed up to look factory fresh. Its going to make a lot of guys here kind of angsty if you chop too much off.

My bike will look somewhat stock when I'm done. I would love to get lower bars and a cleaner looking rear. Its criminal how huge Honda made the rear signals.

[kevio]

I took the carbs off yesterday along with some other stuff.  Full update and more photos on my blog.  Magnus72, you are right.  The rear signals are enormous.  Which is why it's all gone.  Now I need to find a source for a carb rebuild kit and jetting kit.  I tried the links in the FAQ but most were either no longer active, didn't have the kit or were sold out.  Anyone have another source for a Carb rebuild kit or jetting kit for a 78' 550k?  I'd be interested in stock or performance kits.
Thanks.

[BlindJoe]

unfortunately they don't make rebuild kits for those carbs anymore. But you can order main jets from here, listed under misc. carb parts: http://www.crc2onlinecatalog.com/

[kevio]

   That sucks.  Thanks for the info.  Are there any other carbs that fit this bike besides the stock ones?  Something that might still have kits available in the future.

[edbikerii]

Don't bother trying to change the carbs to the earlier type.  You'll have to change all sorts of other stuff too (intake manifolds, throttle cables, choke mechanism, maybe the throttle & right side electrical controls, clutch cable?, etc.).

Just take the old carbs apart carefully, and clean up all the parts carefully.  Make sure you pull the pilot jets out and clean them up well.

If that doesn't all go back together smoothly, then try the Honda dealer for genuine Honda rebuild kits.  I bought mine a few years ago, and they weren't really all that expensive, either.  Float valves were sold separately.  I bought one because I had a dribble from the float bowls sometimes, but cleaned up the old ones nicely and the leak disappeared.  I keep the new one as a spare.

I've had the carbs apart on my 77 CB550K several times due to rejetting, and I've had only a single problem with an o-ring on a mixture screw (replaced with one from my spare rack).  I still have my 4 Honda rebuild kits.  I'm keeping them for the rebuild I'll eventually need to do down the road.

Good Luck,

Ed

[kevio]

Thanks for the tips.  I'll just be extra careful and try to clean as best I can.  If something looks really bad then maybe I can track down an individual part.
I saw an auction for a CB cafe racer on eBay that had aftermarket race carbs on it.  But now I can't find the bike.  And I can't remember what kind of carbs they had put on it.  The auction said the carbs were adjustable and would fit other bikes as well.  It was a sweet race bike with over $2000 in parts but I think it sold for less than that.  I probably could have saved a lot of time and money by just buying it.  LOL

[cbass*gxc]

What you should do is clean the crap out of this one and keep it original and sell it, then buy a cheapy to rebuild.  I am sure you could sell one that is in that good of shape for quite a bit and find one for a couple hundred bucks that may need some work but you will have all the extra money to use towards it. 

I paid $250 for mine and will have less than $1000 when completely done.

When I bought it.  And it is in alot worse shape than yours.


As of a few weeks ago.  So far I have $600 including price of the bike.

[kevio]

First let me just say that the "after" shot of your bike looks sweet!  That's similar to what I was thinking of doing with mine.  Ditching the rear springs and putting a spring seat.  Where did you buy your seat?  It looks like you bolted a curved piece of metal in place of the springs to support the swingarm.  Did you have to do anything else there?  I was debating over doing this or trying to create a monoshock mod.  Also, is that the stock tank?  I want to swap mine out for one with an external top mounted cap.  I don't like the look of the trap door.  What are your plans for the exhaust?  Are you going with velocity stacks on the carbs?  Sorry for all the questions but I'm pretty excited to see a bike along the lines of what I was looking to do.

I'm at a total cost of a little over $10 right now including the cost of the bike, Sea Foam and an oil filter.  I fear that if I sell this and buy one in worse shape I will have other things that are damaged that I will have to track down replacements for.  This one being in good shape saves me the hassle.  I just want to clean it up as much as possible while it's torn down.  Which is why I was looking for the carb kits.  Plus since my father-in-law gave it to me I would feel strange about turning around a selling it to buy another bike.

As an update.  I took the exhaust off today. 

Now I know next to nothing about rebuilding bikes, only what I have read so far, but it took me about 1 second to realize that someone had put the header collars on wrong and it had been leaking for a while.  Lots of carbon buildup.  I'll have to soak them and scrub to get the rust and gunk off.  It looks like the inside of the header is pretty nasty too.  What is the best way to clean it?  Crack everything open?  I'm going to have to remove the engine at some point anyway to repaint and modify the frame. 

[mystic_1]

Easy Off works pretty well at removing baked-on carbon.  Use the low-fume stuff.  Should be fine for the pipes, I wouldn't hose down the engine while it's together.


mystic_1

[BlindJoe]

Are you planning on keeping your exhaust? If not I'd be interested in it if they aren't too full of holes.

[kevio]

KottkeHead:
I was thinking about making new exhaust pipes and mufflers.  But I may want to try and reuse these pipes as a starting point.  I'm not sure yet.  There is some rust on the mufflers.  Honestly I think the mufflers would have to be ditched.  Are you looking for pipes with mufflers or just the pipes?  I put a picture of the rust here...
http://caferacer.ning.com/profiles/blog/show?id=2027125%3ABlogPost%3A123

[c_packer]

For cleaning chrome use 0000 steel wool it will shine it nicely with no scratches.

[cbass*gxc]

First let me just say that the "after" shot of your bike looks sweet!  That's similar to what I was thinking of doing with mine.  Ditching the rear springs and putting a spring seat.  Where did you buy your seat?  It looks like you bolted a curved piece of metal in place of the springs to support the swingarm.  Did you have to do anything else there?  I was debating over doing this or trying to create a monoshock mod.  Also, is that the stock tank?  I want to swap mine out for one with an external top mounted cap.  I don't like the look of the trap door.  What are your plans for the exhaust?  Are you going with velocity stacks on the carbs?  Sorry for all the questions but I'm pretty excited to see a bike along the lines of what I was looking to do.

Thank you.  I bought my seat off Ebay for $55.  Figured for the time being it would work great and I like the way it looks.  Last weekend I decided to take the springs off the seat and mount it straight to the frame because I am going to get some short shocks at some point.  The springs did nto really give much so I just took them off.  I will get some pics later this evening for you.   Actually they are 1/2" steel struts that I had a local bike shop cut for me.  They turned out pretty well but they shape does not really flow with the frame.  The tank is the stock tank for my bike.  I didnt like the way it looked at first but after I got the bike together and got it painted it turned out pretty well.   My exhaust is straight 4 into 4 that ends right at the swingarm then turns down into the ground.  It should be pretty loud which is what I want.  I want to know that if I am running next to someone they know I am there.  Too many #$%*ty drivers out there.  I am just running pod filters on the carbs.  I am getting ready to order some whitewalls for it as well.  This is my first bike also and am happy with the way it is coming along.  Should be ready to ride within a few weeks. 

Here is another pic of the bike so you can see it alittle better.