Author Topic: 1976 CB550 cafe project finished!!  (Read 12306 times)

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Offline freezingprocess

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1976 CB550 cafe project finished!!
« on: June 10, 2008, 04:55:49 PM »
The fruits of my all-winter/spring labor......Ran surprisingly well on first start up. Just gotta do plug chops and get the carbs perfect.

A gynormous THANK-YOU to this forum and everyone who contributes to it. 98% of the work on this bike was done by myself, with the help of the SOHC4 forum. I could not have done it without you all!!!!

-Chris-
'76 CB550k

Offline freezingprocess

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Re: 1976 CB550 cafe project finished!!
« Reply #1 on: June 10, 2008, 04:58:13 PM »
One more.......
'76 CB550k

Offline hymodyne

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Re: 1976 CB550 cafe project finished!!
« Reply #2 on: June 10, 2008, 04:59:37 PM »
VERY nice. Mazeltov on your hard work.

hym
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Offline KeithB

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Re: 1976 CB550 cafe project finished!!
« Reply #3 on: June 10, 2008, 05:10:56 PM »
That's some hard core lookin' bike!
Nice work!
My butt's sore just thinking about riding that seat.. :o
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Offline scartail

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Re: 1976 CB550 cafe project finished!!
« Reply #4 on: June 10, 2008, 05:15:43 PM »
Looks awesome!!! What type of exhaust is that, and how does it sound?
'89 Hawk GT, newly acquired, daily beater...
'76 CB550, was my daily beater... my cafe project...
'72 Yamaha R5, newly acquired project... donated to my buddy...
'67 Suzuki T20, still working on her too... Currently in pieces...

Offline Dave-and-his-550

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Re: 1976 CB550 cafe project finished!!
« Reply #5 on: June 10, 2008, 05:22:20 PM »
So wurd you hide the battery and fuses?  ???

Offline freezingprocess

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Re: 1976 CB550 cafe project finished!!
« Reply #6 on: June 10, 2008, 05:36:24 PM »
That's some hard core lookin' bike!
Nice work!
My butt's sore just thinking about riding that seat.. :o

:o is right- I'm only 135lbs, so it isn't too bad, but I haven't been out more than half an hour yet. Hmmmm.. At least it looks cool (IMO) :)
Looks awesome!!! What type of exhaust is that, and how does it sound?
It's a Mac. I think it sounds great at low rpm's, but it's real loud and whiney when you get up around 4-5,000.
So wurd you hide the battery and fuses?  ???
All smashed under the seat cowl. Oh I mean neatly tucked under the seat cowl.  :)I'll get some pictures up of that in the near future too.

'76 CB550k

Offline joecool14u2

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Re: 1976 CB550 cafe project finished!!
« Reply #7 on: June 10, 2008, 06:55:56 PM »
yeah yeah post some pics of battery and stuff, man thats tight, right up there with damn tight, did you use taller rear shocks?

Offline chopstar500

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Re: 1976 CB550 cafe project finished!!
« Reply #8 on: June 10, 2008, 07:16:48 PM »
That's frickin' sweet man. Top notch! Enjoy.  8)
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Offline CaféElite

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Re: 1976 CB550 cafe project finished!!
« Reply #9 on: June 10, 2008, 07:46:49 PM »
I have a 75 cb550 and I can only hope my ends up looking that slick!!!!

Im interesting your seat support (round bar going from shock to shock), is that stock support or did you cut and weld that? Could you provide more info on your rear sets and shift linkage?

WOW im so stoked about my bike right now...
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Kansas City..

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Offline drackett_19

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Re: 1976 CB550 cafe project finished!!
« Reply #10 on: June 10, 2008, 08:10:43 PM »
Great looking bike! could you post a pic of the upper triple tree and the mini tach /or speedo thats on there.

Cheers.

Offline freezingprocess

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Re: 1976 CB550 cafe project finished!!
« Reply #11 on: June 10, 2008, 08:29:30 PM »
I have a 75 cb550 and I can only hope my ends up looking that slick!!!!

Im interesting your seat support (round bar going from shock to shock), is that stock support or did you cut and weld that? Could you provide more info on your rear sets and shift linkage?

WOW im so stoked about my bike right now...

That bar, and the foot controls are the 2% of what I didn't do myself, actually. -But the bar under the seat was fabricated. I cut the frame right behind the shock mounts and a buddy of mine bent and welded the tubing for me, and made a pan under it to mount all my electrics (which barely fit).

The same guy fabricated the foot controls out of steel, and I polished and clearcoated them with laquer. We didn't want to go with aluminum on the brake side, and I wanted them to look the same. I will post some pictures of that stuff here in closer detail tomorrow.
Most of my inspiration for that stuff came from Benjie's site. www.benjiescaferacer.com.
-And I will post a pic of my tree/tach mount as well drackett-
« Last Edit: June 10, 2008, 08:33:11 PM by freezingprocess »
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Offline bradweingartner

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Re: 1976 CB550 cafe project finished!!
« Reply #12 on: June 10, 2008, 09:04:52 PM »
This is SHARP.

I really like it. Inspirado!

troppo

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Re: 1976 CB550 cafe project finished!!
« Reply #13 on: June 11, 2008, 03:19:37 AM »
Now that is one sweet bike, great work mate and please give us more details, especially on the rear sets...

Offline void909

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Re: 1976 CB550 cafe project finished!!
« Reply #14 on: June 11, 2008, 04:13:54 AM »
hey where can i get a set of those small front turn signals?
knock with no answer

Offline freezingprocess

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Re: 1976 CB550 cafe project finished!!
« Reply #15 on: June 11, 2008, 04:49:58 AM »
hey where can i get a set of those small front turn signals?

Hey void909- http://denniskirk.com/jsp/product_catalog/Product.jsp?skuId=&store=Main&catId=411&productId=p210488&leafCatId=41103&mmyId=

If the link doesn't work, go to dennis kirk, metric bike, lighting. K&S mini-stalks.
'76 CB550k

Offline freezingprocess

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Re: 1976 CB550 cafe project finished!!
« Reply #16 on: June 11, 2008, 06:07:49 AM »
yeah yeah post some pics of battery and stuff, man thats tight, right up there with damn tight, did you use taller rear shocks?

The shocks are Progressive 13". They were about a 1/2" longer than the originals that I took off, which compressed a bit over time, I'm sure.

Ran the electrics myself, with a simplified wiring diagram made-up by mechanic friend of mine. The rectifier is mounted upside-down under the front seat brace, and the regulator and starter solenoid are atop the battery on a bracket that I fabricated. Check out the rigged tail light! It's the only way I could fit it. It actually works perfect and is very bright, although it's probably a shade under "totally street legal".

The battery is an AGM type from Interstate, which was a pain to track down, but I got it. Model #CYTX14AH-BS, in case anyone wants to know....
'76 CB550k

Offline freezingprocess

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Re: 1976 CB550 cafe project finished!!
« Reply #17 on: June 11, 2008, 06:19:10 AM »
Here are some more pictures of the rear sets and tach mount for drackett_19.
'76 CB550k

Offline NGL_BrSH

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Re: 1976 CB550 cafe project finished!!
« Reply #18 on: June 11, 2008, 07:40:10 AM »
oh man, that bike is EXACTLY what i want my cb550 to look like when i'm done.. what a sweet ride man!

A++

Offline j-conn

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Re: 1976 CB550 cafe project finished!!
« Reply #19 on: June 11, 2008, 07:51:17 AM »
From the sounds of it you have shown alot of cb550 owners that there is light at the end of the tunnel!
Quote
I have a 75 cb550 and I can only hope my ends up looking that slick!!!!
Quote
that bike is EXACTLY what i want my cb550 to look like when i'm done
I have a 1976cb550f super sport and agree with cafeelite... I hope mine comes out like that!
Where did you get the tank?
1976 CB550
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ezroller

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Re: 1976 CB550 cafe project finished!!
« Reply #20 on: June 11, 2008, 08:20:34 AM »
Looks great! What size rear tire are you running?

Offline dagersh

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Re: 1976 CB550 cafe project finished!!
« Reply #21 on: June 11, 2008, 08:29:44 AM »
Beautiful job Freeze!  Looks really menacing in a wasp-ish elegant way. 

You need to supply us with your wiring diagram, and everything else!  Ve have vays ov making you talk, ja?

Seriously, AWESOME work!

Gersh

1962 CA95
1966 Black Bomber
1966 CA77 Dream
1967 Superhawk
1970 CB750K0
1972 CL350
1972 CB450/500 Custom
1972 CB500K1
1975 CB550F
1976 CB400F
1975 CB750 Future Restoration
1976 CB750K6
1976 CB750F
1976 GL1000


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Offline hapsh

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Re: 1976 CB550 cafe project finished!!
« Reply #22 on: June 11, 2008, 09:26:07 AM »
Very nice indeed!  How do the rearsets feel way back there on the passenger peg mounts?  I was going to mount mine there but thought they would be about 2" too far back.  They sure look cool there.  Thanks for the inspiration, I spent my time on my 550 getting it running and riding well first, all I needed was a kick in the pants to get me motivated to finish the paint job.  Thanks for the push.
'71 CB500/550, '72 CB450, '79 RD400 Daytona, '90 FZR600R

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Re: 1976 CB550 cafe project finished!!
« Reply #23 on: June 11, 2008, 09:38:33 AM »
I don't see a starter motor. Did you remove yours? I haven't used my starter motor in months, so I'm considering just removing the thing.
How much is involved in that?

Offline freezingprocess

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Re: 1976 CB550 cafe project finished!!
« Reply #24 on: June 11, 2008, 07:16:11 PM »
Man, I'm glad I am motivating people- thanks for all the compliments on my project. It makes getting to the end that much sweeter.

From the sounds of it you have shown alot of cb550 owners that there is light at the end of the tunnel!
I have a 1976cb550f super sport and agree with cafeelite... I hope mine comes out like that!
Where did you get the tank?

I got the tank from www.benjiescaferacer.com. Benjie's an awesome guy, and very helpful with any questions you may have.

Looks great! What size rear tire are you running?

120/90-18, kind sir.

Very nice indeed!  How do the rearsets feel way back there on the passenger peg mounts?  I was going to mount mine there but thought they would be about 2" too far back.  They sure look cool there.  Thanks for the inspiration, I spent my time on my 550 getting it running and riding well first, all I needed was a kick in the pants to get me motivated to finish the paint job.  Thanks for the push.

The rearsets are perfect for me where they are. My tank is pretty long though, as are my arms, allowing me to be farther from the bars. If you have a stock tank, the pegs might be a little far back, but just mock it up with some bolts through the peg mount holes and see how it feels. Good luck finishing your bike- send me some pics when you're done.

I don't see a starter motor. Did you remove yours? I haven't used my starter motor in months, so I'm considering just removing the thing.
How much is involved in that?

Actually the starter motor is still there. You can't really see it in the pics I posted, but you can't see the actual motor anyway, as it is mounted in it's stock location under a cover behind the cylinders. As far as removing it, I can't exactly help you there, because of what you just read. ;D

Good luck getting a wiring diagram out of me Gersh- they're pretty much scribbles on computer paper. My buddy broke everything down system by system (lights, starting, charging, etc.), and made separate diagrams for each system. It made it way easy to understand that way.

Wow. Long post.
'76 CB550k