Topic: Doug's 1975 CB550F

[d_soles]

Okay, so I picked up 2 bikes.  A 1973 CB500K that is completely in pieces (around 14,000 Miles), but, for the most part, all there.  Then, I acquired a 1975 CB550F (around 13,000 Miles) that had been sitting in a field for God knows how long on its side.  The bike is actually all there, although, the minute I even tapped the damn sidecovers, they shattered into thousands of little pieces.  Luckily, I have the sidecovers from the '73.  So, the engine was seized on the 550, and I've already managed to break it free.  Here is my "list" of what do to with the bike before it is ride-able.  Bear in mind, these are just the essentials to get the bike up and running semi-reliably.  I'll do a full restore when I can actually afford it.

-Un-seize the rear wheel, check the brakes and bearings (it is frozen, solid as a rock right now....theory is that the brake shoes are rusted to the drum, I don't know how I'll get that wheel apart).
-Remove, inspect, and clean carbs.
-Replace the air filter
-Inspect and clean the top end of the engine (and cross my fingers that the valves aren't corroded to hell, and the rust pitting on the cylinders isn't too bad for a quick hone).
-Clean and inspect all of the electrical connections (also, rewire a starter switch, as the PO looks like he literally cut the old one out (the wiring is neatly cut where the switch should be inside of the control pod)).
-New Battery.
-Fix my screw up with the spark advancer unit (they don't take well to being used to free up the seized engine).
-New rear chain.
-Replace the front brake system (it's completely seized, luckily in the disengaged position).
-Clean and coat the fuel tank.
-Get a rebuild kit for the petcock.
-Remove, pry apart, and then inspect/replace the clutch.
-New clutch and throttle cables.
-New cam chain (I'd rather not have to replace this, the current one looks beautiful, I'll see how the tension is when I rebuild the top-end).
-New tires and tubes (and I'll probably end up polishing the rims, hubs, and spokes while I'm there).
-Clean and inspect the front forks (they'll need new seals, I caught a little coating of oil on the bottoms).
-New exhaust gaskets (mine are all mysteriously missing).
-Fix the ignition lock (the tumblers are completely frozen, I'd rather not have to take it to a locksmith, but it beats getting my bike stolen).
-New spark plugs.

Hopefully, that should get the bike running semi-reliably.  I plan on doing a full restoration in a couple of years, at least.  But, not now.

Tell me what you guys think, and if you have any tips on any of those tasks I have to do, especially the rear wheel, as it would be nice to not need two guys to move the bike around.

Doug

My camera's batteries are dead, so, I'll try to get some pics when I can.

[HavocTurbo]

Woof!

Now that's a list.

Looks like you are doing it right, so that's a plus. Un-sticking an engine is the hardest part it seems to me.

Pics are a plus when you get the camera working.

You need anything let me know. I'm a sucker for these old "brought back form hell" projects. 

[d_soles]

Alrighty, I've decided that getting the rear wheel to at least spin is priority.  That way I can move the bike to the center of my garage and have better working room on it.  I managed to take the remnants of the exhaust off (completely shot, disintegrated would be the proper word).  Then, I proceeded to loosen the axle nut, which, unsurprisingly, was installed on the wrong side.  I'll switch the axle orientation when I put it back on, it'll make taking the wheel off much easier with an exhaust on.  This is where I ran into my first hitch.  I could get the axle out about 1/3 of the way, but it was completely stuck after that.  I do NOT have the rear swingarm that has a cutout in the back, so I couldn't just back the wheel out.  The only way to get the wheel off is to remove the axle. 

After a small argument with the axle, and then weighing the pros and cons of beating the thing with a hammer, I decided to take my skirt off and give it hell.  I figured out why they have an unthreaded tapered end on the end of the axle.  Honda engineers are smart   I may have dented the end just a tiny bit, but, I got the axle out.  Now, I need to disassemble the wheel.  My two year old's "ba-ba" ran out by this time, so I was done for now.  I'll post more later.

[Flying J]

Where are the pictures?
I dont see em.

[HavocTurbo]

Where are the pictures?
I dont see em.

Sadly there aren't any yet.

[d_soles]

Okay, first and second pics are the bike.  I have it kind of disassembled.  Third pic is the battery that was sitting in it.  I don't think it'll hold a charge anymore.....
Fourth pic shows some slight pitting on the cam.  It isn't tooo bad, I think I'm just gonna run that, I can't seem to find a camshaft for sale that doesn't have slight pitting on it.  On a side note, is there any way for a Machine Shop to fill those in with a weld and regrind them smooth?  In theory, they could.....
Last pic is the matching rocker arm to that lobe, and, despite the "gunk" on it, doesn't really have much in the way of wear marks, which is why I'm not too worried.

[d_soles]

And more pics....

First is the damned chain I had to cut off of the bike.  The master link was so rusted on, it wouldn't budge, even with a torch.  It was hell to get it off of the front sprocket, too, I had to take the sprocket out, the links wouldn't even rotate on each other.

Second is the awesome exhaust that was on it.  Notice the sheet aluminum "coupling" the PO had on it, to hook it to the header with......sad.

Last is the rear wheel finally off.  That wasn't too fun.  But, it came off, and no damage to me or the bike!  Now, I'm willing to bet the hard part is about to start with that wheel.  The brakes are still completely frozen up, even after all of the pounding to get the axle out.  That can't be good.  You'll also see in the background my nice three-ring binder with the entire CB500/550 Honda Manual in it, with handy-dandy numbered dividers showing where each chapter starts....I love working in an office sometimes.

Doug

[Flying J]

let me look at my spare cam. It might be good.

[d_soles]

Once I get the top end back together, I'll check to see if the dreaded rocker shaft wear is present.....I'm guessing you can't tell when the cam cover is off, can you?  It needs the valve spring pressure to move it up and to show a gap(if it's worn, that is)?

Also, I've had the bottom end soaking to the brim of the dipstick port in a mix of MMO, 10W-30 Synthetic, and ATF just to give everything a good soak, and, so far, the seals seem to be holding up.  I know, once it's running, it'll decided to blow one due to their age, but I'd like to think of this as a good sign.

Doug 

[HavocTurbo]

If there's wear on the rockers you'll be able to see it on the pads and feel it on the shafts.

Also the cam would have it but since your looks sooooooo nice....

And that battery.... get a trickle charger and it should be good as new. 

Bike looks in better condition than I thought. Here's to getting these poor old gems back on the road!!

[d_soles]

So, I have now proceeded to get the drum brake loose.  A 2x4 on the end of the brake lever, and my trusty framing hammer (I never thought I'd use a dang hammer so much on a bike build....).   Two whacks, and I could take the brakes right out of the wheel.  Pretty bad shape, lots of corrosion, luckily, it doesn't look like it goes too deep.  One of the pads came off of the shoe and is still stuck to the inside of the wheel, I'm betting that is what seized the wheel up.  I'll get it out, it's soaking in...wait, you guessed it, PB Blaster!  I love that stuff! 

After I got the brake off, I decided I would test the rear bearing, so I put the axle back on the bike.  From what I can feel, there is no play whatsoever in it, and the wheel spins very nice and free (no vibrations or rough spots in the rotation!).  This makes me happy, I think I'll just pack the wheel with some more grease (is there a wheel bearing grease to use for this purpose?), clean the axle, coat it with the same grease, and slide it all back together.  I am gonna have to fork up about $35 for a new set of brake shoes.....dang.   The pictures tell the brake story.  Don't mind my feet.  It's hot here in Michigan, I was letting them air out a little. 

So, I also found the little "glove box" under the seat.  No tool box or owner's manual....that stinks.  But, I did find an interesting bit of history on the bike.  I found the old registration in it, half-burned (literally, I'd take a pic, but I don't know if the guy on it is even alive anymore, I don't want to violate his privacy).  Despite the paper nearly crumbling in my hands, I found out that the last time this baby was registered was in 1982.  So, we're looking at 26, maybe even 27 years of sitting in that field.  Wow.  I'm impressed, now.  The way the sidecover crumbled with barely a touch makes me believe it.  I wanted to save that cover, too.....oh well, can't fix it now.

 Next task is to loosely mount the rear wheel so I can move the bike to a more accessible spot, and then, electrical time.  This is probably not going to be fun.  I know some of it works.  I manually turned the ignition (ignitoin lock is shot), hooked the battery up to the nasty, rusty terminals, and pressed the horn button.  At first, I didn't think it was working, but, everytime that I let go of the horn button, it would make a small "thunk" noise.  Then, of course, after about 5 times, it stopped doing even that.  I'm pretty sure I just need to go through and clean and grease every connection, meticulously.  Is there a special grease to use for these?  I thought I saw someone use Vaseline in their project....

More to come, once my dang kids go to sleep.  They're being absolute hell tonight....it's nights like tonight that I don't see the purpose of these children.   They're both boys, one is two and the other is four, and active would be an understatement. 

Doug

[Beans]

you ever get the motor free?  if not get some marvels mystery oil and pir it everywhere down the spark plug holes everywhere u can get into the motor. let sit over night and then the next day hook up the starter to a battery and try to turn it over. just keep clicking it moving the motor slowly it will free up.  took my oil pan off and head after doing this and motor turned out clean. no damage to anything inside that I can see.

[d_soles]

Yup, motor is free.  I'm just waiing to take the head off right now, but I'm redoing the electrical today...just cleaning all of the contacts, what a PITA....

But, thanks for the suggestion, I'll cross my fingers and hope it's clean, too!

Doug

[d_soles]

Alright, other than my starter switch, I now have my electrical working.  The headlight and the front left turn signal are burnt out.  So is the Speedo light.  The rear-brake switch is rusty as hell, I finally got it moving again, but I don't know how reliable it's going to be.

On a different note than electrical, I decided to look at the fuel tank that came with the bike today.  I always wanted to use the tank that came with the CB500 for this bike, I like the "curvier" look of that one, and the shiny chrome cap.  The problem is, the inside of the tank is ucky.  Just some surface rust, and the petcock will need to be rebuilt.  For that reason, I never looked at the tank that came with the 550.  It has one of those locking flaps that match the ignition key.  Well, I put the key in it, and turned.....and the dang thing actually opened.  Now, the external shape of this tank leaves much to be desired.  The paint is flaking off like crazy (not alot of rust, just flaking paint.  The emblems are still there, and apparently my bike had an orange and black paint job, I like that combo. 

So, not expecting much, I try to actually open the tank and look inside, to see what 26 years of sitting will do to one of these.  Well, that sucker is beeeeeee-a-uuuuu-tiful inside.  No rust.  At all.  Nice shiny metal.  At least the PO drained the fuel, it looks like.  I think I've decided that I'll use this tank now.

Doug

[750goes]

nice work Doug, keep at it...

[swan]

Nice. I just sold my 1975 CB550F that I rode trouble free for two years, they are great bikes.

I hate to tell you this but the hardest part of your project will be finding decent side covers. I have seen them go over $100 on e-bay. The k model covers will not fit.

[d_soles]

uhoh.....at least I saved the 20 or so pieces my sidecover broke into, maybe I'll fiberglass it back together some day....

Doug

[d_soles]

Been a few days.  Slightly busy.  I've decided that, since I haven't gotten new rear brake pads yet, I'll move onto the next item on my list: the electrical.  I'm not testing out the ignition, nor can I test out the charging (hard to without a running engine).  I'll be strictly doing the electrical.

After cleaning a few contacts, the electrical successfully is revived.  The blinkers even work.  For sitting in a field this long, I'm suprised that only the headlight (and possibly not, it may have been connected wrong) and the front left turn-signal is burnt out. 

Here's the bad news:  this bike had a PO.

Seems the starter button died.  Guess who thought he'd be smart and try to rewire the starter switch.  I've finally sorted through his mess, not as bad as I had first thought.  The yellow-red wire from starter to solenoid is cut in a couple of places.  The black-red wire to the headlight switch is also cut in a few places, the it was twisted (yes, twisted) onto a couple of also-cut black wires (power buses?).  The buzzer has been removed and the wire taped off, which is fine with me, I'm very anal about leaving my turn signal on.

The good news:  The clutch safety switch works.  I also got a couple of new switches from Radioshack, one for the headlights, and one for the starter solenoid.  Now, I just have to clean out the starter solenoid and free it up.  I always have a backup in the other wiring harness from the other bike.  I'll start surgery tonight, hopefully.  I would also love to take the rear-brake switch apart tonight and clean it off/out, to free it up a bit. 

I've decided to tackle the problem systems (read: all of them!!!) one at a time, that way I don't bite off more than I can chew.  It starts to feel chaotic, running from problem to problem on this bike, overwhelming.  If I do one system at a time, I can take it slow and meticulous, without worrying about forgetting about other things.

Doug

[d_soles]

Also, petcock on fuel tanks works as it should.  No leaks, turns smoothly, lets gas out nicely.

Doug

[d_soles]

Okay, have some pics of the fuel tank and clutch for ya.  Decided that I was an idiot for tearing into the clutch.  I think it works fine.  Now I need a new gasket.  Oh well, have to buy a kit anyways....

Tank looks a little dingy on the outside, but inside, a little gasoline in there will have it nicely flushed out.

Doug

[d_soles]

Here are the electrical shots.  First are some of the damage the PO left for me.  On top of the cut wires, it also had a dead starter solenoid (magnetic switch).  Luckily, the solenoid on the wiring harness for the other bike works like a peach, so I swapped them out.  I could have opted for a single-pole dual-throw switch to put into the starter switch bank (that's what the original was), but, instead I opted for a dedicated switch for the starter, and a dedicated switch for the headlights (if I'm idling for a while at a stop light, or the bikes outside a burger joint, it'll help not to kill the battery or charging system).  I put a nice momentary push button switch (default open circuit) inside of the starter bank, and it fits perfectly.  I put a toggle switch for the headlights right beside the handlebar controls, and I'll velcro that one to the bars.  Later, if I feel so inclined, I can put the right switch in, but, for now, I want more control.  It was a PITA to get everything in there nicely, without breaking my solder joints.  Lead based solder helps, it's quite a bit more flexible, just don't eat it. 

So, after soldering up the controls and taping them off in the handlebar, and then soldering up and repairing the mess in the electrical box under the tank, and then switching out the solenoid, I hooked the battery back up, turned on the ignition (which I still have to use a set of pliers for, my lock is stuck), and then hit the starter button.  Everything works beautifully. 

Doug

[d_soles]

Alright, I don't know if anyone is actually following this project, but I'll continue.  No pics today, misplaced the camera.  Or my wife stole it.  One or the other.

Got the carbs cleaned.  Took a while, they were pretty bad.  Need new o-rings, though.  The old ones disintegrated on me during disassembly.  I saw in the Carb FAQ there is an o-ring size chart.  I just need to find a supplier, as I don't really feel like paying for a rebuild kit. 

On to another note, I checked the ignition circuit.  Power to coils.  New spark plugs.  Trimmed back wires for new copper.  Cleaned connections on both sides of boots.  No spark.  On any.  After a day of tinkering, I discovered what an idiot I was.  The kill switch was set to stop.  I turned it back on, and I have a nice, bright blue spark on all four wires.  Good for me.

I also just bought a new gasket kit from a guy in Canadia (yeah, I know, that's how I spell it).  Should be arriving in a week or so.  So, I guess I'll finally take the cylinder head off and check out the damage from the rust in the bores.  And clean off the heads, namely the exhaust ports.  Any tips on the valves?  I can probably find someone that owns a valve-spring compressor.  I know I don't.  If I take them out, should I have the lapped or something?  Bear in mind I am doing this CHEAP.  As in, if I don't do the work, it isn't getting done.  I don't like paying others to do something I can do, with a little research.  The valves aren't stuck in the heads, I've already compressed them all with a 2x4, one at a time, to check.  Not compressed all the way, just a wee bit to check. 

Any tips on loosening the cam chain so I can remove camshaft and sprocket?  I've read horror stories about people breaking the tensioner trying. 

I still have to replace that dang little spark advancer cam that I broke earlier.....

I also have to drop the oil pan, and peek under her dress.  Make sure everything is good under there.  How should I check oil flow and such?  Clean off the filter I've seen mentioned?  I've never actually been in the case of one of these.  Also, need a new oil filter, I guess.

Oh, and a new headlight.  $34 bucks from the dealer!!!

I'm gonna spend more money than I like. 

Doug

[Roach Carver]

were watching. carry on 

[Flying J]

Your efforts have not gone unnoticed.

[restforyoursouls]

d_soles, where'd you get that starter button?  mine has fallen out and your's looks like a nice fix.  My 550 starts real easy with the kick but i'd like everything to work as it should.  Thanks man.