Topic: 1976 CB550K Rebuild NYC- NEW VIDEO FOOTAGE

[DKB]

your paint job looks great! i have to say im pretty jealous.  I wasnt planning on painting my ratty cases but after seeing the pics of your low-tech paint job im reconsidering.  My engine is currently living on my apartment floor too and im sure my wife is just as anxious to get it back on to the as I am.

Thanks man. I didn't have any plans for a frame off rebuild this winter. Just kinda got carried away once the bike was upstairs and the cold weather set in. If you already have your engine out and on the floor I'd say it's worth a weekend and a bit of a mess to paint and polish everything. I have a bunch of seals and gaskets in doubles if ya decide to get into it and need any of the basics...





While not quite making it through the entire frame painting process, I did cover some ground this weekend. Spent a lot of hours sanding, prepping and priming but still have some work to go before it's ready for paint. I ended up using a brush vs spraying the primer coats to try and cut down on fumes and toxicity levels and it seems to have applied well. I'm going to do another coat then a bit of touch up and the scotch brite treatment and I should be a solid foundation for the black semi-gloss paint. Apartment is starting to look a bit worse for the wear and has a wonderful aroma of body shop spray booth and gasoline tied together with motor oil undertones.







Gonna work on the forks and triple trees while the frame dries for the night.

[joec3613]

Looking good. Keep it going. I'm getting ready to paint the engine soon and am going to get some of that Duplicolor. Problem is it's been too cold in FL!!!!! Good luck man!

[DKB]

Looking good. Keep it going. I'm getting ready to paint the engine soon and am going to get some of that Duplicolor. Problem is it's been too cold in FL!!!!! Good luck man!

I couldn't believe the recent weather down your way. My family is in Tampa and Daytona Beach and said it was the coldest it's been in ages.

Hoping the duplicolor holds up but as far as application, the stuff is great to work with and applies well.





Todays list of chores included prepping and painting the upper and lower triple trees, installing the new Tapered Bearing Kit, and getting the top half of the frame painted. Due to the limited workspace I couldn't hang the frame for paint and have to do this in stages. Not so bad as I have tons of smaller side projects to tackle in between coats.

The new bearing are now installed, and already, a huge difference. Curious to see how this feels on the road. My old stock bearings would "fall" into notches at dead center and as the bars rotated left and right. *The upper bearing race came out easy enough using a brass threaded rod as a drift and a bit of force. The bottom race was a different story. Complete pain in the ass but after an hour or so of struggling I got it out. The new All Balls Bearings were easy enough to set up and get installed. I ended up using the smaller of the two shims included in the kit to get the proper lower bearing height.






I started taking inventory of the front end items and getting things ready to reassemble later this week. I picked up a set of 35mm clipons, new headlight ears, custom fitted stainless steel brake lines, and a used set of forks with near mint top tubes. *(It turns out that the CB500T uses the same forks as the CB500 and CB550K if anyone's ever looking).Already have a nice Nissin Master Cylinder Set up off a late model Ninja and the rest of the brake components ready to go.



The place still reaks of paint (again) but I'm almost done with the frame and ready to drop the engine in. Here's everything as it sits now. I've got another full day tomorrow to dedicate to the project and am hoping to get through the rest of the painting.







I'm working on rebuilding and polishing the forks this week as well and had a quick question.The forks are already removed from the bike. I drained the fork oil, removed the top screws and springs, but cannot get the 6mm hex bolts to budge on the bottom of the forks so I can get to the seals. I tried my trusty impact driver and still no luck. Any suggestions as to how to get these out? I've got 4 forks here and cant get any of the bolts out. I must be missing something. Any tips would be welcome.

Also, I checked the CB550 Shop Manual and they just say to tighten the top steering bearing cover down until the bars move side to side with slight resistance. I was hoping to get this set correctly the first go round and was wondering if there are any other guidelines or indicators I  can use to get this tightened down properly.

[DKB]

If you are not a fan of black snot, don't try this at home.



I finally finished up with the last of the major painting this morning and spent the better part of the afternoon trying to clean up this fine black dust off every surface in my apt. So much for the makeshift tent city. I think the intake/exhaust fan was kicking up just enough over spray to make a mess of things. Live and learn. Everything is back to livable at this point so it's not so bad. Managed to do everything "in house" up to this point which has helped keep the costs down as much as possible.

Here's a couple of pics of the finished frame. I imagine I should let it sit a day or so before trying to get the engine back in.







And a couple of the front steering assembly before mounting the top triple tree and forks. Gotta wait till the engines in to finish up the front end.





I fitted the new Forsa/MDI shocks to see how they mount up and it looks like I need to get a few washers or a spacer for the top Shock mount. The original shock mount seems to have been slightly wider. The bottom mounts also required a 2mm washer to fit correctly. Otherwise, a pretty straight forward install.





And the last one for today- a mock up of things to come...

[DKB]

Progress was good today. I got the engine back in the frame and all bolted down. Installed a new oil filter and seals, Kick and Shift Levers, the ignition mount and switch, misc grommets and tank mounts, etc. I also installed the electrical panel and started getting things wired up.  Was a bit curious to see how the new front end set up was going to turn out and mounted up the front forks and clip-ons for fitting. Still need to rebuild and polish the forks before final assembly....

A friend helped me lower the engine onto the floor and drop the frame over it. Took around 20 minutes in total to mount the engine.






The bike loaded back up on my stand. I need to run out and get a couple of pieces of wood to better support the frame.

[d3buttz]

its looking really nice, one question though.  hows your downstairs neighbor with all the BANGS/BONGS/THUDS?

[DKB]

its looking really nice, one question though.  hows your downstairs neighbor with all the BANGS/BONGS/THUDS?

Grinding off the old seat hinge and pounding the old steering bearing races out were a bit loud. No helping that. Otherwise, I've made a conscious effort to keep the noise and fumes to a minimum. I'm working with all hand tools and all the painting and polishing was done by hand so it's pretty undercover and quiet in here. No complaints from the neighbors so far;)



Quick question- Before I bolt up the upper triple tree, can someone confirm the proper way to adjust the top steering nut so the bearings are seated with enough pressure but not over tightened? Right now I have it tightened down by hand where there is no play in the assembly and it rotates side to side smoothly and with no resistance with the fork installed. Just want to confirm if this is correct or not as the manual is a bit vague.

[DKB]

Managed to get through a big chunk of the reassembly over the long weekend...

Installed Wiring Harness and Coils.
Refurbed carb clamps and installed.
Cleaned up/polished rear hub and installed sprocket. Mounted Rear Wheel. Hooked up rear brake linkage.
Rebuilt the front forks, cleaned/polished, installed new fork boots, fork oil, and installed.
Installed Nissan Brake MC and Throttle Controls
New Oil Drain Bolt and Copper Washer (found out there was still a few oz of oil in the engine the hard way. Floor's got a nice new sheen.)
Installed New Vintage Jardine 4into2 Exhaust
Installed Front Foot Pegs and misc items.

















I'm going to get into the headlight bucket/controls/wiring next and then work on mounting the seat and rear lights later this week...

[Holdingfast]

DAMN NICE!

[cbrace0012]

Are you planning to start it up inside?  I'm working on mine inside my apartment now and am hesitant to start it up.  However, I don't feel like lugging it down the stairs if it's not ready to fire/idle.

[DKB]

Are you planning to start it up inside?  I'm working on mine inside my apartment now and am hesitant to start it up.  However, I don't feel like lugging it down the stairs if it's not ready to fire/idle.

I'm going to wait until I get the bike outdoors again before starting it up and sorting out the final tuning/carb sync/etc. We actually just had a pretty serious fire in the building on Wednesday morning. Not sure how a CB550 running would go over so well at the present moment.


Here's the current progress report:


All the wiring is finished minus the tail light assembly. Not nearly as bad as I thought it would be to get everything hooked up. I cleaned all the connections and wrapped the harness before installing. Also located the problem with my kill switch (which was acting as more of a "maim switch" and not really stopping the bike). One of the wires was exposed and had a crap connection. 

The front end is complete except for a few small items and the lower brake components. I went ahead and cut the seat down a couple of inches as it seemed to fit the bike better. Center stand is back on but I'm having a hell of a time getting the spring back in place even with a ton of pennys stuck between the coils.


Coat racks are for suckers. I just realized the broken sign in the doorway of my apt reads ike a surgeon general's warning.




New Jardine Crossover Exhaust

[HedNut]

dUDE tHE bike is looking killer!

[JBMorse]

Awesome job so far.  You are really inspiring me to buy another bike so I can park mine for a tear down and clean up!  I'd love to strip it bare and repaint everything, rebuilding things as necessary. 
Where did you get that Jardine exhaust?  Is it used/old/vintage?  It looks awesome!  Their website doesn't list any systems for old hondas except Goldwings.

[DKB]

Awesome job so far.  You are really inspiring me to buy another bike so I can park mine for a tear down and clean up!  I'd love to strip it bare and repaint everything, rebuilding things as necessary. 
Where did you get that Jardine exhaust?  Is it used/old/vintage?  It looks awesome!  Their website doesn't list any systems for old hondas except Goldwings.

Thanks again for the kind words about the bike:)


The pipes are Jardine Model 5902 4 into 2 Crossovers. I believe they were new old stock sitting on a shelf somewhere. The set came with the original one sheet install instructions listing the model as "5902" but no box or labels. I believe they were manufactured in the 70's but not positive as I can't find a whole lot of info about them  Picked the set up on ebay a couple of months ago for 140 bucks. The build quality is really nice. Heavy and really good chrome. Had to fab some rear mounting brackets and it looks like I'll have to mod the center stand a bit, but other than that, they bolted right up.

[syth82]

The bike is looking great! I wish I were making some kind of progress. Also, great pictures!

[vames]

Hey DKB. I just ran across your postings the bike looks fantastic. I'm the guy that lives on your block on 3rd street with the ratty CB400f that I'm lucky enough to park in my backyard. Funny -- as we've discussed before, your 550 used to belong to my friend Eddie on 2nd street. I used to live on 1st between 1st and 2nd and he and I and spent lots of time working on our bikes on the street. I had a 76 750F at the time. Glad to see Eddie's bike living a new life with you. Our block is pretty easygoing if you park on the sidewalk with a cover. Will you have any trouble getting it out of the bulding once it's complete?

Let me know what you've found in terms of a garage to do some work and maybe I can join in. I can do some work in my backyard but often get the stink-eye from my fellow coop owners when I do.

And let's do some riding this spring!

[vames]

One more thing: What are you going to do for paint on the tank and tail section. I have tank and sidecovers that I want to get painted metallic silver and I'm not sure who to bring it to. If you have a painter you're going to use, let me know.

[traveler]

Really look great!

Any ideas on color yet?

Now, you jsut gotta get out of the city and move WEST.

~Joe

[DKB]

Hey DKB. I just ran across your postings the bike looks fantastic. I'm the guy that lives on your block on 3rd street with the ratty CB400f that I'm lucky enough to park in my backyard. Funny -- as we've discussed before, your 550 used to belong to my friend Eddie on 2nd street. I used to live on 1st between 1st and 2nd and he and I and spent lots of time working on our bikes on the street. I had a 76 750F at the time. Glad to see Eddie's bike living a new life with you. Our block is pretty easygoing if you park on the sidewalk with a cover. Will you have any trouble getting it out of the bulding once it's complete? Let me know what you've found in terms of a garage to do some work and maybe I can join in. I can do some work in my backyard but often get the stink-eye from my fellow coop owners when I do. And let's do some riding this spring!

Small world.  Very cool running into you on here.

Think I've still got Eddie's email around and was gonna send him some pics once I finished up the rebuild. I figured he'd get a kick out of seeing his old ride redone. If you see him around tell him I said hello and thanks again for passing on what turned out to be my favorite bike I've owned. It's gonna be quite nice once finished. Really looking forward to getting it back on the road soon.

Do you have yours stored in back while the weather is all crap?

I always pass your 400f parked and covered up the block. It's cool that your co-op doesn't mind it being out front on the sidewalk. I tried parking in front of my apt off the bat when I picked the bike up from Eddie but building management pitched a fit on a daily basis. Tried across the street in front of my friend Haroon's building and his super threatened to call 311 if we keep parking there. No love for old machines down on this end of 3rd Street.

I'm hoping to have a garage space sorted before bringing my bike back down. I'll let you know what I find as I know 3 other guys with old Hondas that are also interested in going in on something. And I'd be up for heading out for a ride as soon as the bikes up and running and the weather is above the freezing point.

I have to remove the front wheel to fit the bike in the elevator. It's not easy getting it in or out but it's doable with a few people on hand. I just realized I'm going to be cutting it really close with the bars and exhaust installed and am hoping I don't have to disassemble to much to get it back outside. We'll see how it goes...

About painting- my friend Gareth has a shop and paint booth up in East Harlem and I'm going to contact him to see about spraying the tank, seat, and side covers up there. I'll find out how much it would be to have your tank and side covers done. I might be interested in splitting the cost of the metallic silver with you as I've got an extra tank I was looking to finish as well and was considering some sort of metallic.

Talk to ya soon.

[DKB]

Really look great!

Any ideas on color yet?

Now, you jsut gotta get out of the city and move WEST.

~Joe

Thanks man! I think I'm going with Black for the tank and seat. I have a couple of extra tanks and am going to leave one bare metal and paint the other a silver or copper metallic.

I've actually been on the fence about making a move out to CA this year. Year round riding and less taxis sounds pretty good right about now.

I was reading your build thread while at work today. Can't wait to see the finished product. That tank and seat combo are really impressive and your air filter mod is great. I may have to "borrow" your approach on that one:) Still not sure if I'm going to stick with the stock airbox set up, a modified version like yours, or give a set of pod filter a try.

[TommyRocket]

I have to remove the front wheel to fit the bike in the elevator.

DKB - You are the king. I used to spray paint in my apt when my roommate would go away for the weekend and I thought that was badass. I've also had a few bikes in the house, but I've got nothing on you.

Very cool build. I'm envious.

[Holdingfast]

Hey DKB. I just ran across your postings the bike looks fantastic. I'm the guy that lives on your block on 3rd street with the ratty CB400f that I'm lucky enough to park in my backyard. Funny -- as we've discussed before, your 550 used to belong to my friend Eddie on 2nd street. I used to live on 1st between 1st and 2nd and he and I and spent lots of time working on our bikes on the street. I had a 76 750F at the time. Glad to see Eddie's bike living a new life with you. Our block is pretty easygoing if you park on the sidewalk with a cover. Will you have any trouble getting it out of the bulding once it's complete?

Let me know what you've found in terms of a garage to do some work and maybe I can join in. I can do some work in my backyard but often get the stink-eye from my fellow coop owners when I do.

And let's do some riding this spring!

OMG, SMALL WORLD! my god, what are the chances?
I know Eddie! I remember when he got the bike, I dont know if you know his friend Collin, I believe they lived together in that apartment on E. 2nd street, or it might just have been in the same building I can't remember...
He was a good friend of my Girlfriend at the time and he used to always go skate with a bunch of our friends..
so funnny that you follow someones posts and then it turns out that it's a bike you rode around a NY block on once. insane.

Again DKB nice job you're doing, huge props! I just picked up a bike myself and I'm dumbfounded as to the complexity of it all. 
excited to see it finished!

[vames]

OMG, SMALL WORLD! my god, what are the chances?
I know Eddie! I remember when he got the bike, I dont know if you know his friend Collin, I believe they lived together in that apartment on E. 2nd street, or it might just have been in the same building I can't remember...
He was a good friend of my Girlfriend at the time and he used to always go skate with a bunch of our friends..
so funnny that you follow someones posts and then it turns out that it's a bike you rode around a NY block on once. insane.

Again DKB nice job you're doing, huge props! I just picked up a bike myself and I'm dumbfounded as to the complexity of it all.  
excited to see it finished!

Yep. Collin is the guy who bought my 76 CB750F. It was ok looking and ran like a champ with new tires and shocks and I sold it to him for $600. That was just after I got the 400F for the "tell me what you want to pay" price of $250 from a guy in Brooklyn that was moving out and needed it gone.

[vames]

By the way, DKB. When you're finishing the bike up, let me know first if there are any bits you're looking for. I've got a bucket of parts -- electical, various carb jets, etc -- if you need anything. Not sure what final look you're after but I do have a viper 1/4 fairing  (i found that it looks stupid on a stock bike but they look great on cafe bikes) that would go for super cheap.

Also, make sure to let me know if you're goign to do a metallic silver paint run. I'm ready to get that tank and side covers painted, just been to lazy to take it to someone.

[DKB]

By the way, DKB. When you're finishing the bike up, let me know first if there are any bits you're looking for. I've got a bucket of parts -- electical, various carb jets, etc -- if you need anything. Not sure what final look you're after but I do have a viper 1/4 fairing  (i found that it looks stupid on a stock bike but they look great on cafe bikes) that would go for super cheap.

Also, make sure to let me know if you're goign to do a metallic silver paint run. I'm ready to get that tank and side covers painted, just been to lazy to take it to someone.

Thanks man. Same goes here. I've got a small arsenal of parts and tools at my place if ya need anything. I'm going to try and sort out painting for the beginning of March and will let ya know what I come up with. May hit you up to see the fairing as well if you're around.





It's been a slow couple of weeks as far as the build goes...

I've been working on an unrelated tech project around the clock all month and haven't been able to spend much time on the bike. Should be up and working again in a week or two and have her finished and ready for early spring.



I did make some progress on other fronts and was able to sort out a parking and workspace situation in Brooklyn. I move in on March 1st and am going to set up shop out there to finish this project and get into my next bike. It's 15 minutes from my apt but street parking is no longer an issue and I'll be able to reclaim the much needed living space. Stoked to have a real workspace and spot to put the bike once I get it out of here.

Not to get ahead of myself - but I stumbled across a 1968 CB450 K1 this week in CT. I've always been a fan of the K0 Black Bombers and early 450's but never found one in my price range. This one looks to be 100% complete and original. Under 6000 miles. It was last registered in CT in 91 and in storage since. I had it trucked down this morning and it's waiting out at the new space   



I was hoping someone could lend and objective opinion. I know it's not SOHC related but thought I'd see if anyone wanted to chime in anyways.

This 68 K1 is pretty much stock and unmolested but it would cost a bit of cash and time to locate / replace any needed items and restore the bike to it's original state. The other option is to make a few mods and updates. I've got an extra rebuilt 550 front end which I believe would mount up adding disc breaks. Also have a set of bars that would look great, CR throttle assembly, Nissin MC, etc. left over that I could use on this build.

I guess my question is- Would you guys just clean this one up and leave it stock or use it as a foundation for a custom build?