Topic: 1976 CB550K Rebuild NYC- NEW VIDEO FOOTAGE

[vames]

Hey David -- the bike is looking awesome. Send me a message if you need any help dragging it out of the house this weekend -- I'll be around.

I can also show you the fairing that might interest you and check out the finned points cover you have for the 350f That weird master cylinder I have on the 350f is working great so I think I'm gonna stick with it. Gotta go to California for work next week, but then let's get out on a ride to the hills soon. The 400f is screaming perfectly after sitting all winter -- it's been nice around town but it's time to get out of the city and into the hills.

[DKB]

Hey David -- the bike is looking awesome. Send me a message if you need any help dragging it out of the house this weekend -- I'll be around.

I can also show you the fairing that might interest you and check out the finned points cover you have for the 350f That weird master cylinder I have on the 350f is working great so I think I'm gonna stick with it. Gotta go to California for work next week, but then let's get out on a ride to the hills soon. The 400f is screaming perfectly after sitting all winter -- it's been nice around town but it's time to get out of the city and into the hills.

Thanks! I may bug you for some help lifting the bike from the lobby up the 2 steps to the street. Cool to hear that MC is working. I actually really dug the design and cut out over the bar. Works well on the 350. That's gonna be a great little city bike when yer done tuning her up.

I've got that finned points cover and steel brake line set aside and can run that by this week if you are around. Would like to check out the fairing too.

I saw your 400f parked outside the past couple of days as was a bit jealous. I've got two bikes both a week away from being road ready and this good weather is killing me.

You gotta stop by and check out the new garage space sometime. Super cool set up. I was over there working on the 450 all weekend. I've got all my tools moved over and shelving set up for parts storage. Everything's ready to bring the 550 over this week. Stoked to not have to deal with street parking pinball anymore.

[fastbroshi]

Let's hear it.

[DKB]

Let's hear it.

I'm still waiting on my chain and sprockets to arrive so it looks like I'll be pushing the bike over to the garage tomorrow. Not exactly a grand unveiling. Gotta install those, mount the license plate, throw on some mirrors, sync the carbs, and in theory should be ready to go.

I'll be posting some video clips right after.

I have a friend that does leather work out in Brooklyn that is going to help out with a seat cover we're designing. Still making final plans to send my alternate tank out for paint but am going to tend to that stuff while the bikes back on the road. I'm dying to get this thing out for a ride after a long winter of work and huffing paint/carb cleaner fumes in my apt 

Sept 2009


April 2010

[HedNut]

Awesome man! What a jump in looks from last year! Great job....I'm inspired!

[Zaipai]

Great build. Love the fact its in the house, looks right at home on the hardwood floors!

.: Scott :.

[Nicolai]

Great build 

Are you interested in selling your 4 into 2 exhaust?

[DKB]

Big Morning....

I enlisted a couple of friends to help get the bike outta my apartment, into the elevator, and back onto the street. Not exacly fun but I am excited to be one step closer to up and riding...



Took a bit of coaxing but we got the bike in the elevator with literally an inch to spare after removing the front wheel. Had one guy balance the bike and ran down the stairs with the front tire and thew it back on pit crew style.



The half way point. Only 4 stairs and a couple of doors to go:



Someone threw away a table last night that we conveniently employed as a ghetto motorcycle ramp. Good timing on that one:



And finally, after a few months of indoor living- Daylight 

*(please excuse the crappy camera phone pics. Didn't have my camera on hand and was in a time crunch to get to work)



Taking a stroll up Avenue A:



And the last on for today- Outside of the new garage after a nice trek through the neighborhood.



I'm stuck at work all night but plan to head over to the shop in the morning to resume work and try and fire her up. I ended up ordering another chain which arrived today *(I've been waiting almost a month for the first parts order to arrive) and should be ready for a test ride within the next day or so.

Videos are on the way...

[DKB]

Great build 

Are you interested in selling your 4 into 2 exhaust?

I ended up selling the Jardine 4into2 to my friend that is working on a CB500 rebuild across the river in NJ. Was gonna post it on here but it was a nice easy local sale and saved a trip to the post office.

[Zaipai]

Awesome.. Great story getting out of the apartment.

Looks great out on the road.. Hope she fires right up for you..

.: Scott :.

[DKB]

It's Alive!

I wheeled my 550 out to the street this morning, kicked the bike over a bit to circulate the oil before starting, and she fired right up! Probably one of the best moments of the build. The first day of her second life

I still need to sync the carbs and see what changes I need to make to get the new filters and exhaust dialed in, but as it stands, the bike is running well and holding a nice idle. Really stoked to hear her come to life after all the time and work.

It looks like the last carb cleaning or perhaps replacing the manifold gaskets cured the hanging tach/ cold pipe on #4 issue. That was the last lingering running issue I was trying to troubleshoot on the bike before the accident and it looks like I'm set.

I've still got a few small items to address but nothing I can't sort out in an hour or two tomorrow.

The bike is leaking a bit of gas from the float bowl gaskets on #2 and #3 so I need to pull the carbs and fix that before the first ride. The gaskets are relatively new (rebuilt the carbs last Sept) so I imagine they just didn't seat properly.

I'm going to head down tomorrow to work on the carbs and do a bit of tuning and will shoot some video footage. Should have the videos posted tomorrow afternoon and the bike ready for a test run this weekend!

[Zaipai]

It's Alive!

Awesome can't wait to see the footage...

.: Scott :.

[DKB]

GOOD NEWS!!!  

The 550 rides like a dream. I spent all day making patterns across the city and double checking my work. After several pages of posts and photos, here's some footage of the CB550 powered by her own device- shot around NYC and Brooklyn this afternoon. The new tapered bearings, shocks, and all the other updates were well worth the time and minimal investment. It feels and sounds like a new bike. So stoked right now!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90qqi41cxy4

[Zaipai]

GOOD NEWS!!!  

The 550 rides like a dream. I spent all day making patterns across the city and double checking my work. After several pages of posts and photos, here's some footage of the CB550 powered by her own device- shot around NYC and Brooklyn this afternoon. The new tapered bearings, shocks, and all the other updates were well worth the time and minimal investment. It feels and sounds like a new bike. So stoked right now!

[youtube=425,350]<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="

name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="

type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>[/youtube]

Well the link did not work.. I will try and link it for you... Oh and where did you get the air filter pods from. I like those...

http://www.youtube.com/user/thedrivinggame

.: Scott :.

[DKB]

GOOD NEWS!!!  

The 550 rides like a dream. I spent all day making patterns across the city and double checking my work. After several pages of posts and photos, here's some footage of the CB550 powered by her own device- shot around NYC and Brooklyn this afternoon. The new tapered bearings, shocks, and all the other updates were well worth the time and minimal investment. It feels and sounds like a new bike. So stoked right now!

[youtube=425,350]<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="

name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="

type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>[/youtube]

Well the link did not work.. I will try and link it for you...

http://www.youtube.com/user/thedrivinggame

.: Scott :.

That's strange. The video is embedded and seems to work in firefox/OSX... not sure what's up. I can see it fine here. ? Any one else?

The Pods are K&N. Bike seems to be running quite well so far with the stock jetting but I need to do some plug chops and see where I'm at. Seems to pull strong through from idle to 3/4 and there's only a very slight hesitation at WOT. It's running a hell of a lot faster and better than before the build but I changed and replaced so many items it's hard to say what had the biggest impact on performance.

[Zaipai]

Odd.. did not work for me, but then I am using Firefox for Linux so I tried on my wifes Firefox using Windows XP and same thing.. so perhaps its us.. not sure.. either way, nice bike.. Awesome work!!!

.: Scott :.

Edit: Yup was our ad block, sorry about that..

[fastbroshi]

Nice man good job.  I like the look of the tires, what are they?

[75cb550 (kyle)]

that bike is sexy...

[DKB]

Nice man good job.  I like the look of the tires, what are they?

Thanks! The tires are Dunlop K70's.

[DKB]

I had some time to get out on the CB550 this past week and report back with some field notes. The bike is running great and was worth every second of work and all the effort over the winter!

I've been shaping my own surfboards for years and always liked the idea of riding waves on something built with your own two hands. Bringing a bike back from the dead and cruising around the neighborhood is a very close second in terms of reward and gratification

I rode down to this local bike night/bar thing on Monday and got tons of great feedback and compliments. 100 bikes there, all worth tons more than mine, and it took me an hour to make it over to order a drink from when I arrived. Got swamped as soon as I rode up. Not bad for an old bike built on a budget:)

The handling and suspension are pretty spot on. Overall the bike is a total blast to ride and super zippy and responsive for an old machine. The clip on's are actually really comfortable (I'm 6'2 and have gorilla arms) and no complaints about the seat so far riding an hour or two at a time. Should be a great little bike for getting around the city!

Lastly, I picked up another SOHC4 today to get started on now that the 550 project is about wrapped up. It's a 1973 CB350F with some cool mods. Gonna post some pics shortly...

 

[rickmoore24]

Awesome man! You're totally right about the self satisfaction of doing it yourself on a budget. Well done!

[Zaipai]

Sounds great, it was a great project.. Turned out awesome. Don't forget to post the link to the 350 build here so we can follow it with out having to scrap thru all the new posts..

.: Scott :.

[cb544]

Wow.... 

[shane]

Taking a stroll up Avenue A:



And the last on for today- Outside of the new garage after a nice trek through the neighborhood.



I'm stuck at work all night but plan to head over to the shop in the morning to resume work and try and fire her up. I ended up ordering another chain which arrived today *(I've been waiting almost a month for the first parts order to arrive) and should be ready for a test ride within the next day or so.

Videos are on the way...

Nice build... I just got the same rear shocks. What size are yours? Are yours the short ones or the 13" ers?

[FfejCB500four]

Great build..
quick question  were could i get the taillight your using? It has the perfect look for the vintage.. exactly what ive been looking for, its perfect..

thanks in advance...
JP