Hey all, it's been a while since my last post, lol. I have a '76 550 engine in need of a rebuild, initially I was going to just do the top end due to a cam lobe partially disintegrating, but after pulling the cyl, I found that I'll need a primary chain too (1 1/2" play, and little marks on the case from flapping around:o) and a cam tensioner, and a cam, and etc, etc. I do not have the time, proper facilities or quite frankly the motivation to split the cases myself, and the bike is just sitting in my garage rotting away. I do like the bike very much, and it's in good enough original condition to warrant throwing a good chunk of money at it in my opinion, so I have decided to see what my options are to send the engine off to a professional to have it torn down to bare cases and built properly, and what you guys would recommend to reach my goals with this engine.
30% of the time I am going to be using the bike for light touring, 3-4 days at a time, fair weather, 40-60 mph, 6-8hr days
60% of the time will be weekend rides, fair weather, variable speeds, high loading/rpm, 3-4 hour days
10% of the time will be commuting, typical stop, accelerate, stop, 1 hour per day
I would like to have a little more midrange power, and give up a little top end, and don't mind a slightly lopey cam or loud exhaust, but my number one priority is reliability, as good or better than stock. I'm willing to spend up to $2500, maybe 3 grand, to build it properly. I know it's not even worth that, and I have a modern bike that's light years ahead of the Honda in terms of performance and reliability, but I like the 550 enough to warrant hemorrhaging my checking account in my view
What do you think?
