Topic: CB550F , four 6mm threaded studs under breather cover.

[kendo57]

i removed the breather cover from the top of the cam cover and there
are four 6mm studs under there doing nothing. I cannot see anything on
a micro fiche so wondered what they are for.
Any ideas?

[Deltarider]

Forget the microfiche and start with the right parts list. I bet yours has the modified cylinder head cover or maybe some PO modified himself.

[lone*X]

Didn't the modified cover become standard sometime in 76 for all 550's? 

[Deltarider]

Didn't the modified cover become standard sometime in 76 for all 550's?

That's why I referred to the right parts list.
Some owners that had the old model modified the cover themselves.

[geminimotors]

So what are those studs? I was sorting through my boneyard and I noticed them also.

[luap]

the studs are to hold the rocker arms in depending on what year 550 it is

[TIM TINGEY, age 55]

71 thru 73 CB500 FOURS had long rocker arm shafts-one shaft for each side of engine intakes and exhaust valves. When Honda introduced the 550 they went to short rocker shafts that had less support/engagement and tended to rotate in ther'ye journals causing pre-mature wear and rockers becomming seriously misalighned with the valves. By 76' Honda introduced the updated cam cover with the studs you mentioned holding each rocker shaft in place so they cannot rotate.

[Deltarider]

Actually it was the other way around: the shorter rocker shafts (8x) caused problems and were substituted by longer rocker shafts (4x). The rocker arms themselves were not modified. As always, have a look in the parts list and it will be clear.

[kendo57]

Thanks, i can put them studs out of my mind now and get on with the rebuild.