Topic: Handle bars on 78 550k.. NOW NEED THROTTLE CABLE HELP

[Tews19]

I am swapping out my bars on the 550F and realized that the kill switch wiring is inside of the bar.. Is this standard or did the PO change this?  I looked in the manual and can not tell by the pictures posted and my 78 550K has all external wiring. May sound dumb, should I mount the bars on first then glue the grips on or glue then mount bars?


Decided to put on my 550K.. Now I cant get the throttle cables on.. Is there a trick to this?

[Danno]

I have never glued any of my grips tried it once and they always come off I was told by an old motor cycle racer that the bar has to be absolutely clean then taking alcohol you put them on like golf grips after the alcohol evaporates (sometimes takes a couple days) they are on there pretty much for good but can be removed by injecting alcohol under the grip and running a long thin screwdriver under the grip all around to distribute the alcohol and they slide off
works the same on the throttle side too just don't mix up the throttle side and clutch side when puting them on or you will have trouble getting the throttle side on and the clutch side staying put

[Danno]

I have never had a grip come off using alcohol to do it
and as far as your bars most of the bikes I work on from this era have the wires inside the bar unless someone replaced the bar along the way and got lazy
it works ok I guess but I have always been afraid something would snag them and the 550 has enough trouble with the kill switch without giving the wires another excuse to screw up

[Tews19]

I am not sure if the bars have been changed out... But I decided to put them on my 550K tonight.. Only problem I am having now is getting the throttle cables attached to the throttle sleeve... Is there a trick? I can do one but not the other...

[Danno]

i usually take them off the carbs before attempting to hook them up to the sleaves you might get away with loosening them all the way at the carbs but i don't remember being able to do it that way when i changed my throttle cables
make sure that the cables do not end up bent very much the tighter the bend the more hell you will have when you turn the throttle the heavy return spring makes turning the throttle hard enough
 try for graceful curves down to the carb cam wheel

[Tews19]

Thanks bud... I removed the tank to get to the throttle cables.. removed the throttle cables and had to relocate them... Hooked them up to the sleave then back to the carbs... Bike started right up and idle great... I was worried the cables were poop with the PO having a 3.5 inch extender on the bars... Bike didnt die when i took her for a quick trip...

[marksman]

Certain models had wiring routed inside the bars from factory. I think the 75 76 .

[Danno]

I was happy to help the 550 is one of my favorite bikes love it more than any of my others it was the smoothest bike honda made until the goldwing in 75 and yes the newest bike I own is a 79 and it has the wires in the bars too

[Steve_K]

I have a 76 550K and it has wires inside the bars.
I have a 77 550K and the wires are on the outside, as per factory.
I wish all my Honda has the wires on the outside.  Makes it so easy to swap out handle bars.
I have always been able to put the cables on the carbs when they are mounted on the bike.
Steve