Topic: 74CB550 - restore build - started and running!

[dune]

hey guys,

so I have been progessing on my 74 CB550F (frame says late 73) the bike is a mint shape 2k original miles.

So it has been stripped and powder coated the frame and cleaned everything up... painted the engine... clean everything else and put it all back together!

I have been having some trouble in finding places to go to match the paint... the tank is rather faded - it IS in good shape - the paint itself is just faded.... and theref are some chips etc and it needs to be addressed.

Now I would like to keep it as original as possible and the orange fleck paint is a brilliant looking color - so I am hoping to match it as closely as possible...

any suggestions where to go for new paint? and keep it original looking??

even for touch ups? I may ride it for the summer and see if i can find something to touc it up for the time being...

any thoughts??

here are some pics of the tank:

[Johnie]

www.vintagehondapaint.com  It generally takes Don a while to get back to people, so contact him and give it some time. You may have to contact him a few times as he is pretty busy. But his paint and Honda color match has been excellent and many guys on this board use his products. Check out his site.

[dune]

www.vintagehondapaint.com  It generally takes Don a while to get back to people, so contact him and give it some time. You may have to contact him a few times as he is pretty busy. But his paint and Honda color match has been excellent and many guys on this board use his products. Check out his site.

cool! so i have been drooling over the site looking at some of the paint jobs - and it looks pretty decent!

any idea what kind of quantity in a paint purchase??

i didnt see it listed anywhere - unless I missed it...

[Stev-o]

I believe he sells a kit which will be enough to paint your tank & side covers.
PS. You sure it's an F model?

[dune]

I believe he sells a kit which will be enough to paint your tank & side covers.
PS. You sure it's an F model?

well... thats what it says all over the bike... the ownership as well as the tag I think too...

why?

[Stev-o]

F's were made 75-77

[dune]

strange.. well the side decals that mount on the bike say '550Four'....

[poboy]

I used the vintagehondapaint kit on my '75 750F and was well pleased with the products. There was enough to do the tank and the tail section with a LITTLE left over. The only surprise that I had was when the paint arrived there was a note in the instructions saying to use the paint within 15 days of receipt. I had to pass it off to a guy to paint for me as I was not able to get a booth in that time frame. I am well pleased with the paint job, it gets lots of comments. You can't tell much by the pic below but maybe it will give you an idea. It looks much better in person as the metal flake does not pop out in the pic.

[Silverback]

This is a cut and paste from the FAQ questions regarding sunflake orange. Find somebody that uses, or can use House of Kolor paints.

"Re: orange paint

Brian Hoover
Fri, 16 Jan 2004 11:10:06 -0800

I've taken the liberty to retype Tim's instructions so that Glenn could find
a permanent place for all to access.
My printed copy is very old and has a lot of scribbles on it. Apart from a
few obvious typos,  this is how it appeared:

Subject: Sunrise Orange Paint
Author: Tim Feusi (cacheflowl.sasknet.sk.ca)
Date: 10/17-2000
Retyped by Brian Hoover from printed copy 1/15/04 ( [EMAIL PROTECTED] )

Well as promised here is the instruction for duplicating Flake Sunrise
Orange from the 1973 production year.  It matches perfectly to the new side
covers I received from Honda.  It may be a fairly safe assumption that for
the other candy colors ( except brown) that a correctly chosen shade of
candy would work.  I feel the base components are the same, especially the
size of the metal flake.  These are instructions for Sunrise Orange though.
I made a mistake on the last posting and the company that makes the product
is "House of Kolor".  ( Phone 612-729-1044 Picayune Mississippi, they have
distributers all over Canada and the USA).

Product Required:
1 pint (pt) BC-02 silver base
1 ounce MF-2 mini flake ( trust me 1 oz will do test panels, tank, and side
covers)
1 pt UK-8 tangerine candy
1 pt UC-01 clear coat
1 pt KU-100 hardener
2 Quarts medium reducer
Tech sheets for above

What follows is copy of the instructions as written out by my painter ( he
is an autobody instructor at the local tech college and is very picky) .

1- Reduce BC-02 two parts base to one part reducer, apply two full coats of
BC-02 silver or until full hiding
2- Reduce BC-02 at a ratio of one part paint to one part reducer.
3- Add one gram of mini flake to every 10 grams of reduced BC-02. (He used a
digital scale)
4- Apply two or three coats of mini flake and BC-02 mixture to complete
panel.
5- Allow recommended recoat time, usually 30 minutes.
6- Mix and apply two coats of UC-01 clear coat.
7- Allow clear coat to fully cure.
8- Lightly block sand clear to level flake alignment with 600 wet or 800p
wet.
9- Apply 4 up to 6 ( mine was 6) medium wet coats of the UK-08 tangerine
candy onto panel allowing each coat to flash.  NOTE: Always make test spray
out panels when spraying candy for matching.
10- Always check for correct6 match between coat of candy.
11- Allow candy to flash for one hour.
12- Apply two coats of UC-01 clear coat onto panel.
13- Allow to fully cure.

He then added the black panel and 3M ( perfect match) trimline striping to
the tank and one more coat of clear and the results are just like factory
except for one small detail.  If you are shooting for concoures points omit
steps 6,7 and 8 as Honda originally was kind of bumpy ( my new side covers
are not perfectly smooth) as they didn't smooth out flake like we did.  My
tank looks great and is perfect match to the factory side covers.  If you
have questions, you can email me.   Lots of luck and remember, it's not what
you ride but if you ride that counts.  It doesn't hurt to have a classic to
ride either.
Cheers, Tim"

[TwoTired]

strange.. well the side decals that mount on the bike say '550Four'....

Both the F models and the K models say 550 Four on the side panels.  Only the Cb550 F bikes had an F on the VIN number.
The tank in the pictures is most definitely a K model tank.  They can be fit onto F models.  But, as they are shorter than the F tanks, it leaves a gap between seat and tank unless you use an F seat, too.  Then you need to change Grab bar, etc.  Lots of differences between the models.  And original paint colors were NOT the same between the two models, even in the same year.

If your VIN tag says 73, then you can't have an F model, as they were introduced in 75.  If it is a Cb550 it is almost certainly a K model for that year of manufacture.

The Honda Motorcycle Identification Guide specifies model and VIN number for them.

[Red750K1]

No questions about it man, talk to Don at Vintagehondapaint.com .  I've used his kits to paint 4 or 5 bikes. Very nice kits, just be careful you don't make a mistake like getting a run or something, go easy! The candy paint goes on the water and has to have PERFECT overlap between strokes or it won't look right. Just make sure the gun is 90 degrees from what you're shooting. The orange metal flake is fun to shoot, also be sure to swirl the paint gun every few passes or the flake will settle on the bottom and you'll get a big blob of flake like spray paint splatter! haha been there. . . take your time and it'll look great! Don's paint is top notch and a perfect match.

[dune]

strange.. well the side decals that mount on the bike say '550Four'....

Both the F models and the K models say 550 Four on the side panels.  Only the CB550 F bikes had an F on the VIN number.
The tank in the pictures is most definitely a K model tank.  They can be fit onto F models.  But, as they are shorter than the F tanks, it leaves a gap between seat and tank unless you use an F seat, too.  Then you need to change Grab bar, etc.  Lots of differences between the models.  And original paint colors were NOT the same between the two models, even in the same year.

If your VIN tag says 73, then you can't have an F model, as they were introduced in 75.  If it is a Cb550 it is almost certainly a K model for that year of manufacture.

The Honda Motorcycle Identification Guide specifies model and VIN number for them.

the VIN # is CB55010064... no mention of an F anywhere or a K for that matter.  would that make it a 'K' model?

thanks for mentioning that actually!

I had no idea somebody mentioned to me that it was a 'F'; model from the early generation but the ownership says 74 and the frame stamp says 7/73... so late build 73...



at that I am also missing the hgrab bar at the back... so I have nothing to mount the rear signal lights to.

I will have to see if I can find something...

as for the above paint methods - I think I will be going with the vintage models paints... decently priced for what it is...  I emailed DOn and he got back to me almost immediately actually...

[dune]

which brings me to my next question...

this is a shot with the Windjammer on it.. .and you can see the seat... I havent seen a picture of any seats like it..

is this a custom / aftermarket seat which the PO may have put on it and never used?

[TwoTired]

the VIN # is CB55010064... no mention of an F anywhere or a K for that matter.  would that make it a 'K' model?

I think you may have left out some digits. (Or, it is not a North America model!)  I'm confident it is a K model, if that means anything.

this is a shot with the Windjammer on it.. .and you can see the seat... I havent seen a picture of any seats like it..

is this a custom / aftermarket seat which the PO may have put on it and never used?

Most certainly a custom or aftermarket seat.

I sure like the 'jammer with lowers.  Makes it a year round bike.  Bags are pretty handy as well. 

Looks like it has a '76 model tach on it.  Not a big deal, just an observation.

Cheers,

[dune]

CB550100641

out of curiosity - what suggests that the tachometer is from a 76 model?

here is a few more pics of the bike originally. I unfortunately dont have the Windjammer any more I like the look of the bike without it - but the practicallity aspect... unfortunately the previous owner parted them out before I could get to the bike...

[TwoTired]

out of curiosity - what suggests that the tachometer is from a 76 model?

Only year the gauge face was light green. 

Cheers,

[Stev-o]

Study this page, you'll learn a lot about your bike.


http://www.sohc4.net/index.php/cb550/cb550-model-guide

[dune]

anyone have any problems with the throttle sticking?

after putting the throttle cables all back together the throttle itself does not snap back like it should.... the carbeurator spring is tight and snaps back no problem. and the cables are free of issues. but it seems to be a cable issue?

is this common? whats the work around?

[TwoTired]

Stock bars?
Proper cable routing?  Bends cause more friction,  Sharper bends cause more friction.
Cables adjusted too tight?

[dune]

yup.
completely stock bars. and I have reduced the cable bends to as minimal as possible and it still seems to bind... when you are feeling the play in the lines it appears fine and moves freely but as soon as you connect them it begins to stick... ?? 

do I just need new cables?

[theofam]

If you only hook up the open/pull cable (it has an adjustable barrel at the throttle), and the throttle snaps closed, it's probably the other close/push cable that's the culprit. I had this issue last week on Paddy (see page 3 or 4 of my signature's build thread link). I tried to lube, twice, the close/push cable and ensured its routing was not binding, but to no avail. I hooked up a new cable, and it immediately fixed the issue.

[Silverback]

They often bind just after the throttle tube. Try this, barely loosen the nuts that hold the cables to throttle tube assembly. This has worked so many times it's ridiculous. People often tighten these in place based on aesthetics and they don't work properly. If this works, re-tighten them in a position that maintains free motion.

[lone*X]

Back to the original paint question.  Looking at the last of your tank pictures you must address the rust problem inside the tank before you do anything to the outside.  Looks pretty nasty in there.  Need to get rid of the rust (do the searches) and make sure there are no pin holes, and probably need to line it.   Paint needs to be the last thing done to the tank.  Wouldn't want to mess up new paint while trying to clean the inside of the tank.

[dune]

thx for the tips on the throttle cable. I will try adjusting them this week and see if that helps.

as for the tank - yep - agreed - it is currently filled with a CLR solution and being rolled over every day to try and get every last possible rust out!

its actually isnt toooo bad.. the majority of it was gelled and old gas that had just congealed and formed a solid... the rust itself wasnt actually all that much... but this is the second attempt with a solution soak so I am hoping this cleans up the rest of it...

however - I will be tackling this issue and fixing the rest of the minor difficulties as mentioned like the throttle cables for one...

and then doing some paint.

I wil lpost some more pics asap as well - I have polished everything up and the exhaust looks awesome! ands the bike is looking more and more like  real bike everyday!

[dune]

Hey guys.

I recently finished tracing any electricla gremlins on my 74CB550k project bike - all polished and re-assembled, all lights working, signals, brake lights etc...

had to do some digging with the coils and the points... the coils werent getting enough juice and they were losing flow between the plug cables that the bike came with (so I replaced with a spare that was in better shape that I had...)

Same with the stator / points... I have no idea why - but the Previous Owner had run a 'third' black in color wire into the points?? when measured it was running a -12VDC... it was a single wire run outside of the harness but appeared to serve a purpose....  I coudl not locate it to have anything to do with the wiring schematic in the Haynes manual.... and it apeared to be shorting the ground and tracing a voltage into the battery? and every other circuit on the bike... so all of teh 'Green' (chassis ground) wires were running with a -12VDC.... and relays were heating up quite rapidly etc etc.... so I snipped it...
I removed the old points / stator and replaced with a spare new looking TEC stator... that had the indicated '2' wires and plugged that in...

Added some fuel... and she fired right up

so my questions are:
1) anyone have any ideas what this '3rd' in-explainable black wire was actually for? and what the intention might have been to run a -12VDC into the frame and the points on the bike??I will take some pics and post them later today....

2) after I had her running for a bit i coudl tune the carbs a bit - but she seems to idl all over the place - low - then high - then low... and she revvs up and sounds pretty good - coughs a little when you go past about 6k rpms but that could be partially due to the fact that I have no air filters on the carbs at the moment....

I did some searches for a timing procedure and came up with a  few but if anyone has a link to a good procedure on setting the timing it would be greatly appreciated!

cheers!