Author Topic: 1975 CB550K1 550 Four  (Read 16876 times)

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Offline CJK

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1975 CB550K1 550 Four
« Reply #50 on: October 23, 2013, 09:42:40 PM »
Not to bad... Did you scrape off some carbon build up on the first pic? That is the only one that I question..

Yeah,
I used an exacto knife with the shop vac to make sure all the loose material was picked up.

Thanks Tews,
Seeing that much build up had me a little worried. Glad it's nothing to worry about. The headers at the first bend had loads of carbon as well, took those to get cleaned in hot tank. Could that be an indication of the bike running too rich?
« Last Edit: October 23, 2013, 09:47:14 PM by Chris Kasinski »

Offline calj737

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Re: 1975 CB550K1 550 Four
« Reply #51 on: October 24, 2013, 05:18:02 AM »
Chris - you planning on running the stock header? If so, I have some recently ceramic coated flange ears in flat black that I won't be using (swapped to a MotoGP unit). Let me know if you'd like them shipped out. Yours looked badly rusted at the start....
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"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of it's victim may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated, but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." - C.S. Lewis

Offline CJK

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Re: 1975 CB550K1 550 Four
« Reply #52 on: October 27, 2013, 09:44:55 PM »

Chris - you planning on running the stock header? If so, I have some recently ceramic coated flange ears in flat black that I won't be using (swapped to a MotoGP unit). Let me know if you'd like them shipped out. Yours looked badly rusted at the start....

I think, if I'm not mistaken, that is an aftermarket header. Not fully sure, but yes I'll be running that one for a while until I get around to getting SS header. Love the look of SS exhaust.
 
That would be great! Thanks so much. Mine are quite ugly, rust really pitted them quite deep.

Offline CJK

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Re: 1975 CB550K1 550 Four
« Reply #53 on: January 25, 2014, 03:50:40 PM »
First off, I sure am bad at staying updated with this. I will now keep it more updated as I found out I can use Tapatalk and it's much more convenient.

Anyways...

I have completely through the wiring harness and checked all connections/re-flowed solder. Lengthened the entire harness so that the wires will now reach the back of the bike as I will hide all the components under seat hump. Re-wired the handlebar controls, cut a notch into the material and ran the wires on outside of the bars into headlight.

(Side note: trying to run wires through inside of Clubmans was a terrible idea. I got the right side controls done...left side got stuck halfway through. After unsuccessfully trying for about 3 hrs, I left them where they were for close to 2 weeks, afraid to touch them because I was getting too frustrated. Finally, I said "screw it," and Cut all the wires, which is why I decided to simply re-wire the controls.)

Offline CJK

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1975 CB550K1 550 Four
« Reply #54 on: January 25, 2014, 03:51:59 PM »
Calj737 - should have thanked you a while ago for sending me the exhaust collars, but I got caught up in things. So Thank you very much, I really do appreciate it. When I finish this fun with all the wiring, I will throw them on there.

Offline CJK

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1975 CB550K1 550 Four
« Reply #55 on: January 25, 2014, 03:56:55 PM »
Quick question: I want to make a tray that will keep things out of the area under the seat. Any suggestions??

My idea was to cut that back rounded flat bar that a friend welded on, use some sheet steel and simply cut out the shape and mount to those back 2 lateral supports with holes in them.

***Also, frame is not PC so I'm not worried because I anticipated doing things wrong first time and needing to weld things on :)

« Last Edit: January 25, 2014, 04:01:37 PM by Chris Kasinski »

Offline calj737

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Re: 1975 CB550K1 550 Four
« Reply #56 on: January 25, 2014, 04:08:29 PM »
Welcome back, Chris. No worries on the collars, I knew you got them and appreciate them.

Re: electronics box, what seat cowl are you running? Any room under a hump, or is it flat back there? If a hump, then fab your box to drop in between those flat bars as they are, and use the flats as mounting flanges. Putting box lower could create interference to rear tire.
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"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of it's victim may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated, but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." - C.S. Lewis

Offline CJK

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Re: 1975 CB550K1 550 Four
« Reply #57 on: January 25, 2014, 10:13:36 PM »
I'm using a Roccity seat, there is tons of space underneath so it's not even difficult to fit it all under there. I think I will probably also make a mounting board for all the components.
I don't like that back piece of bent flat bar though so I'm thinking it should go. There's still a good 3" between the flat bar and the rear edge of the cowl and having that bar partitions the space in a bad way ("friend" screwed up, shouldn't have ever bothered with him)

I'll snap some better pictures in the morning.

Offline calj737

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Re: 1975 CB550K1 550 Four
« Reply #58 on: January 26, 2014, 05:46:46 AM »
Yeah, I don't care for the flat bar either, but if your cowl covers it, does it matter? The partition doesn't matter either unless it interferes with your electronics pan.

Check out the most recent pages of my 500 build and get an M-unit. Then it won't matter at all.
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"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of it's victim may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated, but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." - C.S. Lewis

Offline CJK

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Re: 1975 CB550K1 550 Four
« Reply #59 on: January 26, 2014, 07:49:49 AM »
Wow that M-Unit is amazingly cool. Does it have a built-in Reg/Rect?

Offline calj737

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Re: 1975 CB550K1 550 Four
« Reply #60 on: January 26, 2014, 09:30:41 AM »
No, but it does have built-in solenoids, flashers and over-voltage protection.
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"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of it's victim may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated, but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." - C.S. Lewis

Offline CJK

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Re: 1975 CB550K1 550 Four
« Reply #61 on: January 26, 2014, 11:13:55 AM »
Wow, that is quite simply amazing. Wish I would have been more active on the forum when I was doing all this stuff. I would have just bought one and called it  done on the electrical.

Since I'm going through all this trouble anyway, I'm going to replace the R/R with a new one.
 
Bought a generic 35 amp 3-phase bridge rectifier for $10 and VR124 Regulator for $27 from Amazon.

Offline CJK

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Re: 1975 CB550K1 550 Four
« Reply #62 on: January 26, 2014, 11:16:44 AM »
That's the size of the cowl...tons of space for all the electrical components

Offline CJK

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Re: 1975 CB550K1 550 Four
« Reply #63 on: January 26, 2014, 11:36:39 AM »
I hooked up the new LED rear taillight to a 12v battery pack (measured at 11.5v @ time) just to see how bright the LEDs will be. The first 3 are taken in the garage, medium light levels. The last 2 are outdoors on a sunny day. In the direct sunlight, they are slightly washed out.







Outdoors -




My goal for today is to separate the 35 Amber LEDs on R and L sides to be turn signals.
I already have a resistor in line so that Red will be Running light dimmed and full power brake light.

Offline RobbyD

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Re: 1975 CB550K1 550 Four
« Reply #64 on: January 26, 2014, 02:54:46 PM »
that roadster seat fits the 550 really good actually.  I may consider it and chop and inch or so out of it. 

Offline CJK

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Re: 1975 CB550K1 550 Four
« Reply #65 on: January 26, 2014, 03:24:56 PM »

that roadster seat fits the 550 really good actually.  I may consider it and chop and inch or so out of it.

Thanks, I think so too. I remember seeing it on CB on the Roc City page, sold me right away. Just runs really well with the gas tank lines.

Offline CJK

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Re: 1975 CB550K1 550 Four
« Reply #66 on: February 07, 2014, 06:59:41 PM »
Bought some 14 gauge SS sheet today to make fab up a rear tray for the electronics. $2/lb seemed like a dang good price. I'm gonna trace the shape and take it to a shop to have them cut it with a plasma cutter.

Offline CJK

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Re: 1975 CB550K1 550 Four
« Reply #67 on: July 13, 2015, 02:13:39 PM »
Resurrection from the dead! This project had to take a back seat for quite some time while school, life and training were more important. I'm finally back to working on it though.

Currently, I am trying to get it back running again (last running several years ago). I was able to get Cylinders 1,2, and 4 firing this morning, but the engine would not idle for more than a few seconds. As long as fuel, air and a spark are present, the engine should begin running.

Fuel:
I pulled the plugs and all cylinders were receiving some fuel. I've got carbs #1, 2, and 3 peeing onto the ground so I'll be removing the carbs again tomorrow morning. I will check the float level and the pilot jets again.

Air:
Choke all the way on and air screws on the carbs turned to 1.5 turns out.

Spark:
Just installed new NGK 5k ohm spark plug caps and NGK D7EA plugs. I set the points gap and timing statically, but am skeptical of it. I'll be revisiting this as a cause of the issue if the carburetors are not the cause.

Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated. I want to this engine to finally work.

Offline calj737

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Re: 1975 CB550K1 550 Four
« Reply #68 on: July 13, 2015, 02:27:37 PM »
It's not uncommon for carbs to overflow after sitting a while. With fuel on, rap the bodies with a screwdriver handle and see if they'll settle in after they rehydrate the internals.
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"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of it's victim may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated, but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." - C.S. Lewis

Offline CJK

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Re: 1975 CB550K1 550 Four
« Reply #69 on: July 13, 2015, 08:35:38 PM »
Calj737 - I will do that tonight and see if that fixes the problem of them overflowing. I've been reading through a few threads and am thinking the angle of the flat piece from the float that pushes up on the float needle could be an issue. I'll try your suggestion though because not removing the carbs again sounds delightful


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Offline CJK

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Re: 1975 CB550K1 550 Four
« Reply #70 on: July 16, 2015, 03:08:58 PM »
I tried giving the carbs a few love taps to see if that would help seat the float needles but no luck. Carbs came back off yesterday. I may need some help adjusting the float level.

The float level needs to be adjusted to 22mm measured with the carbs on their side. Is the purpose of putting them on their sides so that the float is not fully depressing the float needle?

I'll post pictures to help clarify

Offline calj737

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Re: 1975 CB550K1 550 Four
« Reply #71 on: July 16, 2015, 03:54:58 PM »
Yes, that's correct. If you search "clear tube method" you'll see how to use clear fuel line plugged into the bowl drain screw to determine the exact fuel height. It needs to be 3-4mm below the bowl seam, and equal among all 4 carbs.

The downside of using only float measurements is that you are taking it on faith that the floats are functioning correctly. The clear tube method is definitive.
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"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of it's victim may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated, but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." - C.S. Lewis

Offline CJK

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Re: 1975 CB550K1 550 Four
« Reply #72 on: July 16, 2015, 04:07:40 PM »
Calj737 - Thanks for the tip! I have extra tygon tubing lying around that I can use for that.

I feel like a dumb*** but I just discovered that I have the 627B carbs (CB500 71-73) instead of 022A (CB550K 74-76). Apparently the PO swapped them out at some point in history. I've been following the CB550 manual for all adjustments. In looking at it, there aren't too many differences thankfully.

Why do something right the first time when you can do it twice?!
« Last Edit: July 16, 2015, 04:29:20 PM by Chris Kasinski »

Offline CJK

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Re: 1975 CB550K1 550 Four
« Reply #73 on: July 16, 2015, 05:43:40 PM »
I re-checked the float level and found a few to be closer to 20mm than 22mm so I adjusted that. Pilot jets were blown out again to ensure nothing was blocking them.

I measured float bowl by laying carbs on engine side down to ensure the weight of floats did not depress the float tang.





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Offline turboed13b

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Re: 1975 CB550K1 550 Four
« Reply #74 on: July 17, 2015, 01:52:17 PM »
Your float needles are in upside down.