Okay, folks, this is my first [street] bike, my first build and [nearly] my first post on here. i'm gonna have to rely on you guys a lot since i am uninitiated in this context but am also wicked excited to get this going. i figured my best bet is to document this process meticulously so that when i come around begging for help i have a better chance of getting it
Here's the first chapter:i bought this bike on ebay based on a gut reaction. Rude persons may call that an "impulse buy" but i like to think it's really more like a sniper taking his time, measuring his breath, checking distance, wind, atmospheric conditions, carefully choosing the correct target and being able to pull the trigger at the first good opportunity. Or i just went for it.
I had a little cash from selling a guitar and had just decided to start saving for a motorcycle but had NO idea what a decent non-Harley bike would cost. Nothing against HD, but to meet my goal of paying cash and be able to get a Harley that would fit my style would cost me around eight grand and i didn't want to wait that long. I've always love the vibe of a Triumph but it seemed like i was looking at around $4000 in that department which seemed a little more attainable but still a couple of years worth of saving down the road.
We had been having some discussions around our family about the idea that my son, who was about to turn 6, may be ready for a dirt bike and being that we are fans of Honda generally around here and fans of Honda bikes specifically i was looking regularly on ebay for a 50cc CRF or something like that within a reasonable distance of where we live in Midland, TX.
After a week or two of weeding through these auctions to see what Hondas were available i began to notice the SOHC4 bikes were pretty reasonable as project bikes go, and honestly, who couldn't love one of these things, especially if it were tweaked out as a Cafe Racer? I stumbled across a no reserve auction for a CB550 cafe project that apparently never got underway. Here are the photos from the auction:
auction description as follows:
"Up for auction is a 1975 Honda cb550. The bike is not running at this time, though it was running strong when parked over 2 years ago. It is being sold as a cafe project and will include a 4into1 exhaust and a cafe fairing along with the other items shown in the photos. The tank is a repaint with one small dimple on the right side by the emblem. It is fairly clean inside and in good shape. The chrome has a good amount of surface rust which will need attention but installing the 4into1 will take care of a lot of that. The tires are in need of replacement and I will be including an extra rear wheel and rim to replace the one thats on there now which has a lot of rust on the spokes. The motor has oxidation on the cases. The seat is in ok shape but would look better if recovered. The brakes were in good working order when parked. I bought the bike thru Ebay from a dealer in Ohio. The bike has a clear Ohio title. This bike is being sold as is where is without any warranty, implied or otherwise. Buyer is responsible for arranging shipping. Buyer must have a Paypal account and payment will be due thru Paypal or via certified cashiers check drawn on a U.S. bank or credit union within 7 days of the end of the auction. Foreign buyers must pay in cash. An immediate non-refundable $250.00 deposit is due, thru Paypal, upon winning. Thanks for looking."Here's the link to the auction, it'll only be available a couple more weeks:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130413656916&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWNX%3AITAs you can see, it's a pretty clean, though not entirely original bike with only 13,000 miles on it, a perfect candidate for customizing in my opinion. The owner had intended to make it a Ton Up and had a nice little Cafe Racer starter kit that he was selling as part of the deal along with the moto which included new side pans, a new faring/windscreen, a set of chrome clubman bars, a cleaner rear wheel and tire (the one on the bike was pretty crusty) and
4-into-1 COMPLETE EXHAUST!Well, it just so happens that the town the bike is in is about two miles as the crow flies from the town my father-in-law lives in down around San Antonio (and from house-to-house it was only four miles from his place to the bike.) i emailed the seller with a question or two and decided what i thought a decent price would be and gritted my teeth.
i bid on this little two-wheeler and wound up winning it for $670! I'm pretty sure i couldn't have collected the included parts for less than that so i was very pleased. I called my father-in-law and told him about my Honda and he agreed to pick it up and keep it at his place until i could get it back up to Midland, so everything has fallen into place really well. In fact, since i paid for the bike through PayPal, the amount i spent earned me a $100 PayPal reward voucher which i used to get some more "free" parts (or you could count it as a $100 discount on the price of the bike!)
As of last Saturday the CB550 is at my father-in-law's waiting on me to bring her home, my wife finally knows about the bike (
) and i have some parts on the way to get started with. I think i might have also made a new friend in Charlie, the former owner, who was a really nice, helpful, patient guy.
i think i have a bit of a plan of action for this build. i love the flat black vibe and think that i'll land somewhere within that territory for this bike, very little chrome for me on this one, please. i have a feeling i'll not love the clubman bars so i'm going to get some drag bars and try those out. The faring is cool but it may not make an appearance on this one, i want to explore a custom dual-headlight setup like you would find on a Speed Triple but that's going to be a challenge unless i do one of the el cheapo kits (that's a little Spanish lingo) i've seen on the net. i intend to utilize the side panels for sure and got some UNI pod filters for the carbs. The engine will eventually be very black- as much of it as i can get black will be black. i realize i'm a noob, but that seat looks pretty unique to me in this day and age, i have looked at a zillion different seating options and have not seen another one like it, not even in photos of other CBs; i think i'm going to keep that seat and have i recovered in black leather, maybe perforated seating panels and smooth sides, possibly with some accent piping. I'd love to get some new aluminum rims and spokes (black, of course) and relace with the original hubs but those Com-Stars i've seen around here would be pretty sick in flat black, too. I'd sure love to get a little bit wider rubber on here but not on the original rim width. Not sure how that's gonna go yet. Carpy's got a cool fiberglass bobbed rear 750 fender he thinks will fit a 550 and i like his bobbed front fender, i am going to give those a shot. The enormous rear tail light is so gone, going with LEDs on the sides instead. Definitely wrapping the exhaust, not sure if i'll use that muffler yet.
I'm sure there's something i'm missing but i've only been thinking about this bike for three weeks. Here is my tactical plan bearing in mind i have yet to be within 200 miles of her and don't know for sure the full extent of her condition:
1- Get her running (good)- exhaust, tune-up, etc.
2- Electrics, tires, roadworthy; ready for inspection. Riding!
3- Aesthetics: body, paint scheme, fenders, seat, etc. (this will take a while, i expect)
4- Wheels/suspension, etc.
5- Tweak the vibe
6- Possibly big bore kit? (scary, maybe i should wait until i have another bike to ride first in case this goes bad)
So, i'm up for tactical advice, technical advice, aesthetic suggestions, part sourcing advice and just the plain old benefit of your experience. More info to follow and more photos for sure.
