Topic: The Daily Grind > '75 CB550K1 Daily Cafe (Half-Caf?)

[Chicago550]

Nice pipes;D
I'm getting ready to replace my chain and sprockets—we'll see if my experience is as interesting as yours.

[shameless550k]

It's been a long time since I've been on the forums.

Currently welding up holes in the stock exhaust and fixing a small fuel leak.

Will post more pics as things develop.

[shameless550k]

So...this bike is getting back into shape.

Stock exhaust has been tacked up, and remounted.
Tail light has been replaced with a 19 Red/ 6 White LED light from Superbright LEDs.
http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/index.cgi?action=DispPage&Page2Disp=%2Fspecs%2F1157-R19W6_motorcycle_bulb.htm

Found some vintage Shoei hard bags on ebay for a steal, and mounted them.

Cobbled together an HID headlight kit with an H4 conversion kit to make a complete HID headlight setup.

So far, so good.

[shameless550k]

HID H4 headlight conversion is finished. Now need to chase demons through the electrical system, and get running lights / turn signals back online.

Currently getting the bike back to running after sitting a while.
Drained the tank and carbs, and replaced fresh gas.
All cylinders have spark.
1-3-4 are dry
2 is wet.

Bike still won't start.

[shameless550k]

Pulled all the plugs, used a pipette for a few drops of good gas in each cylinder, and gave it a start.

Exhaust happened. That is an encouraging smell, but doesn't this diagnose the carbs as a potential problem? The bike was running as of two months ago, if not street legal due to the headlight issues.

[lucky]

*Noticed the bottom left exhaust (#2?) weld is blown out where the exhaust meets the header. (Anyone in NOVA handy with a torch?)

A guy in Falls Church did some welding work for me - if you want, I can pass his contact info along.  But if the pipes are rusty there's probably no hope for them.

You cannot weld rust.