I was donated ($0) a rusted up basket case 1976 Honda CB550. Yes I did say $0, excluding title fees of course. Long story short, my brother knew I was looking for a bike to chop or customize so he called me one night last fall and asked if I was looking for another bike. I ride an '04 H-D Ultra Classic most of the time and I picked up an '05 H-D Dyna Superglide over the summer for customizing and bar hopping. Well, when he said the '76 CB550 had a clear title and the cost was just the state taxes and title change, I was in. So I picked the thing up using a utility trailer and my small truck. It turns out that this bike changed hands a couple of times and the original owner took the top end of the motor off, threw away the gaskets, and left it sit. The mice got to the wiring and some of the other soft stuff on the bike, but all-in-all I have most of the other parts. Most are rusted, but I have them. So after doing some research on the web and looking at some pics I thought this would be a good bike to practice my chopping/customizing on. That's what brings me here.
I've been riding street bikes in southwestern PA since I was 18, that was about 25 years ago. The first bike I owned was a Kawasaki 440. The next one was a Honda Shadow 700. I always wanted a Harley, just something about them I really liked. So the rest of my bikes have been a '90 FLHTP, '02 Roadking, '04 FLHTCUI, and last but not least my '05 Dyna Superglide. And now I have a '76 CB550 to play with. I've done a lot of long distance riding. Been to Sturgis twice, Myrtle Beach about 3 times, and the Outer Banks twice. Most of the trips were 1 day down and 1 day back, except Sturgis which was 2 days out and 2 back. My influence to chop and customize has been the great biker parties I've been to. I see these great little machines and think "I can do that." So with a little help from the SOHC forum I'm sure I can get this bike back on the road, and I'll try to jump in with any help for anyone else when I can.
