Whazzzzup!!! Hey everyone, long time no see! I've had two 550s in my shed for the past 8 years or so and I'm finally getting around to doing something with them.
Blue 1975 - NO TITLE, 30k miles, in great condition other than the previous owner was rebuilding the engine and lost interest in the middle of it. The carbs were removed years ago and emptied of fuel. They look great inside and out so that's a bonus.
Yellow 1976 - TITLE, 17k miles, rusty and dirty but complete
So, the plan is to take all the good bits off the blue one and put them on the yellow one and get it running. Here's what I have done so far:
- Swapped entire front end. Kept the speedo and tach from the yellow one but swapped the chrome backings from the blue.
- Installed new All Balls steering bearings.
- Replaced rusty and broken exhaust studs
- Cleaned and sealed the yellow tank. The blue one had old liner coming off with a lot of rust. The yellow one looked so much cleaner with no rust so easy decision. I'm planning on repainting eventually anyway.
- Swapped wiring harness and everything else electrical
- Swapped rear wheel, shocks, and fender
- Swapped battery box and air box
- Swapped chain because the blue one looks almost new.
- Swapped tank lock and seat lock
The blue one has the original 4 into 4 exhaust which are in great shape but I think I like the 4 into 1 better. The 4 into 1 that came on the yellow one is crappy and rusted but it'll do for now. Basically the blue bike is now just a frame with bottom end of the engine in it now. It's not going to be the prettiest bike but eventually I'll get it painted. Right now I just want to get it on the road.