Topic: Middle Of The Road 550 FASTBACK

[Sano]

I’m getting excited to be nearing final assembly of my ‘74 550K0 and want to thank all who have helped me get to this point. For this basket case I needed to learn a lot to get it right the first time and have relayed in large part on the good advice from folks like Hondaman, MReick, bwailer, TwoTired, and Calj737
  I wanted to use as many original parts as possible and concentrate on restoring or upgrading all components with an emphasis on tuning, reliability, comfort, and style.  You all can let me know if I succeed.
  Every project needs an origin story, right?  This is a tribute to my old friend David McMurtry(deceased) who lent me his shiny new 74 550 to take my girlfriend out on a date long long ago.  We had a very memorable time on and off the bike and I like to think that 550 had something to do with it so here’ to you David!
  Suspension:  New springs, fork tubes, seals, “emulator” valves, air preload valves, fork brace, steering bearings, swing arm bushings and Hagon shocks. 
  Frame:  de-tabbed & smoothed tig welded @ downtubes and brackets @ rearsets mounts (Terozzi) & under rest of tank.
  Motor:  .5mm overbore, decked, new valves, tappets, rocker arms, CB650 cam, all new seals, MLS head gasket, chains and bumpers and adapted CB650 primary chain tensioner (thanks wailer).  Hondaman ignition, Dyna 5 Ohm coils, Honda OEM points, new low mileage spark adv. with shortened advance springs, Drilled clutch basket (thanks Hondaman), Match ported intake manifolds, mild porting, Delkevic 4 into 1 exhaust and 42 tooth rear sprocket.
  Style:  adjustable “Jota” style bars, bikini fairing, Speedhut GPS speedo, handmade seat w/ gel insert (attaches with rare earth magnets), handmade fiberglass rear cowl, bobbed fenders, Black metal-flake w/gold stripe paint inspired by 5.0 liter mustang paint, silver frame paint, powder coat wheels w/ stainless spokes and a boatload of polishing.
  Reliability/usability:  All new wiring loom connections and added relays, Electronic Reg/Rec, Full size AGM battery, Coated tank, rebuilt carbs, fully restored stock intake system and paper filter (big PITA). Kept plastic inner fender and modified stock chain guard, SS brake lines, modern Master Cylinder and scintered brake pads.
  Any comments welcome, I hope I can provide some useful information to others as I continue to learn about these (as Hondaman put it) simple machines.  Cheers
 

[SF]

Nice work you’ve done to your machine. More pics and make sure you post a vid of it starting up!


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[Sano]

  OK, SF, here you go. Spent some time in the shop today.
  First Photo:  After checking main bearings (.0015”) dropped in the the crank with new OEM seals, new primary chain, cam chain, starter clutch with new primary drive bumpers and the primary and secondary transmission shafts.  I think it is a low mileage motor (no bruised or abused fasteners, very clean interior case walls, gears and shift forks show no signs of wear)
  Second Photo: MLS head gasket embossed oil holes at top of decked head (no rubber o-rings are going to be used in counterbored holes - I think ??). To get OEM o-rings in I would need to slightly increase the head gasket o-ring hole but not so much as would disturb the embossed sealing ring.
  Third/Fourth photos:  home made rear LED turn signals made from thin wall tubing (cheapo Bar-B-Q legs) laminated together with epoxy paste.  The profiled washers that sit behind were the trickiest part.
  I have done a bunch of painting and guess what I f#&$ed-up.  The painting........of the frame.  So now sand and re-do. The hurried I go the behinder I get

[seanbarney41]

What, no cafe tail hoop?   Uhhgg, this bike sucks!






Just kidding...that tail section is beautiful and tasteful.

[Sano]

Seanbarney41, Thanks for the compliment, I was trying for a smooth transition between the seat and rear fender.  I did not mention you in my short list of helpful posters but have appreciated your input on several issues of discussion.
  I chopped the stock frame cross brace and made a new removable brace that is lower profile and re located to work with the fiberglass cowl.  The GPS speedo receiver is below the cowl but can “see” through the fiberglass.  Still trying to figure out how it will be painted, maybe a 2-tone silver with a Honda logo.

[Sano]

Waiting for some Hondabond to close up the cases so time for some glamour shots of all the shine pieces before assembly.

[SF]

Lookn good!


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[Sano]

Finally finished my 550 after about 1 1/2 years. Done with tedious tuning.  Now I have pretty plugs at all throttle ranges (I got the “Deluxe” Keyster tuning kit).  It’s nice having a range of needles and all jets to work with. The Keyster brass worked great for me (some have reported less than stellar results)
  Spent time to get the timing spot-on helped by trimmed advance springs, zero run-out on the points shaft, genuine Honda OEM points and my E-Bay dwell meter & induction timing light. I love my Hondaman ignition module, it is the very best ignition option IMHO.
  My friend has a bone stock 550.  When we do roll-on acceleration comparisons I think my 650 cam and mild porting is what allows me to pull quite a bit harder in the upper RPM ranges.
  Anyway let me know what you all think, I am pretty happy how it turned out, just need some quality rubber and some break in miles before I really wring it out.

[Sano]

Some photos while everything is clean and shiny!

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Very nice job on this bike.  How does it run??

[scunny]

As said, nice job. what are those mounting brackets for the Tarozzi rear sets ?

[Sano]

SOHC racer:  It ran shockingly well from the get go with jetting guidance from my friends bike (we live at 6200’ elevation) and careful clear tube float setting & carb sync.  Very tight final drive with added cb650 primary chain tensioner modded to fit (thanks for  the idea BWhaller) and all new chains and shock rubbers.  This bike is FUN and sounds great with the Delkevic exhaust.

Scuny:  I splurged on Tarozzi rear sets and fork brace.  Those mounting brackets for the rear sets are aluminum cast brackets that are part of the purpose built set.  They put the pegs in the perfect location, not too high or too far back.  With the Raask adjustable bars the ergonomics are very comfy.

[Stev-o]

Nice job!  I'm nominating you for BOTM....

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,180400.0.html

[Sano]

SteveO,  Thanks, I am happy to accept.  Guess I should post some better photos from on the road, these are not very good.

[Stev-o]

SteveO,  Thanks, I am happy to accept.  Guess I should post some better photos from on the road, these are not very good.

You'll have to accept on the voting thread and plz post good pics on the voting thread next month. Good Luck!

[Sano]

todays ride

[Sano]

trying to get my GPS speedo working correctly

[Sano]

Its hard to photograph the sublimated Honda wing on my rear cowl.

[Sano]

Around here (Southern Utah) just about every business is closed and this is our peak spring tourist season

[Sano]

I looked a long time for that exhaust tip, not sure how much I like it.

[Sano]

Some "befores"

[scunny]

Bike looks great, I would throw that exhaust tip in the rubbish, but, it's your bike, if you like it, keep it.

[Sano]

I finally got some quality rubber for my bike after a disconcerting loss of traction at the rear end.  I read here the Avon AM26 is a good all around tire and should inspire more confidence.  Anyone have experience with these tires.
  A vexing problem I am having is the carb bowl overflow tubes can unexpectedly puke gas when parked (bike is stored level). It seems to do it all at once rather than steady drip.  I have checked float levels and cleaned and inspected float valves.  When Ihad the tank off overnight I realized gas was getting past the pet cocky even though it was turned to off.  Do these peacocks normally leak a little or do I deed to pull it and inspect.  It is a new part.  I am dreading pulling the carbs again.

[flatlander]

the petcock should not leak. also if it leaks, the float valves should shut off fuel into the carbs bowls. unfortunately, i think you'll have to go over both.
start from the top down: tank totally clean, petcock good - incl. that in-tank fuel filter, fuel lines correct and with no inline filters, fuel leve in carbs, etc.
these are pretty common problems. post here what you find and we can walk you through it.

[Stev-o]

I finally got some quality rubber for my bike after a disconcerting loss of traction at the rear end.  I read here the Avon AM26 is a good all around tire and should inspire more confidence.  Anyone have experience with these tires.
 

Yes, I have Avon's on my Kawasaki Z1.  Great tire!  There have been reports a couple years back that the sidewall had develop premature cracks, but I have not had that issue.
I'd bet a few bucks that you will like them.



Disclaimer: not recommended for off-road use!