'76 CB550F Survivor: Preservation vs. Restoration

scott s

scott s

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Some of you may have seen my thread where I snagged a one owner, low mileage survivor from Craigslist:
http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=125963.0

The bike was purchased new in 1976 when the P.O. was 16 years old. It was his first bike. His father owned the Honda/Suzuki dealership here in town. He installed the Lester mags before it ever left the showroom.
The bike was never even titled until the year 2000. From 1976 'til 2000, he rode it with the dealer tag on it and the MSO in his pocket.
It has 5,065 original miles...only 225 of those miles were put on it since he titled it. It is 100% original except for the Lester's, the 400F handle bars (installed to clear the Shoei fairing he used to run on it), Ouri grips, and E-Z pull style levers. Oh, and the tires.

My plan is to get it running top-notch and then just clean, polish, buff, shine and save as much as possible. My goal here is to make it look the best I can without OVER restoring it. I'll be asking lots of questions on what to keep/save, what to change, and the best way to preserve this survivor.

Some pics from the CL ad and a few from when I got her home.






 
The LH rear turn signal is slightly tweaked. I should be able to bend the tab on the grab rail straight and tighten this right up.



 
The paint on the frame is virtually spotless. The foot pegs and kick stand show some wear. Would you leave them alone or carefully restore/repaint?


 
The tank has one little nick and a very, very light scratch. There's also a pea sized ding right in front of the "H" on the Honda emblem on the RH side. The side covers are perfect. My plan here is to carefully buff and polish the original paint.
The tank is very clean inside, but I'll dump out the old gas and rinse it out anyway.




You can barely see the light scratch in this pic. Some of the black paint is flaking off the emblems, but I'll leave them be.
 
I'd personally pull the footpegs and powder coat them to match the frame.
 
I also have a few more conundrums, but I'm going to wait on a few replies to the current pics before asking about what to do next.
 
Tune it up n ride the shit out of it. its only original once and the lil rust is just character.
 
The brakes seem to work just fine, but I'll flush the fluid anyway.



I am a little concerned with the paint peeling on the caliper holder. I'm wondering if the seal is leaking by a little bit?


The hoses, while in good shape, are also 38 years old. For less than the cost of new Honda hoses, I can have Slingshot Cycles make me a set of braided stainless. I could have them done in black or dark grey so they blend in.....thoughts?
 
And while we're down here around the forks....they have the cracking clear coat thing going on. Maybe fresh fork oil and leave them well enough alone?



You guys are making it kind of easy for me. My GF also votes for making it safe, making it go and stop like it's supposed to, and leave everything else original....even if it is a little scruffy.
 
See my thoughts are its so close to being a perfect bike.
Ride it and say one weekend pull the forks and polish them up.
Next weekend pull the footpegs and powder coat them.
Next weekend repaint that brake caliper mount.
Etc
In no time you will have a show quality bike thats had very minimal restoration and then you'll be done with it.
 
The engine has the same deal. Clear coat hazing, slightly dull aluminum, and a little chipping paint on the valve cover area. Leave it alone, or try to gently restore it to how it would have been when it left the factory?
Not TOO shiny .... but as it would have been when new, maybe?



 
SONICJK said:
See my thoughts are its so close to being a perfect bike.
Ride it and say one weekend pull the forks and polish them up.
Next weekend pull the footpegs and powder coat them.
Next weekend repaint that brake caliper mount.
Etc
In no time you will have a show quality bike thats had very minimal restoration and then you'll be done with it.
Click to expand...
After those pics,I retract my previous statement and agree with sonicjk
 
Like Sonicjk and Junior are saying, ride it and fix a little here and there........dude, I would be zipping all over the place in that thing right now!
 
Yeah i'm with these guys. Change all the fluids first, make sure everything is up to par and go from there little by little touch up the cosmetic stuff. The last thing you want to do is tear the whole thing apart and turn it into a basket case.
 
I can understand, and go for, the sympathetic restoration. I'll probably get it running and stopping as-is, and do as suggested; just slowly and carefully clean up existing parts without going overboard.
Hand polish the side covers with mild steel wool or skotch-brite, paint up the pegs (but only after disassembly....no overspray on the nuts and bolts, springs, etc.), buff out the paint, etc. Keep it as close to original as possible without letting stuff deteriorate or going the other way: TOO shiny and perfect.
 
One thing that's always bugged me about Honda's: Why are the mirrors different heights?



And what are these holes/grommets on the fork ears for?

 
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