1976 CB550F survivor

Saw this on Craigslist last night. I called and the seller was shocked, saying it had only been listed for 5 minutes. Talked him into letting me come look at it (it was getting kind of late) and we shook hands on a deal.

Back story: His family used to own the Honda/Suzuki dealership here in town. This was his first bike. He bought it new in 1976. The Lester mag wheels were installed before it left the showroom.
Here's the text from the Craigslist ad:

"1976 Honda CB550F Super Sport, Orange, 5065 original miles, one owner since her birth, all original except Lester rims. I have a set of spoke wheels that go with the bike though. I also have a Kerker exhaust system I use to have on it. I have a Shoei colored match fairing that has a couple of scratches from being in storage. I have two boxes of new old stock NOS parts, that include chrome plated engine parts that can be used to replace the older original parts one day. The bike if unrestored but in very good condition (only blemish is scratch on gas tank I included in pics). It starts and runs good but needs to be ridden more than I have over the past few years. I have the original owners manual and title."

Would you pay $2,000 for this? Because I sure did!! This one is a survivor. I don't plan on changing a thing, other than maybe detailing it a little bit. Oh, it has 400F bars on it, too. He did that back in the day in order to clear the Shoei fairing. Those and the Lesters will stay.
And the scratch he mentioned? It'll buff right out...

Well, after a slight scare today, she's officially mine!

The P.O. was SWAMPED with replies after I left. Unbeknownst to me, he also had it listed on eBay. He told me "Wow, maybe I should have asked more for it. Wish I had kept a bunch of these old bikes!".
When he went to remove the ads, someone in Michigan had hit the "buy it now" button and sent him a deposit....uh-oh. Note to self: ALWAYS LEAVE A DEPOSIT.
I was stuck at work for 12 hours, but after a few tense emails, he withdrew the auction, refunded the guys money and honored our handshake deal. He found the title today and was waiting in my driveway when I got home from work.



I got to take her for a spin around the neighborhood and she'll definitely need a carb clean and a good tune up. A couple of the bowls are dripping out of the overflow vents and the gas is that funny green color of stale gas/bad ethanol.
The tires, while like new, are also old and will need replacing to be safe.

A couple of things I learned today:
-The bike is 100% original other than the Lesters/tires, 400F bars and the grips.
-The seat IS brown. It's just darkened with age. You can really tell under different light and when you look at the underside.
-The gauges are original.
-The bolts on the triple tree clamp are original.
(These are a few things that were questioned when trying to figure out whether it was a '75 or '76)

There is a ton of cool parts in the spare boxes. Some NOS Honda in unopened wrappers. Some are take offs from when his father owned the Honda dealership. I'll have to inventory it all and snap some pics.

Oh...and the bike wasn't even titled until 2000! And he's only put 225 miles on it since then. Before that, they always used the dealer tag and the MSO.

You lucky bastard.
Nice bike

SONICJK said:

You lucky bastard.
Nice bike

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Yeah - ditto.


So glad you're not going to cut it up - it's pretty much a perfect time capsule right there.

I would have taken one look at those side swept pipes looking back at me and slapped the money in his hand.

So basically 2 grand and you got an almost showroom quality never restored or molested '76 CB550 with a box of NOS parts AND he delivered it to your doorstep. Holy SHIT! I would be bouncing off the walls like a 5 year old on Christmas.

clem said:

I would have taken one look at those side swept pipes looking back at me and slapped the money in his hand.

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I had cash in pocket last night. He told me that I replied so quickly that he hadn't even had time to dig through his files and find the title. I told him I needed the title, or I could leave a deposit.
It turns out we have a couple of mutual friends, so he told me a handshake was good enough and he'd call when he found the title. Lucky for me, he's a man of his word.

misfitfiend said:

So basically 2 grand and you got an almost showroom quality never restored or molested '76 CB550 with a box of NOS parts AND he delivered it to your doorstep. Holy SHIT! I would be bouncing off the walls like a 5 year old on Christmas.

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I could barely sleep last night.
One owner since new until (officially) tonight. And a clean, clear title, to boot.

Hell, the Lesters, Shoei and Kerker are worth more than half the price I paid for it!

Killer score Scott! I am jealous. If you want to get rid of the stock muffler, let me know. I need one for my '76.


You are right on the year. The 76 Orange Super Sports had the brown seats and the light green gauges (only in 76).

Wow, congrats man! One of these days the stars will align and I'll run into a deal like that. Hope I notice when it happens .

misfitfiend said:

So basically 2 grand and you got an almost showroom quality never restored or molested '76 CB550 with a box of NOS parts AND he delivered it to your doorstep. Holy SHIT! I would be bouncing off the walls like a 5 year old on Christmas.

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I couldn't have said it better! ;D

Damn! That is museum quality. You would have to be crazy to cut it up.

I plan to do a sympathetic "preservation", rather than a restoration. The carbs need cleaning. It runs surprising well and quiet for a bike that's been sitting for so long, but I'll give it the 3K mile tune-up anyway. Some fresh rubber fuel lines and tires, a good scrubbing, that's about it.

The paint on the engine is flaking, so I'm struggling with whether or not to repaint it. Same with the clear coat on the engine side covers. The seller included a full set of chrome engine covers that he's had saved for years. It'll be hard not to paint detail the engine and slap those on.

The rest of the paint and chrome will all polish up easily and nicely.

Are you sure that thing has ever been started!? Jesus thats clean, and for 2k...wow. You made out well man, congrats!

Yeah, because I rode it around the neighborhood!

I have some O-rings on the way for a carb cleaning...that's about all it needs to get it running 100% again. The tires are like new but are pretty hard, so they'll be getting replaced eventually.

Man that's a beautiful bike! Good on you for wanting to preserve it. That's a gem and IMO perfect!

Sweet machine, congrats.

Been a while since I updated this one. I cleaned the tank using evaporust and found a broken filter on the petcock. Luckily, I had a good one in my parts stash.

Went through the carbs.