Re: CB550 Cafe - bike completed new pictures

stidds

Been Around the Block
I have always loved cafe racers as my Father owned a number of Triumphs and Nortons bitd, he also had a CB550 which I can always fondly remember from my childhood.

So I took the plunge and bought a 1978 Honda CB550K3, it cost me the princely sum of £400, so a nice bargain.

The engine has recently had a rebuild, so I am happy with that aspect, as for the rest well the ideas are in my head somewhere.

This is my first ever build like this and I am always so annoyed when night time comes and I have to stop working on the bike.

This is how I bought it, I do have the missing pieces in boxes supplied by the PO.

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Being stripped down and those oh so annoying surplus brackets being removed.

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Next job is to removed the rear subframe and weld in my seat hoop, remove engine for painting and wheels for powdercoating. I am currently doing my first ever fibreglassing project on my seat unit also.

I hope I am progressing well.
 
Re: CB550 Cafe - My first ever build.

nice your going for it !!! have you ever built a bike before? Your dog is ready for a ride ;D
 
Re: CB550 Cafe - My first ever build.

Been riding for years but I have never built a bike before, I have a good plan of action though and more importantly I have the manual. ;D
 
Re: CB550 Cafe - My first ever build.

Looks like a solid start. I may be a bit biased towards those old CB's, So what are the plans as of now?
 
Re: CB550 Cafe - My first ever build.

Looks like you are off to an awesome start. Can't wait to see what you come up with.
 
Re: CB550 Cafe - My first ever build.

Plans as of now are to remove the engine and paint and polish it. Frame, swingarm and rims off to powdercoaters. Polish the hubs, carbs and some other parts.

I have started fibreglassing my seat (ooh what fun, LOL) and it is going pretty well so far, then upholster the seat, I have some ideas for the seat pad upholstery but will have to look into them more.

Sort out the rearsets and then decide whether to fabricate a 4 into 2 exhaust or leave it as the standard 4 into 1.

finally for now, decide whether to keep the tank standard (I like the chunkiness of it, but I don't think chunkiness is a word), or find a different tank.

I will keep you all updated on my progress.
 
Re: CB550 Cafe - My first ever build.

sounds awesome . you might want to weld up a seat instead of fiberglass. They eventually break or crack all that hard work for nothing!!! :eek:
 
Re: CB550 Cafe - My first ever build.

ariel.714 o/c said:
sounds awesome . you might want to weld up a seat instead of fiberglass. They eventually break or crack all that hard work for nothing!!! :eek:

I respectfully disagree. With proper construction, mounting, and protection from the elements, he shouldn't have any problems for a long time. The only time my seat cracked, it was due to my mis-measurement of tire clearance.
 
Re: CB550 Cafe - My first ever build.

Just an update, nothing too interesting just continuing the strip down and tidy up.

Wheels are stripped now and rims off to be powdercoated, new stainless spokes on order.

Question for you all on colour scheme, now my initial thought on colour scheme was pretty much black, black, black with chrome highlights. Thing is my favourite colour is orange, so I am now thinking of black, chrome and orange i.e. orange rims, orange grips and orange leather upholstery on the seat unit.

What are your thoughts? I know I will have to go really careful with the orange as it can be very over powering (I know this as I have 2 mountain bikes and 1 bmx in orange and it was tricky keeping them tasteful).

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Re: CB550 Cafe - My first ever build.

I love orange too, but it can be a very dominant colour so use it wisely. I’d tend to take the safe route and paint the tins orange with black for the rims and upholstery etc, but that’s just me, I’m constantly amazed at the fantastic schemes that people come up with.

The build is looking like a lot of fun so far.

Cheers
FJ
 
Re: CB550 Cafe - My first ever build.

Here's my 1978 CB550k. I used a similar color scheme - black, raw metal and orange. Maybe it will give you some ideas!
 

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Re: CB550 Cafe - My first ever build.

dont be afraid of color -as many seem to be -. It will take a little work to ensure that you seat leather grips and paint all compliment each other. I would start with the seat leather sample and then see if I could find a good match/complimentary paint color, then look for grips.
 
Re: CB550 Cafe - My first ever build.

Well I have just finished my 1st ever seat unit build. I made a wooden shaped form, black gel coat and fibreglassed it.

It was my 1st real attempt at fibreglassing and although I am real proud of the efforts, the actual fibreglass itself was a pig, LOL.

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Re: CB550 Cafe - My first ever build.

wow man great craftsmanship that thing looks straight out of the assembly line.
 
Re: CB550 Cafe - My first ever build.

Waterintowine said:
Here's my 1978 CB550k. I used a similar color scheme - black, raw metal and orange. Maybe it will give you some ideas!

Did you just sand down the tank to raw and clear that back half? Looks really nice!
 
Re: CB550 Cafe - My first ever build.

Just a few pictures of the continuing strip down, all the parts are off and the engine is out.

Now to start putting her back together.

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