I picked up a 76' cb550k over the weekend while I was in KC. It is all original w/ exception to a Mac 4-1 canister and appears to be complete. It came with two motors. One with bent valves. Picked it all up for $150. I figured I could use the parts or restore this one later on.
1977 CB550K Cafe Build
- Thread starter jmagno316
- Start date
DohcBikes said:I see bearing grease near the cam journals. ???
Can you shed any light on how the bike you just bought came to be in that condition, or how multiple valves got bent in the engine?
I have some assumptions.
Thank god for hipsters, am I right or am I right or am I right?
This is how the bike came. I didn't put that grease there, that's actually the original motor. The guy I bought it from said he didn't know much about it but just wanted it gone. My guess is that the head wasn't getting any oil so some redneck or "hipster" used grease instead until the cam seized. Probably decided to buy another motor, but found bent valves and gave up on it.
DohcBikes
Fuck You.
Chances are that some idiot wiped a bunch of grease in there thinking it was good assembly lube, then proceeded to hook up the cam chain without having the slightest clue how an engine works. Went to try to start it it an bam, multiple bent valves and another pile of hipster garbage.
Folks.
Go to the junkyard and take home a dilapidated mower. If you arent a born talented mechanic you shouldnt be building engines for machines that can easily kill you if the engine fails.
I once took a ride on a bike without checking anything on the hobbyist built motor. The cam snapped in half at 100mph and pieces of the otherwise busted engine and transmission locked the rear tire up from about 60 mph all the way to a stop. That was a fun one.
Folks.
Go to the junkyard and take home a dilapidated mower. If you arent a born talented mechanic you shouldnt be building engines for machines that can easily kill you if the engine fails.
I once took a ride on a bike without checking anything on the hobbyist built motor. The cam snapped in half at 100mph and pieces of the otherwise busted engine and transmission locked the rear tire up from about 60 mph all the way to a stop. That was a fun one.
alexcb550
Active Member
Keep at it dude, and take what people say on here with a grain of salt most of the time. Everyone means well, but its always fun to stir the pot a little and show everyone how big your internet balls are 
. Here is my 550. If you have any questions or want to borrow any ideas feel free to reach out. And don't worry about plagiarism, someone always copy's someone. Just put a little twist of your own on top!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
. Here is my 550. If you have any questions or want to borrow any ideas feel free to reach out. And don't worry about plagiarism, someone always copy's someone. Just put a little twist of your own on top!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
alexcb550 said:Keep at it dude, and take what people say on here with a grain of salt most of the time. Everyone means well, but its always fun to stir the pot a little and show everyone how big your internet balls are
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Thanks man! Ive looked through your build before. Nice bike!
So I've started to dig into the wiring harness. Had a buddy of mine giving me a hand. Im really not a fan of wiring! Im going to try to use the GSXR controls. Everything has gone smoothly except for the hazard buttons. Also, Harbor Freight had a car motor stand on sale for less than $50. I've seen someone on here or another forum use these, so I decided to give it a shot. I cut a piece of angle iron out and made my own mounts, and used a few old 1/2" deep sockets as spacers, it worked great!
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Just as I was about to start cleaning and prepping my motor for paint, an 81' CB650 Custom popped up on craigslist yesterday.
I read a while back on the SOHC forum that these motors will bolt right into a 550 frame, and that you can also use the cb650 cams in the cb550 motors. I figured why the hell not. Made the hour drive up with a buddy, and talked him down to $210. Its a fairly complete bike. The tank has one hell of a paint job on it 8), along with a ton of jb weld on the sides. The 4 into 1 is still solid, and the carbs were still free. I hooked it up to a jump pack and she turned over.
So now Im in debate. I can either drop this motor into the project, and use the running 550 motor in the parts bike, or I can use this cb650 cam to rebuild the parts motor.
I read a while back on the SOHC forum that these motors will bolt right into a 550 frame, and that you can also use the cb650 cams in the cb550 motors. I figured why the hell not. Made the hour drive up with a buddy, and talked him down to $210. Its a fairly complete bike. The tank has one hell of a paint job on it 8), along with a ton of jb weld on the sides. The 4 into 1 is still solid, and the carbs were still free. I hooked it up to a jump pack and she turned over.
So now Im in debate. I can either drop this motor into the project, and use the running 550 motor in the parts bike, or I can use this cb650 cam to rebuild the parts motor.
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Haven't posted in here in a while so here's an update. Finished painting the motor, got a new chain, and I I heard it idle for the first time. Also, I stripped the original tank down to bare metal, and lightly sanded. I haven't decided what I want to do with it yet. I'm kind of liking the bare metal look. I've also ordered my speedo/tachometer gauge. It's made by Koso, model TNT-01
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Did some more work on the 550. Made a seat pan out of a couple of old shelves I found on the side of campus, and used my sister's old yoga mat and a couple of those interlocking mats from Harbor Freight for the seat cushion. I tried using the high density foam from Walmart but thought it wouldn't have been firm enough. Still debating on keeping this shape or not. As of now its temporarily taped on the bike as I took it around the block. Let me know what you think!
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Been working on wiring up everything in my free time. Today I came home after a long day of studying on campus to a package from 4into1 waiting for me! I've received a SS allen bolt set, new petcock, adjustable remote reservoir shocks and a couple of float bowl gaskets for the 72' CL175 I just picked up. Now I just need to find some time to getting it all put on!
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Nice CL!
Lines of the seat looks good. Tasteful, not one of those giant blobs some people tack on ;D
Going to upholster the whole thing?
Lines of the seat looks good. Tasteful, not one of those giant blobs some people tack on ;D
Going to upholster the whole thing?
