1976 CB550F Super Sport restoration

[KRedman]

I bought this 76 CB550F a couple of weeks ago for $500. It's complete, runs, but definitely needs some TLC.

It has just under 17,000 miles, has good compression, and brand new tires.

The tank has been lined, has some bondo and a cheap rattle can job.

My goal is to totally tear it down, strip and powder coat the frame and other stuff, restore and rebuild the majority of the bike and get it built back up to mostly stock as possible with updated brakes and suspension possibly.

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January 12, 2013

Today I started tearing it down. Everything is there, most parts need cleaned, wire brushed or replaced. I'm sending the carbs to harisuluv to get cleaned and set up. His work looks fantastic, and I'm sure they'll end up looking great.

Tomorrow I'll get the engine out, the brakes and forks off, and the rear removed.

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January 13, 2013

Today I started tearing it down. Everything is there, most parts need cleaned, wire brushed or replaced. I'm sending the carbs to harisuluv to get cleaned and set up. His work looks fantastic, and I'm sure they'll end up looking great.

Tomorrow I'll get the engine out, the brakes and forks off, and the rear removed.

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January 14, 2013

I did as much as I could last night before my propane heater ran out of fuel. The only remaining piece is the CS and I'll begin stripping the paint and removing rust. I think I've decided to use a POR-15 setup with chassis coat, unless my 'friend of a friend' will powder coat it for a nice bottle of scotch. I've contacted my powder coating friend, and he'll be doing the frame, stand, kickstand, triple and the swing arm in the next couple of weeks.

Here are all her insides and extremities- the big stuff is laid out, and all the little parts are in a dozen or so gallon-sized ziplock bags (along with my new patio that's going to have to wait til spring because I slacked too much this fall!).

 

[KRedman]

Last night I disassembled the forks. Old fork oil is freakin skunk-ass stuff. I'll probably keep the current springs for now, as they'll be easy to replace with some progressives later on. New seals are on the way, and I've begun to work on cleaning up the forks themselves.

The fork tubes are pretty rusty where they connect to the triples. I'm cleaning those up with a wire wheel and possibly some black paint. They'll be hidden by the fork ears, so they should be okay. I'm not totally certain that they are 100% structurally sound, but unless I hear otherwise, they're staying.

 

[simpson]

Love it.

-simpson

 

[canyoncarver]

Onboard. Cool!

 

[mattfeet]

Wow. Pisses me off thinking what I got for $500.

 

[Tim]

Just make sure the fork tubes are straight - roll them on a flat surface to confirm. My first bike was a CB500 that someone had ridden into a fence post at some point (or maybe the wall of their garage or the back end of a car). Turned out the forks had a slight bend to them. It had been ridden like that for some time - was barely noticeable but I replaced them anyhow.

I had the same bike - before and after (I'm a sucker for the 1975 Sunrise Orange color).

 

[KRedman]

Just make sure the fork tubes are straight - roll them on a flat surface to confirm. My first bike was a CB500 that someone had ridden into a fence post at some point (or maybe the wall of their garage or the back end of a car). Turned out the forks had a slight bend to them. It had been ridden like that for some time - was barely noticeable but I replaced them anyhow.

I had the same bike - before and after (I'm a sucker for the 1975 Sunrise Orange color).

Love the orange! I haven't nailed down how I'm going to paint it, but that will be one of the last things I do. My forks are straight as an arrow- thanks for the heads up.

Not a whole lot happening so far, but I have the frame at the powder coater and the carbs are getting worked on right now.

I rebuilt and cleaned up the forks last week. The fork oil was disgustingly black and smelled like poo. Installed new gaskets, oil and shined everything up. The fork tubes were pretty rusty up top where they attach to the triples, so I used the wire brush and cleaned those up as well.


Before and after polishing:

Reassembled:

 

[KRedman]

Due to having a baby, I have been chipping away at this slowly.

I had a local guy powder coat the frame with a satin black:

and had Harisuluv clean and rebuild the carbs. They look awesome!

I rebuilt the top end- new gaskets all around. It was leaking like a sieve- the head gasket plopped right off as the surfaces were covered in the copper gasket stuff. It did not stick to the gasket, only the aluminum- that was hell to remove. But, with patience, beer and music, I finally had all the surfaces clean. If I find one more gasket...!


Following SohRon's awesome thread, I laid the engine on the side, and placed the frame over it to mount it:

The inside of my fork ears were pretty rusted, so I cleaned up all the dirt and loose stuff and coated it with some left-over por15:

After the motor went in, I put on the center stand with a new spring from DSS. I painted the swingarm and centerstand with por15 and topcoated with a semi-gloss from duplicolor.

I installed new tapered bearings in the stearing stem, and installed the forks with new gaiters. Got a repro seat cover from ebay, and put that on yesterday to see how it looks. I'm installing the larger turn signals, because I like the looks of those better, and found the F sissy bar from Tews- perfect fit!

Here's where it stands now:

There's a lot left to assemble, and hopefully I'll be able to spend a couple hours a night after baby goes to sleep. She starts daycare in a couple of days, so hopefully she'll be tired at the end of the day!

There are quite a few things I really want to do, but I might wait until this winter- riding season is getting shorter and shorter!

 

[KRedman]

I'm getting ready to put the rear wheel and brakes on and am continuing to clean and repaint as I go. Here are the pegs:

 

[KRedman]

Got a couple of hours in today while baby napped

Carbs are on:

Airbox is in:

Battery box is in:

Rolling right along.

 

[KRedman]

Got the rear brakes, kickstand and wheel on this morning.

Almost forgot the little spring for the switch:

Figured I'd coast down the driveway

 

[Bobby Joe]

Nice work so far. I'm along for the ride.

 

[HAFROD]

Sooooo close! Get to work ;D

 

[VTNick7]

I almost regret stripping my 550F down and cafe'n it out after seeing this build... good work!

 

[KRedman]

I bought a parts bike for $80 last summer, and once I got all the dirt and bugs off the tank and side covers, they turned out to look in really great shape. The tank is spotless inside- clean metal, and not a bit of rust. The only thing is that it had this horrible pin striping and custom script that said "Cadillac Pussy." What that means, I have no idea, but it had to go.


At first I tried acetone, but that had zero effect. Then I read about pin stripers using Easy Off oven cleaner, so I went to the grocery and bought a can. I did an initial test leaving the oven cleaner on the tank for about 10-20 seconds, just to make sure it wouldn't affect the paint.


Untitled by kennyredman, on Flickr

Then I left the cleaner on the tank for about a minute or two, just to make sure the paint would still be ok, and a little bit of the pin striping started to come off...


Untitled by kennyredman, on Flickr


After I was sure that the paint wasn't going to be affected by the spray, I left it on for about 5-10 minutes. This time, the pin striping wiped off easily and the base paint job looked great. There is a tiny bit of ghosting, but I think that'll clean up once I give it a good wax and possibly another coat or two of clear.


Untitled by kennyredman, on Flickr


Untitled by kennyredman, on Flickr



Untitled by kennyredman, on Flickr


So, I'd recommend using the oven cleaner to remove any pin striping or custom paint like this from a tank with factory paint or a two-part urethane paint.


Here's the whole set

 

[KRedman]

I rebuilt the master cylinder and caliper, and got the front brakes installed and functioning nicely. The wiring harness is in, and the rear lights and electrical panel are hooked up. I went ahead and tore down the panel, cleaned it up a bit, repainted it and it looks a lot better. I was able to use some parts from my parts bike to replace some that were rigged in place. Coasted down the drive to test the brakes, and what do you know, they work! :^)

Next is the headlight bucket and the rest of the electrical. I hate wires.

I had to put this project on hold for the last year and a half due to our little one taking all of our time (a good thing) and the passing of my mother and dealing with her estate.

I've decided to take my bike to a fellow SOHC/4 forum member to wrap up the top end work for me and get what I couldn't all sorted out.

 

[KRedman]

Can’t believe I haven’t updated this forever. A couple of kids and traveling will do that!

Anyway, it’s pretty much finished, but I do have a short list that I’d like to do this winter.

1. Get new wheels, spokes, and tires
2. Jet-coat the headers
3. Update all or most of the lighting to LED. I just bought the new headlight from Revival Cycles: https://shop.revivalcycles.com/revival-secret-led-headlight-7-inch-retro-vintage-headlight/

Here are some pics:

It’s running really well and I’ve been zooming around quite a bit lately.


Thou shall not partake of decaf