1977 CB550K Cafe Build

[DohcBikes]

the lack of chronology was intentional...you said you helped him...I then quoted your first post in this thread...3 insults...no help, If your desire was to be helpful that probably wasn't the best way to introduce yourself...

Thank you for your insults

I didnt insult you. I told you that your post was ignorant. It was. I also said that brats are gay. They are. I suppose that could be opinion, but it's not an insult. It's a description of my opinion of the motorcycle you ride.

Would you like an autograph? If not then I think we are done here.

His welds do look good.

 

[dilbone]

jmagno it looks good so far, I agree with hillsy though that triple looks compromised by the crack.

nice barn find too

 

[DohcBikes]

jmango it looks good so far, I agree with hillsy though that triple looks compromised by the crack.

Interesting. I'm pretty sure somebody already said not to use it a long fuckin time ago.

 

[dilbone]

If a wise man has an argument with a fool, the fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet.
Proverbs 29:9

 

[DohcBikes]

If a wise man has an argument with a fool, the fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet.
Proverbs 29:9

Praise the lord.

You think a broken triple adds charachter huh. Wow, that's one of the most ignorant things i've ever heard anyone say about a motorcycle.

Who's the fool now? Using a broken triple because it 'adds character" is ignorant. If you don't think so, you are being ignorant. That is not an insult it is a fact.

Goddamn gettin to be like all my children up in here. Build something already.

 

[dilbone]

and amen...

 

[kimjay]

Looks good so far, and who really cares about cutting up an original it's your bike and it's only your opinion that matters, there were only like 60000 made per year and they are pretty common. I see them for sale all the time. I like how anybody who cuts a UJM is now a hipster lol.

 

[cafedallas]

As a guy that grew up riding and loving air cooled UJMs (I'll be 55 this year) and along with a fellow gearhead restore larger displacement bikes (Z1, GS1100e, GS1000e, CB750 etc.) for fun an meager profit, I generally fall on the side of restoration over hacking them up. That being said, the wily Japanese flooded the US market in the 70's-early 80s whilst almost sinking the HD ship. Most of the bikes I have seen on this fantastic site (I've been lurking around since 2007) started out as forgotten, rusted hulks bought for beer $$ and often turned into magnificent swans that reflect the ingenuity, resourcefullness, and creativity of the builder.

Restoring these bikes is generally not financially pragmatic unless it's one of the more iconic marques.

I am currently working on 5 bikes...3 cafes (1975 CB550K, non-hacked in any way but with clipons, Viet rear sets, hidden lith ion battery, etc, 1974 Kaw KZ400 that I got already frame hacked, 1981 YAM SR250) and 2 restos (1982 GS550M Katana and 1981 GS650e).

Good luck with the CB build, looks like your heading in the right direction, but I agree with those who are a little worried about that Gixxer front end on a few levels.

The true "hipsters" are those that really don't know shit about bikes but think cafes are cool and have the means to shell out $3-5K for a bike someone else built....which isnt necessarily a bad thing lol

 

[jmagno316]

jmagno it looks good so far, I agree with hillsy though that triple looks compromised by the crack.

nice barn find too

Thanks man! I appreciate the feedback. I looked it over and it appears to be structurally stable. I don't plan to ride this bike very hard so I think it'll be fine for now. I've been looking into cognito moto's top plate w/ motogadgets speedo. I'm just holding off until I get a little more money.

 

[jmagno316]

Update.
Picked up an 08 gsxr600 roller. Taking the clip ons and controls, and swapping my top plate (not broken). I was thinking of running the gsxr rear wheel but havnt decided which route to go with.. Might just end up going with a spoked front wheel, either way the front and rear will match. I also cut out battery tray and electronics tray out of an old shelf I found out on campus...

 

[jmagno316]

Before I decided I was going to run the gsxr front end, I bought a 7" headlight w/led turn signals built into it off of amazon along with an LED taillight/signal combo and air filters from 4 into 1. After the conversion, I couldn't find a set of headlight brackets that would fit the gsxr forks for a decent price..

So instead I bought a new 5 3/4" springer bottom mount headlight from drag specialties. I've seen a few guys on this forum use this similar headlight on their front end conversions, but all of them modified the bottom triple tree by drilling and tapping holes to mount it. I figured I could utilize the stock gsxr brake line support bracket hole. So I cut out a piece of angle iron out of some scrap I had laying around and made an offset bracket (still a mock up). What do you guys think? It's only one bolt, this I know, but the cast has a lip to support the bracket.

 

[J-Rod10]

Are those Emgo pods on that table?

 

[jmagno316]

Are those Emgo pods on that table?

There isn't a brand on them or the packaging. I ordered them from 4 into 1

 

[J-Rod10]

There isn't a brand on them or the packaging. I ordered them from 4 into 1

Trash. Throw them in it. Buy some Uni's, or K&N's. There is a reason they are more expensive.

 

[DohcBikes]

Better yet send them back with a letter that tells them to quit selling worthless products to uninformed customers.

 

[irk miller]

Uni is hardly more expensive. If you don't want to spend K&N money, then get Uni.

 

[cafedallas]

These early Honda CBs are renowned for operating far more efficiently with the stock airbox. I have had 3 CB750s and 3 CB550s and I personally found that to be true. Emgo pods are notoriously poorly designed for most applications. Often small air orifices are covered resulting in an overly lean running bike in my experience. I've never used Unis.

My solution on the current 1975 CB550K is to retain the original plenum whilst fabbing up a single K & N filter. I've done this on a CB750 some years ago and it worked a treat.

 

[canyoncarver]

My solution on the current 1975 CB550K is to retain the original plenum whilst fabbing up a single K & N filter. I've done this on a CB750 some years ago and it worked a treat.

These were a common mod back in the day. The 75' CB550K I picked up years ago had this setup already. The idea is you get rid of most of the airbox and still retain most of it's value for improving the intake flow.

 

[jmagno316]

Will do. Thanks for the tips!

 

[DohcBikes]

Will do. Thanks for the tips!

Damn right. That's what I'm talkin about right there.