'75 CB550K1 Gulf - Round...3, the fun stuff

Re: '75 CB550K1 Gulf - done for real. Maybe.

Absolutely beautiful!!!! This is tied for my favorite bike on here, along with Swan's restoration project.

Have you considered making a bikini fairing for it? Something similar to what they offer for the newer Speed Triple would look cool on this.

Damn I love this bike!
 
Re: '75 CB550K1 Gulf - done for real. Maybe.

Trav, I'll definitely try and get some before I leave next week. Tyler and I are going to try and get the bikes dyno'd before I leave, so I'm sure we can get some vid of that at least. I really don't even want to know how my numbers stack up against his vtr1000, but I need a baseline before engine work this winter...

ranger, I might make one next winter, but I'm pretty happy with it now.
 
Re: '75 CB550K1 Gulf - done for real. Maybe.

Stunning Chris! I love it when guys take an exceptional build and step it up a notch. You need to try and find a way to make over to Tacoma this year for isle of vashon! Its epic.
 
Re: '75 CB550K1 Gulf - done for real. Maybe.

When about is it, Tige? I'm only available early October and later. I've been wanting to make it over to The One show in PDX for a couple years. Might have to make the rounds this fall/winter.
 
Re: '75 CB550K1 Gulf - done for real. Maybe.


Sometimes a fella gets lucky around here, and gets to be in on a first class build like this in person! .....And sometimes, a fella even gets to ride one of these builds!

Got to go out with Chris for a short blast between rain/ snowstorms and tear it up with the Gulf and Christine. Riding the Gulf is a real treat--the suspension is much better set up than in the previous incarnation. It's planted, and works like it is supposed to--really balanced. I clocked Chris at 102+ at one point, so it is certainly walking the walk as well. Pure sweetness! You really have to see this thing in person to appreciate it, it's just that much better in person.

Pics before the ride, to prove I was there:

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da5c0e67.jpg
 
Re: '75 CB550K1 Gulf - done for real. Maybe.

Jeez, looks like I'm giving Christine the stink eye.

Fun ride, man. And for the record, after blasting around on Tyler's VTR, I'll be buying a new sportbike this fall. You just can't deny the great power and suspension straight out of the box.
 
Re: '75 CB550K1 Gulf - done for real. Maybe.

Hey now! That is not all straight out of the box, I did some work on it, too!

It is mostly out of 'box-es', lots of 'em!

;D
 
Re: '75 CB550K1 Gulf - done for real. Maybe.

Ha ha, you know what I mean. Even in stock trim, there's no denying it's a blast.

By 'out of the box', I mean my future bike. No mods, lots of plastic...and I just don't care. ;D
 
Re: '75 CB550K1 Gulf - done for real. Maybe.

Ringo said:
When about is it, Tige? I'm only available early October and later. I've been wanting to make it over to The One show in PDX for a couple years. Might have to make the rounds this fall/winter.
It is usually early September, so it sounds like it might not work for you. The One show is also on the my wish list. If you can make it this way you always have a place to crash at my place if you want.

I too will be picking up a new sport bike this summer or early fall, once I get the funds together.
 
Re: '75 CB550K1 Gulf - done for real. Maybe.

Ah that sucks. Thanks for the kind offer though. One of these years...I keep saying...
 
Re: '75 CB550K1 Gulf - done for real. Maybe.

God forbid my bike ever look that good. I'd be afraid to ride it.

The belly pan and the new sweat turned out great. They really compliment an already great looking bike.
 
Re: '75 CB550K1 Gulf - done for real. Maybe.

Next time I'm in Bozeman, I HAVE to see this bike! (my brother lives there)

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk 2
 
Re: '75 CB550K1 Gulf - done for real. Maybe.

Definitely, PM me when you're in town!
 
Re: '75 CB550K1 Gulf - Homage to Clyde

Fantastic little couple-hour shakedown ride today.

Plug chops verified good jetting last night, and I also pulled the valve cover and fixed a couple oil leaks. Today Tyler and I went on another ride, mixing it up as best as possible. I need to check tire balance this afternoon, but the difference in handling between this iteration and the last is truly night and day. The combination of a fork brace, and fork springs/emulators is the single best thing I've done to this bike. I can't recommend a dedicated brace enough to those who are curious.

We also stopped to pay tribute to "Clyde", the local motorcycle god and half-baked creation of some wacko:
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It's a mutt of, well I don't know. There's a 750 Yahama twin and cb550 lump in there...
 
Re: '75 CB550K1 Gulf - Homage to Clyde

Pair of awesome looking bikes.

And if I lived in the area I'd be hard at work at a running replica of Clyde so I could put on an ape costume and ride around on Halloween. Of course the real Clyde would have to go missing in advance and make a mysterious return upon completion of my ride around town, just to add to the effect.
 
Re: '75 CB550K1 Gulf - Homage to Clyde

I do wonder what an inline 4 mated to a parallel twin would sound like...!
 
Re: '75 CB550K1 Gulf - Homage to Clyde

Those of you that have been following for a while may recall me having an issue with a very annoying shake at about 50mph. I've been chasing it all winter and today I think I found the biggest contributor.

After all the suspension changes, it remained, and so today I decided to check the wheel/tire balance again. They turned out to be fine, but when I installed the chain and spun the rear, my chain was *much* tighter in certain areas of rotation so I investigated that. I removed the chain, and measured the aluminum rear sprocket for roundness. It turns out it was machined nearly 1/16" out of round.

I put the chain back on, very loose, and went for a spin. The shake was drastically reduced, but still there. Now this is just a guess, but I think that when the chain was tightened by the sprocket position, it basically bound and acted like a light tap on the brakes every rotation. Sound reasonable?

I'll be calling Sprocket Specialists tomorrow and getting a replacement.



On the upside, the suspension got an overhaul because of it. Blessing in disguise I guess.



Edit: I should clarify this isn't a wobble. It's a definite shudder/shake.
 
Re: '75 CB550K1 Gulf - root of the problem: sprocket

Bike looks insane man! Finally able to pull up the pics I really really dig the seat that came out great
 
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