First max effort build - 76 CB550F

[550fordays]

Hey everyone!

This is my second bike build project. The first was a '74 Suzuki T500 titan - which was more of a build/assemble it and ride it than a custom affair.

For this project I wanted to be able to find parts on this continent - and maybe even in Canada! So I went for a classic and common bike in reasonable shape. This machine was someone else's half-baked project. It came rattle canned black, the tank was nicely painted, even if it was done with a rattle can, and there were a few of the common aftermarket parts, like lights and tires, already on the machine.
Still - it needed a lot of work to reach the level I was aiming for.

Complete wiring harness and switches
electronic ignition
Acewell gauge
LIPO battery and tray
stainless brake lines
new m/c and caliper
exhaust
rear sets
bearings
engine re-seal
carb rebuild and repair
fuel system
powdercoat and paint

And every step along the way was a learning experience of what did and didn't work. Lots of rebuilding and redesigning.

So when I dragged it home in the winter of 2018, it looked like this


The wiring was in bad shape, the bike didn't run, and it leaked gas.


So I started tearing it apart


First thing done was pamco ignition, new coils, plugs and wires.


The next thing I tackled was carburation. They were filthy, AND seized. One of the slides had somehow ingested some grit and was fairly locked into the bore. I was able to polish out the scratches using a dremel.


Wiring was always part of my plan. I built a complete new harness and electronics tray out of stainless. It is just slightly more than an inch deep. It fits the smallest antigravity battery, reg/rect, fuses, and starter relay. The battery and relay are velcroed in place.
Primary wiring was made out of welding cable, and the generator wiring was repaired, most of the wiring under the chain cover was toast. In fact, I'm fairly sure it threw a chain at some point, there's a bit of damage under there.


With wiring, carbs and ignition sorted, the bike was started for the first time in April 19.



It promptly began to leak oil out of every orifice. Turns out it had been taken apart and half the o-rings left out.

So I took the top end apart and replaced all the gaskets and seals as well as lapped the valves.


This next year I may do a more thorough rebuild - It could really use a fresh set of pistons, valves, seats etc.

cont'd

 

[550fordays]

The clutch was alright - but a little worn. I re-used the plates and frictions, but took a file to the grooves in the basket. It's something I had to do on the titan, and it does help the clutch operate smoothly for a while longer before replacement.


There was a bit of straight-up dirt in the oil pan.

I also switched to a spin-on style oil filter. I couldn't get the original eqpt to seal properly.
Some of the valve work.. Cheap amazon spring tool does the job.


Re-assembled, valves adjusted, carbs synched with morgan carbtune (love it) and ignition timed


Running again


Got some new headers! The problem with a 76 cb550F is that the 4 into 1 factory exhaust exits down the right side of the bike. This comes along with a special kickstart lever, brake pedal, and folding footpeg.
I managed to scrounge up all those parts (which were missing) and it turned out I couldn't mount a silencer or rear-sets, or set up a slash cut exhaust like I wanted. So I picked up a carpy's cafe hot rod exhaust and tip.


In this incarnation I went on a long shake-down ride with a group of friends on harleys.
They could only hear my machine. I could only hear my machine. It was crazy loud. I ended up getting a universal 12" long 3" baffle insert, sectioning it and installing it between the tip and the collector. It's about 3" long now, but it works! It's much more reasonable, but still angry loud.
I also found out the speedometer was wildly inaccurate. e-bay junk. I was not, in fact, doing 430kph.

After an unfortunate gas tank incident -- Sketch's Ink in Ottawa came into the picture.


Beautiful custom paint work, custom logo, hand pinstriping... I love it. My inspiration was a japanese hot rod from the yokohama mooneyes show.. I'll see if I can find a link.

I also installed an Acewell gauge with the adjustable speedometer and magnetic pickup. It works great.

 

[550fordays]

I had a few parts back off the bike to be powdercoated - Satin black is the name of the game for this machine, so everything got a dose of that or gloss.


And this is where I am today- I took it out to the Ottawa DGR last year and won "best bike" which was really nice -- DGR is a great experience.

For now, I'm working on powdercoating some more pieces, I have all the parts to switch to twin-disk in the front, and I'd like to put in a nicer Tuffside seat.
The bag is temporary - I needed a place for tools!
At some point I'll cover the rearset installation - the pegs themselves are from Cognito Moto, but the linkage is all my own concoction. Again, the 76 CB550 F presents some very unique challenges. The rear passenger footpeg points are much more rearwards than the K model, or even other year 550s.
I spent most of my time on this project fucking with the rearsets, carbs and building the electrical system.

Let me know if you have any questions or want to see more!

 

[SF]

Beautiful paint on that tank.........looks great. Only thing I don’t like are the tires. That’s just me tho.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Tim]

Awesome build - the 550F holds a special place in my heart. I've rebuilt a couple of the 500/550 SOHC motors and really love the bike. Will get another one someday.

 

[teazer]

Bike looks nice but those rim protectors have to be replaced with actual tires before they bite you.

 

[Sderbyshire]

Beautiful job, and a great deal of inspiration for my 550F project !

steve

 

[Jimbonaut]

Great looking ride mate, some really nice attention to detail. Love the orange and satin black - great combination. How's things in Ottawa? I'm down the road in MTL - weird scenes inside this goldmine for sure these days.

 

[NoRiders]

Brilliant story and a great outcome in my opinion. From dog to doggone that's excellent.

DGR is cool I agree.