1976 Honda CB550 (my first build ever) rebuild cafe

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DailyRideNH

New Member
Hey Guys,

Just picked up this sweet 1976 cb550. Got a pretty good and am super excited to go through it and cafe it.

My background: have done very little mechanical work and a self proclaimed mechanical dummy but I love working on things and learning

Current state:
running, cycles through gears
Leaking gas: assuming stuck float
Leaking right fork
On stock jets with pods...not ideal
Stock wiring harness
4 into 1 exhaust: wrapped
All electronics working, blinkers not fully functional (assuming I need an LED blinker)

Hoping to go front to back with upgrades/rebuild!

Will be updating with pictures, videos, and asking questions. Cant wait guys!
 

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Got my front fender cut and ready to go. Do I polish or paint is my question for now on it. I'm leaning towards polishing.


New fork seals is next..
 

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And old owner stripped the 6mm allen bolt on the forks....Ill have to drill off the head and then vice grip it out. Tomorrows problem at this point :/
 
DailyRideNH said:
And old owner stripped the 6mm allen bolt on the forks....Ill have to drill off the head and then vice grip it out. Tomorrows problem at this point :/
Click to expand...

I've had good luck with lots of heat and an EZ out
 
Got them out! And bought new bolts...new front bearings, fork seals today....painting front brake now
 

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Welcome from Georgia.

Wow, jumped right into it.....good work so far.

Can't answer the ? on the banjo bolt though.
 
Still working on the front end. Waiting for new gators and tapered steering bearings to come in. Cleaning up parts and painting some

Added allen bolts to the fork oil port. I love little changes like that
 

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Got tapered steering bearings installed, new front wheel bearings, new handlebars, and gauges installed.

waiting on new front brake/lines to comes.
 

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Rebuilt carbs. 115 main jets, needle moved to lowest clip as i will be running pods. Soda blasted them and will do a finish polish
 

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Got the tabs off and seat loop welded on! Also cleaned the engine
 

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Wow, great start. Welcome from the North. Heading to NH this weekend from Fri-Mon. Wish I was on 2 wheels but sadly I need to do some work on my bike before I can ride it and it hasn't happened yet. Keep up the good work.

Cheers

Maritime
 
Thanks man! Hope you enjoy your time in NH! Beautiful state and finally starting to get nice out!

I just got my new exhaust on and good to go. Was quite the project....had to reduce the exhaust tube size then weld on the new exhaust and finally wrapped it! I think it looks pretty slick and a huge improvement over the old setup. I think it might provide a slight bit more of back pressure so we will have to see how that effects the jetting/carbs
 

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Man, I'm liking this.

Slick fender job, and exhaust.

How did you cut it down and make it look so smooth?
 
"How did you cut it down and make it look so smooth?"

I taped it for exactly how i wanted it, then i cut it with an angle grinder. I then hit it with a flap disc on the angle grinder to smooth it, then used a fine grate to finish it all off.

thanks for the support guys! hoping to get some more done tonight!
 
DailyRideNH said:
"How did you cut it down and make it look so smooth?"

I taped it for exactly how i wanted it, then i cut it with an angle grinder. I then hit it with a flap disc on the angle grinder to smooth it, then used a fine grate to finish it all off.

thanks for the support guys! hoping to get some more done tonight!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info.

I guess patience is a virtue.

My fender turned out crappy. So much rust, that it looks like swiss cheese.
 
Thanks for the support all. I got the carbs and pods put on. Going to paint the headlight bucket hopefully tonight or tomorrow and see how it comes out. I got grey but not sure i like it. so we will see
 

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