78 CB5504K Ohio First Cafe!

Scooter Style

Scooter Style

Scooter Style
So after talking about buying a bike for like 3 years I decided to finally buy one.

My buddy said he wanted to sell me his 78 CB550fourK. He wanted $1100 or it with 12K miles.
already had clubman bars, fender delete, new tires, rebuilt brakes, and few other things.

So after some talking he sold it to me for $750.

The day I went to pick it up he advised me he can't find the keys and needs to get a new title for the bike.... great.

So this is the day I picked it up. (yes I know I should not tow it on the kickstand... it made it just find 8) )
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Re: 78 CB5504K,Ohio, First Cafe!

Then I brought her home and started cleaning her up a little.
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Went out and bought
-New F&R sprockets and chain
-New battery and charger
-Renthal grips
-Round/ folding bar end mirrors
-New ignition with key
-Carb rebuild kit
-Point cover and starter cover gasket
-New throttle cable (old one rusted in half)
-New clutch cable (need to be the hulk to engage the old one)

Then while waiting for the parts to come in we rigged some stuff and made sure it ran okay.
http://s237.photobucket.com/albums/ff9/luckydrifting/Cafe%20Racer%20CB550fourK/?action=view&current=IMG_3901.mp4

So after it all gets put together we will try to free/adjust the cam chain tensioner.
 
Plan on selling the stock exhaust to the right buyer and then getting a MAC 4-1 exhaust and then adding the DCC shorty muffler and also buying UNI foam intake pods and rejetting.

New plans
-eliminating those huge front turn signals with ones similar to the rear tear drop ones and mounting to headlight bracket
-going to powdercoast/paint the out wheel (not spokes) black
-buy/making a new cafe seat with single round rear taillight
-polishing up as many parts as I can or painting black
-new rearset
-warning light/signal removal to new sleek one (build or buy)
-buy new/used sidecovers, remove stickers, repaint black, and put 13 for numbers on side.
 
Finally got her running! Needs the carbs synced and a few other things but I am soooooo happy!

Got to ride around just a little bit.

Forst time I have ever actually rode a motorcycle (other than a dirt bike).

Truly took my breath away and made me feel on top of the world.

Here is a few pics of her cleaned up a little bit before the ride.

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Your bike looks like it is in pretty good shape. I'll be picking up one tomorrow that has been in a barn for 20 years. Lots of dirt and some surface rust. Also got a parts bike in the package. After putting some oil in the cylinders and manually turning the bike over and putting a mixture of gas/oil 200:1, we started the bike using a jumper to the battery on my Honda NT-700V. It sputtered and smoked but ran. I plan to do a teardown and spend a lot of time cleaning an polishing. It will be nice to have a Cafe again. My last Cafe was a 62 Norton 750. Got back into motorcycle riding four years ago after a 20 year break with a 2008 Kawasaki EX250R Ninja. Bought the Honda 700 new a year ago. I remember the Cafe Racer era well since I am 70 years old. Good luck with your build.
 
Thanks dude. Yeah sounds like you got a pretty good project on your hands. Yeah I am slowly starting to learn stuff on it and how to work on the bike. But the carbs and all of that I leave to my buddy and his shop.
 
Went to the barn this morning and dug out the parts bike. It looks like I have two CB550s--a 73 and a 74. The 73 is the one that started and is a complete bike in rough shape cosmetically--but since it will get painted anyway, that matters very little. The 74 has a complete engine in running condition. It needs an ignition coil. I also have a large box of parts. Both bikes will need a new exhaust system. Dennis Kirk carries the MAC 4 into one in black or chrome. I may go with the black. On Wednesday I'll go to the barn with my trailer and pick both bikes up and get them to my shop. My bicycle customers will be surprised to see three motorcycles in there among all the road racing bicycles I build--should be interesting. Also bought a Harbor Freight motorcycle lift that will handle a 1000 lb motorcycle for $300. It looks like a good investment if you are into some serious bike work. You mentioned that you might be interested in selling the pipes to the right buyer. Let me know what you want for them.
 
Looks good- you are damn lucky you didn't completely destroy the seat when you ran that strap across it . . . ouch.
 
my seat finally came in from vietnam
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Must say. Was not a simple task. The foam is too short and not molded at all for the seat. So had to carve aq bunch out and use some of the old seat foam and then super stretch the fabric to get it to fit.

Worked on it at the firehouse with some of the guys helping me out.
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Got the carbs back on with new 105 jets and cleaned, greased, installed the UNI filters. Also installed the new MAC 4-1 black exhaust. Must say, I like it a lot. Baffles in it's not too loud and sounds good. Might take it out eventually. Not sure yet. In ohio the saying "loud pipes saves lives" is very true. We have some pretty terrible drivers.

Finally got to ride the bike around and must say it feels great. Stable, smooth, and easy to get comfortable with.

But... as always it needs a little more tune, new front brake pad, and might need to get new bars.

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Also ordered new black headlight brackets, x2 more turn signals, and a slimline cateye tail light from dime city cycles.

I went over a bump a little fast and the tail light bracket decided to give up and fall onto my rear tire... it exploded all over the car behind me.... he was not soo happy. haha.

Also found out my old leather jacket is too small/ short to wear while riding. So got to get a new coat.... not real happy about that.

3 coats I am looking at right now.

#1 choice is the Pokerun Outlaw 2.0. It's great looking and has "armor", venting, and good thick quality leather, But... no one has ANY in stock in large....

#2 Choice is Joe Rocket old school. Looks good but is a little plain and hear fit is a little oddball. But has armor, venting, and good leather.

#3 River Road barron, roadster, or basic MC jacket. All I can get for a good price at Iron Pony and can try them all on (live 10 minutes away from there store) but no padding and they are a little on the cheaper side....

So got to make a decision soon..... What you guys think? Any other suggestions.
 
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