matthewg123
New Member
So, I would have started a full build thread with photos prior to this, but recently my SD card on my phone sh*t the bed and all the pre-tear down photos were lost. The bike I'm building is a 1978 CB550k, whose previous owners decided it to be interesting to smash into a tree. I purchased what ( I believed) were 1975 CB550 front forks and triple tree on eBay in great condition to rebuild the front end and get a rolling chassis while I tear down the engine and rebuild, repaint, replace, etc.
So today, I took my old wheel and the replacement I purchased, swapped axle, speedometer assembly, rotor etc and made a working setup from the two. When I started to mock fit the wheel with the used forks/tree I purchased, I found that the tire and axle are too wide to fit past the axle mounts located on the bottom of the fork bottoms.
Going outside and locating the bent forks (thank goodness for not scrapping yet) I noticed that the bottoms of my old forks have two stud/bolts apiece whilst the new eBay forks have FOUR studs apiece. my fault for not checking.
I also held the old handlebars to the top of the triple tree to see if the handlebar mount brackets are the same width, which they are not. The eBay tree/bar mounts are nearly 1.5 inches narrower, while the forks are 2+ inches longer. \
I really need help identifying what I have, hopefully a member can identify the new ones via the caliper tabs, length, stud count, etc.
Its obvious which forks are replacing which, but for the record, the old ones are the ones that are all bent up :0)
Are they usable for a CB550? If the tubes are the same diameter, can I rebuild the bottom cases with the longer tubes, settling the length down into the tree further? I'd rather not spend another chunk of cash on new forks if I can modify/make these work.
Thanks!
So today, I took my old wheel and the replacement I purchased, swapped axle, speedometer assembly, rotor etc and made a working setup from the two. When I started to mock fit the wheel with the used forks/tree I purchased, I found that the tire and axle are too wide to fit past the axle mounts located on the bottom of the fork bottoms.
Going outside and locating the bent forks (thank goodness for not scrapping yet) I noticed that the bottoms of my old forks have two stud/bolts apiece whilst the new eBay forks have FOUR studs apiece. my fault for not checking.
I also held the old handlebars to the top of the triple tree to see if the handlebar mount brackets are the same width, which they are not. The eBay tree/bar mounts are nearly 1.5 inches narrower, while the forks are 2+ inches longer. \
I really need help identifying what I have, hopefully a member can identify the new ones via the caliper tabs, length, stud count, etc.
Its obvious which forks are replacing which, but for the record, the old ones are the ones that are all bent up :0)
Are they usable for a CB550? If the tubes are the same diameter, can I rebuild the bottom cases with the longer tubes, settling the length down into the tree further? I'd rather not spend another chunk of cash on new forks if I can modify/make these work.
Thanks!