My Honda CB550 Bike Restoration Project

[BlaRo]

The story so far: (for those of you following along in this thread)

Because I'm a slightly disturbed individual, I went to Ohio to pick up a 1976 Honda CB550F Super Sport that's slightly knackered. Don't ask.

How many people have rented a Dodge Caravan and stuffed a motorcycle in the back? It was tough getting it in, especially when the reserve leaked a bit of gasoline out on the carpet. Driving across 400+ miles of Pennsylvania for 10 hours smelling gasoline fumes was hell, and I probably have cancer now (at least I opened the windows and ran the vents). This pattern of going cross-country on a whim is probably going to get stronger as I get older, and it's certainly not healthy and I may be checked into a mental hospital eventually. Hmm, there's a nice 300ZX in Texas that's been for sale for a year now...

Either way, it was a nice scenic drive across the Appalachians. At least I didn't see a single cop the entire way, which was funny. The second I returned into New York, boom! Two people pulled over for driving like typical New Yorkers. Figures.

Consensus? The owner painted it flat black, which might be slightly entertaining but really looks even worse in real life, and if I don't change that I won't be able to live with myself (and pick up chicks, which is why everybody gets motorcycles to begin with, derr ). I'm planning to powdercoat the frame satin silver, leave the exhaust flat black, and change the tank, side panels, fenders, and other bodywork (including that goofy Judge Dredd faring) a deep gloss black. I won't do flames or anything goofy like that; I plan to preserve the stealth look but I don't want a rat bike either. Not yet.

Mechanically it sounds great and nothing's wrong with it, according to the owner who rode it for two years and maintained it fairly well. There's 4,624 miles on it so I won't rebuild it yet, because that will cost more and will take a while (correct me if I'm wrong). Either way, I don't plan to rebuild it myself because I'm wary of my engine skillz.

It needs a new battery and the electric start doesn't work, otherwise it's rideable. I've taken it around the block a few times and it's terrific!

Ok, z0mgpics time.


After unloading it from our rig. The fuel tank was removed so any more gas wouldn't spill out.


Front. It's got Clubman bars, because the stockers were "ape hangers", according to the owner. Good,it saves me cash since I'm gonna buy a pair anyway. I'm going to paint those silver alongside the frame.


Rear view.


The heart of the beast


As you can tell, there's some rust on these exhaust headers (probably worse, looking at the 3rd pipe). Will I need a replacement, or can these be salvaged? I'd prefer a set that are flat black.

More to come! And if you're wondering, I got it for $480. Which is probably way too much money. shhhhh.

[BlaRo]

Yesterday I took off the battery and the seat. Nothing but, but it's a start.


Well, that was easy. Two unscrewed bolts, unsurprisingly. Naturally they were stripped to hell and completely corroded.


Well, that was easy too. Actually not really: the seat was held onto the hinge by two nuts that were rusted in and couldn't be easily reached by my wrench, so instead I undid the wire clips holding the hinge on the frame and hammered out the two bolts. The hardware is properly marked in that sandwich baggie below.


Mmm, motivation. That's our Subaru Legacy in the back, which I'm too lazy to post pictures up for.

[avanti]

Great project, will follow it closely. Are you going for a cafe racer look, I think you should..

[avanti]

some examples

cb550




a great site for inspiration
http://www.cb750cafe.com/

[bartboy9891]

Ha you found a way to transport it finally
Post some videos of it (if you can be bothered).

[BlaRo]

Thanks avanti. I've definitely seen that site before, and Steve is damn good at what he does! Though I won't put stickers like those on here...I'm going for the look. I'll probably get a black helmet + suit to complete the look.

(Today I have some questions, those are in bold. If you can answer those it'd be much appreciated. )

Anyway, I got new tools!


The exhaust is held on in two places: once in the back, here...

(note the 30 years of grime and dirt)

...and once in the front via the headers in the engine block.

(note the missing bolt and stud here. There's also 4 missing washers in a total of 8.)

Removing the headers was straightforward. Squeeze your hands between the labyrinthe 4-into-1 headers and unbolten the 8 bolts, 2 per. Naturally, it was metric, so I didn't get a chance to use my new shiny wrenches.


To make sure that the headers wouldn't get damaged if they hit the floor, I took a pile of old clothes that were two sizes too small for me and that I was about to donate to some orphans. Those damn kids can wait, now these clothes have a higher calling.


Turns out, the rear exhaust has an extended bracket that directly bolts onto another piece via two impossibly frozen allen nuts, which is bolted onto the frame by another massive bolt. Also, the right rear footpedal is connected onto here, which is kinda random. New Craftsman 12-piece wrench set to the rescue! (Well, not all 12 pieces.)

(Also, my dad took that above picture, which explains why it's so friggin' blurry )


The aforementioned piece, as shown above.


Exhaust rings. Will I have to replace all of these? I'm assuming I have to, especially this one:



I'm getting paranoid and thinking that this may indicate some engine problems. Any suggestions?


Exhaust collars.


Finally, an errant footpedal.

That was last night at 12:30. Today I'm going to remove the oil cooler, drain the oil and remove the rear tailight. And if I have time, the handlebars.

[DiuSee]

Great pictures, good luck with the project, and keep us update

[BlaRo]

Took the tailight off today. No biggie. As always, questions are in bold.


Bobber style! Uh oh, I better hide before an aging toothless pissed-off biker beats me to death with a beer bottle.


Ew.



I polished it with Eagle One Nevr-Dull for about 10 hours, but it's left these irritating chrome pits. So what do I do now to get rid of the pits and make it shiny again? Do I sand it first then get a buffer? If I sand it, what grit paper do I use?

[KaJuN]

Use some steel wool (SOS pads) and water to get that pitting off. The chrome on my bike looked just as bad as yours but now I can hardly notice the pitting on a lot of my chrome.

[BlaRo]

Thanks for the tip KaJun. I tried that and it did get a little better, but it's still slightly marked and there's still rust in those irritating crevices. Maybe I didn't rub it down long enough, even though my arm's about to fall off...

I drained the oil and took apart the headlight, which was big because I discovered the massive bunch of dusty 30-year old wires underneath. I'll post pictures later tonight.

[BlaRo]

Drained the oil, and took off the front headlight. No biggie, but next I'm going to take apart the wiring. You'll see what I have to deal with next.


Ooh, ahh, look at it flow.


Putting the oil into used Poland Spring bottles for easy recycling. The pan was pillaged from the kitchen, obviously.
Also, that's my mom's arm helping me out. Thanks mom.


Tasty!


The headlight was surprisingly easy to remove. For now, anyway...


Son of a bitch, it's a spider! Scared the crap out of me!

A fucking spider made a cobweb behind the headlight. WTF?

But not as much as this...

...bloody Medusa of wires. I'm frightened for my life now, I might turn to stone or something.

Luckily my friend is an electrics expert, I'll have to bribe him with alcoholic beverages to come over or something. I'll keep you posted, to the 2 people that actually might notice this thread.

[KaJuN]

Yeah I didn't get perfect results from the steel wool either but I guess the only way to make it look perfect is to re-chrome everything. But that's not what my bike is about and I kinda like how it shows its age. And don't feel so bad about all those wires either. Mine's got like a third more living behind the headlight. The spiders seem to like headlights because mine had a little thing of eggs behind it. Yeah it kinda freaked me out. But luckily the rebirth of my bike didn't require much electrical work. It should be a simple matter of tracing each wire to make sure everything's hooked up right.

Another KaJuN top tip: If you're not already planning to do so, clean and seal the gas tank. Trust me on this; you'll be cleaning the carbs until the end of time if you leave the tank as it is. I just picked up some sealant and I'll be putting it in tomorrow.

And lastly some words of encouragement. I finally got my bike roadworthy and road legal last Friday. Words can't describe how good it feels to ride the bike after nearly 6 months of tedious and often frustrating work. I've put 90 miles on it over the last two days simply because I don't want to stop riding. I also love the fact that my bike is so much older than the vast majority of the ones I pass on the roads. But most of all I like knowing that if it weren't for me this bike would still be sitting forgotten in a garage. And seeing as I just completed something similar to what you're doing, feel free to ask any question no matter how stupid it sounds. I had a lot of problems that I thought were major but they turned out to be something simple.

[BlaRo]

Yeah, I'm definitely planning to treat the tank before I put it back on. Do-it-yourself Tank Kreem kit, is that all I'm going to need? There's some surface rust near the filler, when I get a chance I'll take some pics of it.

Also, when I was removing the horn I dropped it and the plastic chipped off.

I hope I can upgrade it to something louder.

[KaJuN]

I used a bottle of cleaner today and the sealer is going on tomorrow. I'm assuming the Kreem Kit is the same thing. I'll let you know how mine turns out. I've also been considering upgrading to a louder horn. Its kinda hard to hear the wimpy one I have now over that ITB inline 4 roar. 8)

[fbc]

Originally Posted by BlaRo

I'll keep you posted, to the 2 people that actually might notice this thread.

Don't worry - I'm sure there's plenty following it but who haven't had anything helpful to post - like me for instance, I've got no idea how to get red of chrome pits, but I am enjoying the project.

[jakifirbec]

Damn you Blaro. Now i'm just about to spend some money i didn't plan to.
Nice project.

[bone]

Originally Posted by BlaRo

I'll keep you posted, to the 2 people that actually might notice this thread.

don't worry, i'm following the project

[Raparperi]

Damn, I just hope I some day have the luxury of a garage next to my own house...which would enable me to do something just like this. Even a yard big enough with a solid concrete base would do, but it'd be a bit impossible to do anything during the winter, which of course would be the best time to tinker around with a bike in pieces

But I'll be following your progress, good luck with your bike

[BlaRo]

Thanks for the kind words guys! I took off the gauges today, this weekend I'll assault the wiring.




Left side tach wire.



Right side speedo wire. There's not enough rust on this bike. Did the previous owners take it to too many bikini car washes or something?



Crusty-ass gauges. See what I mean? It's really starting to annoy me.


Ok, the spider behind the headlights was bad. But when I removed the tach from its casing, almost everything was covered in a spiderweb, all bundled up together. Apparently the spider had feasted pretty nicely on bugs within here, then died. Its body fell out as I removed the tach. This bike is starting to get to me now. What's next, snakes in the oil pan?







Well, they're off. Naturally, all the bolts and hardware were crusted to hell and will need replacing, but still...

[fbc]

Originally Posted by BlaRo

What's next, mother-f#cking snakes in the mother-f#cking oil pan?

Fixed that for ya