New project 550K1

[Davelu88]

Another bike arrived yesterday form Jamesh  , a CB550 K1 engine is a runner and sounds quite good and everything else is original on the bike and in nice condition. So today i though i would sort out a few niggles the first was one of the rear indicators wasnt working so replaced the original wire and all ok now   then the stupid indicator buzzer & running lights at the front a quick disconnect of a couple of wires and thats stopped that. The 2 top exhausts had holes in them but James kindly supplied a couple of replacements which will do for now ( a bit rusty) so they have  gone on, the fuel tank has had a repair on the bottom & been lined with Kreem so i have swished the tank out cleaned the fuel tap as it leaked a bit & that seems ok & fitted some inline filters just in case. Tomorrow im gonna try balance the carbs with a Vac gauge as its running rich then plugs oil etc. Such fun

[Davelu88]

Pics to follow

[Nurse Julie]

Lovely Dave.....my favorite color

[deltarider]

Tomorrow im gonna try balance the carbs with a Vac gauge as its running rich then plugs oil etc. Such fun

Running rich has little or nothing to do with unbalanced carbs.
This would be my working order:
Let camchain tensioner adjust itself (if needed)
Check valve gaps.
Check ignition:
  a. breakerpoints gap
  b. check timing stationary and fully advanced
  c. doublecheck a and b
  d. Visually check for arcing whether at the breakerpoints or between plugwires/caps and head. When in doubt replace plugcaps by new ones.
  d. Fit new plugs.
Verify fuel level is unhindered and level in the floatbowls is correct.
Is airfilter OK?
Check for airleaks at intake boots and where exhausts connect to the head.
Take notes of what the airscrews are set at/Check airscrews are set correctly.
If the bike was inactive for a long period, check at least the slow jets are clean.
When all this is done, there's a good chance you can abstain from vac syncing.
Beautiful bike!

[Nurse Julie]

Blimey, that's a comprehensive list. I would just screw the air screws in a bit to start with and see how the plug colour changes after riding / running it. Simple easy things first.

[Davelu88]

Many thanks for that  i am gonna be very busy tommorow going through that list    and yes Julie it is a nice colour & i hope i can resist the temptation to restore it as its so original with a nice patina but will eventually have to get some pipes .

[Nurse Julie]

but will eventually have to get some pipes .

So they will be on order by tomorrow afternoon then Dave 😀😀😀

[Davelu88]

Safety tag from 1983      Yes Julie 

[jon stead]

Nice looking bike

[SteveD CB500K0]

Where would we be without James eh?

Single-handedly keeping a flow of interesting new projects whilst lowering the average age of the membership by 20 years!

We would otherwise just be a group of old blokes endlessly discussing the minutiae of old bikes (like some forums that I frequent )

Steve


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[JamesH]

Dave - glad you’re happy with the bike. I honestly didn’t even look at the underside of the tank - I just took it off and set it on the ground when I changed the carbs. My bad for rushing a bit and not looking. Pm me if it’s an issue and we can work something out. James

[Davelu88]

Seems ok at the moment James and is not noticeable but thanks anyway & i took your advice on low ethanol fuel . But i do have a question if anyone can help, as the plugs are sooty to lean them out do i turn the air pilot air screw in or out  the manual is a tad unclear on that.
Cheers

[deltarider]

Dave, my apologies for that long list but I don't know how experienced you are. Vac syncing comes last if at all needed. On your model turning the aircrews in enrichens, turning out leans out the mixture. Standard is: 1¹/₂ ± ³/₈ turn out, provided you have the standard 022A carbs*. Don't make the mistake to try to achieve a highest rpm at idle by turning the screws out. The engine will pur like a kitten, but you will have a rotten acceleration. These CB550s need an idle mixture that is on the rich side. About your plugs that look sooty. What part of the plug looks sooty? The nose is what matters. The thread's end will always appear sooty.
* See pic where you can find the carb number. In this case 087A the carb that was on the CB550K2. Your K1 originally had 022A.

[Davelu88]

It's the electrodes of the plugs that are sooty , I've referenced them against the pics in the manual and it definitely says it rich.

[JamesH]

It's the electrodes of the plugs that are sooty , I've referenced them against the pics in the manual and it definitely says it rich.

Dave - not sure how much you've run the bike but I didn't change the plugs, so the soot could be from the previous running. I'd suggest a new set of plugs to be on the safe side & you can asess how it's running on the set of 'Gerben' carbs just fitted to it. Also, fit a new air filter as well..James.