Buying Adivce/What to look for

[Dolomite_]

I've been looking at some CB550's for the past few months. I've seen quite a few that need a bit of work go for around £1250-1500. Most of them have had a description along the lines of 'engine has good compression, turns over nicely but only starts on easystart, fuel system and carbs need attention'. I've rang up to ask about it but they never go into much detail so I haven't bothered to travel and take a look. Is it just typical of a bike this old that's been stood for some time or could it lead to a lot more work being needed?

If it is just a carb rebuild and fuel system clean would it be worth taking a propper look at one of these bikes or would it be best to spend the extra £1,000 ish and get a fully running bike for around £2,250?

[Trigger]

DK are bike breakers, if it doesn't sell they break it 

And if you can get a up to gather, with no issues CB550 for £2,500, you have done very well

[mickwinf]

The 550s are a pretty tough bike and often are basically sound engine wise but carb problems are very common if they have been stood for any time with old fuel, especially the k3 model. Sound condition bikes start at well over the £1000 mark now, i would go for an import with good chrome as it saves lots on buying new or re-chroming. My F2 cost about a grand to buy and i got it running fairly easily after it had been stood for years, but all the cosmetics were rough as its a UK bike. It all depends what standard of bike you want at the end and how much money you want to spend. Oh, welcome to the forum!

[Nurse Julie]

Welcome to the forum. I bought a CB550/4 K3 in bags and boxes for £600 4 years ago. It was never my intention to restore it to standard as just not worth it and I don't like K3's anyway. After over 100 hours labour, which luckily was free to me as him indoors, Trigger, built it for me and £3000 in parts, this is how it turned out. This is a cheap but excellent bike in my mind.

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Or, you could buy something like this for £150 and spend  about £4000 doing the work yourself and end up with this CB550/4 F2....carbs about to go on 


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None of the Honda CB SOHC/4 range of bikes are cheap. If you buy cheap, then be prepared to spend what could amount to an awful lot of money.

[Davelu88]

Your black bike is one of my favourite bikes Julie . lots of great advice and help on here.

[matthewmosse]

It's worth looking at a bike that's a bit reluctant to start. But be wary of excess engine noise, some noises are things like clutch basket rattle and not really a big deal, but other reluctant to start bikes can have dirty secrets -  running but hard to start cb550's I have owned back when a rough runner was a couple of hundred pounds and easy to come by, well, there was one that leaked oil, didn't like to start hot, turned out the piston rings were shattered and had chewed the head and tops of pistons up before exiting the exhaust. The bike was a bit of a dog, a rough and ready rebuild over a weekend using whatever ropey bits came to hand worked for a few years before it dropped a valve - still ran and rode like that but a distinct rattle, hard to start and down on power. - it got more of the same and limped along another year or so but eventually snapped a camshaft- still ran, hard to start and a bit rattly. Go look at a few bikes get a feel for what they should sound like. Remember the engines are generally good and replacing the whole lump is not a big deal - I haven't had to buy a replacement engine in a while but if I had to buy one I expect a decent used engine would still cost less than most folk seem to spend on painting a tank or a few bits of chrome.

[royhall]

You turned a pile of junk into a fantastic bike for not too much money there Julie. Saw it at Crich last year and was very impressed. Although as you say Julie, if you had to pay Trig to do it, it probably wasn't a viable prospect. Point is Dolomite that if you can build it yourself, including the engine, then a scrapper has prospects otherwise buy a good condition running bike.

[Nurse Julie]

You turned a pile of junk into a fantastic bike for not too much money there Julie. Saw it at Crich last year and was very impressed. Although as you say Julie, if you had to pay Trig to do it, it probably wasn't a viable prospect.

Are any of our bikes viable Roy, probably not 
For me, the pleasure of riding it is all that matters. Cost, worth, resale value etc really has nothing to do with it with a bike like this.

[royhall]

Good point Julie, your probably right. Bloody expensive hobby. Point is though, if you can't do it all yourself your probably better looking at a good condition running bike.

[Nurse Julie]

Good point Julie, your probably right. Bloody expensive hobby. Point is though, if you can't do it all yourself your probably better looking at a good condition running bike.

Agree Roy. Buying a bike that is running well today is no guarantee of what it will need in the near future, but its a good place to start.
Edit....my CB400/4 comes to mind 

[paul G]

Anyone want to buy a mint K3  with 4 into 4 original exhaust 

[Rob62]

Dont be put off by the DK bikes, they may need some attention to get them running but they are usually low milage and lacking of rust and rot and generally fairly complete.... i.e. they may have been standing a while but aren’t rot boxes. You need to have a good look first but you will find they make fairly straight forward restorations. Unlike some rusty uk bikes that will require every single item to be repainted or replated at huge expense... and will also require attention to get them running... good luck with your search.

[Nurse Julie]

Dont be put off by the DK bikes, they may need some attention to get them running but they are usually low milage and lacking of rust and rot and generally fairly complete.... i.e. they may have been standing a while but aren’t rot boxes. You need to have a good look first but you will find they make fairly straight forward restorations. Unlike some rusty uk bikes that will require every single item to be repainted or replated at huge expense... and will also require attention to get them running... good luck with your search.

That's why UK bikes are so special, they may need extra love and attention but being so rare, they are worth it.

[royhall]

Dont be put off by the DK bikes, they may need some attention to get them running but they are usually low milage and lacking of rust and rot and generally fairly complete.... i.e. they may have been standing a while but aren’t rot boxes. You need to have a good look first but you will find they make fairly straight forward restorations. Unlike some rusty uk bikes that will require every single item to be repainted or replated at huge expense... and will also require attention to get them running... good luck with your search.

That's why UK bikes are so special, they may need extra love and attention but being so rare, they are worth it.

I would agree on both levels. A UK bike is always going to be worth more but they are usually pretty hard work and expensive to do. Plus, never ever believe the mileage on imported bikes unless they have watertight documentation with them.

That is a lovely 550F2 Julie, I really like that colour,

[Nurse Julie]

Dont be put off by the DK bikes, they may need some attention to get them running but they are usually low milage and lacking of rust and rot and generally fairly complete.... i.e. they may have been standing a while but aren’t rot boxes. You need to have a good look first but you will find they make fairly straight forward restorations. Unlike some rusty uk bikes that will require every single item to be repainted or replated at huge expense... and will also require attention to get them running... good luck with your search.

That's why UK bikes are so special, they may need extra love and attention but being so rare, they are worth it.

That is a lovely 550F2 Julie, I really like that colour,

Candy Sword Blue, a very 'pretty' color I think and another stunning job by Menno.