Honda-SOHC

It was a struggle to get my cam apart and out of the head as the splines were incredibly tight despite heating the sprocket spline. How on earth am I supposed to get them back together without a sledge hammer?

Just read an article on research done by a US Research lab part sponsored by MCN which came to the conclusion that the claims made by the oil companies for using motorcycle-specific 10-40 engine oil are simply to strike fear into bikers to make them use the greatly overpriced product when in fact they offer no benefit over modern "ordinary" (and much cheaper) automotive engine oils. They make the point that modern 10-40 automotive oils are designed to meet the needs of modern high-revving cars anyhow. A mate of mine who has been a helicopter engineer all his life and is a fund of common sense says the same and uses ordinary 10-40 in his CB400F. As I'm coming up to an oil change the question is what does everyone else use?

 

I'd like to think that the previous owner of my bike had spent hours on research and testing to identify the optimum NGK plug for each individual cylinder and that he wasn't in fact some dickhead who threw in whatever was lying around in his workshop. Anyhow I've fitted the standard DR7ES and it will come as no surprise to any K3 owner to read that it has made no difference to the tickover and it still sounds like a dog giving birth. [ Guests cannot view attachments ] .

Can someone please explain the "clear-tube method of checking float levels on the P46 carbs and tell me where to fit the aforementioned clear tube?

Bought my CB550K3 and it unbelievably had 3 different grades of NGK plug in it - DE7EA, DR8ES and DR8EA. Now has the recommended DR7ES but is running incredibly lean, with the plugs almost white. Do I need to increase the jet size or raise the needle and what is the difference in those two options?

David Silver is now producing silencers for CB72/77s at £350 a pair which is a great price. I asked them if they were going to do the same for C72/77s but the answer was that there was no demand. I'm going to do all I can to gauge what the demand would be worldwide so all contributions in spreading the word and posting any info to this forum would be welcome.

I'm sure this has been flogged to death but can I please have the definitive answer on whether it's actually possible to get a smooth tickover under 1400 rpm on a 1977 CB550K3 and what is the true source of the cacophony of noise from the crankcase at anything lower than 1400. My "new" bike has exactly the same as my old one and I've done everything I can to balance my carbs (gauges, airsscrews, prayer) and it's still lumpy below 1400. Also how much choke do I need to use to start it from cold because if I open it full it refuses to fire? I'd add that on the main jets over 2000rpm it flies like a bird. In passing I read an MCM article some 30 years ago that said words to the effect that 550K owners simply have to accept that on tickover it sounds like someone has thrown nuts and bolts into the gearbox.