Honda-SOHC

So next update in the engine headache!

Stripped both bottom ends and took a good look, it looks OK in there, the swarf seems to have come from a gouge in the casing where the engine has presumably thrown a chain or caught something and sent it flying around the sump..

Otherwise the head studs seem properly stuck in there and even with an impact wrench and stud extractor I'm having little luck

The heads were assessed and are unfortunately in really bad shape so it looks like I'm on the lookout for new ones of those for both bikes.

A little bit stuck and a good lesson in don't buy a non-runner. At the rate this is going I could be looking for two complete engines...

I'm hoping the bottom ends can be saved- potentially I might have to send them off to someone more familiar with them as whilst I could stomach re-assembly- the measurement and repair of a lot of these parts is a little beyond my experience.

Back to square -2! Not sure on what the next steps are, I'm scouring ebay for heads and barrels that may be better.

R

Hey Matthew,

Thanks, that's interesting to note.

If you have those wheels and fancy moving them on please drop me a message. At the moment I'm pretty focused on the engine and electricals stage but at some point I'll get round to the running gear!

Thanks!
R

In actual fact I can see the damage, last picture of the strainer with the piping attached, look below that and you can see shiny metal and the remains of what I assume is the kickstart mechanism. Whether this broke first or was broken by bits coming off something else is another matter. They don’t tend to break that badly internally, splines yes. I suspect we may see a gear without it’s teeth somewhere in there or a broken selector


Yep, next picture up and you can see chips off at least 3 gears, something has certainly been flying around in there.

Bloody hell, the more you look the more you spot. Check out the crankcasing just next to the primary chain, something got crushed and spun round with the chain taking parts of the crankcasing with it.

Good spot, it's not great in there at all. Hopefully worth a rebuild rather than having to seek out a new engine!

Hey all,

Bike: 1977 CB550 'F'

I've tried in vain to use the search function to see if this is out there but I admit I couldn't find anything useful.

One of the bikes I'm building is going wire-spoke, the other (mine) I'm tempted either to go for wire spoke which seems the easiest, or to investigate Comstars.

I know they are widely not liked, but personally I am quite fond of the Comstar wheels. Does anyone know which models' Comstars will fit the CB550? I'd love to get a set for my bike, but I am unsure whether it is going to require a substantial amount of machining or replacement forks, bearings, spindles or other parts!

The end goal is to go for dual front disc and rear drums.

I've currently got some Lester Mag wheels on the bike.

R

Next Step today, got the second engine up in the stand and flipped it over to have a look at the sump underneath.

Sump is pretty grimy! Doesn't look in awful condition but some surface rust on the primary chain and some other areas. Gear teeth seem to be in good shape.

However, found a plastic hose (?) and some crap on the oil pickup filter, so wondering whether a rebuild might be necessary. (Can anyone recommend a Honda specialist I can send these bottom ends off too for a rebuild and vapour blast?)

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The sump, full of emulsified oil when I got it off. Gross!

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And this little guy was hiding out in there, probably not a good sign.

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More crap on the oil pickup

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Primary Drive Chain and Crankshaft

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What I could see of the gearbox

Thanks for the paint serial- I'll use that if I keep the black finish on the engine.

If I want to keep the 'factory' silver look after vapour blasting how best do I go about preserving that finish?

Unfortunately the top end on mine has been very badly sprayed black- so I'm erring to removing it and I hoped blasting would do that.

The overspray is hideous, it's in the inlets!

Getting deep into my engine teardown now on two CB550 engines and rebuild so getting to the stage where I am thinking about what route to refinish.

From what I read, vapour blasting seems to be liable to corroding pretty soon after it's done; how do people stop this- applying a clear varnish or other finish?

Also, do the engine casings have to fully disassembled before they can be blasted? Can engines be blasted assembled? I've stripped down the top-end, avoiding doing the bottom end if I can avoid it but would like to refinish the whole engine casing to bring it up to a 'new' look.

Had a quick search in the forum and couldn't find anything; though if this has been covered before my apologies!

Thanks all!
R