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Topics - singleoverheadbraincell

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CB500/550 / airbox to carb rubbers....question!

« on: March 08, 2013, 10:37:07 AM »

Hi,

would be grateful if anyone can help me with this query. I have a 1977 550K3 and need a new airbox to carb rubber. On the David Silver website they are not listed for the K3 but are listed (as a set) for the 1977 F2 Super Sport. I presume they would fit my K3? In the photo (on the website) they look like the right ones. Can anyone enlighten me? I only need one by the way (#4 pot) but looks like I need to buy the set.

SOHBC

CB500/550 / carb tuning tutorial question........

« on: February 08, 2013, 11:04:21 AM »

I'm about to embark on carb clean/tune. I have the Haynes manual which I presume should give me all the info I need but I do recall this forum having a 'tutorials' section where many numerous topics/tasks were detailed. I can't seem to find these tutorials now - or did I just dream that? Is anyone able to direct me or, failing that, has anyone got a link outside of the forum?

Many thanks,

SOHBC

CB500/550 / Wet HT leads?? - anyone experience this?

« on: October 08, 2012, 02:28:58 PM »

So, I was having problems getting my new induction type timing light working continuously (where an induction lead is clamped over the HT lead)...it worked ok on #1 but only occasionally on #4. The engine is firing ok on all cylinders, I know this. But to get accurate timing I decided to use the timing light.

Wondering why I was getting the light to work only intermittently I was having a good probe around the #4 HT lead when I noticed a few drops of water......on further investigation I discovered this was running out of the HT lead. I made a slight cut through the outer insulation and water came running out. I'm thinking the presence of this water may have been causing the timing light not to work. Has anyone else ever experience this?

Anyway, replacing the HT leads is not straight-forward on the 550K as I'm sure you all know. I understand it requires 'breaking-into' the sealed coils and patching the thing up again. The idea was to replace just the HT leads but perhaps the coils could do with being replaced too as I'm sure there is dampness in there too. I am however, getting a nice bright blue spark so I just don't know what to do.

It would obviously be more cost-effective just to change the leads and persevere with the difficult fitting work at the coils - I reckon I could manage this ok. The leads can be bought off eBay very cheaply. I would be interested to hear other people's thoughts on this situation.

CB500/550 / engine sounding like a 'diesel' at low revs.......wtf?

« on: October 03, 2012, 11:01:12 AM »

I have this bike only about a month now and have been tinkering with various things up until now, except the carb settings. I did suspect that it was ticking over a bit high (around 1400) and checked the manual which verified that tickover should be 1000rpm (550K). I turned the thumb screw outward to lower the idle only to discover to my horror that the engine started to sound like it was a diesel. My initial thought was that it sounded like a small end bearing. The noise disappears though at revs around 1400 or above so I set about adjusting the timing chain. I adjusted the timing chain using the method (described in this forum) of putting a little bit of tension on the chain with the kickstarter after TDC on cylinder#1. Anyway, this seemed to help it a little bit but the noise has not gone away. My only solution (at least for the symptoms) is to raise the idle to around 1400.

I haven't yet cleaned or balanced the carbs and I know this could help matters and I know also (from my reading) that these bikes are prone to a bit of low end rattle but I'm just not sure it should be as noisy as this. I understand the cam chain can be changed with the engine in-situ by attaching the new chain to the old chain and drawing it round and I would be prepared to undertake the surgery - I'm just wondering if this would improve matters or would I need also a new tensioner (these are pricey!) I don't really mind living with the issue (by keeping the tickover around 1400) as long as the chain doesn't break, which would be a disaster. The bike has 44k on the clock and I just changed the oil/filter using 10W40 mineral oil.

Any thoughts/feedback most appreciated.

CB500/550 / Which clutch? advice appreciated

« on: September 23, 2012, 07:11:05 PM »

Hi all,

has anyone a recommendation for a brand of replacement clutch...Wemoto have a 'Gecko' and an 'ECB'. The ECB is £20 dearer. Having a good clutch action is important to me so I don't mind paying for the more expensive one if it is a superior clutch. I suppose at face value, if it's £20 dearer, then there must be a reason why. I wonder how much the original Honda kit is? anyone know? I only do about 1000 miles per year so it won't get heavy usage.

Just as an aside - the average width of the friction plates is 2.50mm. The manual states that 2.30mm is the minimum. Does anyone know what thickness the new plates would be? This is an academic question as I plan to replace the clutch anyway and will know the answer when I get the new clutch...but if anyone can give me some guidance on the brand of clutch, that would be immensely appreciated.

CB500/550 / Performance air filters...oh, and an unusual teehthing problem....

« on: September 14, 2012, 01:05:27 PM »

Hi everyone,

just signed up here today after getting a 1977 CB550k...just undertaking a bit of tune-up work and was interested to see on 'wemoto' that they had power cone air filters to replace the stock item. (Now, I am trying to keep this bike as original as possible and this is the only modification I intend to make). The filters do look good, the chrome I thought would complement the bike well. I recieved them promptly and after wrestling the air filter box out of the bike (you need to remove the battery holder unit to do this) which wasn't that easy I realised there is no way they would fit onto the carbs serving cylinders 1 and 4 without fouling the frame. Anyway, wemoto have agreed to refund me but did say that they have sold the same filters to others without any hassle, which I don't really believe. There are other filters available at various other places but I was wondering does anyone have any experience with fitting and using these. I presume I will have to re-jet to something bigger to keep the fuel/air ratio correct?

On another note, the teething problem I refer to above was a faulty fuel tap which wasn't working in the reserve position. I spent two days trying to work out why the bike was running very rough (spark, check - compression, check - petrol, check, or so I thought). The fuel tap was very tight and took a pair of pliers to move and it was my intention to overhaul this anyway but as a last resort I decided to drain the tank and put in fresh fuel just to eliminate the potential for the fuel to have lost some of its properties through sitting for a while. It was only then that I noticed that, in the reserve position, the fuel was not leaving the tank. Eureka moment for me and the end of a lot of frustration trying to get the bike to run....put some fuel in (and tap in full on position) and she ran sweet from the first kick. I wonder are there issues with these taps? seems unusual to me having had plenty of smaller Honda with similar tap. Anyway, they're not cheap to replace so it will have to come off to see if it can be fixed or else I'll just live with it and carry a small bottle of fuel in my now defunct and empty air box for emergencies...

Looking forward to reading this informative board. Hopefully I can contribute to the resolution of other users' issues and problems from my own experience.