Honda CB550 four K AWY 834S

[rocker61]

rob62 see enclosed pics, the pipes are not cross over as you fitted. I have never seen pipes like that what can you remember make  they were? also gen cover large area of road rash but no hole

[rocker61]

pipes

[rocker61]

brianj  couple of pics of vin plate and v5 details (sorry coundnt get a clearer plate pic)

[Trigger]

You identify a UK CB550 by the VIN number.
The CB550F1 VIN will be CB550F-1******
The CB550F2 VIN will be CB550F-2******
And the CB550K3 will be CB550K-*******

There is a difference between the F and K3 frame 

The cross over pipes were made by Lazer, not to be confused by Laser exhausts 

[Nurse Julie]

So are we talking about 2 totally different bikes 🤔🤔🤔
as Rocker 61 replied to Steve D with this number.
Steve d - frame - cb550f 1000201  engine 550e 1100181

[Bryanj]

Julie got there first, quoted numbers are not those on V5

[rocker61]

brianj and other members I owe you all an apology, I have a uk 550 and my brother has a 550 imported from the usa. I am currently trying to research both bikes at the same time, and have mixed up our details  and originally posted his engine /frame numbers. my apologies my details are as follows -
cb550k-202195
cb550e-2222655
 I have just checked these - again my apologies

[rocker61]

frame should have read cb550k-2021925

[Bryanj]

OK so his was a very early F and yours a K3

[Rob62]

Hi rocker. Halleluja! Of course it is a K3  , as clearly shown in the photographs taken in my back garden 36 years ago. Glad that we’ve cleared that up. The gen cover looks to have been filled but not easy to tell in the photo. It also looks a lot worse than it was if its the same cover...of course its not forced to be or it could have been down the road a few more times in the last 30odd years.. we will never know for sure. The pipes do have a similar bend in them as the ones that were on when i sold her...but the collector box is totally different. The cross over pipes were marshalls as i have already said, not Lazer or Laser... here’s a possible theory, the pipes look to have a similar bend but may have been straightened a little in order to get them to fit the flat collector box instead of the original square one which may have rotted away, it was slightly rusty all those years ago.... but they could well be the same down pipes, it looks like a distinct possibility to me, they are very similar bend... again, we will never know for sure. The only thing we can be sure of is that its the same bike. You haven’t mentioned if the motor runs ? Or if its waiting to be stripped and rebuilt... If you need any help with that i’d be happy to assist.

[rocker61]

rob62, when I bought it I set out a plan to do a rolling chassis and cosmetics, wiring(never been good  at that so its time to learn the dark art of electikerty),then the engine. Luckily I've learnt a bit on engines over the years working on triumphs, and my brother has had both brits and japs so that's a good start, and my daughters just finished level 3 mechanics at college so we should have it covered but thanks for the offer

[Rob62]

Rocker you appear to be doing a great job so I’m sure you will sort it out.. I’m not a mechanic either although I have rebuilt a few of my engines over the years..its all basic mechanical engineering especially these old Honda’s.. I’m looking forward to seeing her finished and on the road! If there’s anything I can help with just shout.... and keep the pictures coming. Great stuff 👍

[Bryanj]

Forget the Triumphs and other Brits.

Throw away the big hammer and ALLL the jointing compound(s) you have aquired over the years, get a 3/8 drive six sided socket set and decent circlip pliers, a box of stanley blades for gasket removal and 5 ltr of gunwash for cleaning.

REMEMBER near enough is NOT good enough on a Honda and the only manual worth having is the genuine one found in Alladins cave but you have to have the 500 one with all the supplements and yes you have to read ALL the supplements because each one only details the differences since the last supplement.

[Laverda Dave]

I agree with Bryanj, forget all you'v elearnt about brit bikes and the bodges, stripped threads etc that go with the old clunkers and have a mind reset. Honda's are a dream to work on, metric threads (although the pitch may vary) and metric sockets. I'm currently restoring my Triton and it's turning into a PIA, how many spanners and taps do I need, BSF, Cycle, AF, Whitworth etc (and a pipe wrench and lump hammer for the really difficult stuff)....... Give me a Honda any day!
Good luck with it though and now we found the old girl you need to post regular update photos 

[rocker61]

well faced up to the moment I dreaded, and delved into the old water/oil stained boxes labelled wiring today, when I bought the bike years ago the wiring loom was not in situ just  dumped in afore mentioned boxes. I opened these boxes, saw a jumble of wires and closed the boxes. After an afternoon of untangling/cleaning 40 yrs of grease and related crud off I ended up with what can be seen in the pics. luckily the loom looks ok and has not been hacked into. just a case of replacing amounts of black pvc tape. Before I start this task are there any pitfalls that I should be aware of?(wirings not my best subject ,probably no 11 on a scale of one to ten)