1978 Honda CB550 Supersport - My first retro bike rolling restoration!

[woody928]

Thank you for the input regarding the brake setup, duly noted and I'll put it into practice in due course. Having got back home and looked at the bike again I've confirmed that there's must be an issue with how I've rebuilt the MC. With it filled with fluid and the lines being fully disconnected from the brake calliper it doesn't wish to push any fluid through it and the handle provides no resistance.

To confirm and as a short term fix I've ordered a replacement MC and will swap it out to confirm and see if I can't get the front brake fully operational.

Just been through this post - I like what you have done to the bike it looks really cool a nice mix of modern & classic DNA- the taped manifolds is this to help with heat dissipation? Nice sound on the video.

Lastly I like the B&W plates but as an ex-copper can't see why you think they are legal unless you motor was first registered before January 1973.

Thank you very much, its really nice to hear this as its always my goal whenever I rebuild classic machinery  In theory it should help with the heat, however I'll be honest, I've always just loved the aesthetic and really didn't want to have chromed/stainless pipes that scream steal your attention. As you'll have seen I have tried to really tone down the 70's chromed look. I quite like the slightly more subdued modern/retro aesthetic. I'll unusually confess that like this it is a bit too loud though...

As has been mentioned its now perfectly legal being historic vehicle class I've gone for the smallest legal plate and font sizes so that its not an eyesore bolted on like the OEM setup, its basically the same width as the rear mudguard. It certainly helps with the look imo.

In other news I'm still battling with the exhaust fitment, so much for bolt on parts! With everything loosened back off I can get the silencer and collector connected and tensioned up however it feels somewhat stressed and they want to be at different angles to each other.

Not withstanding this, the rear centre stand rubber stop which comes with the exhaust hanger is situated too far rearwards and therefore does not stop it as intended. Having spent a few hours messing with it, something doesn't add up. I've contacted Delkevic however I'm now wondering whether I've been supplied with the wrong securing bracket? and/or the collector is a dodgy one and not been formed correctly.

While I've contacted Delkevic to request assistance however I'd be grateful of anyone else's experience with this system? I presume the rear footpeg mounting hole on the frame didn't alter between the years and revisions of the 550?

Some more photos for context:

Exhaust fully connected and fitted, however slightly stressed due to the stretch and exhaust header pipes now much further outside of the collector pipe:
IMG_2147 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr

IMG_2153 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr

IMG_2148 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr

Exhaust hanger fitment:
IMG_2155 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr

You can see the slight misalignment of the collector pipe and silencer here, as you can imagine this will get worse as the silencer is fitted due to its fixed hanger point meaning it has to turn rather than slide as would be ideal:
IMG_2156 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr

[robvangulik]

Shouldn't that main stand stop be fitted on the forward hanger bolt?

[woody928]

Shouldn't that main stand stop be fitted on the forward hanger bolt?

Not according to the fitting guide, its in the correct location. Not withstanding that it won't work as if you spin it around then the 45 degree piece which extends off with the rubber stop wouldn't mate against the flat surface on the exhaust silencer if that makes sense.

I had the same thought as that's clearly where it wants to be positioned to do its intended job...

[robvangulik]

I had the same thought as that's clearly where it wants to be positioned to do its intended job...

And at the same time a bit out of sight!

[woody928]

Well nearly six months later I'm back on the road again 

Having ordered a new MC I was reading another thread on here and came across BryanJ's advice regarding bleeding freshly built MC's before connecting them up to the brake lines. Some messing later and having hand bled it with all of the lines disconnected, suddenly my rebuilt MC was in business. Some time later trying to expel all of the air from the lines and the system had pressure. Strangely though everything was still binding though so having pulled the calliper apart it turns out that my brake pad had managed to wedge itself at an angle meaning that it was totally seized. Having free'd it and realigned it everything was operating just like Honda intended again. Last job was to leave the brake level cable tied on overnight to help get some feel into the lever and I was back in business today following a few tweaks using the adjustor screw.

The exhaust has now also been fully fitted up, having tweaked the collector position it was possible to get the exhaust sealed up sufficiently to perform as expected. The only real disappointment is that the centre stand stop is sat a good couple of inches too far back to do anything useful.

I've therefore slid it forward a bolt hole so that it is only secured in place with one bolt rather than two, leaving one mounting location literally flapping in the breeze. That said it now performs its intended task and the centre stand clears the chain. Still waiting to hear from Delkevic in the meantime...

There's still a few minor tasks to perform however having doused the bike in ACF50 and lubed the chain it was time to hit the road, taking it steady to see how everything is bedding in and initial signs are really encouraging. The brakes are about effective as you'd expect however a significant improvement over when I picked the bike up, the rear locks easily enough if you desire. The engine is performing a million times better and really happy to pull all the way up the revs now, its literally like a different bike now. Poor weather sent me home however I'll be doing some more road testing as soon as the weather allows. The battery is also happily charging again having repaired the wiring from the alternator.

All that said I think the rear suspension needs some time to bed in a little, and I'm trying to be very careful on my spanking new skinny tyres particularly on damp road surfaces.

When time allows I'd like to remove the centre stand to refurb it as its looking pretty rough, I want to check over some wiring to my taillight and get my phone charger wired into the ignition (thinking to use the wiring to the ignition coils) when time allows for those longer summer days. It appears that the tasks are never ending...

IMG_2211 by Mark Woodrow, on Flickr

[Nurse Julie]

Well done Mark.