SOHC.co.uk Forums > CB500/550

I'm curious as to what this would really do

<< < (2/4) > >>

Johnny4428:
Cost of having that turbo fitted + cost of repairs = expensive lesson! 🫣

Johnwebley:
What a superb thread,

A CBX converted to big bang

Excellent

Sent from my SM-A546E using Tapatalk

Bryanj:
Ken, the 550 had 3 extra teeth on the rear wheel sprocket to make the overall gearing the same i think

deltarider:

--- Quote from: Bryanj on February 02, 2024, 03:21:36 PM ---Ken, the 550 had 3 extra teeth on the rear wheel sprocket to make the overall gearing the same i think

--- End quote ---
Except for the CB550K3-ED which had 34 teeth like the CB500. In continental Europe that particular K3 model was marketed as the tourer version of the somewhat sportier CB550F2. See the ad below.

Oddjob:
Well I didn't think this would get a lot of answers if I'm honest, more of the rolling of the eyes and who cares kinda looks.

So lets answer them as posted.

Dave, I don't have a 650 clutch basket, no idea if it uses the same damping arrangement as the 500/550 either, plus I'd have to marry it with it's primary gear and there's a chance the splines may be different to the 500/550 but I do see the point, although if I'm honest I didn't really like the 650 engine very much, not sure why, it got a primary chain tensioner which is very handy (I've got one to fit in my 500), it got rid of the tappet arrangement, again probably better, changed the camchain to a Hyvo one, again, probably better, no points etc, I mean what's not to like, BUT it seemed to lose it's character, it seemed bland. It also didn't really go any better than the 500/550 IIRC.

Yes Ted I could, that's the easy answer BUT my point was would changing just this 2 gears make any appreciable difference, not aiming for more speed etc just curious to see if I can spot any difference between the 2 setups, whilst at the same time not changing anything else, so if I get the same speed with 500rpm less for instance is that a worthwhile mod, I'd personally say no unless you're changing the damping rubbers and you have the other parts handy or can get them real cheap. I'm more curious than anything else, purely from a desire to know point. .

Yes Nige I suspected that, however Honda changed the gears in the 550 box and do those changes negate the clutch gear changes for instance, they only changed a couple of gears but I'm thinking Honda at the time of the 550 were trying to compete with bikes like the RD400 and the Suzuki 550, this I seem to recall was why they changed the gears to get more acceleration, in order to try and compete, which TBH they couldn't, all the 550 could do was to get there without leaving a smoke trail that the police could follow to track you.

I wasn't aware it had a name Nige, nice to know.

I'm sure he regretted having it fitted Johnny, the story goes he was told to keep the waste gate set at 2lbs or something and as soon as he hit the motorway he opened the waste gate screw to get more power. Well that worked, he got more power than he or the motor could handle. 

It was a nice learning curve at the time John, the CBX was so new we didn't even have a workshop manual for it, I had to ring Honda for the torque pressures when I built it back up. Lapping 24 valves in by hand though took me a few days.

Yeah I was aware of that Bryan, I think I'll keep the 34T rear sprocket though, I prefer the speed to the acceleration.

Different markets though Delta, as you point out the K version was made to appeal to touring whereas the F model was made to appeal to the younger crowd, the F looked more modern than the K, although I prefer the look of the 500 over the 550. It has more character.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page