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Feeling quite pleased with myself today. After a couple of years tinkering with my first attempt at refurbing an old bike the CB550 passed the MOT test yesterday .

Most of the work has been cosmetic apart from some basic rewiring - eg the Boyer electronic ignition was wired incorrectly and the were some horrible home made wiring botches. She was running on two pots when I got her but after replacing HT leads,plugs and rectifier then cleaning and fitting new carb jets she was a runner. Carbs need balancing now and I've now got an original air box and rubbers so that should make her run smoother in futue.

Overall very chuffed.







Some pics of the state she was in when I got her>

Looks fantastic.

Thanks Sam.

Bloody hell. I used to have one of those. Loved every minute of the 5 or 6 years it was in my care.

Mine was nowhere near standard though being blue with a red frame. I thought it looked great but no-one ever agreed.

Have to say that having seen yours I tend to think they were right now. Looks fabulous mate.

Very well done - nice job.

Still got a soft spot for the CB 4's of that era .

Had one like this (CB750 K6)

Very nice, Dave.
Having had much fun putting it together, I'm sure you'll have a lot more fun riding it.


Note to self:
...... really must get my 400/4 sorted ......

lovely work and well done

Looks great!

I had a 400/4 for years that I was going to restore but eventually I sold it on (the canvas cover it stood under for 2 years had rotted away) and got £25 more than I paid for it! I don't think it would ever have looked as good as that though.

Very nice Dave.

Good to get the airbox done right, those cones let too much air in. A mate had to use a couple of pairs of his wife's tights (well he said they belonged to his wife) to wrap the cones to restrict the airflow enough to get his running properly

Very nice job Dave! Fancy doing my CB77 for me

You should be chuffed Dave, it looks superb!

Looks quite pretty but whats it go like?

Superb job Dave, very impressive you ought to be well chuffed with that

F9

very very nice.

Thanks for the positive comments.

Keith - it goes pretty well. Engine has a few knocks and rattles at low revs but settles as the revs rise. I need to fit a standard air box and get the carbs balanced. Gear box is slick and she pulls quite strongly - had an indicated 85mph and still some left. To be honest the engine is very tired, clocks suggest 58,000 miles. Will probably try and sell her later in the summer and look for something that's in better mechanical order. Been - good to cut my teeth on this though - I've learnt so much in the process.