Tag Archives: CB550F

HONDA 1977 CB550F Super Sport for Sale $5999

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
04 Jan

Sometimes  in your life of buying and selling Motorcycles ,you come across a Diamond in the rough, and here is one that I wasn’t going to purchase at first but something told me to go and see it , as I had no photos of it.  I am so glad I did, this was a one owner machine that was purchased in 1977, it did have a Rear Luggage Rack with sissy bar attached and a Chrome front crash bar, but took that off, although the owner bought it new in 1977 and had the dealership fit them to the bike upon purchase.

(I can supply you with them if you require as they are still hung up in my Barn.)

This is a very nice machine and has 11,000 miles on the girl which is super low for a 45 year old Motorcycle, the old fella used it to go to work and that was it, I purchased the bike and have had it in storage for a couple of years, but seems a shame to keep it locked in and thought that it was time to let somebody else have some fun with it.

The bike is all Original other than the battery, even the tires are original, a rare find these days, I did remove the carbs and go through them a couple of years back, but it has been stored in my Barn with my other machines and I have quite a bit of work and thought it was time for the old girl to have some fun with another owner.

Now, this is not a showroom condition bike, its a bike that was used for a few years for local commuting, but its a rare find for sure, I need to give her a clean up as she is dusty from sitting inside, this was never outside.

To be honest, it would not take much to make this machine Mint, and go in shows with some tlc, its a much loved machine and I know that you will love just looking at this unmolested 1977 Machine.
The 1977 CB550 F2 is a fun and nimble machine and will sneak up on many machines, its responsive and great center of Gravity, makes for some really enjoyable riding on this inline four marvel.

A great Machine that reflects that awesome era when I was a teenager, I remember having a sales Brochure on my bedroom wall as a kid, amongst other notable motorcycles of that era and this brings back so many memories just looking at the bike.

I do have the Title for this too and numbers match the title, so you are all good there, its not been on the road since I have owned it as I have kept it in my Barn with the other bikes and I think its time to offer this to the public as I am sure there are many like me that love these 70’s Iconic Machines.

This Four Stroke Transverse Four Cylinder, SOHC Motor with 2 Valves per Cylinder, and a Bore and Stroke of 50.85 x 50.6mm with a 9.0:1 Compression is a little powerhouse to be honest. It has produces 50 HP/36.5kW @8500 RPM, with a Max Toque of 43.1 Nm/31.8 LB-Ft@ 7400RPM.

I did work on the carburetors and fit a New battery but, that’s it, a lovely condition for its age and nothing cut off or broken on this amazing Honda 550F inline four cylinder.

If you want to capture the late 1970’s in mid size Motorcycling, then this really is it, sitting on this reminded me of when I saw one in the dealership when I was 15 years old, after finishing my bag of chips, me and my mate used to just hang out in the shop looking at the new bikes that had come out, dreaming of the day we could own one.

Be a shame in a way to see it go, but as long as someone gets as much enjoyment out of is as I have, that is all I ask, a rare find these days and I am certain it will turn heads and have many questions asked about it where ever you take this Honda.

If you need more photos or information about this 1977 CB750F Honda, you can email me at carpy@carpyscaferacers.com or you can call or Text me on 714-598-8392 and have a chat.

Thank you for looking and hope you like the photos that I have taken of the bike, its a great color too, this weighs about 421 in dry weight and has 18″ wheels, so a nice height for most riders.

FOR SALE : 1977 CB550F SOLD – SOLD -SOLD -SOLD- SOLD

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
19 Feb

Geoffrey Chaucer once said ” Time and Tide wait for no man.”  And to be honest, he is right, I have many pokers in many fires and as we moved to a bigger place with my very own workshop, I thought some of my stuff in storage can go to others, as I have a lot of things to build, finish and design.

So here it is:

A 1977 CB550F Super Sport HONDA FOUR Project of which I have had for quite some time in my storage container.

This bike is rolling and I also have the Pink Slip and the numbers all match up too.

Still needs finishing but all the hard work is done to be honest and would make a fun Bar hopper or parts runner when completed.

 

 

The Motor was rebuilt, needs a sprocket cover as we cant seem to find the old one, but there are many things on here.

Here is a list or two,

This will make a great project for someone and is priced really well to sell, I also look forward to seeing it completed and on the road sometime very soon too.

It sits so very well and that’s how I envisioned this build when I started to acquire parts for the inline four Honda.

I have always liked the Old School Diamond treaded tires, they are not cheap as well and this makes such a good deal for a client out there as there are many cool parts on this ride as you can see by the photos I just took today.

This Motor has a Stainless Steel 304 grade Four Into 1 set up and that this style is a frame hugging design that I think will turn heads when it fires up.

Just look at them Chunky tires, this really is a great looking ride and it will travel along the gravel very smoothly indeed.

It has a set of Piggy Back shocks on the rear to set the Arse just right for them tall tires.

Still needs things like a drive chain and a front sprocket but this is all easy stuff to be honest.

These little 550 bikes are a great powerhouse and will surprise many people when you get this on the tarmac.

Has a 5-3/4 steel headlight with an LED set up that is brighter than Einstein.

I put on expensive handlebars and these really do feel super comfortable and no wrist ache what so ever, also fitted early 1970’s Race throttle and grips for an added bit of Nostalgia.

So here she is, like I said, I have the PINK SLIP-TITLE for this and the Numbers match, so a cool deal for someone out there.

Thanks for looking and Maybe you can pass this along to some of your friends, you will notice the Original speed equipped finned Points cover too?

 

 

 

Sunday and many an hour getting this CB550F Dialled in.

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
23 Aug

A Super Hot Weekend, why do I attempt such crazy work when the weather is like this? I guess we all do right?

A long day but managed to get the old carbs out as the idle was not functioning, but a complete redo was needed and boy what a pain in the arse the 550 carbs are top get out of the frame.

I dont know what Honda was thinking and if you are like me, you dont have time to look for a service manual and then read through all the jargon as to the correct way to remove the carbs.

Honda never want to share photos to make it easier, so no quick way there, I looked at the bike and just went ahead and took it on as a Customers machine and went from there.

Sure, I have worked on over 100 of these bikes but they all had the air box missing and now I know why, as they are a fecking Royal pain in the rear thats why, but I did manage to figure it out and as it was 100 degree’s in the Garage, I had to be as quick as I could muster, but that plan went right out of the crappers window and I struggled for quite some time to be honest.

But now I can look back and laugh, well maybe now LOL, it required a lot of patience and I had run out after 20 minutes and the swear jar is filled to the brim now, but much better for it.

The Carbs are on tight and I had to undo the air filter box and move it back about half an inch as thats all it would go and no matter how fecking hard I tried, I could not get the whole air filter box out, probably because the breather hose was catching but I did not want to remove it if I didn’t have to. I then managed to remove the rubber hoses from the air box and that gave me a little wiggle room to get the carbs off but not much.

I managed to pull the carbs out from the Left, but many people told me they will only go in and out from the right, so no idea how I managed that but, they came out and undamaged too.

The carbs needed a complete overhaul and I checked the rest of the bike over, the throttle cables are OK but I could do with new ones, I didn’t have a pair on hand, so lubed up the originals and they function great. but, putting the carbs back in is not as easy as 760’s, especially if you are using the stock air box.  I basically did the same thing but this time I headed from others and went in from the right.  And after much swearing, sweating and a lot of grunting, I got the carbs to get to their position, and- to help the carbs fit back into the intake manifolds, I put a smearing of axle bearing grease around each opening.

Plop, they went in, I did up the hose clamps on the manifolds and then I covered the air box rubbers in WD40 and then slipped them back into their positions, rotating until sat flush in the box.

After reconnecting the clutch cable and throttle cables and more hoses than a bloody fire truck, I emptied gas tank of the old fuel and bunged that in my van, as that will run on anything.

Bought some higher octane gas and poured her in and the bike fired up right on the first go and idles lovely now, pumped tires up and took her for a little blast up to about 60 mph around the houses and it runs great now.

So, any of you attempting to put carbs on or off and still use the stock factory air box, take heed, use WD40 and grease as it really helps and get those rubber hoses off the air box first to give you a little wiggle room.

A nice all together machine, Genuine 11K miles and now she fires right up and rides quite well to be honest, I do think I will replace the tires as these are original ones and I will feel happier with new rubber on this machine as this is now my Girlfriends bike and I want to make sure all is good for her to take out anytime she wishes.

What amazes me is how damn quiet the bike is with that big old chrome Cannon perched at the rear of the bike, but, its staying on there as the bike is too original to mess with to be honest and would like to keep a stocker around anyway.

I will do a few more things to the bike as we go along, I would like to powder coat the main stand and kick stand at some point, so may buy another set and do it when I feel like I have some coating to do, that way Jennifer can still use the bike and no real down time needed.

I am happy that the bike now fires up right away and purrs away to its hearts content, this will be a keeper and I am sure will only get miles on it around the countryside where it will reside in an old style barn.

Hope that you like the Blog today? As I am sure that many of you can relate to the trials and tribulations that we have to go through sometimes, just to keep these machines running?

Have fun with your machine and I am here to help or advise if I can, this is a big family when it comes to 2 wheeled machines and thank you for taking your own time to read my exploits and hope that it made you smile at least once?

 

New ride arrives at the stable 1977 HONDA CB550F SUPER SPORT

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
02 Aug

Well, a fun weekend and today being Sunday, I have plenty to do back in the workshop as we acquired another two wheeled machine that is a real classic find and glad that I was able to snag it from the buyer.

It does pay off to go through a few listings from time to time on the social media pages and Facebook was no exception- I was just periodically scrolling through the bikes for sale page and all of a sudden, this Burgundy Honda 550 came into my View.

To be honest I was surprised to see it in the condition it was in, so I messaged the owner and wondered what he would take for it, as I had just spend a few quid on presents for my girlfriends birthday and a few bills had come up lately, so wasn’t really in the market for a ride at this moment in time. But I thought I would see what the person could tell me about the little inline four and maybe I could go and look at it.

The owner was a young fella that acquired the bike from his grandfather recently, it is a one owner from new 1977 Super Sport, so I made plans to come down on Saturday and take a peek and this classic Honda Four Motorcycle.

I drove down with my Girlfriend Jennifer to Los Angeles , its only about 35 minutes drive, so in the Big White Transit we went and before I knew it we were there, with no where to park, so parked up down a side street and left my Girlfriend with the van, as LA is notorious for parking finds or being towed etc.  And then walked about a Block to the underground parking where the bike was located, I got there and I was pleasantly surprised how nice the machine was.

It ran OK but didn’t idle and the chap said its only got 11,000 Genuine miles on it, he used to ride it on the weekends as it was his granddads, and he purchased it from him in Minnesota and then had to move to LA to work, and didn’t want to take it on the freeways, and needed a bigger motorcycle, he said his granddad bought it from the dealer brand new in 77 and had never dropped it and looked after the bike. I knew that the problem was probably just the slow jets were blocked and a rebuild isn’t too much of a deal to get that purring right again.

The bike Sissy Bar on the back with the chrome rack and a big Chromed Crash bar at the front to protect the engine etc, both purchased back in the day in 1977 from the dealer, not the lovelies of choices but that was the thing to have back then, but that wouldn’t take too long to remove from the machine to look cool ones again.  The deal was struck and gave the guy the cash, he was happy and so was I, I happily pushed the bike around the corner and up the sidewalk for a block, feeling happy that I just acquired a true classic machine.

As soon as I turned the corner, I could see Jennifer by the van, rear doors open and the ramp already laid out, but what I then notices was a Huge smile on Jennifer’s face, she said ” I love it!”

I knew I was in trouble then, as she asked if she could have it, and of course, being the big hearted guy that I am, I melted to her and now we have a CB550F in our driveway.

The first thing I did, was remove the old sissy bar and rear luggage rack, we shall keep it in storage in case Jennifer goes out and needs to load the bike up or go camping etc, but I removed the Sissy bar and the front Chromed Crash bar with the cruise pegs on, the bike looks like it did when it was on the showroom now.

Will clean her up a little over the weekend and during the week, it does need the slow jets cleaned but will get into that another day, but its super clean for the year and wanted to share the bike with you on my Blog, to see what you think, this is a keeper and will get used for sure.  Nice to know there are still a few about like this and glad I took the time to follow up on this inline four.

Thanks for reading my Blog today and see what we sometimes get up to on the weekend, Motorcycling is a great hobby that turned into a Career for me and never tire of it.

 

New Stainless Steel Exhaust for the Vesco Honda Creation

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
02 Mar

Well, the Rains are here again tomorrow, so had to tear into many projects to try and get ahead of the storm, as it will restrict me to many things I need to do to create this Custom Motorcycle, the Exhaust I originally tried out was pretty Bad Arse- But I wanted something really trick, so for a few days I sketched a couple of Idea’s and came up with my Latest design.

This is my latest system and I have called it the “Y-Block” And this system breathes like a man with Three Lungs.  Seriously, this is a great bit of Kit and hand made from 049 Stainless and not only does it perform, it is light weight yet sturdy. This is so much better in Stainless and wanted to show the Globe that cool stuff does indeed come out of sheds and Garages.

A lot of time and effort went into this system and I am happy at the end result, this will look great on the Vesco Honda and am sure many will ask about all the details that the bike has on it, there is so much to do and have to do all I can in the short amount of time to get this machine back up and running- no easy task and still quite a way away from completing this build.

The system will fit ALL of the 750 Motorcycles from 1969-1978 in the SOHC Range and will fit the CB750K, CB750F and CB750A models too, the design took some time to create how I drew it but it is bang on and I cannot be more happier than how the “Y-Block” free flowing System has turned out.

All quick release springs, this is a slip on system just like the old race bikes and wanted to give a little more Hot Rod look to this set up and I feel that I have accomplished that style and look. This has a Nickel Plated Removable Baffle and sounds just like a deeper version of the Yoshimura style system.

The fit and finish is superb and great ground clearance too, wasn’t sure if this was even possible a few weeks ago but after many drawings of concepts etc this is the end result and it looks so good, I am super happy that I went this way and it sure does look Custom. Sat on the workbench and rwady for it to be fitted to the Custom machine when I get it up to assembly.

This is my design and its a 4 into 2 into 1 set up that really lets the gases flow hard and escapes at the end through a baffle at a faster pace than many out there, and I really wanted a trick looking set up that not only looks and sounds great, but performs pretty well too, and this sure does meet the bill.

Of course I will offer this as a line for the HONDA CB750, CB550 and CB500 a little later on but first i want to see how it performs on the bike and will give a full run down when I have all that completed, but this New System really is a unique set up that I will be happy to offer to all of you soon for your inline Four Motorcycles.

I will weigh it later as its so much lighter than the steel versions and when it is in its brushed Stainless guise, its a real head turner with the welds turning that nice Bronze color.

A fun looking Exhaust that I am proud to put my name on and I am sure will get quite a lot of interest for other peoples rides, so today turned out a great way to bring the week to en end.

This will be easy to fit to your very own inline four, even if you are on your own as it weighs nothing and comes apart easily for assembly etc and the springs are way easier to remove than undoing bolts .

I wanted to have something different out there and to show that I also love Hot Rods too, it’s all a cool lifestyle that I have always been into and now have a great system for the inline Four Honda’s.

When the Vesco Brat bike is completed, I shall take a lot of photos of it, as well as some sound bytes of the exhaust system, I will still use the Yoshi style baffle as I love that tone.

So with that- I shall bid you a fond farewell and get back into the Garage, as I have a million more things to do and as the storm approaches, I need to get in there fast.  Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog, let me know your thoughts, as input is so important from My Customers.