1977 Honda CB

Rebuilt, Rebuildable & Reconstructed

Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE This bike was built in late 2009 and finished early 2010. It started life out as a stock and cosmetically tired 1977 CB550K with 12,XXX miles reading on the odometer. It was completely disassembled and rebuilt from the ground up as a cafe racer. I had a picture in my head and worked tirelessly with attention to every detail until the bike looked like what I was after. I was not concerned with cost as it was a personal project and I had no plans to ever sell it. However, having just moved from the east coast to California for a job, this will sadly have to be sold as it is now being looked after by my father. I will do my best to describe the condition of the bike, the custom changes, and work done. The most noticeable change is the custom tank (fiberglass, which is coated for ethanol use) and seat (steel), fabricated by BCR, which fit together and fit the bike perfectly. They are painted in Pepper Grey Metallic with black vinyl stripping applied down the length. I chose vinyl as it is nearly indistinguishable from paint and can be removed or changed at any time should you want to change the look. The wing decals on the tank are also vinyl and are a custom design by myself that pays homage to the early 1950's Honda wing logo. Changes to the frame include replacement of the rear section under the seat with a custom piece fabricated by BCR that houses the battery as well as all of the wiring harness electronics under the seat pan. It also features a round bar under the seat section that follows the contour of the seat, which is a nice touch. The original frame sections were cut aft of the rear shock mounts and this new section was welded in. Other changes include removal of all unecessary backets, including those that originally held the electronics between the carburetor and the rear wheel, which were covered by the plastic side covers (also gone). The heavy center stand was removed and the brackets were shaved as well. The frame was then repainted with a rust preventative gloss paint. What makes a good cafe racer is not what what added, but what was removed. These items include the rear fenders (chrome outer fender and plastic inner fender), front fender, large rear tail light, rear blinker pods, chain guard, stock foot pegs, airbox (replaced with pod filters), front turn signals, and the speedometer, which is a large unit that detracts from the simplicity of the front end and is largely unnecessary for this style of bike. Note that that tach that is shown in the pictures is now mounted a bit lower with a drop bracket I fabricated so make the front end look a bit sleeker. Custom work includes black powder coated wheel rims, polished hubs, stainless steel spokes, rebuilt brakes with phenolic piston and new seals (front), clip-on handle bars with de-anodized and polished controls, LED blinker, oil and neutral lights integrated into top triple tree, custom tach gauge face with 0rpm pointing down, polished aluminum engine caps and covers, LED rear blinker light strips hidden under seat, carbs completely rebuilt and re-jetted for pod filters and aftermarket 4-1 exhaust, cross drilled front brake rotor, and rear sets grafted from a Suzuki GSXR with custom shift and brake actuators. Many new parts were used during the build. NOS gas cap and petcock, seals, tires, tubes, chain, fork gaiters, grips, shocks, bolts, screws, etc. In terms of performance, keep in mind this isn't the fasted bike on the road (its a 550) but it pulled strong and ran great when I used it during the summers. Many people have major troubles when converting to pod filters but I spent a good amount of time tuning them and I was happy with the throttle response throughout the RPM range. The bike starts easily, especially when choked for a minute when cold. I have not ridden the bike for 6 or 8 months but started it a couple weeks ago before I moved to the west coast to make sure everything was OK to sell it. It started and idled great. Also bear in mind the ergonomics aren't spectacular. With the rear sets and the clip on's, don't expect to ride across the country (or even a few hours) but boy will you look great riding it. I know I am forgetting a lot that's probably worth mentioning. Please email with any questions and I will try to respond quickly. Please look closely at the pictures for all custom details. Hopefully you will see that this bike is very well done with attention to every detail. My father and I own some classic cars such as Jaguar E-type and am early Porsche 911S and this bike gets more attention that anything else. This bike has earned a lot of attention the Honda SOHC forums and the internet in general. To this day I still get a few emails a month from people saying they saw this bike in a google image search and want to build an exact copy. I have been happy to respond to every one of them with info and tips from my experience. It can also be seen on Benjie's Cafe Racer website, where he was happy to display my bike as an example of his products. My reserve is well below what I originally wanted for the bike because I want it to sell. I saw thousands of pictures of CB cafe's when I built this and there were some that used modern and expensive components, but you won't find one like this much nicer anywhere else. I am a perfectionist and to me, this bike is ideal. Good luck bidding and thanks. Additional Information: -Odometer was removed during build but bike was ridden infrequently and probably has less than 13,500 miles now. -Bike does not have a title due to the year but there was no option for "no title" for this ad. One is not needed and it can be registered in any state. I originally registered it in VT and then in RI without any issues as it is exempt from requiring a title. -Pictures in this ad were taken around 2011 but it has not worn much since then. The paint is still perfect. The polished aluminum still looks great. The shift and brake linkages I made from carbon steel rod so they have some surface rust spots but that can be easily remedied.-Buyer to handle all shipping coordination and shipping costs if necessary. Pick-up welcome. On Jul-24-13 at 19:12:46 PDT, seller added the following information: