1975 Honda CB

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Ready to go after a light on-frame restoration, this is ready to ride. Or you can set it aside as an investment, as this model is increasing in value. This lightly restored CB550 starts easily and runs down the road just like she did 43 years ago. Fresh, professional and accurate paint job in the preferred flake sunrise orange. Pictures do not do this bike justice, and the paint scheme absolutely comes alive with the sun. I added a couple of pictures in different lighting situations. All electrical has been gone through, including new pod switches and turn signals. Even the turn signal alarm used in `75 is present and working. Fresh oil, oil pump o-rings, pressure sensor and filter. Fuel tank was not bad internally (and did not need sealed) but was still cleaned via electrolysis; it looks great internally and sports new petcock and fuel lines. Carbs ultrasonically cleaned and synchronized. Main jets increased by .1mm to rid the bike of that model's typical cold blooded and lean nature. Air filter box maintains the original look for the year. New fork seals and oil up front, and brake master cylinder has been reconditioned. Original seat cover was very good but had a nick so it was replaced. All cables were replaced except the clutch cable and speedometer cable. Clutch is smooth. Gauges are original with the proper 1975 model green faces and work smoothly. New rims, rim strips, tubes and new Shinko tires mounted in the proper size. New drive chain. New engine seals and gaskets as needed. Absolutely NO leaks. The original look was maintained throughout except for the comfortable Oury handlebar grips. Yes, it has the original blunderbuss 4 into four exhaust, which needed only a few spots of wire welding on the bottoms, professionally done and not visible unless you look from underneath. Exhaust header flanges are new and look quite nice. Last part of the build was minor: high-heat satin-black paint on the exhaust tip ends to return the rear look of the bike to original. Yes, it still even has the tool kit. All this being said, this is not a 10/10 museum piece. If I were to keep this bike I would probably replace the existing spokes with new chrome or stainless sets. I tried two different spoke vendors and both sets i received were incorrect (!) so I used the original spokes. Everything trued out OK, just frustrated with that part of the build. If you are local to the Midwest and would like to view the bike personally, feel free to contact me for a viewing appointment. If not sold by September 15, this bike will be shown during the Nappanee Apple Festival at the Wings and Wheel car show on that day. Please note that this bike is available for sale locally. I ship worldwide, and can crate this bike if needed for an additional fee. Shipping arrangements are the responsibility of the buyer, however. Uship is a good source for shipping quotes. A bit of CB550 history from Silodrome's website: --- The Honda CB550 was probably the best balanced Honda of the seventies. It did not have the awe-inspiring power of the legendary CB750, but it had a stiffer frame and was a lighter and more nimble motorcycle. We might describe the Honda CB550 as Honda’s “Goldilocks bike” – the CB750 was too big and powerful for many, the smaller bikes such as the CB360 and CB400 were too small (and the CB360 was not particularly stable as you got it up into its top speed range). But the CB550 was just right. The Honda CB550 was introduced in 1974 and remained in production for five short years until 1978. The CB550 was in some respects a “bug fix” model descended from its predecessor the CB500 and made to not only improve on power but to remedy the technical faults that had dogged the CB500. The engine of the CB550 was the same power plant as fitted to the CB500 but with its capacity increased to 544cc (33.2 cu. in.) lifting its power to 50 hp at 8,000rpm with torque of 30.4 lbf.ft at 7,500rpm. The engine breathed through four 22mm Keihin carburetors in typical Honda style. The engine’s compression ratio was 9:1 which means it preferred the leaded “super grade” gasoline of the time. The engine was a typical Honda in-line four cylinder with single valves (i.e. 8 valves) and a single overhead camshaft. This engine was mounted transversely in the frame and made as a unit with the five speed transmission. That five speed transmission remedied the gear change problems of the CB500 and was nice and crisp to use. The clutch slipping bug of the CB500 was also fixed in the CB550. As this engine was significantly lighter than that of the CB750 the handling of the CB550 was livelier, and it was a much easier bike to ride. The frame of the CB550 was a steel cradle type with twin down-tubes. It was a stiff frame well engineered for the weight and power of the bike and contributed greatly to the bike’s handling. The 35mm front forks were a telescopic free valve type whilst at the rear were twin shocks with adjustable pre-load. Brakes of the CB550 were a single caliper single 11” disc at the front and a drum at the rear. The brakes worked well. The seat was set at a height of 31.7” (805mm) making this a good choice for those of us who are not 6′ plus.This relatively low seat height combined with the modest weight (wet weight of 423lb/192kg for the CB550K and slightly less for the “Super Sports” CB550F) made this an attractive motorcycle for newer riders as well as for those looking for a lively and fun road bike. Wheels were 19” x 3.25” front and 18” x 3.75” rear and the wheelbase was a comfortably long 55.3in./1,405mm. The fuel tank held 3.7 US gallons (14 liters). ---