Last night I found a two owner bike that has sat since 1985 and was really a one owner bike that was traded into a Skidoo dealership on a sled. An employee at the dealership later purchased it after it sat unsold for some time. He kept it in his garage all these years and never even rode it other than around his back yard once. It still has the original factory Bridgestone tires on the rims. About 4687 miles when converted from klms.
The bike is just how I bought it and brought it home this afternoon with lots of dirt. The really interesting thing is there are quite a number of the yellow paint markings still visible from the factory on various bolts to note they have been checked and tightened. I have never seen so many still intact on a bike I have purchased before. The spark plugs still have their golden coloured finish even on the threaded portion.
So I want to keep it as original as possible with only a clean up and light touch up of some areas. The main stand and side stand are surface rusted pretty badly and not too nice. The gas cap also still has the very golden finish on the cap since it is under one of those flaps they put on the later 70's gas tanks for a more streamlined look.
Feeling pretty fortunate to have found a CB550 in such nice original condition, since it has been one of my bucket list bikes to get at some point for my collection.
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Last edited by flyin900 on Tue May 28, 2019 12:47 am, edited 3 times in total.
Current Bikes:
1966 CL77 - Honda 305cc - Dual purpose - "Gentleman's Scrambler" was a period moniker.
1967 CL175K0 - Low production number with #802 engine serial- winter 2019/2020 full restoration.
1972 CB350F - Baby Four with low mileage - Cosmetic refresh to the next level 2021/2022.
1978 CB550K - Very original bike with only 7499 Km. from new - light cleanup and refresh done.
1983 CB1100F - Canadian model - DOHC Supersport in pristine low kilometre condition from new.
1984 GL1200 - Standard model in showroom condition - two owner bike from new.
1984 CX650E - Restored summer 2017 - a rare Eurosport model - excellent one owner bike.
A few more of the yellow paint markings on the bolts and seat etc. The factory finishes on the side cases are still remarkably well preserved with very little corrosion.
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Current Bikes:
1966 CL77 - Honda 305cc - Dual purpose - "Gentleman's Scrambler" was a period moniker.
1967 CL175K0 - Low production number with #802 engine serial- winter 2019/2020 full restoration.
1972 CB350F - Baby Four with low mileage - Cosmetic refresh to the next level 2021/2022.
1978 CB550K - Very original bike with only 7499 Km. from new - light cleanup and refresh done.
1983 CB1100F - Canadian model - DOHC Supersport in pristine low kilometre condition from new.
1984 GL1200 - Standard model in showroom condition - two owner bike from new.
1984 CX650E - Restored summer 2017 - a rare Eurosport model - excellent one owner bike.
Nice find .... let me be the first of many to tell you .... 'I had one of those back in the day' ....
Gord
"I'd rather Ride than Shine"
‘14 KLR650 ... not a rat ... yet
‘84 GL1200i ‘R2B6' (Rat to Be 6, the last, adopted by twowings)
My Original 'RAT' was a hybrid '82 CB900/1100F
Neat. A friend that lived with us for a while had one of those so it kept company with my GS400 in my shed.
BTW: The covers over the gas caps weren't for a "streamlined look". They were there to reduce genital injuries in the event of hitting something and sliding forward on the tank. Imagine if you will sliding up the tank into the kind of fuel caps they used before that
What a great find, always liked the look of those. Glad to hear you plan to keep it original. Post some pics when it's nice and shiny.
Previous Rides,
1980 CB250N Good to learn on
1981 CX500 good mid range tourer, went to Austria on it!
1983 GL1100C Pride and joy, sold when I bought my 1st house, big mistake
1985 GL650 Silverwing another mistake, horrible bike
1986 CBX550 Good commuter
1989 Suzuki GS750 (1976) cheap and cheerful until a dog ran out in front of me on Xmas Eve, 1991
Current bikes
2010 CB1300 back on a bike after 19 years, two divorces, children grown up etc
1980 GL1100 NOW ON THE ROAD, still use CB1300.
-Rodger- all it takes for evil to prosper is the want of a few good men to do nothing-Edmund Burke The question is not how much time do you have, it is what you do with the time that you haveGandalf "One of the greatest dignities of humankind is that each successive generation is invested in the welfare of each new generation." Fred Rodgers "it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert" ancient saying
78 constantly modified/customized since 1978, BOTM June 2015 de-evolving this very moment viewtopic.php?f=30&t=65511
76 Ltd "cookies bike" ALMOST DONE
79 project, finished, FOR SALE
'86 1200 (Beth's)(FOR SALE) with motorvation sidecar (sidecar sold) , July 2017 BOTM
'17 HD Road king and 08 HD Heritage softail (Beth's) (FOR SALE). I guess you can say we have MBS
In The Shed:
'81 gl1100I barn find aka "Josie, the farmer's daughter." (almost comatose build)
'77 gl1000, roller parts bike.
'82 gl1100I, 'Old Crusty' titled roller parts bike (free!)
'82 gl1100I, My first 'Wing, and an expensive lesson! New2U Bike? Read Me.
[quote="RAT"]Nice find .... let me be the first of many to tell you .... 'I had one of those back in the day' ....
Me too. Mine was a 73 CB500F. Rode that one over 50K before a cager ended its life. Didn't do me much good either. Great bike that opened my eyes to the four cylinder world. I think I still some of the parts left from that bike.
Al
2003 Goldwing Daily Rider
1975 Goldwing 'Max'
1984 Goldwing New Bagger Project
1976 Goldwing 'Grocery Getter' Sold
1985 Goldwing Interstate 'NCC-1985' sold
1981 Silverwing Sold
1982 Goldeing Project Sold
1981 Goldwing Parted Out
1983 Goldwing Project Sold
1973 CB500F Long Gone
1966 CL77 First Street Bike http://www.ngwclub.com/gallery3/index.p ... ans/ritalz
Yes the bike is totally stock with the exception of the windshield which I removed already and the cow catcher crash guards. The windshield is a full 1/4" thick plastic material with hardware that is so over built is it laughable. Not too stylish, yet built to last forever and not move in a hurricane
I am rebuilding the front caliper and master cylinder since the caliper pad was partially seized on the rotor. The fluid was a blackish sludge and it took some time to flush the brake lines, as they had a build up of sludgy material inside the line. I was able to soak the four cylinders with a Deep Creep and ATF solution before trying to turn the motor over. It spins over fine by hand and I have sprayed oil into the upper valve train area to get that area soaked with oil again.
I did an in situ on bike carb cleaning of the bowls and the slow speed jets and I want to get the bike running initially to assess the motor condition before I go much further into the work required and spend money on tires and a battery etc.
Current Bikes:
1966 CL77 - Honda 305cc - Dual purpose - "Gentleman's Scrambler" was a period moniker.
1967 CL175K0 - Low production number with #802 engine serial- winter 2019/2020 full restoration.
1972 CB350F - Baby Four with low mileage - Cosmetic refresh to the next level 2021/2022.
1978 CB550K - Very original bike with only 7499 Km. from new - light cleanup and refresh done.
1983 CB1100F - Canadian model - DOHC Supersport in pristine low kilometre condition from new.
1984 GL1200 - Standard model in showroom condition - two owner bike from new.
1984 CX650E - Restored summer 2017 - a rare Eurosport model - excellent one owner bike.
I put a set of similar crash bars on my old Suzuki after the first time I fell over on it and didn't fall over again for a couple of years so I took them off and promptly crashed again. After that I never fell over on that bike again so they must work
Here's a picture of me back in the spring of '77 shortly after buying my first motorcycle. It's a '77 CB550F Super Sport. I'm busy doing what I'm really good at, lying around doing nothing.
Seeing your '78 550K brought back memories. What a great find. If I spotted one that nice, the temptation would be great. My '77 was a great bike, but after riding it out west that summer, I determined that it was a bit too small for my bulk, and my touring needs. Hence, my current '78 GL bought that fall.
Life is good! ...Dave
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"ASSUME NOTHING"
1st motorcycle-1977 Honda CB550F Super Sport
2nd motorcycle-1978 GL1000
