Honda CBX 550 F

[MacMcMacmac]

I'm thinking a 550 Nighthawk engine might slip in there, but better find a more authoritative source for that. There must be someone on the net who can tell you, they were sold a lot longer in Europe then here, I bet.

[79XS11F]

What a peice of CRAP

If this bike is any example of how Honda assembles their engines you won't ever find me riding one.
To re and re the cams you have to remove 4 of the head bolts because 4 of the cam cap bolts are also head bolts?? To remove the cam chain tensioner tower you have to remove 4 other head bolts because the cam chain tensioner bolts are also head bolts? There's so many parts stacked on the bolts on this bike that it really is ridiculous. They might have saved a pound in hardware but sure made working on the bike a real pain in the backside.
Cam and cam chain timing is pretty much "by eye" guess work. There are no cam positioning marks on the cams or the cam caps or engine. The factory manual just says to install the cams with the lobes for #1 pointing upward. Then the sprockets go on the cams with dots that you line up with the top of the heads surface. So everything is pretty much the "by eye" method .. unbelievable.
You need 2 people in install the cam sprockets? 1 to push down on the back side of the spring loaded tensioner down inside the engine and under the cam chain while also pulling up on the front of the same unit with a piece of bent wire that goes through a hole in it for this purpose? Really, this is what the manual says to do. While the tensioner is in this position the other guy loads the sprocket onto the cams????
Rob

[79XS11F]

A day that will be REMEMBERED for many years

My nephew took his riding course and has this CBX 550 legal and insured. He took his first ever ride on this bike this evening in spite of a bit of rain. I am sure he will remember this day for a long long time if not for the rest of his life.
Do you remember your first ever ride of your very own bike?

Rob

[DGXSER]

I do indeed Rob. Mine was an XS750. Had better weather, but no where near as nice a bike!!! Great job and good to see him riding his very own steed!!

[79XS11F]

Well it looks like this old CBX550 shares some issues with our XS11s. The bike is now flooding and running on only 3 cylinders intermittently. I guess it's off with the carbs to see what things look like in there.
Rob

[79XS11F]

Well the kid has decided to sell this bike already. He wants to buy a 2011 Yamaha FZ8. Not sure why he wants to spend close to 13000.00 on a NEW bike but it's his thing. I doubt he's even really fully enjoyed the 550 yet or even "scared" himself on it.
Given that I have about 40 hours of leg work and actual work in on this bike, I'm disapointed about his decision. I guess "vintage" isn't for everyone
Rob

[DGXSER]

I'd be disappointed to Rob. Hope he at least has shown you some appreciation for all you put into it with him.

[79XS11F]

I'd be disappointed to Rob. Hope he at least has shown you some appreciation for all you put into it with him.

Well, that's a matter of opinion I guess but in any case I will not be putting in any more time on this bike for him if the bike is to be sold. It's easy to make a profit on the selling of a bike when the repairs have been completed free of charge eh. The bigger concern for me is that I think he's getting in over his head to quickly. I don't want to see him getting hurt.

Rob

[DGXSER]

Understand that completely. Broken bones may heal better than torn muscle and all that other stuff, but they still suck big time!!! Has he taken the MSF course? If he has, he should take the next course, where you bring your own bike. And try that stuff on the Honda, see how it really handles.

[79XS11F]

Yes he did do the MSF course to reduce insurance costs and allow for full M class license faster. I would have been happier if he at least rode this bike for a year before moving up to a much faster modern bike. I think the real issue might be reliability but given that he has not given this bike a FULL check up on a system by system basis, it's hard to blame the bike.
Rob

[DGXSER]

Yep, even a brand new one will only go so far without proper O&Ms.

[Electronhammer]

Your CBX 550F

Someone on this site might know more about your CBX 550F, http://www.cb750c.com/. I frequent this site since presently my only bike is an '80 CB750K, which I have put 10K miles on in the past 2 1/2 riding seasons.