The Honda CB550 is a motorcycle
manufactured by Honda. It is considered the
younger cousin to Honda's CB750 and was introduced
in 1974 as the CB550K0. Later iterations were
produced through 1978 ending with the K4. Furthermore,
the CB550 was offered in a Super Sport, "F"
model called, simply, the Honda CB550F.
Cosmetically, the CB550 looks much like its
larger and smaller cousins. Colors included
Flake Sunrise Orange with Black, Boss Maroon
Metallic with Black, Freedom Green Metallic
with Black, Candy Jade Green, and Flake Sunrise
Orange. Stock exhaust was a four-into-four
style. Other options included a two-into-two
style and a four-into-one on the Honda CB550F.
Specifications for the CB550 were virtually
unchanged over the model lines.
Reviews
Reviewers were overwhelmingly positive in
regards to the CB550 during the 1970s. However,
in some aspects the CB550 is lacking; especially
in terms of braking. Despite the reviewer's
suggestion, the CB550 is not a beginner's
bike. Power comes on suddenly and with lacking
brakes, can make the CB550 unforgiving. Furthermore,
the handling, when compared to modern sport
bikes, is unresponsive with considerable head
shake when riding aggressively through corners.
However, the CB550 still garners respect.
Maintenance
Maintenance on the CB550 is nearly identical
to the CB750 and can be completed, mostly,
with common hand tools. Some specialized tools,
including feeler gauges, a timing light, chain
breaker and riveter, amongst others. Common
maintenance tasks include chain tensioning
and cleaning/lubing, valve adjustment, rear
brake adjustment, oil and filter changes,
etc.
Overall, if common maintenance is performed
regularly at the proper intervals with quality
parts, the CB550 is very reliable and has
been reported to be good for 100,000+ miles.
F model
The CB550F was the largest factory boring
of the smaller block, air-cooled, 4 cylinder,
single over-head cam motorcycles made by Honda
during the mid- to late 1970s. The block of
the CB550 was similar in appearance to, but
considerably smaller than, the heavier casting
of the CB750. These motorcycles had two stock
gauge and exhaust configurations. The early
models had a single gauge cluster and four
individual exhaust tubes, each with its own
muffling elements. The "Super Sport" model,
featured a dual gauge cluster (with a separate
speedometer and tachometer) and a stock 4-into-1
header. This configuration is shown in the
adjacent photograph, repainted from the original
"Candy Apple Blue" to yellow. A factory "Candy
Apple Red" was also available. CB550s shared
a similar emblem to the other "Fours" made
by Honda: the triangular side covers had the
upward-rounded displacement (550, in this
case) with the word "Four" superimposed.
As for the performance, the CB550F was overgeared
and could not reach yellow-line in 5th gear
with the stock sprocket arrangements. With
the stock gearing, the CB550F Super Sport
was capable of reaching speeds in excess of
105 mph (169 km/h) with a 200 lb
(91 kg). rider, while remaining well
below 9200 rpm yellow line limit on the gauges.
Valve floatation limited any desire on the
part of the rider to extend the revolutions
to red line, which was 11,000 rpm. The light
weight of the motorcycle limited the appeal
of the CB550 for longer distance rides, and
though it was barely adequate for touring,
it was superb for intermediate distance urban
and freeway riding. A common modification
was to add several teeth on the rear drive
sprocket to make the motorcycle considerably
quicker off the starting line and reduce some
of the wear on the clutch. This was done at
the price of some fuel economy and slightly
higher levels of vibration. The single disk
on the front was unbored and was prone to
slipping in wet conditions until the disk
was hot enough to evaporate off the water
accumulation. Considerable care had to be
exercised when riding in wet conditions due
to a highly non-linear "grab" when the water
film was squeezed dry. This posed a risk for
loss of control under wet conditions for riders
unfamiliar with this behavior. While there
were both right-side and left-side caliper
brackets on the stock forks, aftermarket modification
of the front disk to a dual, bored-disk configuration
was required for optimum all-weather, performance
braking. Later, factory models of the small-block
"Fours" included the slotted disk modification
as a stock configuration.
This motorcycle was well-made, tolerating
frequent use of the throttle. The one shown
in the photograph was eventually sold with
80,000 miles (130,000 km) on the
original engine, with nothing more than routine
maintenance, suffering only from a minor drip
on the shift lever at the time of sale. Valve
and ignition adjustment was accomplished with
a simple set of tools, but had to be done
every 1,500 miles (2,400 km).
