200 Miles and Counting

When the CB550F went back together it had 31,740 miles on it.  I've ridden it around a bit including a trip to Waianae last week, putting a total of 200 miles on the rebuilt motor.  So far, so good!

It's nice to have the starter working again with that new solenoid.  The motor smokes a little, mainly noticeable when idling.  The oil rings in this 555cc kit are one-piece, which supposedly is not ideal for keeping the oil out of the combustion chamber.  The engine seems to have burned some oil, although it's hard to tell for sure since there were some oil leaks (crank seal) to fix when it first was running back in July.  Anyways, I added half a quart to the crankcase.

The spark plugs have a tan color, looks like the jetting is okay.  It's running 100 mains in cylinders 2-3 and 98's in 1-4.  Needles are set at stock position (4th notch from the top) and the bike is running the stock Honda CB550F jets - not aftermarket stuff.

The Honda is pretty fun to ride!  Recently I picked up a '79 KZ1000 and it has a lot more grunt.  I haven't been riding the KZ much because the carbs that came with weren't properly cleaned and tuned.  That will be my next project - getting the KZ going.  At this point I imagine I will hang on to the 550 Supersport indefinitely.  It seems to be one generation behind the KZ1000, looks a bit more antique and it's easy to handle because of the lower weight.

CB550 Replacement Solenoid

Starter Problem Fixed

I had checked the old solenoid by hooking it up to wires directly from the battery.  It clicked and I figured it was okay.  Then when everything was back together the starter wasn't working.  I had wondered what could be wrong with the wiring?  I had cleaned every contact in the harness and replaced the starter switch (the right switch pod) for $100 bucks.

Well the solenoid WAS shot after all.  I found this out through a process of elimination and buying a low-cost replacement on E-bay for $8.99 including shipping from China!

The E-bay seller sent me a picture similar to this one when they mailed it.  They said 18-22 days delivery time, however it arrived in just 10 days.

The solenoid has the proper colored wiring and connectors.  The only thing that didn't match up was the rubber sleeve that holds the solenoid.  The holes in the sleeve are not oriented in the correct direction to fit the space behind the CB550 side cover. Solution - I used the old rubber sleeve with the new solenoid.

Note: They did not advertise this as a CB550 solenoid, they just advertised it as a motorcycle part.

This is WAY cheaper than what other vendors charge for a solenoid for a CB550.  If you're in need of a solenoid try the seller on E-bay: http://myworld.ebay.com/ilovegoods6699