Work has started!

I started on the carburetors last night! Once I started on them, I noticed they were completely different from any of the walk-throughs I have watched. This wasn't such a big deal as Jorge was eager to help. I went through one of them and noticed the seals are completely deteriorated. 

I ordered a seal kit from Japan last night. It should be here in a week. I also ordered redkote to line the tank. Jorge hooked up a power source to the battery so we could test the lights. 

Brake lights work! 

Turn signals were also working. Although this electrical system is old it seems to be in great shape. The instrument light cluster and neutral indicator still worked as well!

 

Although the rear brake activated the brake light, the front did not. We checked the front brake relay and noticed the brake light is pressure activate (for the front). The relay was right under the triple tree. Jorge unscrewed the master cylinders to find sludge in the brake reservoir. The state of the brakes didn't come as a surprise to me. I'll clean and bleed the system and that should fix the brake and brake light. Seems the electronics are in great shape overall. I might try to make a newer wiring harness later on. Here is a picture of the electronics panel under the side cover. 

Things are right out in the open and seemingly easy to work on. This bike is great! I have almost no experience with motorcycles. I have been a bicycle mechanic for about 5 years. I was surprised how much like a bicycle, this motorcycle is. The throttle cable is very similar to a shifter or brake cable on a bicycle. I'm guessing the clutch is the same.

The throttle cable did have a small break in the housing, which will have to be fixed. The good news is that cables (including the housing) are 6 bucks shipped. Thats cheaper than the cables I installed on a customers bicycle last week. 

I managed to separate the tank and seat from the bike in about two minutes. I'm not bragging, I'm just impressed with the serviceability of this machine. 

While I had the carbs off for their cleaning, I measured the intake for the new pod filters I'm ordering.

If you have a stock cb550 then the measurement is about 33mm, so the 35mm pods bolt right up. Jorge quickly got involved with the carbs and wants me to completely disassemble the carb cluster. As the rebuild kit comes in the carbs will get more attention. Until then, the carbs are on the back burner. 

Jorge did break out his parts cleaner so that should make the task of cleaning the outside of the carb cluster a bit easier. A parts washer will help the rest of this build a great deal as well. 

Paychecks will dictate, but this guy will also be getting replaced soon. 

That's all for now!