Low-mileage motorcycles are more common than automobiles of similar vintage. For most owners, the motorcycle is never a primary means of transportation, especially in colder climates. This 1976 Honda CB550 Four in Lowell, Massachusetts probably didn’t see much snow, and accumulated fewer than 8000 miles before being parked in 1987. After some TLC it’s running great! Now this highly complete and original four-cylinder seeks a new owner here on eBay where bidding has surpassed $2500.
My 1980 Honda CB650 Custom looks antiquated today, but this ’76 model seems barely removed from the ’60s. However, Honda’s continual improvement and racing injected new technology into its road-going bikes year after year, advance after advance. Most of these old Hondas run, well, like a Honda! My CB is also a carbureted inline four that sat for some time, and it runs a little bit better every time I ride it. The seller points out that this feature bike is not perfect, but it shows no signs of accident damage, and the brown paint and chrome shines.
Simple instruments and controls leave little to interfere with the riding experience. Car guys may notice the 9250 RPM redline! Motocycles in general enjoy a more direct connection to their racing brethren than automobiles, even muscle cars. This CB550 is like the Boss 302 Mustang or Camaro Z/28, or even the McLaren F1, a road-going racing machine for the common man. It may look like an oversized moped, but a talented rider wringing this bike out on a twisty two-lane would enjoy an experience not too distant from racing Watkins Glen.
Lately, the vintage crowd has begun to cherish older single cylinder bikes, and this 550 Four bridges the gap between those basic machines and today’s high-tech road-rockets. This Honda’s four carbs are rebuilt and ready for a good thrashing, or a leisurely Sunday ride. I suggest running “pure” (no-Ethanol) gas in this bike and any vehicle that’s subject to being parked for months. If this 550 Four showed up in your collection, what road would you traverse on a sunny day? Here’s my choice, using Blacksburg, Virginia as a starting point: Rt 624, cut across 311, and return on 42. Don’t miss the overlook half way up the hill coming out of New Castle!
Good point on non ethanol gas..normal gasoline will mess up a carburetor in short order..
The jets in motorcycle carburetors are very small. All gasoline has will varnish and seal the pilot jets etc. if left long enough, ethanol gasoline is just worse.
If the bike is going to sit longer than a month or two it’s best to drain the float bowl or you risk having to take the carbs off and cleaning each one, then re-syncing them, etc.
I owned a 1978 model fitted with clip-on handlebars and a full fairing. One beautiful machine. The advertising blurb at the time stated that is “Designed to run with the Big Boys” and so it proved.
My second bike was a 1978 KZ650, rescued from a back yard in 1986. It didn’t seem bothered by the alcohol in the premium gas of the time but your advice is sound for any vehicle built before the advent of 10% alcohol gasoline.
First ride was from Pittsburgh to Mount Storm, WV. I still love that ride. That 650 was a great bike, just like this Honda.
My Middle brother had a dark green 73 CB350 four in high school. It was the first )and only one of three) street bikes i have ever ridden. He later picked up an immaculate cb500, predecessor to this bike, also green. Fun bikes, and reliable as hell. When he passed away, we gave the 350 to the brother of the original owner (who had also passed away). Their family was friends with ours. My oldest brother still has the 500. My aunt and uncle had matching maroon cb350 and cb750 when new.
I had one of these, as well as the collectible CB400F. Fun great bikes. This thing is 5 miles up the road from me and I am tempted to take a look.
With respect to ethanol, great to run Puregas if you can get it but in my area it is not sold at the pump. One has to go at least to central New Hampshire or Vermont to find it and it is only sold here and there, at best.
Best you can do is not leave it parked for months with that gas in it. Drain the carbs, Stabil will help but not forever.
I had a friend with a CB500-4, just like this. The motor was the basis for the Benelli 750-6 cylinder, predating the CBX by almost 5 years. This was an ok bike, needs more steam for a road bike though, they’ll buzz you silly at 65 mph. Carburettors are always the biggest nemesis for these. Multiple carbs was a dumb idea, but it was the best they had. Nice bike, but trust me, it will never run right.
Hi Howard A. You mention the buzzing, and I experienced that as well. However, buzzing was the last odd symptom that worked itself out on my ’80 CB650C. Riding moderately over the first few summers I could feel the performance gradually increasing, presumably as clean fuel flushed out gunk in the carbs, etc. Hills I used to climb in 4th I could ascend in 5th, etc. then I went on a day-long ride through Southwestern VA and parts of West Virginia, and coming back on the highway I realized that highway buzzing in the handlebars was gone. I could crack it up to whatever speed or RPM I wanted and it was smooth as silk for the first time in 5+ years. Not sure what that means, but it may be possible for the quad carb’d inline four to behave in a civilized manner. I’d be interested to hear anyone else’s comments on the topic. Thanks for your comments as always.
Do you know how many motorcycle models, past and present, are inline four? I would wager at least 75% of all motorcycle models are inline four. There is nothing exotic about it. Some basic maintenance and a tune up to your bike would have had it riding well from the get go rather than five years later seemingly by accident. Also if the CB550 is a McLaren F1 what does that make the original CB750? A fighter jet? Haha
I’ve cleaned and balanced a lot of 2 and 4 cylinder Hondas. Great bikes. Some buzz at times, makes me believe the vibration is harmonic and caused by individual and combined issues. In older models with dual points, they must be adjusted properly and timed correctly. Rarely had a Honda that wouldn’t start with a fuel/carb clean and an ignition tune and new plugs. Most times I could get the carbs apart and cleaned with no new parts and gaskets it you were careful. I soak jets in Sea Foam and clean them carefully with welding oraface cleaning tools and blow them out with air. I don’t adjust the valves or balance the carbs until I’ve run a couple gallons of fuel through them. My dad, a diesel mechanic taught me that the valve sealing surfaces in engines that have sat for long periods of time get corroded and hardened carbon deposits keep them from sealing properly until you “let the valves bang themselves back in.” It was good advice and I think this is the real reason internal combustion engines run better after a while. We forget sometimes that they are essentially ‘air pumps’ albeit hot, hot air, but they need to seal and compress air to give power. My dad also said that rings get stuck and need to move during strokes to work and seal properly, thusly changing oil on sitting engines is essential to get the dried old oil which is full of gasoline ash out of ring grooves. Once you’re convinced the engine is running better you can adjust valves and last balance carbs and adjust idle…………….and as my dad would say ” she runs ‘smoode’ now.”
Not so with my 550/4. It never had a vibration, was as powerful throughout the rev range as it was expected to be, and would do 110 mph all day long without missing a beat. Maybe it was the fuel that we got in South Africa as against the fuel you had at the time in US. As for the Benelli Six, we used to call them the V6 Benelli because of how the silencers were stacked in a V pattern when viewed from the rear, and that’s where we mostly used to view it from as the owner was an ex motorcycle racer who never outgrew his passion!
I had a french Blue 1977 Yamaha RD400 I bought new and would on regular basis would eat these Honda 550″s for lunch, sometime for breakfast. Usually my front wheel was up in the air an from incredible power band while eating.
I don’t doubt it. My friend’s RS 195 Yamaha would pull away from my Honda 350/4 like it was standing still. so maybe that’s because the Yamaha 400 is a two stroke, which makes it equivalent to an 800cc power wise, and the Honda a four stroke of 550cc.
Had a couple 350/Fours. Great engines, run like sewing machines but no torque. 350 twins, especially the scrambler models with different cam profiles, pulled much stronger.
I had 2 Kawasaki 500 Mach 3 triples that would eat your Yamaha RD400 for brunch. They ate my friends CB750 for dinner and considered these CB550’s a bedtime snack…as long as we all were going in a straight line that is ….LOL
Yes E85 is garbage but the truth is it evaporates faster than non ethanol. I use only non ethanol In my 1980 Yamaha Maxim. Never a problem. This is a beautiful bike. Would love to have it. Nothing sounds like a Honda four cylinder.
These are outstanding bikes. Ride and run like you would expect a Honda. This bike may age visually but will forever provide the owner-rider with an excellent 2-wheel experience.
CB550 = McLaren F1? Oooookaaaayyyy… pretty much all this Honda shares with a near-contemporary NR500 GP bike (a “race machine”) is two wheels and a twistgrip throttle. Honda didn’t build racers for the road in the 1970s – it built bikes for the “nicest people” to ride. The roadgoing racer trope only started in the mid-80s – the Suzuki GSX-R750 of 1985 being the first real exemplar of the breed.
The person who wrote the copy for this post should stick to writing about cars:
“…this ’76 model seems barely removed from the ’60s.” and “It may look like an oversized moped…”?
Ditto the commenter who thinks that 75% of all motorcycle models are inline-4s.
Wow. I have an identical bike. Same year, model, color. Only problem is mine has 3X 8000 miles and isn’t running right now. Maybe this summer.
I went through it about 10 years ago. Floats, carb kits, brake system overhaul, tires and tubes. More I’ve forgotten.
But it was an absolute blast to ride. A lot like riding a motorized bicycle vs. my 78 Yamaha XS750SE. Very different riding experiences.
I think the bidding on this 550-Four will go a lot higher.
Oops! I just checked the auction and it sold for $3850