CB 550 SS PROJECT

"I really hope you guys can give a hand."

"I own a 1977 CB 550 SS which I'm looking to rebuild into a Cafe-racer. Something along the lines of a Matchless G-50. Although it will be imposable to get it to look just like a G-50, I want something with the same look."

"Some history on my bike. I bought it about 5 years ago, just as I left high school. I have always had a thing about pre-70 bikes. So when I heard about my bike, I jumped at the chance to buy it. I paid R2000 ($275) for her. Visually she was beautifully stock. The engine was dead though. I spent a further $250 on fixing the motor. After the original fix-up, she never gave any problems even though I drove her for daily transport. It stayed like this for 2 years. We moved to another town, And since I didn't have anyspace to work on the bike myself, I took her in for a service. Let's just say that from there on in, it has been nothing but problems. After about a year of overheating, timing problems and oil-leaks. She went and died on me. The electronics burnt out and although I got her running, when ever you placed any amount of load on the engine she would stall."

"This is now two years later, and finally I have enough room to strip her and rebuild the motor. And the terror that awaited me once I got the head off was boundless."

"Instead of replacing the oil-line o-rings between he head and cylinder block, the guy that worked on my bike simply replaced the worn-out o-ring and added some red-rubber gasket maker. It clogged up the oil-port between the engine block and cylinder block. Getting down to the crank, there were little damage to the white-metal bearings. But the bearings on the conrods where almost total worn out."

"I'm not rebuilding the motor from the bottom up, using a 'new' manual as reference."

"But what need to know how I can lower the bike. I have already dropped the front of the bike by adjusting the clamp height of the double T's. But this is too little. And I'm at a loss concerning the rear. All I can think off is getting a spring maker to coil me a new shorter set."

"Any help will be appreciated."