CBX 550 story

My bike is a CBX 550 F Model D and was registered in '86 and it is Red/White/Black. I live in Birmingham, England.

I went to see the bike because it was so cheap and the CBX 550 had a really good review in Used Bike Guide (a British magazine that reviews old bikes and suggests prices).

The bike looked very sad - lots of rust, crash damage, cracked and broken plastics, dents in the petrol tank - you get the idea. I was going to leave the bike till the guy started the engine and started revving it!!! It was love from then on :0). I even payed the full amount.

I intend to restore the bike to original condition and keep it for touring round Europe and going to rallies on. The only exception is the colour. I am not good enough at re-spraying to restore the original colours - so I will spray the bike gloss black.

I will eventually chrome many parts (because I like chrome). Also, the brake and oil lines will be braided steel for the look and added performance. I will also add a fairing and luggage. I am not sure which fairing I will have - I tempted to add a smaller fairing than the F2.

My girlfriend has bought me a black sheepskin - which I will cover the seat with and use for touring.

I have stripped the front brakes and forks and replaced all broken and worn parts with proper Honda parts (I live very close to a Honda specialist dealer - which is nice!).

What I find is the previous owners did not love this bike!! The forks were filled with very dirty used engine oil :0( and leaking fork seals were disguised with plastic bags jammed between the upper circlip and the dust covers!!! 2 of 3 brake bleed nipples were frozen into place and needed to removed with screw extractors...

So far I have also replaced 10 bolts because of damaged heads. It gives me a lot of pleasure to find a bad job on the bike - and to restore it to the original spec!

The plastic tailpiece was broken and had deep notches cut into it - I guess to hold bungees.
I strengthened it with epoxy resin and thin sheets of steel. I filled all holes with body filler and smoothed it down. It was the first time I have done this - but it turned out very well and it is very hard to see the repair :0)

My next project is to examine the rear suspension unit and to renovate the rear brake unit.

I really enjoy your site and find it very useful.

Take care and enjoy your bike!
Niclas Hofberg (nichofberg@hotmail.com)