I went 105mph on my 1976 CB550 once or twice. Just like the other comment mentioned... I too remembered this thing was built in 1976 and I want to live. :)
First bike I ever had ..... 1977 ...... $1,750 out the door ..... would love to have it again .... blast to own and drive .... never got it over 90 .... didn't need to ....... had no idea it could go that fast .....
I had the 1975 SS 550 in 2010 until that left hand turn guy did it in, we all that that guy. I could only get 85-90 MPH out of mine, but I weigh 200 lbs. so that is probably it. I just loved that bike, the right size, and with new tires and good breaks it handles extremely well for a small street bike. I just love it that we can but these '70's and '80's bikes low miles little bucks and have a shit load of fun with them. Hopw you still have it and you are treating it right!
Yeah. It wasn't really worth my time to respond to that comment. Obviously my video clearly states "110 INDICATED" which may be somewhere closer to 100ish absolute, everyone knows these old speedos are inaccurate at best. But I do happen to know that my particular 550 is a very good example that has been on a dyno and makes claimed hp numbers for period articles. Put a tiny rider (me) on board and slightly better than hard and fast limits are entirely possible.
I'm sorry if I came across as rude it's just that I have a CB500 four and it struggled to get past 110kph but maybe your CB550F has been better tuned than my CB500 four? What kind of HP does it put out?
Fridgemusa Mine makes right at 38hp at the rear wheel on a standard inertia dyno. Period tests claim similar numbers and claim top speeds a bit over 100mph as well. 110kph isn't even hitting interstate speeds in the States...I suspect something is very wrong if that is all you can manage.
+Fridgemusa I really think you 'll have to check that thing out... I personaly have a '75 cb350 four. with me and my girl on the back. That thing still easily hits 130 kph. (indicated at the gauge)... on my own it tops at 154 indicated on gps... really screaming though!
+N Schenk Have the same thing here... With girl on thhe back on a 350four; 140 kph on the cauge. deffinitly not accelerating as fast as this 550 though..
Went great and quick thru midrange until 95-98 mph. Struggled to kiss 110. Great bike and video. Always owned CB's. Never had a problem w/them. Great vid!!
My '77 CB550 super sport would do 115. I put 30k miles on that thing and l have some great memories. My dad and I would ride together up to the lake cottage in northern Indiana.
A couple years after I posted this video, I took this bike coast to coast and logged about 23,000 miles in a few months, no windscreen, minimal tools, 3 shirts, and two pairs of pants. It was definitely a memorable experience. The top end is a bit tired after all that sustained high speed riding on ethanol fuel, though.
Had mine at 113 stock has a lot more work done now mine was clocked my my buddies nitrous bandit on a Cusco gauge said 118 on mine I will never get rid of my cafe that I have built I will only make it better
great video buddy. reminds me of my 1973 500 four when i was a bit younger. it was genuine 110 mph bike by the speedo as well but on this 1 particular frekish sort of day with a gentle breeze behind me it wound out to 115.it was the only time that bike went over 110.just a bit of dreaming of the good old days. cruise round on a CBR1000F these days but im gunna buy another 500 four & sit it in the shed & drool over it. VERY VERY PRETTY BIKE.
I traded in my CB400 for one of these superb machines in 1976. The owner's manual says it has a displacement of 544 cc (33.19 cu ins). Weather and traffic permitting I used to ride it flat out on the then 13 mile stretch of dual carriageway on the A21 to Hastings but I don't remember the speedo going up anything like as quickly as in the clip. On full throttle it would struggle to achieve an indicated 110 mph.
Thanks for the comments. This was taken shortly after breaking the engine back in from a pseudo-rebuild. The bike was definitely a little slower off the line and would barely creep over 100 beforehand.
Bought my 550F with a Vetter fairing. She would top out at a little over 80. Average MPG was 37. I had that bike for ten years, then moved up to a Goldwing.
I had a '75 550 just like this. Top speed about the same, but it would sometimes go into a nasty high speed wobble.Checked the neck bearings and re-adjusted the back wheel chain tensioners a million times. Finally cured the problem by trading it in a on a '77 750. That had a top end of 135, no wobble. Later got a Suzuki GS 1000E, but it couldn't outdo the 750 for top end.
My brother had a '83 Honda 650 Nighthawk that would wobble when slowing down from high speed. We put new tires on it and it stopped doing that. It was fast, but I preferred my CB400F.
must be down hill. i still have mine since 1978 and she is a 1975 with [ now 45000 on her ] and no matter how hard i tried she would be lucky to do 100 mph. ENJOY THE BIKE!! there great
Yes, Flemming. True numbers from northern Europe. I had a very similar experience with my old stock CB550F. 114mph (185 km/h) measured by a statetrooper just outside Copenhagen. Rigspolitiets Færdselsafdeling - for the danes.
Ii had a car pull out doin 95 ,he clipped the back wheel sent me and pillion flying 205 feet from impact,nothing left of the bike it had cartwheeled ,broken leg and little bit of whiplash,my crash hat was in bad shape..we live on.....
There’s a SCI-Fi movie title that says it all……. “ NOPE”…. My 1978 550K… I nailed it one day coming out of a big open bend.. But I was still slightly laid over…… bouncebounce bouceBOUNCEBOUCE…AAAAHHHHH! I still loved the bike and ( mistakenly) sold it a year or two later…. But I NEVER again nailed the throttle unless I was straight up.
Wow, that's faster than I ever got my dad's bike going. I struggled to get it up to 155 km/h (96 mph). I guess the carbs might have been off or something.
Just for the record on original tyres that speedo was accurate to minus 1mph on the 70s road tests of the day! I kid you not! 100 was 99 mph tested. I had a very tired cb750 with a 4/1 pipe that would easily pull 125mph! These old hondas are great........but the brakes are not!
If you are having trouble hitting 100mph on a CB750, then there is something wrong. The CB750 was one of the fastest production bikes of its time and it will top 140mph and could possibly touch 150mph. I run a CB350 four and I easily hit 90mph, but I haven't gotten to its top speed yet. My buddy has a CB750 and he easily passes me at that speed. He told me he has hit 140mph on his. Anyway, so yeah, I would check your compression and look for other possible problems with your bike because your leg hasn't been pulled. The CB750 is a screamer!
That thing pulls clean but the last 10mph or so looked like downhill that things faster than my cb750k I gotta clean my carbs but I topped out 120 on my best
two questions, 1, what is that thing that you have over your tachometer, and why? and 2. I only hear you change to fourth gear, maybe I don't hear you clicking in to 5th gear. which is it? Thanks!
Only the new CB600F-C (2012/13 Hornet) or even a ER-6 (?) And even then you have exhaust hurdles (CatConv and ICM programming... doable, but needs some thought). Unless you go for a CB600F-3/4/5/6...
Fridgemusa 110 kmh, you can get with a scooter or (moped). This is a powerful internal combustion engine, which delivers an enormous amount of energy compared to a scooter (moped). This motorcycle has a small relative inertia, which means that your acceleration will be determined by the angular force of the wheels, and the mass of the bike plus your own weight.. If you remember Newtons laws in physics, F = m*a, a =F/m. go figure.
yeah... no. I have a Honda ss50 from 1976, 70cc, 22mm carb, better cam and a good setup (different sprockets (?) ) goes over 100 kph... I think about a 100 miles on a 550 could be right! a cb350four was claimed t do 163 kph... nowadays, lets say those go 150kph. so a cb550 should do a ton, easy
I think you might have got 115 out of it if you stayed up there. Margin of error on the speedo is ~8mph, but I suggest 110 is likely close to accurate. Never like the sound of those inline 4 engines, but the excellence of their design is indisputable.
Look at any car nowadays. You really think a smart car can do 220 like the speedo says? Every speedo on every car shows much higher than the car can actually go. Except certain sports car models (Supras, Skylines, 300ZX, they can all pin the 220 mark easily)
Sam I hope you know that the rest of the world is metric. When I said 220, you should have realized that it was KM/H as most American cars have a 120 MP/H speedo. You're an idiot.
Yeah, right in there around 22 or 23 seconds in...wind noise kind of makes it difficult to tell...plus the rpm gap between 4th and 5th isn't that great.
The worst bike I have ever owned .could never get the crank seals to keep the oil in . After 18 months of breakdowns I tried a friend's 550 kawasaki. Loved it. Went into debt and got my own . Then a 750 turbo, and a 900r for the past 24 years . 110k still going strong.
This is crap, top speed for 550 stock is 102 mph, so either it's not what you say it is or your speedo is reading kph!! oh yes, why is the rev counter covered??? hmmmm
His camera mount is attached on his revcounter. It could also be possible that he had different tyres installed with a thikker thread on them, this gains a few miles an hour on your topspeed. I had the same with my cb400, it ran 160 kmhu stock but with bridgestones bt45 on the rims it gained an additional 7 km. Then i went ahead and rejetted the carbs, added sports air filters and changed the rear sprocket. My vintage cb 400 n now gets up to 183 kmhu :)
