1 Step Forward, 2 Steps Back

Progress:

• Fixed indicator
• Horn's also working again.
• Battery's charged, installed and turns over nicely.
• Exhaust shop welded up the holes in the exhaust. They weren't prepared to guarantee the work... the metal is pretty thin at the joint. It just needs to last through roadworthy, or until I can get new headers + cans made up.
• I sanded headers & applied 3 coats Coastcoat etch primer. It's rated up to 200 degC, which should be good enough for temporarily halting the rust on the headers. 
• Oil changed (Motul 10W40).
• Standard NGK D7EA spark plugs installed (had the cooler burning D8ES ones installed)
• Cleaned & polished some parts:

• Also washed bike, dissolved most of the caked-on grime with a brush and some petrol, and gave some of the chrome on the bike a light polish (no photos, sorry). 

Regression:

• That damn oil filter housing bolt! It was stuck fast. Previous owner had used some blue gasket sealer on the bolt face. I only managed to get it loose by filing the head into a rectangular tab and using a large shifting spanner. Ordered replacement from eBay at half the cost of the original from Japan ($13 vs R277), along with fork seals ($12) and some pod filters ($32 vs R437 for the stock air filter element from Honda).
• After I finally got the exhaust back on, I ran it until hot to check for leaks. Bloody oil filter bolt leaked (no crush washer), so I got an assortment of copper washers from Midas and drained oil again. None of the washers fit!
• One of the washers was the right size for the sump drain plug, so I though I might as well fit it there. Problem is, once the washer was on, the plug no longer gripped the thread. This seemed strange, so I removed washer and refitted. The damn thing is pretty much stripped - it just had the end of the thread left, and this is now also useless. Too scared to tighten it any further (can feel it's about to let go completely), and it's seeping oil. Ack! Haven't got the right size thread tapper to fix it myself, so will have to get it to someone to do it for me. Very annoyed. Seems to be a fairly common problem as well.

Honeymoon revelations

...or "things I learned after I bought it".

I knew from the seller's description that the handlebars and exhaust were non-stock, that the fork seals leaked, and that the dust boots were perished. When I test-drove it, I saw the surface rust on the chrome and some mild to moderate rust on the frame and headers. The horn & the right rear indicator wasn't working, and the RHS side cover was missing.

Everything lathered in WD40

Side cover removed.

On the maiden voyage home, I noticed a mechanical whine coming from the front. It wasn't related to engine speed and didn't change when I applied the brakes, so I figured wheel bearing. Strangely, I did not notice it at all during the test ride. Read up on it, and am now pretty sure it's the speedometer (or its cable) that's desperately in need of some lithium grease. Bit of a bitch to get the housing open, but I want to change the dial faces anyway, so it goes on the to do list.

The bars appear to be clubmans that have been mounted upside down.

The dings on the tank may provide the reason for that!

The rear wheel has a moderate amount of rust, especially on the spokes. The front may be livable, at least for a while.

The battery wasn't strong enough to turn it over. I topped it up and put it on charge. My Optimate charger tested green after about 30 hours... will see how it holds up.

Intro

I bought a bike. This is its story.

We met on Gumtree in May 2011. The seller wanted way too much, so I made what I thought was a reasonable offer. It was declined, and I casually kept an eye on the ad while the weeks rolled by... until the week before my birthday. The seller contacted me out of the blue. He needed money, and counter-offered on the condition that the sale went through that weekend as he was in need of some cash.

It was late on Sunday afternoon when I finally managed to get my first look at it in the flesh: a 1976 Honda CB550F, candy presto red. Didn't look great (more like candy rusto brown), but the price was right, so I asked for a test ride. It was now mid-July, and it had been standing outdoors without any covers, and hadn't been started for about 2 months. It took a lot of tickling to get it started, and then it wouldn't idle. Once it was warmed up, I did a few circles in the parking lot of the complex where it was stored. And stalled it again. Rinse, repeat.

Eventually I worked up enough courage to venture onto the roads, and things weren't looking very rosy. It coughed and spluttered, idled either way high or not at all, and the riding position and controls were totally different to what I'm used to.

Undeterred, I pressed on, and it paid off. After about 5km, we had worked up enough steam to clear the asthmatic passageways, and I could push it between traffic lights. I ended up back at the seller's place with a big grin on my face, and seriously hoping there were no traffic cameras on the route I took.

Done deal. I collected it on Monday 11 July, rode it home in the dark, and parked it in my driveway where it immediately marked it's territory with a splattering of oil. Let the games begin!