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. :)
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..
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!
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 .....
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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
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.....
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!
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.
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.
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...
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.
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!
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
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
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!
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.
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 :)
I have hit 115 on my 74 cb750 and then I remembered that I have brakes designed in the 70s and decided I like living
hahaha
lol
😂
Lmao
I screenshot this comment it was so good
Wow. I don't know what most of you are nitpicking about, this 35+ year old stock bike just effortlessly and quickly got up to 100mph!
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. :)
My old 350F went 106, me sitting upright
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 Does it drink a lot...sounds like worn emulsion tubes in the carbs if you're only getting 110kph - 69mph
+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..
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!
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 .....
Wow ... i love the Classics. Your bike is running great, congrats :)
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!!
I never got mine over 95. Congrats!!
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.
The 550 was a great size bike, the four cylinder engine sweet
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.
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.
Because of this vid I realised I had a serious vacuum leak on mine, got it fixed and now it's getting similar thanks for posting
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
177.02784 kilometers per hour
I wish I had all the Hondas I ever owned , all restored and in a barn. Really didn't need to getting rid of any of them...
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 vid. fell in love with this bike along time ago always looking for some vids so this is great. would love to see a walk around.
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.
what a ripper!
115 mph on my 1976 CB 550 back in the 80's
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.
Fuck that!!! Im getting one!!! 🙌
1 rpm for about every 10 mph so 90 in 5th gear would be around 8k rpm but didn't take long to get there
Love it!!
This is insane.
Nice
Nice vid...Seems about right, My 350F does 105mph indicated
Thanks! You did it so i dont have to.
sounds amazing
176 kmh
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.
LINDA MOTO CLASSICA ,PARABÉNS...
Nice... the 599 (FireBlade) is a great upward achievment for the CB series but for a '77 that's a very acceptable top end.
Going uphill not on a dead-straitaway?
My 93 cb750 stock can hit 115. I have recently upgraded to a stage 1 jet kit & Vance & Hines exhaust. Too scared to repeat.
Great display! My 350-four does 98mph...maybe I'll make a video :)
Pretty quick for a 75.
Naked bikes? What? So yes, they didn't look like a krotch rocket, yet, but they sure as hell stayed a lot cooler than one.
would LOVE to see it man!!!
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
I got a flat tire by Portland Oregon on mine in 1985.
CB500 Four may be less gutty, but it's more beautiful. An accurate tuning will take the bike to a very close top as the 550.
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.....
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!
How?? No way my 550 would accelerate that quick and mine is in pretty good condition!
Fast enough for me! Ive grown accustomed to breathing lol
Do you think you will explode if you go faster?
Carew Martin the wind is rushing by fast enough that you can't breath. smart ass
They have these new things called full face helmets
His choice not to wear one
Love this video thanks!
where can you buy a turn key bike like this?
@ launch are you primed in 2nd or do you start out in1st and do the climb from there? Whats the most efficient way to launch???
....amazing...jalannya sepi banget, enak buat top speed!
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.
Mine was pretty stock and never got to that speed that fast. But I do weigh about 267lbs.
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.
it goes a lil faster than that aprox 190 kph on the speedo 110 mph ~ 177 kph
No top speed wobble? My '81 CB750C had a really bad wobble.
they were all naked bikes back then. No wind protection whatsoever.
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...
Why is the tach covered?
How do you get it to 120 as the gauge says? I'm guessing that just sold bikes in the 70-80's era..
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)
Sorry, 300zx's definitely won't either. You're an idiot.
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.
Seeing as though this video is in mph, you should've clarified that you had changed the discussion to metric.
It never changed, no normal car has a 220 MPH speedo.
Good accelleration speed. You might fit the suction cap on the fuel tank.
☆ ★ ☆ well done ☆ ★ ☆
★ ⓉⒽⓊⓂⒷⓈ . ⓊⓅ ★
When did you shift into 5th gear? or did you start in 2nd?
oh wait must have been around 96 mph
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.
***** I have a 650 twin and my record is 115mph, so what's your point? I would expect an old Honda 550 four to do just what he got it to do
A lot more than just gear ratios determine the top speed of any vehicle, there are numerous factors
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!
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
My granfather has one with about 5000 miles on it
110mph MY FUCKING ARSE!!! More like 110kph!
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
Mine is no where near this quick, I think I have some serious issues :(
yeah, I used to have a CB750 and was told it would do 150mph - ha, ha!! mine could just about hit a 100mph with the wind behind going downhill . . .
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!
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.
I gotta say, they do sound nicer with the 4 individual exhausts than the 4 to 1 exhausts most of them have now
nothing like vintage speed! Ton up!!!
90???
downhilll?
Where's the PO PO when you need 'em?
would like to have seen tack
Try a digital bike speedometer if you want to know the real speed.
nice ton up run. street bikes dont need to go any faster...
TON UP!
i would say thats 108 mph
Too much pain for that 🦖…. Be gentle 😞
Nice! Check out our cb550 builds. Google us: Steel Bent Customs
My '82 CM450's speedo only goes to 80...but the bike goes faster...ask me how I know haha
If it was a Kawasaki; it would be faster.
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.
downhill
amazingly slow when a cb250 wet dream goes faster lol strange.
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 :)
Oh really? Where did you unearth that information from? Cite a source.
The CB 550 was typically credited with a 112-115 MPH top speed.
***** yeah, that's the same with any vehicle Einstein
Actually, EINSTEIN, many engines make peak power in the low-mid rpm range.
Sam, this video is about the TOP SPEED of a motorbike, not the acceleration. Do you understand the difference?