Honda 550 Four Part 3
A few more discoveries too - the first being that the carbs are as suspected from another bike, a 72-73 CB500/4 with serial numbers 627B, although they are jetted correctly so no big deal there really. The correct ones should be 069A for F1&2. I've found another set but I'll crack on with these that came with the bike first. They are physically virtually identical except for the aforementioned jetting. Anyway, the carbs are now almost ready to fit but I'm toying with an idea to make them easier to fit - I'll add a bit about that if it works!
I'm not sure yet about the Tee piece - the original petrol tap had 2 downward facing outlets, one for carbs 1&2, the other for carbs 3&4 but these taps are now unavailable as far as I can tell. The single outlet with T piece might just starve carbs 3&4 when on wide open throttle.
The next mystery is that the instruments are Nippon Denso, whereas most of the others I have seen on the web are fitted with Nippon Seiki instruments - could be that both versions were used if there had been supply issues, as often happens. I've ordered faces for ND and will eventually refurbish the ones I have but perhaps stay on the lookout for a set of Nippon Seiki. With this stuff getting rarer all the time (the newest being 45 years old) the incorrect parts - especially in restored and working condition will easily sell to recoup the costs of replacements and often a bit more besides. I have often joked that on any older vehicle I've bought, I can be almost certain that the speedo fitted has done the mileage displayed but can never guarantee that the rest of it has done the same!
I have recently sourced a really good petrol tank and have carefully paint stripped it ready for a few dents filling and then re-finishing - yes, decision made - in Shiny Orange! Strangely, this one was finished in metallic silver - a colour not offered by Honda as far as I'm aware but there was no evidence of any other colour while I was removing the old paint - not even in any hard to get to corners, around the fixing brackets or badge plates. Whoever changed the colour didn't sand-blast it - the metal was 'as rolled', so it must have been chemically dipped very thoroughly. That would also leave the original tank as a saleable item for someone else to fettle. I managed to find a couple of original bolts in my collection of parts to replace those odd-ball ones on the lower front engine mounts.
There are one or two minor dings to fill prior to priming and painting but it's a very solid tank when compared with the original.
I think that now completes the list of non standard parts needing replacement - except of course for an original silencer!