Newer CBR brakes/forks/wheel for 75 cb550?

[Coldaccord]

I’ve had a 75 cb550 sitting around for years, never cared to do anything with it since brakes and susp on older bikes suuuck.

Is there a way to get more recent brakes/wheel/forks/triple?

funny norton-esque logo from internets for giggles

[focusinprogress]

Dre…there have been MANY guys that swapped newer front ends on… check out forums.sohc4.net for project threads…I know a member by the name of Squirley did a GSXR front end, and a member FunJimmy did an r6 front end I believe…

Squirley’s is VERY well done…he used a harley narrowglide hub and machined adaptors to mount the GSXR rotors onto it, and then laced up the narrowglide hub to a stock cb550 rim. to get the front end on I’m pretty sure he contacts ALL BALLS bearing company and gave them the neck bearing race measurements and the triple clamp shaft measurement from the GSXR to get a custom set of bearings put together for a REALLY reasonable price.

let me know if I can help further. I’m riding a '75 cb550 myself lol. (with dual disc cb750 supersport front end and cb750 supersport disc rear end on it)

EDIT: also, if you have concerns of the rear swingarm/brakes check out Frankenstuff’s build, I think he put a GSXR front end on, modded the frame a bit, and got a CBR rear swingarm on there with a Ducati tank and custom subframe/seat. Pretty knarly looking build.

EDIT-2(bored on lunch):

Squirley's 550 CAFE Build

some basic info from the way he did it so you know what to measure/check on the CBR front end for comparison:

@Squirley

“Alright, here is the story on the front end.
The wheel is from a harley (19x2.5”). I started machining a hub, similar to the way funjimmy did, but to work with larger guage spokes and a harley rim. When I bought a mockup steel rim to test fit everything, it happened to come with a hub. A harley uses 1" bearings in the front, while the gsxr axle is 25mm. However stock bearings for both bikes have the same O.D. so I pressed in some gsxr sealed bearings and bolted it up.
In order to get the gsxr discs to work, I just put them on the mill and redrilled a 5 lug pattern to fit the harley pattern. Once bolted up, the width of the hub is almost perfect (it may need some smally .005" spacers to make sure the discs don’t rub).
The front end of the gsxr uses a 30mm Outside diameter steering tube for both lower and upper bearings. This means that the lower is the same as a stock 550, so a standard roller bearing for a honda will work. The stock honda upper bearing has a smaller inside diameter, and an unusual outside diameter. For the upper bearing, I found one that had a 30mm inside diameter to match the gsxr steering tube, and had the closest outside diameter to a stock 550 without being too large. The closest bearing I could find was roughly .5mm smaller in O.D. than a stock 550 and I believe was a replacement roller bearing for a yamaha. I just used a .5mm shim to make the upper bearing a press fit. Best of all, I didn’t have to change the steering tube length. It should be an easy swap to do if you wanted to just run some stock gsxr wheels."

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[Willybeen]

Buy a 50 mm triple and slap on a supersport front end that way… thats how I’d do it if that were a concern of mine…

that being said… I wouldnt be building a go fast cb… its more of a coffee/bar cruiser… and the braking capability is far superior to 90% of the tire compounds “traction” capability on these bikes…

IE… brakes stop tires… they dont stop bikes… a single rotor with a solid set of pads and steel lines will stop your tires with NO probs.

[focusinprogress]

willybeen speaks truth. with my dual discs on the front I litterally will bend the fork tubes if I grab all of the lever at 50+mph, I know this because others have done so. that being said, I LOVE my bike, I have soo much fun riding around on it. I’m def. planning on making it faster though and getting slightly wider rims on it for newer style tires.

[Carnut]

It’s been done, I have a CR125 front end on my 69 triumph. Would look cool on your bike.

[Gus]

All this cafe build talk <3

Glad I bought the cb750…

[Coldaccord]

not looking for a go fast bike, just never had any interest in my 550 because of how shitty the brakes were. to be honest I’ve left it for dead, with my business I don’t have much time for a project.

will likely just get a sportster and a 636 in ze future, i am teh lazy nowadays

[Coldaccord]

@Willybeen

Buy a 50 mm triple and slap on a supersport front end that way… thats how I’d do it if that were a concern of mine…

that being said… I wouldnt be building a go fast cb… its more of a coffee/bar cruiser… and the braking capability is far superior to 90% of the tire compounds “traction” capability on these bikes…

IE… brakes stop tires… they dont stop bikes… a single rotor with a solid set of pads and steel lines will stop your tires with NO probs.

I wouldn’t want a go fast cb, motor can stay stock just wanted to upgrade brakes and suspension. I must disagree with your statement about brakes. I agree on the tire compounds, but the cb brakes are quite insufficient

[Motocrossx23]

I think I still have a bike somewhere…lol.

[focusinprogress]

what ever became of this? I need more ridin’ buddies lol

[mechanicalmadness]

Dooable. I guess it all deppends on how involved you want to get with it. The options are fairly endless . Finally got the zx6E front end on my 550 maxim (thanks to focusinprogress who pointed me towards all balls racing where I found the bearings needed)… Im not a fan of spokes or tires made out of hockey puck rubber so Im sticking with the stock ninja wheel up front and just ordered a matching rear wheel. With that set up I can at least run a stickier compound and still be able to use the brakes to their full potential…or close to anyway.