?How are we doing on the CB project"? The question weighed heavy on my brain as I considered the plateaued progress of our 1975 Honda CB550F project bike?dubbed the Everyman Tracker. Not unlike the gems collecting dust in your garage, our bargain-bin Honda had been put on the back burner for more pressing matters, and a mad thrash was needed for my superiors to keep the faith.
I was realistic when cooking up the antidote for stalled-project syndrome, planning to knock out a few odds and ends and the big fabrication jobs that remained. While we didn?t scratch every item off the list, I?m chalking this up as a win?with restored enthusiasm for the build. Sometimes the progress is small compared to the pile of grinder dust on the ground, and there?s no denying how far this bike has come since we traded four Benjamins for it.
Budget Exhaust Overhaul
The exhaust on your classic motorcycle speaks volumes (heh), but in the case of our dirt-cheap Honda CB550, our rusty old aftermarket pipes told a tale of damp storage and trends passed. I have no idea who made these old megaphones or if I could make them look acceptable, but our limited budget meant I had to give it a shot. Inspiration came from carefully curated Instagram reels, and I devised a plan to shorten the pipes significantly and add a pair of cones at the end to breathe new life into this old exhaust.
I started by hacking 4? off the end of the megaphones, which also freed up the welded-in baffles. We?re not beggin...