☀️ 80° in February: The First Ride and The 30-Year-Old Plugs
February 20, 2018, was a day that felt like a fluke of nature—a glorious, sunny day with temperatures soaring close to 80 degrees F in Ohio! After a winter of waiting, this was an unmissable opportunity to pull the 1974 CB550 out of storage and kick off the riding season nearly two months early.
The anticipation of that first ride was palpable, but first, the ritual of seasonal prep.
The Winter Wake-Up Call
Before hitting the backroads, a few essential maintenance steps were necessary to ensure the bike ran smoothly after its winter nap:
- Fresh Lubrication: A quick but necessary oil and filter change ensured the engine was running on clean, fresh lubricant.
- Fueling Up: The tank was topped off with fresh gasoline, ready to push the CB550 through the countryside.
With the fluids sorted, I set off for some back-road touring, logging about 150 miles. It felt incredibly good to be back on the bike, confirming that the massive effort of the initial revival and subsequent optimization was truly worth it. The CB550 handled the mileage with ease, running smoothly across the entire range.
The Confession of the 30-Year-Old Plugs
Despite the bike running beautifully for 99% of the ride, I did notice a slight, intermittent miss around 8,000 RPM. This is where I have to confess a maintenance oversight:
Astonishingly, the bike is still running on the original spark plugs from 1988!
During the initial revival, the bike started and ran so well on the old plugs that I simply left them in. I even purchased a new set last year but never got around to the installation, figuring “if it ain’t broke…”
Now, with a minor performance flaw finally exposed at the upper end of the RPM band, the time for procrastination is over. That slight miss is the unmistakable sign that those 30-year-old spark plugs have finally earned their retirement. The new set will finally be installed—a small tuning fix to bring the ignition system up to the same standard as the rest of the engine.