Honda CB550

In many ways, the CB550 was the best Honda of the seventies. The CB750 is legendary, but its smaller brother handled better and offered enough performance for most riders.

Introduced in 1974, the CB550 was produced for five years with a 544cc
SOHC engine putting out 50 hp and a crisp five-speed gearbox. Although the CB550 couldn’t quite ‘make the ton’ in stock form, it has become popular with custom builders over the years—partly because secondhand examples are much more affordable than early CB750s.