1975 cb 550 four

[were trees]

i just cleaned the carbs on this bike and started it up.
its been sitting for awhile 2 yrs.
it was given to me.
i started it and it doesnt like to run at idle.
it will but cuts out.
the spark plug wires are bad i noticed so maybe that will help but my real question is the engne makes a clunky noisy at low speed gets worse when it almost stalls. goes away at about 1500 rpms
its almost ballsy.
i thought it might be piston slap.but im not so sure .
ive heard this noise on cbs before when there idles low.
the clutch wont stop the output shaft from turning and thers no sprocket or chain on the bike its just motor and frame do i need a clutch?
and also gas runs out of the float bowl overflows and then i tap it and it stops. then its okay for awhile and randomly one of the others does the same. how do i stop that.would appreciate all the advise i could get.

[flynrider]

the clutch wont stop the output shaft from turning and thers no sprocket or chain on the bike its just motor and frame do i need a clutch?

I wouldn't worry about this if you don't have a sprocket or chain yet. It is normal for the output shaft to turn a little bit even when the clutch is pulled in. This is done on purpose to take the slack out of the chain when you put it in gear. Every bike I've ever owned would turn the back wheel slowly with the clutch pulled in and the rear tire in the air (jack or center stand). With the tire on the ground, it just takes the chain slack out and drops the rpm by about 10-20.

[9000white]

on them carburetors if gas is running out the overflow tubes the float is binding or the needle and seat is worn too much.you can get a cheap pocket size microscope from radio shack and look at the needles to see if they have grooves worn in them.sometimes you can take 0000 steel wool and dress them up.check the pins that go through the floats for gunk in them and see if they are bent.it aint ever gonna idle right with the float bowls overfilling.the rattle sounds like clutch basket.if you get it running right that will stop or quiet down a bunch.

[were trees]

thanks for the info

[TechTMW]

Unsynched carbs will cause noises similar to piston slap ...

Also, if you're failing to idle properly, the idle circuit in the carbs may not be thoroughly clean ...