Topic: Bonneville Turbo CB500/550

[Greggo]

Uh oh!  The crowd is getting restless

I've got a set of coils, a points plate, and a spark advancer, so I'm going to try to start it up this week before I can get my hands on the Dyna pieces I need to complete the 2K.  Wiring is a serious issue however...this bike was never meant to be on the street, so there's no battery/charging/starting system.  It was built with a magneto in mind, so I may have some serious work ahead just to fire it up.  I may still try to find a magneto and go without a battery.  I actually would like to ride this bike at Bonneville, and a magneto is right in line with that goal.  There's even a good chance this bike has already been there...Carpy didn't even remember where he bought it from 

[Terry in Australia]

No worries mate, you only need a battery, a set of points (or better still, a Dyna ignition) and a pair of coils to fire it up, and unless you intend to ride it to Bonneville, you won't need more than that. Cheers, Terry.

[Greggo]

No worries mate, you only need a battery, a set of points (or better still, a Dyna ignition) and a pair of coils to fire it up, and unless you intend to ride it to Bonneville, you won't need more than that. Cheers, Terry.

Thanks Terry, that's pretty much what I was thinking.  I do want to try and get her started this week if I can.  I don't have the proper bolt/special washer to hold the points/advancer assembly on...are these standard pieces I can pick up at a Hardware store?  When I read 'special washer' on a parts fiche, that usually means no

[Flying J]

Just throw a post up in the parts wanted and you'll likely find what you need. I'll look when i get home. I'm switching to a dyna 2k so i don't need them for that bike.

[Greggo]

Just throw a post up in the parts wanted and you'll likely find what you need. I'll look when i get home. I'm switching to a dyna 2k so i don't need them for that bike.

I just realized I have those parts on a spare 500/4 motor tucked away in a storage locker up there

Not making any promises, but I'm gonna do my best to fire that bike up tomorrow.

[Flying J]

Very good. And good luck. I have the parts i think if you need them.
 

[Greggo]

Well, didn't have all the parts to get her started today, but I made enough progress so that I may be able to get her going next time.  Installed a spark advancer and points plate assembly.  Installed the plug wires into the Dyna coils, and connected them to the plugs.  I need the four little screws that connect the power and ground wires into the coils, and a small battery to power the coils themselves.  Now that I've got the advancer and points on there, I'll set timing, gaps, valve clearances, and adjust the cam chain tensioner.  After that I'll change oil/filter.  It's been suggested I remove the exhaust pipe and make sure the turbo impeller isn't frozen before attempting a start, so I'll do that too.


Today's progress:

[Terry in Australia]

Looking good mate!

[FrankenFrankenstuff]

fricking nice project

[Greggo]

I'm so close to firing her up I can't freakin stand it!  I ran outta time, and my dad kicked me out of the shop      I did a full tune up: valve adjustment, cam chain tensioner adjustment, point gap, timing, and an oil change.  The oil that came out was extremely clean, but old, and there wasn't more than two quarts.  I found HD valve springs & retainers when I popped the tappet covers.  The tappet adjusters were fully backed out, so I had to find TDC by pulling the plugs and looking.  It was like starting from scratch.  I set the lash to stock spec just to start out.  I pulled the exhaust pipe and found little to no play in the turbine shaft.  It spun nicely.  The blow off valve seems to be mechanically operated.  We'll get to that later, but check out the last three pics of the pieces.  I will say I'm still having fun exploring this bike, and just staring...trying to figure it all out.

[fastbroshi]

Greggo, that turbo's rust would make me worry, regardless of the play in the shaft.  Given it's age, I wonder if it would come apart fairly easily for inspection.

[geminimotors]

I prolly have a funky ol wiring harness you could strip of the essential circuits

[Greggo]

Greggo, that turbo's rust would make me worry, regardless of the play in the shaft.  Given it's age, I wonder if it would come apart fairly easily for inspection.

Fastbroshi, I agree that the turbo will have to come apart.  We want to hear it run though before spending more time on it, and it will not be spooled up.  I'll have it ready to fire within an hour of getting to the shop next week.  If it runs or not, it's likely getting put away for a while until I can do it all right    I just got a full time M-F job that I start in two weeks from Monday.  I want to bear down and save a down payment for a house with a garage, which means not spending money on parts    My dad might let me work Saturdays when he works at the apartments behind the shop once the job starts.  I hope so, cuz I'm gonna need to satisfy my moto cravings somehow   

I prolly have a funky ol wiring harness you could strip of the essential circuits

Thanks Mike,

I'm just gonna jimmy rig it to get 'er started.  Coils, points, battery, ground.  No charging, we just want to hear it run or not.  I may want to grab that from you later on though!

[Stev-o]

Parts man, need more parts!  Where ya gonna buy a house, Greggo?

[Greggo]

Parts man, need more parts!  Where ya gonna buy a house, Greggo?

The job is in San Francisco, where buying a house is not an option for me.  I want some space anyway, so I'm going to look for a place as far south as I can afford in Marin County.  I'll probably end up in Petaluma (Sonoma County closer to my parents/friends) where you can still get a decent sized piece of property without breaking the half-million mark.  It's going to take me a year to save a good down payment, but once I get in, the payments will be considerably lower than my rent.   I'm gonna have to sell some bikes to do it though    The 750's gone once I get some fun out of it, and the market's ripe.  Then this bike's probably next.  I have emotional attachments to the 500, and the CA95, so they stay. Plus, I've got an ATP turbo kit to throw on the 500 someday, so that helps   I've got two 500/4 frames, and a spare engine, wheels, and other bits, so I'll probably throw together a 'project bike' to sell on Craigslist.  Ah well, I wanted a house waaay before I wanted bikes.  A house gives me space to set up a shop for whatever bikes I've got left anyway, and if you wanna know the truth, that's my whole motivation after finding this forum   Seeing Johnnie build that shop on his house makes me green with envy.  Tired of throwing my money away on rent, too.

[Stev-o]

Congrats on the job.  And if you need to sell a couple bikes to get there, well, that's the smart thing to do. Whether we know it or not, bikes are replaceable. Gasp! You will have no trouble filling up your shop once you get one and are in a position to do so.

[Greggo]

Congrats on the job.  And if you need to sell a couple bikes to get there, well, that's the smart thing to do. Whether we know it or not, bikes are replaceable. Gasp! You will have no trouble filling up your shop once you get one and are in a position to do so.

Thanks Stev-o, I've worked for these guys for the last four years, filling whatever shifts I could get, so it's nice to get some consistency, and vacation pay

Good thing I set myself up with enough bikes to sell, and have a few left over If I can hold on to a couple of 'em I think I'll be happy.

[Greggo]

Gentlemen...SHE LIVES!  Got her to fire up today, we're getting sparks on all four, but the carburetor isn't sucking enough gas in, so we couldn't get her to idle.  Obviously the carb will come off for a cleaning next trip.  Also got sidelined by a leaking oil line to the turbo.  The local Volvo dealer sells the hose in bulk, so I'll get that replaced next trip as well.  Can't explain how happy I was when I first heard it fire   It sounds ridiculously mean.

[Flying J]

SO how much will you sell it to me for? I dont need it but would like to help you get into a house.

[Greggo]

SO how much will you sell it to me for? I dont need it but would like to help you get into a house.

Gotta mull that one FFJ   Sorry about no video of the start.  You should have seen the three of us trying just to get it started  I was kicking the holy hell out of it, Ron was working the throttle and spraying starting fluid, and Omar (the shop helper) was holding up the gas tank...bet it looked kinda comical...buncha grease monkeys humping a banana!

[Flying J]

Well whenever you come up with a price PM me. I would have to sell some stuff to come up with the money.

[fastbroshi]

I wonder what pistons are in there?  Probably no matter as long as the boost isn't set too high.  I bet 6psi is worth 20 horses.

[Greggo]

I wonder what pistons are in there?  Probably no matter as long as the boost isn't set too high.  I bet 6psi is worth 20 horses.

They're flat toppers (I could see when checking for TDC), so they may be stock 500 pistons.  I have no idea how much boost this sucker pumps out.  It sounded beefier than my 750  

[geminimotors]

Thats badder asser, man!

[Stev-o]

Wow...great news!