Topic: CB500 cafe build- rust to ride

[tennesseebreeze]

Electrical work.

[tennesseebreeze]

I had previously recieved some parts from a member here that on closer inspection were mostly useless. I bought some rear shocks that looked shiny and new, but were actually leaking, with the springs adjusted to their tightest point, which told me they were probably no good. So I took another look at the ones that had come on my bike. They were awfully rusty, but they looked like they were viable. To tell the truth, I never really liked the look of these original shocks. With the chrome can over them they look like a chicken leg, so my solution was to cut the can off my shocks (that was the rustiest part) and clean up the rest of it with a wire tool. Looks pretty good I think. More like a racer. My concern is the pitting on the springs themselves. I'll keep an eye on that.

[Valhad]

Nice to see an update from you, tb!  The modification to the wiring harness look nice and clean - I'd never have known you replaced the connectors if you hadn't said.

I hope that the other parts I sent ya weren't the mostly useless ones... 

[tennesseebreeze]

Nice to see an update from you, tb!  The modification to the wiring harness look nice and clean - I'd never have known you replaced the connectors if you hadn't said.

I hope that the other parts I sent ya weren't the mostly useless ones... 

Not at all! I was really happy with what you sent. You couldn't have known about those terminals. It was someone else who sent some junk.

[Valhad]

Nice to see an update from you, tb!  The modification to the wiring harness look nice and clean - I'd never have known you replaced the connectors if you hadn't said.

I hope that the other parts I sent ya weren't the mostly useless ones... 

Not at all! I was really happy with what you sent. You couldn't have known about those terminals. It was someone else who sent some junk.

Well, I'm sorry you got any junk, but I'm glad it wasn't my junk.  

Good luck with the front brakes - I've really enjoyed watching this bike come together.

[tennesseebreeze]

Like trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. 

[tennesseebreeze]

From behind- shows the airbox, regulator and the battery box.

[tennesseebreeze]

Here's an update to the progress on my 500 build. As you can see it's coming along quite nicely. I installed the carbs after boiling the rubber boots in wintergreen oil and water. It really did help with the pliability. But for those whose masculinity is challenged by the aromatherapy you exude at every red light- other paths may be taken.

In order to get the carbs, boots, and airbox in the frame I found that if you have everything set in the frame before installing any of it, you'll have better luck. I went from front to back- first boots, then carbs, then the airbox boot, then the airbox. It was a cold night when I did it so I did keep the rubber flexible with a heat gun. It worked out well. I'm very pleased that I used the stock airbox and not some other aspiration system.

I strapped on the mini turn signals that I ordered- I was a little nervous that their quality wouldn't be good. I ordered them pretty cheap ($22 a pair) from a Chinese ebay vendor, but they ended up being real nice. All powder-coated metal and LED, with amber, clear, and smoke lenses to choose from. The double tail light- not so much. Cheap "chromed" plastic. It looked better after I painted it, but I'm considering looking at other options.

One problem may be the cables I got for the bike. I didn't consider how much the cafe bars would shorten the distance the cables had to span. Problem with the 500 is the unique way the clutch cable attaches to the motor case. I'm wondering if I can shorten the cable I have somehow.

Now it's on to the exhaust, which I've ordered (MAC 4 into 1), the brakes (rebuild front), and the electrical. I have a lot of wiring work still to do. I guess I'll need tires too, or else there will be some sparks.

[Bootsey]

Looking good, great work so far. What's the plan for the tank/ colour scheme?

[Riceman]

On those rear shocks,if you compress the springs there are two keepers just
like on valve springs.Then you can work the shock in and out to see if they
are working.That's how I found out one of mine is blown and they aren't rebuildable.

[tennesseebreeze]

Looking good, great work so far. What's the plan for the tank/ colour scheme?

For now, I'm leaving it as is. Gas stains, little dents, scratches- its definitely got some history. But i think it looks good rough around the edges. If i refinish it I'll probably go with the original color- dark green.

[tennesseebreeze]

On those rear shocks,if you compress the springs there are two keepers just
like on valve springs.Then you can work the shock in and out to see if they
are working.That's how I found out one of mine is blown and they aren't rebuildable.

How do you compress the spring to get those out? C-clamp?

[tennesseebreeze]

Once again I'm back after a lull in my posting discipline. As you can see, I had the bike just about assembled when I decided to take it all apart again. I had been back and forth about whether to use part of the rear fender along with the cafe hoop I had made. Looking at the bike with the seat I chose, the hoop and the tail light, I decided to fabricate a hidden mud guard/fender, as well as weld on brackets for the turn signals and brake light. I also wasn't happy with the finish I painted on the frame (it didn't cure right and had inadequate layers) and decided to redo it.

[tennesseebreeze]

I work for a sign shop, so I had some metal fabrication tools at my disposal. I did the aluminum shaping, rolling, and cutting. But I got a more skilled welder than I to weld the .080 aluminum. It takes some finesse to mig weld it without punching holes. I riveted it to the steal frame and had to adjust the shape for the swingarm.

Since adding the mud guard the seat brackets I had fabricated earlier became useless as I could no longer reach them to install the bolt. I decided to put a side mounted piano hinge and a latch so I could take advantage of the under seat storage space that I created. The last picture there shows a welded bar where the hinge will go.

[tennesseebreeze]

As far as the frame itself, it took a minute to find an affordable sand blaster, but my patience paid off with a local guy who charged 40.00. He also turned out to be on of these backwoods savant engineers who was building his own zero-turn mower from scratch. He also had two 750 super sports in his garage.

[tennesseebreeze]

I had our painter here at the sign shop (he's called simply: Painter) do several layers of base coat/clear coat on it. The paint we use for signs is Azko Nobel paints- the same kind that metal roofs are painted with. Toxic as hell, but it's very durable and binds excellently with metal.

[tennesseebreeze]

Working on rebuilding the front brake too and this is what I resorted to to get the brake pad and the piston out. Kill it with fire.

[tennesseebreeze]

Here's my solution to getting out a thoroughly stuck brake piston. There was no saving this one.

[Valhad]

Boy, when you decide to start over, you REALLY start over!  I really dig the hidden mudguard work, and it looks like you got real creative with that front caliper.  How's the bore look, now that the piston is out?  Caliper itself still useful?

Nice to see you back on the updates

[tennesseebreeze]

Yeah, good to be back Valhad. Thanks for your words of encouragement.
The caliper is pretty crusty- mostly rust from the old piston.But with some careful cleaning and polishing I think it will be functional again. I didn't do any damage to it while wrestling with the pad and the piston. The new piston and seal are on their way. I'm upgrading the piston to solid stainless, instead of the chromed original.

I have the master cylinder rebuilt- it was almost as nasty as the caliper. New brake lines ought to complete it.

[rb550four]

I just caught up with this thread. You seem to be doing well . I was reading the part about no responses because everyone was busy thumping the steampunk build, funny  but true ,22 pages of it and he had the interest to keep posting and now we are seeing some of his vision.... Your build , you didn't seem lost. didn't seem like you needed as much direction as other guys. , maybe that's why there wasn't so much input , you didn't appear clueless....that's a good thing.
   I too shoot my frames with Rustoleum too ,not the rattle can . Just a mix of that and mineral spirits and spray it , I used to put in hardener but stopped using it because a few good coats without it seems to be as good as a few good coats with it. So to me ,it didn't make any sense  to  add even more chemicals.
  Interesting  idea setting the brake piston on fire, I haven't done that before. I use a grease gun , block the line  use a grease fitting , a few pumps and it pops right out.... I do the same thing on seized engines. Looks like you're rolling right along. It's only been a year.

[tennesseebreeze]

Welcome to my thread rb. And thanks for the atta boy. Setting fire to the piston was really just out of psychotic frustration. The grease gun is an excellent idea though.

After repainting the frame I got most of the bike back together this weekend. It's a lot easier the second time around. I'm hoping in a couple weeks I'll get to hear what this little beast sounds like. I have a task ahead of me trying to get all the wiring straightened out. I have to finish rebuilding the brake caliper, get some new brake lines, battery and chain and I should have a complete bike.

One thing that makes me a bit nervous though is the cam chain tensioner- it was pretty worn out and had some cracks in the slider. I gave it a pass because I didn't want to spend the money. Another potential problem is when I took the oil pan off early on, there were a couple gear teeth in the bottom. I turned and turned the motor and never found a broken gear, so I don't know what that's about. The clutch plates, too are something I figure I'll have to at least clean before it runs smoothly.

[tennesseebreeze]

Still slowly forging ahead with this build. I've been a bit distracted by another purchase that needed less work- a 1979 CB750F. A beast of a bike that I've been having a blast riding. Anyway, on the 500 I had a bit of a time rebuilding the front brake system. The master cylinder rebuild went pretty smoothly, but I had to do the caliper twice as I had damaged the seal while putting in the piston. Long story short- the rebuild was a success, although I don't know how it will perform while riding.

I'm working on the electrical and even with the color coded wires, it's still a bit of a mind bender. Maybe I should work on it sober.  I got this cool dead stock vintage Tokyo battery on ebay and filled it with acid. It seems to hold a charge fine. I mostly bought it because of the price, but it does have the advantage of looking all cool and hipster too.

What has really slowed me down though is the fuel tank. It was very rusty inside and I did probably 3 or 4 cleanings with "the Works" toilet bowl cleaner. It worked excellently, although flash rusting was an issue. I used bolts and nuts to agitate it inside and with the gas cap closed it would build up pressure in the tank. This made it easy to spot the pin holes in the lower corner because liquid would squirt out. I got a guy at work here who is proficient at cold MIG welding to spot the holes, but as the metal had worn so thin from rust, we were just chasing leaks up the tank. I decided to use tank liner. I used two coats of Redkote and I think it will do the job. I also took a lot of time filling holes and popping dents out of the tank. I fixed cracks in the side covers and had them primed for painting. Here's an image of that primer color. I actually really like it on the bike.

[MJL]

That's the current state of the bike? The motorcycle gods will surely have mercy on you.

Ok I skipped from page one to page four, just trying to keep motivated on my 500, and see what others are doing with theirs.

[tennesseebreeze]

Several things have slowed down my bike build. I've been in the process of moving and making some life changes. I bought a 750 and have been working on that too. This weekend I took the 500 out of the shed for the first time since assembling it, loaded it a truck and moved it to my new home. I was struck at how far it had come. It inspired me to get it running before winter. Here's a picture of it. Tank and covers are primed but not painted. I'm just going to ride it like that for a while. When I get it running, of course.