Topic: 500/550/650's that followed me home

[rb550four]

Yes.

[rb550four]

And the other side

[rb550four]

There's the glitch. After taking 2 days to set it up and rolled it around to see that the sidecar sat level in every way and the bike had just shy of a one inch tilt , and seemed to track well..... I looked at it and all together  and thought " man, I didn't think it would look so wide, they always look slimmer to me" , so I grabbed the tape and gave it a width measurement  over 65 inches. Then I checked both sets of double doors that get it outside......just over 60 inches.
I built a boat in the basement, it looks like. Have to figure a different way to get it outside this spring.

[grcamna2]

There's the glitch. After taking 2 days to set it up and rolled it around to see that the sidecar sat level in every way and the bike had just shy of a one inch tilt , and seemed to track well..... I looked at it and all together  and thought " man, I didn't think it would look so wide, they always look slimmer to me" , so I grabbed the tape and gave it a width measurement  over 65 inches. Then I checked both sets of double doors that get it outside......just over 60 inches.
I built a boat in the basement, it looks like. Have to figure a different way to get it outside this spring.

Thumbs up  .  The finished product looks good. 

Would it be able to get through the door if you removed the sidecar wheel/fender and put the sidecar on a rolling dolly,just to get it outside?  I hope being outside isn't going to get it too 'weathered'.

[BenelliSEI]

What about taking the left side bag off and wiggling the bars at the doorway?

[rb550four]

That sounds better than lifting the side car and trying to push it kitty corner out the doors or taking the bolts out of it and resetting it on the sidewalk. I am however going to need a bigger trailer or a flatbed should this one break down on the road, my trailer isn't wide enough.  It's all fun and games but  there's no better way I'd rather spend my time. 

[Gurp]

Man that machine looks great!
I need to get on my 500/550
A few good deals on marketplace local to me on old beat up 550s but I've been tight last little bit

[rb550four]

   I haven't seen a "deal" on a 500 or 550 in a while, Everyone seems to want $4500 and up for stuff like mine, not original from the factory, and then as you read on there is a compression issue and a host of other worn things that are original....that's not to say that there aren't beautiful low mileage all stock machines that are for sale for $5500 and better that are totally up to snuff, but well out of my price range to feed the addiction. I have seen some cafe racers that look like somebody has overspent during the build....beautiful stuff for cafe racers but the asking price $10k or close reflects the initial overspending , don't know if cafe racers are a strong right now,  but there is always someone that may pay that price or close if the don't have to do the work I suppose. That's half the fun isn't it?
   Been seeing tons of 450s out there and some 2 cylinder 500s in decent condition for $800 - $1200. All fun and games.

[grcamna2]

   I haven't seen a "deal" on a 500 or 550 in a while, Everyone seems to want $4500 and up for stuff like mine, not original from the factory, and then as you read on there is a compression issue and a host of other worn things that are original....that's not to say that there aren't beautiful low mileage all stock machines that are for sale for $5500 and better that are totally up to snuff, but well out of my price range to feed the addiction. I have seen some cafe racers that look like somebody has overspent during the build....beautiful stuff for cafe racers but the asking price $10k or close reflects the initial overspending , don't know if cafe racers are a strong right now,  but there is always someone that may pay that price or close if the don't have to do the work I suppose. That's half the fun isn't it?
   Been seeing tons of 450s out there and some 2 cylinder 500s in decent condition for $800 - $1200. All fun and games.

I know you're looking for a good deal on a Barn Find;and for the right offer,I bet they will follow you home.

[rb550four]

   Always lookin' you  know, sometimes you find something that fits the bill at an incredable price.....yes they do follow us home....whether  we need them  or not, even if we have no room for another one,  or just may be a little short this week ....I mean really, I just can't think of a reasonable excuse not to take another one home anymore .

[rb550four]

       I've waiting for awhile  to have some work done . Some parts were wore badly and in need of replacement, and other parts might have to wait to be replaced a little later ...sometimes we  can t get to  do them all at once.  So I had a knee replacement.  Just got it done last Monday, and been a bit out of it this week until today. Okay, today is a bit fuzzy too. I'lll try this agin later
     

[Gurp]

Take some rest and heal up!
Look forward to seeing you post more when you're feeling well buddy!

[RAFster122s]

RB, sorry to hear about needing the knee done, it will get better and you can do your therapy to get your range of motion back…. That will take a little time. I have to have my right hip replaced…later this year, working on making the hip trimmer for better surgery outcome…

Get well quick and don’t overdo it…
David

[rb550four]

   I was in the shop actually being productive for the first time on Friday. Playing with a 78 Honda 750 for a friend who hasn't run it in 20 years. he had tried his hand at repairing it after a smokey run in Daytona Beach way back when.... his repair efforts would yield no fruit so he just parked it for 20 years. He asked if I could look at it, so I am. Not back to work yet and am happy for anything to do that gets me out the house. like to be back to work soon.
   I haven t healed properly yet, still painful, and I may have over done PT thinking it would all work faster,  didn't .Seems that I am a slow healer. They told me that I couldn't break it, hope that's true. It seems that there will be limits, and a man has got to know his limits. It'll be trail and error to find out what they are, I guess.
   The good news is that I am not addicted to pain pills ...oxy  is a #$%* , won't be doing that anymore.
So I am exercising and riding bicycles every day trying to heal, stay loose and loose this limp .
   Tried my fave 500 out a couple weeks ago ,  felt good in 1st gear putting around , wasn't easy to get 2nd , gave up on 3rd after a few tries and put it away. Not quite ready to ride yet, but I haven't given up tryin'.

[RAFster122s]

RB glad you have gotten out in the shop.

Keep up with therapy and exercises...

[rb550four]

  Yes, it is soo nice to touch Honda metal again.
The PT is over for me now so it's bicycling ,walking up and down stairs, and lift up tings up an put dem down. Making ready to find out what my new limits are. Needing to get back to building even though I'm now a one man show, but it 's time to pay some bills and no matter how much I like working on bikes (it has always been my favorite thing to do),I haven't found it  a steady way to make a living ... as so many of you already know for yourself too.
  It's time for me to get out of this house and get to the shop right now and have some fun, cause as you know , it's all fun and games.

[grcamna2]

  Yes, it is soo nice to touch Honda metal again.
The PT is over for me now so it's bicycling ,walking up and down stairs, and lift up tings up an put dem down. Making ready to find out what my new limits are. Needing to get back to building even though I'm now a one man show, but it 's time to pay some bills and no matter how much I like working on bikes (it has always been my favorite thing to do),I haven't found it  a steady way to make a living ... as so many of you already know for yourself too.
  It's time for me to get out of this house and get to the shop right now and have some fun, cause as you know , it's all fun and games.

All the best to you rb,pace yourself.

[rb550four]

   So I've ben pacing myself, trying not to overdo physical activities. Have found more limitations than I expected.
But I have managed to work  the shifter, so I can ride. I try to ride motorcycles every day that I can now.  I ride bicycles at least a mile every day just to stay limber.  It isn't as easy as it was to get a leg over either seat anymore so ,when given the a choice , I like my 2 wheels with an engine.
   A friend of mine picked up a new Triumph 1000 ish , an nice machine , fits smaller riders comfortably , and has enough power to keep him smiling every time he s on it.  He has an older large Suzuki with bags that is now in the shed. He had a 71 cl 350 survivor project parked in his living room for years just waiting to be awoken. Didn 't happen for the usual reasons, and he needs the indoor space to winter the Triumph, so he asked if I would take it  and give it a good home.
  WE ALL KNOW THAT WE DON'T NEED ANOTHER ONE.
 Yeah, right! So I have been tinkering with that little bike every chance I can get.
 I bought my first used cl 350 from the Honda Shop when I was 16, sure would like to be 16 again , but the best I can hope for is to ride it . Just cleaning this one up a  bit , fixing what's warn, doing the maintenance list. It only has 3200 miles on it.

[RAFster122s]

Hope the little 350 cleanup and restores to it former glory after some running and things settle out... The 350 and 360 motors had much tighter clearances needed to run well and deliver good performance, as meager as it was... Glad it is giving you some joy. Keep up with the strengthening exercises to maintain the progress and keep your new range of motion. I had a shoulder injury back in 2010 and it healed wrong, I had some adhesions and had lost range of movements and the orthopedic doctor I had seen for it should never have taken the case as he wasn't a shoulder specialist. Too arrogant to admit it as well, shoulder needed surgery but he kept claiming that the instruments weren't big enough, table limits etc. I'm broad shouldered and used to lift way too much weight, etc...so I'm built much like a linebacker. Well, I had a slip when starting down the steps in my apartment and was about to fall down the stairs face forward and I reached back to catch the handrail underhanded. I did and got a burning tear in the shoulder briefly. It was enough to tear loose the adhesion that had reduced my ROM and after that I was able to do the sword like drawing exercises I was unable to do. The Physical therapist was happy as was I

[rb550four]

  Got that cl 350 cleaned up and running okay , gave it a nice little ride and thought the throttle response was lacking a bit and suspected that perhaps it was in the cables. so I took a look at the cables to the carbs...not mangled but twisted and bent up enough to guess that the cables are effecting the sinc of the carbs , and that could be the main issue with the lacking throttle response, so all 3 new cables and all new carb parts are now at the shop waiting for me to get around to it.
 This winter has been coming in slow, its  been in the high 40s and 50s until last week so I got spoiled by the lack of real winter weather . I embraced a fantasy endless summer in my mind during the fall and rode instead of repair. Now fun time is over and playtime must wait. It might warm up to 20 today , think I'll stay in the house and not out in the shop today.
 

[RAFster122s]

20 is pretty cold unless you have a good set of insulated coveralls, good warm boots, decent gloves to keep your fingers warm that don't destroy your dexterity and a hat to help regulate and keep the heat inside.
So, enjoy a good read, warm beverage and time with your companions, be they 2-legged or four legged, or winged...

[rb550four]

  Yeah 20 degrees is cold when you are coming off a warm fall and a late winter. I have all the gear that you have described to keep a person warm outdoors ... I've made it through 66 winters  and only had frostbite twice so far but, that was enough to never want as much as a cold breeze to blow up under a jacket again . I have worked in a less than heated shop , all dressed up tight with foggy glasses from my own breath and a nose dripping all over whatever work that is right in front of me at the time, and sitting on my hands to get some fingertip feelings back so I could get that 10mm nut started  no longer appeals to me ,even with a roaring fire in the stove. I'm indoors now, just like you said.
  Today I took a walk among the stable. My kids started busting my chops about bikes last year. At first it sounded like they were just foolin' with their old man  so I let it slide. Never let that slide or it'll give even loved ones  a foothold to build upon . Then they start to asking about what you want to do with them, you know , incase something happens to you. So you tell them what you have in mind. Then the rest of the family  that might visit  gets to start to sounding the  same as the kids, and before you know it, they either want you  to thin the herd , and  by the time a year has past ,  it's  sell them all because if something happens to you we're just going to junk them. They have no interest in them , only see it as a pain in the a$$ they don't want to deal with. Now my wife ,who has always been good about my bikes has kept radio silence but , I suspect it won't be long before she too will be more than a blip on my radar. So  like I said,  Today I took a walk among the stable.