Topic: CB500/4 racer to roadie conversion/Australia

[neevo]

Where abouts in Sydney are you ziokahn? I'm out in Penrith.

[bwaller]

I dug out some pipes and the CB650 primary tube diameter is 35mm, CB500 is 32mm at the widest section.

[ziokahn]

The paint was bubbled around the filler. First plan was to prep it for a re spray. Easy!.
Got a brain wave and thought alloy tank, That will look cool polished up. Grabbed a torch and had a look around as best possible on the inside and all looked good. Nice and straight.
Proceeded to attack the paint with stripper. Few layers of paint and primer down I hit the bog/filler. 3 hours later, stiff back, wrists and stripper poisoning. My worst fears, tanks a bit of a dogs breakfast.  All the bog needs to removed as it's contaminated with stripper.
Yes I did think race bike = crash or many and the tank would have taken a few hits.
Oh well, I always needed more practice in filler application and reshaping!!.
Return to plan A, prep tank for re spray. Just a little more prep than I expected.

[trueblue]

Here is a picture of the 650 exhaust, as bwaller said they had a 35mm OD tube.  They are double walled and my verniers wouldn't reach inside to get a decent measurement of the ID

[ziokahn]

Trueblue and bwaller thanks for taking the time out to check those measurement and thanks Trueblue for the pic.

My measurements are OD 32mm and 1.5mm wall thickness. So 500/4 headers, am I right?.

If so, a call out to anyone who may have one right side header they may want to flog. I've had two quotes to have one fabricated and have been given a price of $300 AUD. I was hoping to spend a little less.

[trueblue]

No worries mate, put up a post in the parts wanted section.  One thing I have found is it is generally cheaper to import parts from overseas.  Toowoomba bike wreckers used to have a few old Hondas laying about down there.

What are you doing with the old fairing off the bike?

[ziokahn]

Yeah I've hammered all the wreckers round Sydney and beyond to no avail. I been scoping the O/S sites and haven't come across any distributor. Might be looking in the wrong places.
Might give the wreckers in Toowoomba a try. Won't hurt.

The fairing I plan to keep. Originally I was going to modify it to fit a headlight but have my heart set on a Churchgate. I have found a bloke up the Central Coast who replicates old fairings for a range of bikes and racers. Good to deal with. Old racer who loves his VMX. I pick it up in a couple of weeks so I let you know how it goes. Better not give him too much of a good plug until I see the finished product. But I'm sure all will be good. He has been around a while.
 http://classic-motorcycle-fiberglass.com/gallery/fairings/index.htm

Any advice on gasket/seal kits. Recommendations and brands to avoid. The prices do vary considerably.
These are several brands I've come across.
Athena, Vesrah, NE brand

Cheers

[trueblue]

The other fella to try is my mate Ross at Tiaro Motorcycle wreckers.  Last I knew he didn't have much left for the Honda 4's, but you never know what he has hiding in his shed.  It has been a few months since I had a rat around in his sheds .  His number is (07) 41 292 771. 

I can't advise on the aftermarket gasket sets, I haven't used them as yet.  I've only had to replace a couple of gaskets on my bike and I have bought them all from Ross as NOS genuine. 

[ziokahn]

Ok mate cheers I'll give Ross a try as well. I'll throw out the request for advice on gaskets on another forum and see how that goes.

Again thanks mate for your time. Cheers

[Retro Rocket]

Subscribed, great looking little Honda mate...

[ziokahn]

Thanks for the comp mate I'll pass it onto her.

Cheers.

[neevo]

I've had two quotes to have one fabricated and have been given a price of $300 AUD. I was hoping to spend a little less.

Who did you ask? I've just been quoted $350 approx for custom bending my header pipes. 1.25" 304 stainless x 4 with 2 bends.

I've heard the Vesrah stuff is top notch. That's what I'll use on my motor when it's ready.

For old honda parts try Old Gold out Richmond way. They have everything!!!

[ziokahn]

Cheers mate

1st quote was from Liverpool exhaust $300. I then rang Staintune and was quoted roughly $300. That's just for one header in mild steel!. The lads at Staintune were very helpful. The reason for the expense is a result of being a one off.

If you could throw me the contact you are using, that would be great.

I did ring the gents out at Old gold and plan on going for a dig this Saturday. They advised me parts will be cheaper if I find it.

Your right, Vesrah has had a good rap. I've been warned to stay away from NE.

Thanks for the advice mate.

Cheers

[vfourfreak]

For the headers, try Swarbrick Racing in the UK http://www.swarbrick-racing.co.uk/down.php he is quoting £169 (AU$ 306) for a full set for the 500/4. You should be exempt from UK VAT. He makes good stuff.

Kev

[neevo]

Ziokahn I've had a few custom jobs done out at Riverstone by a tube bending firm called Carrington Products. They mainly do balustrades and handrails but they did my rear hoop and also swing arm brace. Pricing is fantastic and the work is top notch.

www.carringtonproducts.com.au

I usually make up a mockup for them to copy, sometimes they cannot match exact radiuses but will get close enough not to notice.

Can't go wrong with the prices either. Only thing missing would be flanges to attach to the head but Darren Millichamp could do those and weld them on too for a reasonable price. I suspect all the work would still be much cheaper than the quotes you've already had.

They will be bending my CB's headers in a month or two.

[ziokahn]

Thanks Kev I'll keep that option open. Cheers mate.

neevo I'm heading out to old gold tomorrow for a dig. No luck I'll give the lads out at Carrington a call. Thanks for that mate. That price you have been quoted for staino is awesome. Would you have Dave's number handy?.

Thanks again gents. Cheers

[neevo]

Old Golds number?

[ziokahn]

Sorry, Darren Millichamp.

[neevo]

Ah, I get him via Facebook (or go over there). Are you joined to SCR? If so drop him a message from there. Failing that I can ask if he's got some other contact info.

[ziokahn]

neevo I'll track him down through Facebook that's cool cheers.

Took a trip out to Old Gold motorcycles and no luck with the pipes. They say they've been cleaned out over the years with 500 parts. The place is a bloody gold mine. So many bikes and parts. I did score this number. Service, repair and performance!



A little more on the progress. Engine out and dismantled. I better mention my brother who's looking after the mechanical side. He's the one with the qualification so I'd be mad not to take advantage of that. Thanks bro.







A look inside the donk revealed a few goodies, 4mm over size high comp pistons, lower lift cam,  lightened crank although this needs to be replaced with the stocker as the tapered spline to run the stator has been removed.









Slowly chipping away at the tank. The paint stripper I'm guessing has contaminated the filler so I'm not taking a gamble and removing all the filler.



That's all for know. I would love to get in and smash it but between work, family and other things it's taking a little longer than I would have liked. Oh well, waited 14years so a little longer won't hurt.

Cheers for now.

[Retro Rocket]

Check your PM's mate, lots of info on the bike. There's also a custom pipe builder near me in Brissie

http://www.motorcycleexhaustprofessionals.com.au/services-products/

[ziokahn]

Retro Rocket your information has been invaluable. Thank you so much. Cheers

You've also inspired me to go ahead with the lightening and balancing of the crank going in.

Would anybody have any recommendations regarding any engineers in the Sydney area that would do me the honor. I do have one contact but would like a few more up my sleeve.

Found a couple of snaps of when I brought the old girl home.





Tank's ready for paint prep. New fairing will be ready for pick up next week.



Waiting on the arrival of a few electrical components, gaskets etc. When the fairing arrives, I can rig up a bracket for the headlight, gauges etc.

One more call out to my forum brothers and sisters if your out there.

I'm in need of a close up photo of the side stand mount and stand in a retracted position. I plan to only fit a side stand and leave the centre off. I have a feeling the standard location of the side stand will not work due to the lack of clearance when full fairing and pipes are fitted. Currently the mounting bolt hole has been filled in on the frame rail.

Thanks again for your time. Cheers

[Kemp]

Going to be a wicked road bike! What is the front brake that is currently fitted? Do you have a dyno graph of the racer when raced, sounds like you might be around 600CC. What carbs are fitted?

[neevo]

Not sure on crank lightening but try either Old Gold (they send stuff out to an awesome chap who did my cylinder boring) or there is a chap in Sydney that pressed in a rod onto my KTM crank once, out near Granville, Cowper street I think.

[Retro Rocket]

Would anybody have any recommendations regarding any engineers in the Sydney area that would do me the honor. I do have one contact but would like a few more up my sleeve.

http://www.robinsontoolmakers.com.au/big_bore.htm