Topic: Best place for the bang for your buck for cb500 four engine kit

[Dos]

Hello all,

I'm tearing down the top end of the motor, cleaning everything, and putting it back together.

Where should I go to get a good prices gasket set, o ring, rubbers, etc?

[flybox1]

Hello all,I'm tearing down the top end of the motor, cleaning everything, and putting it back together.

Why?

[Dos]

Engine has been sitting for 30 years. intake and muffler's have a lot of crap in there.. Internals are great but it really does need a clean up..

This is the new set I am thinking about getting:

http://4into1.com/vesrah-top-end-gasket-set-vg-555-honda-cb500-cb550/

[flybox1]

is the engine seized?
does it smoke (black/blue)?
does it leak oil?
if your answer is NO to any of these, i'd leave it alone.
once you open it up, the 'cheap' fixes will become expensive 'replacements/upgrades' and seem never ending 

[Dos]

Okay.

what about the best bang for your buck cb500 four engine gasket set?

[flybox1]

I've had good luck with Vesrah brand.
Others will swear by OEM HONDA gaskets, only. 

[Dos]

about the engine being seized... well I took the top end off to reveal the cam chain and cam sprocket.. I went to take the chain off and it is TIGHT, i can barely wiggle it off. In other demonstration videos I have seen people take it off no problem.. I have loosened the tensioner all the way.

I thought well it should be in neutral right?

I clicked up and down and couldn't find neutral and it clicks up i would say 3-4 times and it's a 5 gear so I dont know what's up.. when i was younger i would play on it and kick it and it would cycle through but now it's just stuck.

I don't know what to do.

[calj737]

Pretty difficult to shift the trains up to 3,4,5 when the engine is not running and the sprocket is not being driven. If you need to confirm the motor is not seized, best to find Neutral, and the rotate the crank using the bolt under the stator cover on the left.

If you can rotate the cam chain, remove the 2 bolts on the sprocket and then lift the cam chain off, fish the cam out, and secure the chain from falling into the engine.

[Dos]

How do you know when its in neutral.. I know noob question.

The cam will not rotate and neither will the bolt under the points cover

[Don R]

 So the engine is seized? If so remove the plugs and lube the cylinders with your favorite brand of penetrating oil. I'm assuming it is out of the bike?

[calj737]

Don't use the bolt under the points cover, use the bolt under the stator cover (left side of motor).

Rotate the shift lever all the way down, then click up into Neutral. Is the drive sprocket still on the bike? If so, you can rotate it to verify Neutral.

[Dos]

The engine is out. I'll use the other side.
The drive sprocket is off.
I click it all the way down and when I pull up it takes a lot of force and seems to go right into 2nd.. Not sure can't really find neutral. I'll try at it again now

[flybox1]

shift while rotating the front sprocket.
if your shifter cover is off, it should be easy to see.

[calj737]

You could also rig up your meter to the Neutral switch (or a test light) and verify Neutral by grounding the switch (when in Neutral, the ground is completed) and then your test "N" light would illuminate. Make sense?

[Dos]

Yeah totally. I will test everything out and get back to you guys later tonight..
Engine is out of frame sitting on a table btw

[PeWe]

My bike had been sitting in a not heated barn for 20 years. Valve seats corroded and need of fresh cut. I was too focused on pistons with bores the years after parking. I should have sprayed thin oil thru the spark plug holes, rotated the engine letting oil to cover all seats when parked. Redone the procedure every 5 years or so. I knew that the engine was in need to be restored since I knew how the tensioners will do when rubber is old and hard like bakelite.

[Dos]

Haven't had to much time but it clicks down 3 times and up 3 times. I'm waiting for the pb blaster to get out these stripped screws on the stator cover