My cycle owner/rider pedigree is:
Mid-1960's 50cc Motobécane Mobylette (red & silver livery);
1967-69 Honda CL125A Scrambler overhead cam twin (Candy Red & Metallic Silver livery);
1970 Yamaha 350 R5A two stroke parallel twin (Purple & White livery);
1971 Honda CB500 Four (K0) "Super Sport 500", SOHC inline, four stroke, 4-cylinder with 4 carburetors, quad exhaust (Candy Garnet Brown & Black livery);
1973/74 Yamaha TX750 air-cooled four stroke parallel twin with Omni-Balance vibration dampening system (Metalflake Gold livery);
1976-77 Yamaha SX750D "Triple", air cooled, four stroke, transverse mounted three cylinder, shaft drive (Crystal Silver and Blue livery);
1986 Harley Davidson Heritage Softtail Anniversary Edition, air cooled, 2 cylinder four stroke 45-degree transverse mounted V-twin (Silver with blue pinstriping livery);
1972 Honda CB500 Four (K1) "Super Sport 500", SOHC inline 4-stroke, 4-cylinder with four carburetors, quad exhaust (Pagan Gold & Black livery).
So, as you can see, my return at midlife is to my emotional favorite, the 500 Four. After years of looking, I found an unrestored survivor in very good shape. The seller is an engineer who set-up Honda 500's, 550's and 650s for racing that dominated the Southern California Pro Am racing scene throughout the 70's and he is consulting with me on how to keep my CB500F stock looking while achieving the heightened performance that will make it a "sleeper" -- boring out the cylinder head and installing 550 piston heads and rings, a race-proven cam, 17- to 16-tooth conversion of the front chain sprocket, and eventually, replacement of the factory ignition with an aftermarket optical electronic system. I remember that with my original CB500F, 5th gear was always a letdown after 4th gear and it will be interesting to see what effects any or all of these changes might have on that power curve peculiarity. Cosmetically, I will be de-denting the exterior and de-corroding the interior of my gas tank, removing a couple of dents in the chrome exhaust pipe and fender, replacing the starter button, replacing (as I did with my original CB500F) the handlebar grips with thicker padded tapered grips so that my short-ish hands don't have to re-grip to get a single twist, full range of motion acceleration, and then a thorough cleaning and polishing of all surfaces. By profession creative director/graphic designer/writer/producer, I am designing helmet graphics that will use the tear-drop-and-pinstripes motif to match the gas tank. Posted is a photo of what I'm starting with.
