Author Topic: 1972 "CB525" Backyard Rescue (Read 25730 times)

wowbagger · « **on:** November 07, 2015, 09:00:17 AM »

I picked this bike up in trade for some tractor work helping a friend haul a bunch of bikes out of a guy's back field here in Maine. In all, he got 6 bikes for $300. Amazingly, only one had a seized engine. The CB500 is a Frankenstein bike already. It's a 1973 CB500 engine in a 1972 CB500 frame with various later year CB550 parts on it. I have deemed it the "CB525."

wowbagger · « **Reply #1 on:** November 07, 2015, 09:06:36 AM »

I actually got this bike about a year ago and it's been in storage since then. Now that I've wrapped up my other CB500 build, I'm ready to start tearing into this one. I'm already finding some oddities that need correcting. To start with, someone decided to put 10 over forks on the bike without changing the rake. I'm 6'2" and I'm almost on tiptoes sitting on this thing.

Here's some more photos of how it sat when I got it:

wowbagger · « **Reply #2 on:** November 07, 2015, 09:16:30 AM »

Last post for the moment. This gets it pretty close to caught up to date. I've pulled it out of storage and got it into my basement for the winter to start tearing it down. As you can see, I harvested some parts off of it for my other build. The tank was amazingly pristine inside and other than the bondo to fill the badge plates, it was in better shape than my other tank. You'll also notice the seat is damaged. I don't have any of the keys for this bike and I had to access the rear tank mount some how. Luckily, the seat pan was rusted beyond repair and I could easily bend it out of the way. I also, swapped another member here all of the stock engine covers for his finned engine covers that he didn't want.

wowbagger · « **Reply #3 on:** November 09, 2015, 07:20:18 AM »

So, the stupid long forks were completely rusted out around the fork seals. Luckily, a friend had a spare set off of a CB550. They were in decent shape except that the top nuts were pretty rusty. This same friend also happens to own a motorcycle shop that I volunteer at. So, a little time in the sand blaster and a bit of powder coating left me with some decent looking forks. I'm still waiting for the new dust boots to show up. So, for now I'll set these aside and work on rebuilding and powder coating the caliper and front wheel.

SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan · « **Reply #4 on:** November 09, 2015, 07:57:46 AM »

I like the black satin PC.

Stev-o · « **Reply #5 on:** November 09, 2015, 08:01:28 AM »

Have never seen such long gaitors!

wowbagger · « **Reply #6 on:** November 09, 2015, 08:04:17 AM »

Quote from: Stev-o on November 09, 2015, 08:01:28 AM

Have never seen such long gaitors!

Yeah, those were...um...something else. I think they were for a dirt bike. Either way, they're in the trash now.

wowbagger · « **Reply #7 on:** November 09, 2015, 08:11:50 AM »

Quote from: CB750 Cafe Racer Fan on November 09, 2015, 07:57:46 AM

I like the black satin PC.

Thanks, its called "Back Jack" from Prismatic Powders. I'm going to be doing most of the bike in black with gun metal highlights. Not planning on any major alterations but I will be tearing down the engine and powdering the cases. I'm still on the fence about keeping the sissy bar or if I want to swap it out for a stock grab rail. I've got a ways until I need to make that decision though. I did just get my first parts delivery today. It always feels like my birthday whenever new parts show up.

However, I ordered the wrong dust seals the first time around. The correct ones should be here soon.

wowbagger · « **Reply #8 on:** November 09, 2015, 08:27:15 AM »

Since I've mentioned it a couple of time, here's a shot of my last(first) build. It's a 1971 CB500 that I got in trade for an iPad. I never got myself organized enough to do a build thread on it while I was working on it. I'm trying to be better about that with this build. We'll see how it goes.

Stev-o · « **Reply #9 on:** November 09, 2015, 08:29:42 AM »

Nice job ^^^

wowbagger · « **Reply #10 on:** November 09, 2015, 08:33:18 AM »

Quote from: Stev-o on November 09, 2015, 08:29:42 AM

Nice job ^^^

Thanks, it took me about a year and a half to finish. Everything on that bike was powdered by me. Except for the Honda belt buckle on the rock plate. That's paint because I wasn't sure if the metal would hold up to the oven heat. I still need to fit the wider, stock looking front fender and finish the aluminum chain guard I'm making for it but as I've been riding it all summer I figured it was time to call it done.

wowbagger · « **Reply #11 on:** November 10, 2015, 05:16:59 AM »

Made some more progress with the tear down last night. Engine is out and the frame is almost ready to start cleaning up. I still need to free up the frozen swing arm bolt though. This forum has taught me many tricks to make servicing these bikes easier but one of my favorites is laying the bike down and lifting off the frame when pulling the engine. It's so much easier than trying to wrestle it out of the frame vertically.

Oh, here's a quick shot of the jack stand I build for the 500/550s. It allows a standard motorcycle jack to lift the bike by the frame tubes without touching the oil pan with an offset to clear the side stand. Granted, it's not much help if you need to drop the pan but it works well for most circumstances.

wowbagger · « **Reply #12 on:** November 10, 2015, 05:29:01 AM »

Now for some of those "well, crap" photos:

Looks like the PO was a little heavy handed when they last touched the tach drive. The retaining bolt was only finger tight. So, I'm fairly certain this wasn't my doing but I guess I get to fix it. Luckily, I have a parts engine around here somewhere.

Also, this is the exact reason why you should put o-ring chains on these bikes. They are simply too wide and will damage the case. It's a bit hard to see in the photo but the chain made contact with the case and push rod seal causing wear marks. Standard 530 HD 100 link chain is on order. as well as a new push rod seal. Luckily, it doesn't look like it was ridden for long with the wrong chain. So, the damage to the case is not that bad.

Lastly, I found a seat with a pretty decent seat pan and, for the most part, foam. I'll get a new cover for it soon. How do I go about repairing the damage to the foam? Can I just fill it with something and put a thin layer of foam over it or is there a better method? Or, is it just too far gone and I need to get new foam?

wowbagger · « **Reply #13 on:** November 10, 2015, 04:24:29 PM »

One more "well crap" post. The top tree cracked at some point in its history. I'm guessing it cracked because of the extended forks and missing D washers. Someone repaired it but didn't get it lined up correctly. I don't trust it. So, I'll hunt around for a replacement.

Stev-o · « **Reply #14 on:** November 10, 2015, 04:26:05 PM »

You could make a whole thread of "Stupid things the PO did"!

wowbagger · « **Reply #15 on:** November 10, 2015, 04:27:22 PM »

Sadly, it looks like that's the way this build is going. Maybe I should just retitle the thread now.

SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan · « **Reply #16 on:** November 10, 2015, 04:35:09 PM »

It was most likely the missing D washers. A COMMON screw up. Don't sweat it too much. You can get a spare clamp easy.

I would replace the seat foam -- or at least cut out some of the very crusty 1/4 of it and replace it with new foam.

wowbagger · « **Reply #17 on:** November 12, 2015, 05:39:22 PM »

Thanks for the tips. The more I looked at that seat the more I decided to just take it and the new cover to a local auto upholstery shop and let them do it. I know I'd never be happy with how it came out if I tried it myself.

So, with that decision behind me I'll get back to the stuff I can do. I got another bunch of thinks broken down, washed up and run through the sonic cleaner. Thanks to 02z06dave, I now have a kickstand I can work with (albeit a bit bent), an unmolested top tree (with D washers) and side covers. Next up is some sand blasting before powdering some more Blackjack.

wowbagger · « **Reply #18 on:** November 13, 2015, 07:55:29 AM »

The fun never stops. I started disassembling the rear wheel just to find that one of the 4 sprocket studs was missing. Turns out all 4 of the studs were only finger tight. The missing one had actually snapped off and fallen out. Another was snapped in the hub. I don't think I've found something on this bike that the PO has done right yet.

wowbagger · « **Reply #19 on:** November 17, 2015, 09:04:50 PM »

Got some more powder coating done tonight. Fork ears, caliper, caliper arm, top bridge and some other odds and ends are done. I also managed to disassemble the dash panel using a heat gun and some picks so that it can get powdered without damaging it.

wowbagger · « **Reply #20 on:** November 20, 2015, 06:51:47 AM »

Moving forward with the rear wheel. After soaking the spokes in muriatic acid for a couple of hours to clean off the rust and corrosion I got them powder coated back as well. Now to clean up the hub extract/replace the lugs.

wowbagger · « **Reply #21 on:** November 30, 2015, 06:29:24 AM »

Made a bit more progress but no photos this time. I got the top end torn down and the results of lack of maintenance on this bike continue. It's going to need a new cam chain and guide since the guide has been worn down to bare metal. Thankfully, it appears that no one has been inside the engine before. So, that reduces the amount of things they could break. The swing arm got stripped and powdered. It appears that the drive chain had never been adjusted because there were grooves on the swing arm from the chain hitting it. The swing arm bold had to be replaced after it too a sledge hammer to get it out. I'm also replacing the bushings with brass ones for good measure. With the exception of the crank case, I've just about fully disassembled the bike. Hopefully that means I've found all of the surprises from the PO. I think the next item on my silt is going to be to get the frame painted before it gets too cold here to do that. Then back to engine disassembly and wheel building.

Thanks to 67Fastbackfan, I was able to get seat foam in much better shape than mine. I'll probably give the seat cover a go now that I don't have to reshape the foam. I've also got a replacement tach drive assembly on it's way from jamesb. Beyond just getting excellent advice, this forum has been great for finding reasonable replacement parts.

2strokeTrush · « **Reply #22 on:** November 30, 2015, 06:50:58 PM »

Think I have a lower triple somewhere...

wowbagger · « **Reply #23 on:** November 30, 2015, 06:55:38 PM »

Thanks for the offer but I was able to get one from another member here. At this point, unless I've overlooked something, I think I have all of the parts I need. I just need to clean them up and reassemble.

wowbagger · « **Reply #24 on:** December 03, 2015, 06:46:26 AM »

Engine tear down continues. Nothing horrible found so far, just a lot of carbon buildup and filth.

I also think I found the issue with the clutch

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Author Topic: 1972 "CB525" Backyard Rescue (Read 25730 times)