Figured I'd kill two birds with one stone here, so hey. My name is Marissa, back in April I bought my first motorcycle, a 1972 Honda CB500 dressed in Candy Garnet Brown. I was actually looking at bikes for a while, but I wasn't really sure what I wanted, nor was I finding anything that really fit my fancy for a while. At one point, I bought a 1980 AMI Indian moped to work on and tinker with; wasn't the best to learn on (parts were impossible to find & not much info on them) but I somehow doubled my money on it. It was at that point that I realized I was looking for a project with a much bigger aftermarket support, lots of information, and a bigger following.
Regardless of this, up until a couple of months ago, I still had no knowledge on motorcycles or what to really look for. Everything I learned was from searching for bikes on Craigslist everyday, and almost every hour. I decided that a classic Honda CB would be the best fit, as I love old school styling, and definitely could not afford or want to buy parts for a Triumph or Norton. Really could not find a good project for the money through Craigslist, (lol, $1000 for a rusty bike with a seized engine and no paperwork) so I paid a little more than I wanted to, and bought a very solid one through a dealership.
So yes, I personally paid more than I liked, but I found a virtually all original, very solid bike for the money. All of the brightwork on the bike is in impeccable shape, the frame is virtually spotless of rust, the paint is original and aged well, and overall well taken care of.
While I was going through the process of earning my license, I gathered some books, tools, and parts from 4into1, and began the battle to fire this baby up. I bought it non operable, but they did compression test it and it tested well. (I still think that could have been an awful mistake though)
Shortly after, I found myself rebuilding the carburetors and retaining a lot of what I was learning (something about having the bike right there really makes it easy to learn and have that drive to keep learning) and I recently was able to get the bike to not only start up, but idle on it's own entirely, which is a really big feat for me. I really did not expect to progress this fast.
So right now, the bike still has a huge way to go in order to be road worthy. I need new tubes and tires, and the wheels definitely need balancing. If I'm honest, I think I want to take it to a shop to do this professionally, as if anything were to go wrong, it could lead to a serious fall or wipeout. I also need to:
Measure valve lash and adjust accordingly
Rebuild fork
Figure out why the rear turn signals are faulty
Get or fabricate a super low profile seat (I am super short)
Replace finnicky magnetic ignition switch
Fine tune carburetors. I want to run velocity stacks, and I currently have the air box off anyways. I believe this is why I can only get it to idle, as when I tried blipping the throttle, it stalled and I feel like it's getting starved of fuel. I would try starting it back up, no luck, spray some starting fluid, and it would immediately start up again. I feel like the floats aren't perfect (even though I measured 22mm 3 different times 3 different ways) but I was also told I may need to get a different jet size to compensate and correct the AFR. Any thoughts would be appreciated as it's my first time working with carbs.
Look into any other possible ways to get the bike lower, preferably without messing with the suspension geometry. I have the seat off at the moment, and I can almost flat foot both feet while wearing my vans. I have boots with a heel and bigger sole but I'm not sure I'll be wearing those all the time and overall lowering it will really help with my confidence on the road and in parking lots. Not to mention if there's a good way to lower it, the lower center of gravity will help with lifting it and moving, etc.
Eventually replace gaskets. Nothing is weeping, leaking, or pouring, but there is buildup around some gaskets that will need addressing at one point. The most concerning is the headgasket, while I don't think it's an issue now, it is dirty and I'm going to guess it'll need replacing by the end of the season, of which will be a scary task, but I'm hoping it won't be that drastic.
I would go ahead and address the other gaskets by torquing down any screws or bolts to spec, but most bolts and screws are totally seized; I sprayed wd40 and silicone spray on a lot, but it's looking like that's not a solution for most. Thinking of getting a can or two of PB blaster and possibly shocking the bolts with a hammer. (Note: I have JIS type screwdrivers and have been using them, along with the appropriate size and even a 90 degree adapter for more torque)
Definitely need shorter throttle cables. The bike had Ape Hanger style handlebars when I got it, and now I have Drag style bars on. There's honestly like an excess of 4 inches. I have them routed as best as possible right now but it looks pretty sloppy and loose.
Also need to get a new tach gear housing. Mine is cracked and I found out the hard way that it can't be tig welded. So if anyone has one laying around from a tach delete they did or knows where to get one, message me.
That's about it at the moment, I would love to see everyone's favorite or recommended build threads for a CB500, I browsed briefly but I have yet to find one that really went into the detail that I wanted, so if anyone has threads, send them my way!
