Topic: '71 CB500 Four Scrambler

[DurangoCB]

Hey, it is what it is. Thanks for your help. The crack is up above the shift lever though, at the top of the cover.  But that probably makes little difference.

It just makes it worse actually. Keep an eye out for a replacement.

Marissa came through with the assist. 

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Can someone confirm that this throttle will work on my CB500?  I have a replacement MC/lever and non-stock switches. 

http://4into1.com/motion-pro-push-pull-throttle-black/



The bike came with a new set of push/pull cables from 4into1.com so I have those already.

It should work. Motion Pro makes a nicer one, too.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

I'm rewiring my bike and running an m-unit.  I'm going to use these momentary push buttons.  Two on the left will control the L TURN and HORN, two on the right will control R TURN and HEADLIGHT. 



Revival sells the same buttons but they're something like $20 ea.  The eBay buttons are 4 for $10 and they actually have a slightly better water-resistance rating.  I'm on the hunt for saddle washers that will allow them to sit more flush with the handlebars. 

By the way, the guys at Revival Cycles have been really generous with their time and help and I intend to purchase everything I can (afford) from them.

I'm not sure about the vendor on those switches.  Another option is Motone.  They have nice dual and triple button switches.  http://motone.com/universal-parts/

[DurangoCB]

I'm not sure about the vendor on those switches.  Another option is Motone.  They have nice dual and triple button switches.  http://motone.com/universal-parts/

Motone has some great wares.  Love the turn signal brackets for the fork legs.  I have to reign in the budget a little if I'm going to get this bike done by the end of summer. 

The postman just dropped off the mini push buttons, so I'll test them out soon. 

[DurangoCB]

Can someone confirm that this throttle will work on my CB500?  I have a replacement MC/lever and non-stock switches. 

It should work. Motion Pro makes a nicer one, too.

The Rev2, right?  I think it's like $165.  Ouch.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

The Rev2 is the more premium one they offer.  I don't think that you have to go that whole-hog, but I like it because you can easily swap out the cams for different twist ratios.

[DurangoCB]

If I had the cash, I’d be all over it.

[Scramps]

I love those buttons, looking forward to seeing how they’re implemented


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[flyinelvis]

Hi Durango, loved your area while on a mountain biking adventure a few years back.  Beautiful, absolutely beautiful.  I’m a l-o-n-g time lurker here at SOHC4, this may very well be my first post (can’t recall).  Anyway, looking to get back into the 550/4 one day soon, although they’re pretty difficult to find here in the southeast.  Went looking for one a few years back and ended up building 3 CX500’s, before moving on the the GT647 Hawks.  Now it’s time to circle back.  OK, enuff about me...

You may scan eBay for a used CBR600RR (or other later vintage bike) throttle as they are very similar to the previously posted throttle and may be less expensive and of a bit better quality.  I’m putting one on a Hawk once I settle on cable length with Motion Pro.

Very much enjoying your build thread.

Carry on...

[DurangoCB]

That's good to know- thanks.  Life is getting in the way of progress on this bike, so it may be a month or two before I settle on a throttle.

We love it in Durango.  The mountain biking is what brought us here.  Previously lived in Prescott, AZ for 12 years and moved here 5-6 years ago.  I managed bike shops for years (don't anymore) and my wife runs a mountain bike coaching business. Bicycles are our religion, so we moved to the most beautiful temple we could find!

[Stev-o]

We love it in Durango.  The mountain biking is what brought us here.  Previously lived in Prescott, AZ for 12 years and moved here 5-6 years ago.  I managed bike shops for years (don't anymore) and my wife runs a mountain bike coaching business. Bicycles are our religion, so we moved to the most beautiful temple we could find!

Have you biked at Durango Mt Resort?  We were there a couple years back, the weather was light rain and they would let us go up with bikes.  So disappointing...

[DurangoCB]

We love it in Durango.  The mountain biking is what brought us here.  Previously lived in Prescott, AZ for 12 years and moved here 5-6 years ago.  I managed bike shops for years (don't anymore) and my wife runs a mountain bike coaching business. Bicycles are our religion, so we moved to the most beautiful temple we could find!

Have you biked at Durango Mt Resort?  We were there a couple years back, the weather was light rain and they would let us go up with bikes.  So disappointing...

Yes!  And you should come back and try again.  Three years ago a local guy bought DMR back off of the parent company (you know, the type of company that also owns Enterprise car rental and Colgate toothpaste LOL), changed the name back to Purgatory and have been really turning it back around.  AND, they've put in a lift-served bike park, gravity roller coaster, zipline, etc.  I'm a cheap bastard but I actually purchased a summer pass last year because the riding is so much fun. 

If you come back, give me a shout. 

[Stev-o]

We love it in Durango.  The mountain biking is what brought us here.  Previously lived in Prescott, AZ for 12 years and moved here 5-6 years ago.  I managed bike shops for years (don't anymore) and my wife runs a mountain bike coaching business. Bicycles are our religion, so we moved to the most beautiful temple we could find!

Have you biked at Durango Mt Resort?  We were there a couple years back, the weather was light rain and they would let us go up with bikes.  So disappointing...

Yes!  And you should come back and try again.  Three years ago a local guy bought DMR back off of the parent company (you know, the type of company that also owns Enterprise car rental and Colgate toothpaste LOL), changed the name back to Purgatory and have been really turning it back around.  AND, they've put in a lift-served bike park, gravity roller coaster, zipline, etc.  I'm a cheap bastard but I actually purchased a summer pass last year because the riding is so much fun. 

If you come back, give me a shout. 

Good info, thx.  I have a trip planned to CO in August but we'll be about 300 miles away in Beaver Creek...

[DurangoCB]

Beaver Creek ain’t bad, either.

ColoRADo

[Pin2Hot]

It wasn't until just now did I make the connection between your username and the actual city in Colorado....

A buddy of mine and I passed through and stayed at a campsite on the north end of town, currently called United Campgrounds of Durango.  He and I rode our bikes from St. Louis to LA via Colorado / Vegas then headed north to Laguna Seca for the MotoGP race in 08.

http://www.pbase.com/pin2hot/gporbustday3
http://www.pbase.com/pin2hot/gporbustday4

Those were the two days we passed through your area.  Absolutely gorgeous out there, would go back in a heartbeat.  We got to see the Silverton / Durango Narrow Gauge train pass by our campsite before we left which was really neat.

[DurangoCB]

That sounds like a great adventure!  I know the campground well.  When we lived in Prescott, AZ we used to come up to Durango a few times a year and always stayed at the United Campground.  Especially to people who had spent a dozen years in Arizona, the grass at United was oh so soft and luxurious.  And the train is cool, too.  One of the great things about living here is hearing that old whistle blow a few times every morning and every night. 

[DurangoCB]

Almost forgot I was in the middle of a CB500 project until yesterday. 

Where I am now, with the bike in pieces in boxes, feels like the crux of the project.  Where lesser men eddy out and two years later the bike is on Craigslist. Not me, no sir. Getting over that hump!  If I can just get the frame and other parts to the powder coater, it will be more or less downhill from there.  So I took yesterday to make some ugly welds and fabricated brackets to allow me to get the Made in China seat on and off easily.  The welds are uglier than sin but everything worked out pretty well.  And I determined that I actually have room for another shallow tray in the rear section of the subframe, where I can park some electrical, including the Rick's R/R. 

And my plan to mount the Revival LED turn signals at the rear of the frame is going to work.  Flat plate across the opening where the subframe was chopped with a nut welded to the backside which the LED housing will screw into.  Wiring will be internal for just a few inches. 

That's the last step before shaping and sanding the rough spots, then to blast and powder. 

[Scramps]

I love it, can’t wait to see how it turns out

[Gurp]

Great work so far cant wait to see more progress!

[DurangoCB]

Thanks, fellas.  Lots of learning along the way, which is kind of the point.  Otherwise, I'd be making an easy monthly payment on a new bike. 

I've had some good luck with things that seem notoriously difficult for SOHC owners but that I found to be fairly straightforward.  One was mounting new tires.  Set the wheels and tires out in the sun if you can.  Work on getting both beads into the deepest part of the rim channel before you grab your tire levers.  Piece of cake getting them off.  New rubber goes back on even easier.  It's just a heavier, more stubborn version of a bicycle tire. 

The other task was replacing the swingarm bushings.  I assumed I was in for a fight and immediately went for the hacksaw blade but at the end of the job I realized that I had managed to cut all the way through only one of the bushings but the other I didn't make it through.  Guess which bushing came out easier?  Yep, the intact one.  The slit allowed it to collapse a little, but it also ovalized just enough that it made it difficult to tap out.   

I used a 24" long piece of 1/4" flat steel.  Tap the bushing out from the opposite side.  I had to resharpen the corners of the flat steel a couple times along the way on the bench grinder to keep them square.  Tap at the 12 o'clock position on the bushing, then the 6 o'clock... back and forth until the bushing pops out.  As long as you're lucky like I was and your swingarm is in decent condition.

I have a homemade bearing press that I used to set the new bushings.  I tried one bushing in the freezer overnight and one at room temp.  Didn't seem to make any difference.  They both took the same amount of pressure to drive them in. 

I've also managed to find time to shave off the front brake switch mount and reshape the lower clamps. 

[DurangoCB]

Oh and keen eyes will notice that I need to find a skilled welder (so, ahem, definitely not me...) for a few small things, including the missing fork stop on that lower clamp.  The PO had someone replace it with a bolt that they made the same shape as the original stop, but I'd prefer someone fab something nicer.

[Scramps]

I love it when a plan comes together.

So the swing arm bushings, everyone seems to want to replace the original style with brass. What are the advantages of brass over the original ones?

I ask because I’ve already reassembled mine and it seems to be fine, but now I’m starting to think I may have made a mistake

[DurangoCB]

I love it when a plan comes together.

So the swing arm bushings, everyone seems to want to replace the original style with brass. What are the advantages of brass over the original ones?

I ask because I’ve already reassembled mine and it seems to be fine, but now I’m starting to think I may have made a mistake

I've heard two rationale:

First, galling is something that happens when certain materials are subjected to friction between them and it can often be worst when two pieces of the same/similar materials are rubbing against one another.  So if you want to make Part A out of X material, then the Y material that you make Part B out of should be selected such that it minimizes galling. 

The other reason is that brass is softer than steel and a bushing is actually designed to/expected to wear, so your permanent surfaces/parts (the ones you don't want to have to replace) are made of a hard material and the bushing, which is easy and inexpensive to replace, is made of the softer material. 

[DurangoCB]

Now that I re-read your question, I think what you're wondering is why does everyone replace the bushing at all. 

It's just another of the three dozen things that you go, "Hey, while I have this thing apart I might as well..." 

Again, bushings are designed to wear, albeit as slowly as possible.  But on an old bike like ours with some mileage on them, it's a safe bet that the bushings are worn to some degree.  For $40 and 60 minutes of work, might as well start your new build fresh in as many respects as possible. 

[Scramps]

This is valuable information, thank you very much