Topic: CB500 largest rear sprocket?

[robvangulik]

Oil thread? Did someone say "Oil Thread? I luuuuv oil threads. Been using Aussie cheap Gulf Western 20w50 from SuperCheap Autos on my CB550F for years. I never used "motorcycle specific oils" on any of the motorcycles I've owned since I started riding . Use the money saved for petrol.

Are you trying to make up for time lost between 2011 and now, with almost 70 posts in the last couple of days?

[caluser2000]

I guess so

Oil thread? Did someone say "Oil Thread? I luuuuv oil threads. Been using Aussie cheap Gulf Western 20w50 from SuperCheap Autos on my CB550F for years. I never used "motorcycle specific oils" on any of the motorcycles I've owned since I started riding . Use the money saved for petrol.

Are you trying to make up for time lost between 2011 and now, with almost 70 posts in the last couple of days?

I guess so

I was seriously ill and houde bound for 5 of those years. Wouldn't want anyone to be in that dark place though. Electric shock treatment was interesting though.Concentrating on the getting my CB550F back up and road legal slowly dragged me out of that hole I was in thank goodness. Still gotta take nice little red tablets to keep me somewhat stable though 

Not long after I got Darky, my CB550F, sorted I spotted a high km '98 Suzuki XF650W single up grabs. Got it for a good sum and had to sorted out. Fixed half a dozen cracks in the LH tank cover then repainted both sides. The suspension was set all over the place. The PO fitted a suspension lowering kit and had it so low the rear rubbed a few large holes under the back guard and front fork tubes were 2" though the triple Ts. Sorted all that out along with some mods to suit my hight/build and repaired the holes. Now it is sweet. It has bigger valves and runs two cards compared to the DR650s. 100lbs lighter than a stock CB550F and around the same power output. Gear ratio are very similar to Darkys as well so going from one to the other bike isn't much bother. Man it is a hoot to ride

[robvangulik]

Good to read you're climbing out of it, I just remembered your username from way back, and suddenly all over the forum again. Be strong, and keep going!

[caluser2000]

Good to read you're climbing out of it, I just remembered your username from way back, and suddenly all over the forum again. Be strong, and keep going!

Thank you for those kind words robvangulik.

[Terry in Australia]

Oil thread? Did someone say "Oil Thread? I luuuuv oil threads. Been using Aussie cheap Gulf Western 20w50 from SuperCheap Autos on my CB550F for years. I never used "motorcycle specific oils" on any of the motorcycles I've owned since I started riding . Use the money saved for petrol.

Well that’s something we can both agree on mate, the only time I’ve had low oil pressure issues here has been since using “Motorcycle Specific” oil. Like you, I ran that cheap Gulf Western car oil in all my CB750’s with no issues, ever.

I’ve wasted 150 bucks so far on bike oil on the K2 bitsa this year, due to having the “Freshly built by an expert” POS engine out of the frame twice because it was fcuked, so the next thing I’m gonna do if my oil pressure is still too low is dump the Bike oil out of it and go back to the cheap car oil.

[caluser2000]

Oil thread? Did someone say "Oil Thread? I luuuuv oil threads. Been using Aussie cheap Gulf Western 20w50 from SuperCheap Autos on my CB550F for years. I never used "motorcycle specific oils" on any of the motorcycles I've owned since I started riding . Use the money saved for petrol.

Well that’s something we can both agree on mate, the only time I’ve had low oil pressure issues here has been since using “Motorcycle Specific” oil. Like you, I ran that cheap Gulf Western car oil in all my CB750’s with no issues, ever.

I’ve wasted 150 bucks so far on bike oil on the K2 bitsa this year, due to having the “Freshly built by an expert” POS engine out of the frame twice because it was fcuked, so the next thing I’m gonna do if my oil pressure is still too low is dump the Bike oil out of it and go back to the cheap car oil.

Castrol GTX was the go to oil in the late '70s thru early '80. Then there was a rumor about Castrol changing the indigence around '83 or so. Don't know if it was true or not but a lot of motorcyclist over here started using something else. When rumors spread a lot of folk believe them as true unfortunately. I see GTX is still available at a reasonable price still compared to other so called "premium" brands.

[Terry in Australia]

Oh, and I just read about your illness, and I’m glad you’re on the mend. I had a heart attack in 2014 but didn’t seek medical help. collapsed in my garage, crawled inside the house, no-one was home and I wasn’t sure what to do, had massive chest pains for a couple of hours, fell asleep (or maybe unconscious) and when I woke up again, I felt fine, but had chest pain for a week or so.

Back then I was 340 pounds, smoked and drank Bourbon and (real) coke like water. My older brother was a type 2 diabetic and he suffered a heart attack 2 years later, and died. I got a new job in Canberra and went to the doctor because I’d burned my leg on the pipe of my Honda VTR1000F and it had become infected. She sent me off for a battery of tests that came back with the news that I had indeed suffered a heart attack, I was “Pre-Diabetic”, my blood pressure was almost off the scale (190/110) and I better sort my sh1t out if I wanted any more birthdays.

In August 2018 I had a gastric bypass, which had some complications so I was on liquids only (couldn’t swallow solids) for 4 months, so had 8 gastroscopies over 4 months to “Stretch” my lower intestine. In September I had emergency prostate surgery after I woke up one morning and couldn’t piss.

I was as weak as a kitten for well over a year and due to ongoing pain I had liver surgery in 2019, then a month later had an incident in my garage when I was cleaning a rusty CB750 clutch disc on the wite wheel attachment on my pedestal grinder. The brush grabbed the disc and pulled it out of my hand, it hit the garage wall and bounced back into my face smashing my nose, the bones around my nose, and punctured my left eye’s retina. I had reconstructive surgery and all was good.

Since then though, apart from another burned/infected leg and a couple of broken digits, I’ve been fine. I’m 120 pounds lighter than I was in 2018, and am regaining my strength again, which is great. I’m buying/building more bikes than ever, and riding way more too. I take up to 17 different pills every day, but the VA pays for my drugs and gives me a tax free pension too, so life is pretty good now. The thing that got me thru everything was daydreaming about building and riding bikes. If I had nothing to look forward to, I think I would have ended up like my brother. All the best mate.

[caluser2000]

I was was lucky my good wife stuck me. She has bad artheritus and numerous other ailment and has a, What appears to be a whole pharmacy in top top drawer of her bead room dresser. Does some damn good stain glass, carving and pyography artwork though. I'll post some pic on my intro thread some time.

The reality is us oldies aint going to get any younger so enjoy what riding time you have left and keep that smile on your dial. The world already has far to many old grumpy #$%*s on it....

[Terry in Australia]

Oil thread? Did someone say "Oil Thread? I luuuuv oil threads. Been using Aussie cheap Gulf Western 20w50 from SuperCheap Autos on my CB550F for years. I never used "motorcycle specific oils" on any of the motorcycles I've owned since I started riding . Use the money saved for petrol.

Well that’s something we can both agree on mate, the only time I’ve had low oil pressure issues here has been since using “Motorcycle Specific” oil. Like you, I ran that cheap Gulf Western car oil in all my CB750’s with no issues, ever.

I’ve wasted 150 bucks so far on bike oil on the K2 bitsa this year, due to having the “Freshly built by an expert” POS engine out of the frame twice because it was fcuked, so the next thing I’m gonna do if my oil pressure is still too low is dump the Bike oil out of it and go back to the cheap car oil.

Castrol GTX was the go to oil in the late '70s thru early '80. Then there was a rumor about Castrol changing the indigence around '83 or so. Don't know if it was true or not but a lot of motorcyclist over here started using something else. When rumors spread a lot of folk believe them as true unfortunately. I see GTX is still available at a reasonable price still compared to other so called "premium" brands.

I used to buy the old “Mobil Super” for years and it was fantastic. The GTX issue was real, they added more friction modifiers which caused clutch slip, and my mate Dave had his CB750 K2 overheat for the first since buying it new, when doing the ignition timing, so dumped the GTX and went back to Mobil, and it was fine.

I’ve been using that cheap Gulf Western stuff and occasionally Penrite HPR30 because it was recommended to me by the guys in the FJR1300 forums, and it works well in anything I’ve used it in so far. But the Gulf Western stuff is so cheap, I’ll probably just go back to that.

[caluser2000]

Oil thread? Did someone say "Oil Thread? I luuuuv oil threads. Been using Aussie cheap Gulf Western 20w50 from SuperCheap Autos on my CB550F for years. I never used "motorcycle specific oils" on any of the motorcycles I've owned since I started riding . Use the money saved for petrol.

Well that’s something we can both agree on mate, the only time I’ve had low oil pressure issues here has been since using “Motorcycle Specific” oil. Like you, I ran that cheap Gulf Western car oil in all my CB750’s with no issues, ever.

I’ve wasted 150 bucks so far on bike oil on the K2 bitsa this year, due to having the “Freshly built by an expert” POS engine out of the frame twice because it was fcuked, so the next thing I’m gonna do if my oil pressure is still too low is dump the Bike oil out of it and go back to the cheap car oil.

Castrol GTX was the go to oil in the late '70s thru early '80. Then there was a rumor about Castrol changing the indigence around '83 or so. Don't know if it was true or not but a lot of motorcyclist over here started using something else. When rumors spread a lot of folk believe them as true unfortunately. I see GTX is still available at a reasonable price still compared to other so called "premium" brands.

I used to buy the old “Mobil Super” for years and it was fantastic. The GTX issue was real, they added more friction modifiers which caused clutch slip, and my mate Dave had his CB750 K2 overheat for the first since buying it new, when doing the ignition timing, so dumped the GTX and went back to Mobil, and it was fine.

I’ve been using that cheap Gulf Western stuff and occasionally Penrite HPR30 because it was recommended to me by the guys in the FJR1300 forums, and it works well in anything I’ve used it in so far. But the Gulf Western stuff is so cheap, I’ll probably just go back to that.

Or local Super Cheap Autos will get a whole shipment in and sell it at there normal price then a month or so later drop nz$6.00 off. I just wait till then to get mine. . Though if I need to do an unscheduled oil/filter change because I've clocked up twice the kms I generally do I'll by a 4ltr pack at the normal price of a princely sum of nz$26. I generally try to have a spare 4ltr pack in the shed and spare oil filter though. But I am getting ooooollllddd.... and forgetfull according to my wife. she is away down at Invercargle at the moment so I'm making the most of my bachelor time.

[Terry in Australia]

Well by sheer coincidence, I’m sitting here at a Thai restaurant (and the foods not great) and my youngest son just rang to say he’s at Super Cheap and is there anything I need? I asked if they had any of that beaut Gulf Western oil and he said it’s on special for $13 for four litres! Bargain!

I asked him to grab a couple of jugs (and if he gets slapped, that’s his problem) and if the oil pressure issue persists, I’ll dump the $60 Penrite and throw in the cheap sh1t.

[caluser2000]

Well by sheer coincidence, I’m sitting here at a Thai restaurant (and the foods not great) and my youngest son just rang to say he’s at Super Cheap and is there anything I need? I asked if they had any of that beaut Gulf Western oil and he said it’s on special for $13 for four litres! Bargain!

I asked him to grab a couple of jugs (and if he gets slapped, that’s his problem) and if the oil pressure issue persists, I’ll dump the $60 Penrite and throw in the cheap sh1t.

AWESOOOOOOM! Lol!

The all seeing, all knowing Flying Spaghetti Monster is taking care of you buddy...

[caluser2000]

Damn you!!

Just looked on-line and they have it at nz$17 club discount. Guess who is going to take Puddle Jumper(our wee tangerine colored Nissan March) to get some tomorrow

Damn you!!!

[Terry in Australia]

Ha ha, go for it mate, and then tell me WTF is a Nissan March, is it something akin the Spandau Ballet?

[Alan F.]

We didn't get those in the States, is this it?

[caluser2000]

We didn't get those in the States, is this it?

That is it. Though a bit more faded now. Parks anywhere and a turn circle tighter than an new Mini or Suzuki Swift.

Frightened my wife a few times doing a U-turn to head over to a dairy on the other side of the road to get an icecream lol.

It's called a Mira in some markets iirc.

[Alan F.]

I spent allot of years with one of these, sold it in 2016 and have missed it.

[caluser2000]

I spent allot of years with one of these, sold it in 2016 and have missed it.

Very similar looking but Puddle Jumper has 4 doors. I bet yours ran on an oily rag as well.

[Alan F.]

Sure did, caning it hard was great fun and never dipped below 28mpg (US gallons) but hypermiling I could regularly get high 49.xx mpg.

[Terry in Australia]

I bought my wife a 5 year old Hyundai in 2002, they were $20K new (ours was the “Deluxe” model) and the girl I bought it from was buying a big Toyota 4WD, and was only offered $2K for a trade-in. I offered her $2100, and she readily accepted my generous offer.

In 2009 my uncle died, and my cuz offered me the uncle’s 2002 Hyundai with 30,000 Km on the clock for $5K, so I bought it for the wife, assuming that we’d get rid of the old one.

Of course I was wrong, she likes to have 2 Korean sports cars, and I must say that apart from the occasional oil change, one windscreen and one set of tyres, nothing’s ever gone wrong with them. I drove the old one to Canberra and back to buy a set of Henry Abe wheels and ended up filling the cargo space with CB750 parts, and still cruised on 70-80 MPH.

For some reason that defies modern ECU theory, they both love 98 RON fuel, and that particular trip I did 1300 Km (800 miles) on 70 litres of fuel, or 52 miles per “Imperial” gallon. Thats better than my CB750’s!

[caluser2000]

My CB550F gets a constant 47mp(imp)g on 91(RON) no matter how hard it is ridden. I haven't calculated what it gets on 98RON but it is a smoother power delivery with a lot less stagger backing off then opening the throttle mid range but is quite a bit buzzier through the handle bars. Some times I'll do a mix when I top up a half full tank just for the hell of it. With both types of petrol the end of the muffler is a nice light brown color. I been toying with the idea of trying hotter NGK D8EA plugs just for testing sake. All my previous 4 cylinder bikes of different makes ran them.

I've upped the idle speed to to 1200-1300 rpm for better acceleration from a stand still and push more oil to the rocker box while standing still. I thought it seemed strange to me that the 350s and 400s idle speed was set at 1200 rpm and the 500/550 idle speed was set at 1000rpm. Every 4-sroke four cylinder m/c I had ridden up to when I got Darky had their idle speed set at 1200rpm.

[bryanj]

I do hope you have put an extra 0 on all those idle speeds

[caluser2000]

I do hope you have put an extra 0 on all those idle speeds

Well spotted sir and duly corrected. I think.....?

You are the winner of todays virtual choccy fish. Enjoy

[Kevnz]

My 500 regularly returned 50mpg, it would go onto reserve at about 100 miles, this being my daily open road commute to work. Went on a ride with my BiL on his Buell and his BiL on my VFR. Had to give the 500 a bit of snot to keep up, at the end of the ride the 500 was running much more smoothly and hadn't gone to reserve at 120 miles. Lesson learned, they like to rev. Best Honda mileage I got was 69mpg running in my new K2 750.

[PeWe]

>1200 rpm idle will make riding in the city much easier. Ensure oil pressure when hot too.