Topic: 1971 K0 CB500

[grcamna2]

Nice work. 

That's Phil's place ? Great looking shop !

this gives a better idea of the space, still lots more.

That's a wonderful shop with some sweet bikes in it.
How long has Phil been doing his business ?

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1972-honda-cb500-four-7/#comments-anchor
 original gold 72 just listed on bat

this is only the 3rd original cb500 on BAT,  TOTAL..all others are modified.

this one is a transition model, has small gauges and large reflectors, large rear tail light.

it was originally a candy jade green before restoration.

Hope the goldie brings good money.

[Shtonecb500]

Nice work. 

That's Phil's place ? Great looking shop !

this gives a better idea of the space, still lots more.

That's a wonderful shop with some sweet bikes in it.
How long has Phil been doing his business ?

The shop was in operation for 40-50 years, he built cars, trucks, and motorcycles. He retired like 7-8 years ago. He wonders if he would have done better if he had focused on Harley rather than Honda but I think he did really #$%*ing well, lol.

[grcamna2]

Nice work. 

That's Phil's place ? Great looking shop !

this gives a better idea of the space, still lots more.

That's a wonderful shop with some sweet bikes in it.
How long has Phil been doing his business ?

The shop was in operation for 40-50 years, he built cars, trucks, and motorcycles. He retired like 7-8 years ago. He wonders if he would have done better if he had focused on Harley rather than Honda but I think he did really #$%*ing well, lol.

I've seen shop owners stop working on 'Jap Bikes' because of $ that  and just do Harleys;with all the chrome & custom stuff:more 'Bling' more $.
I'm glad Phil stayed with Hondas 

[Shtonecb500]

Nice work. 

That's Phil's place ? Great looking shop !

this gives a better idea of the space, still lots more.

That's a wonderful shop with some sweet bikes in it.
How long has Phil been doing his business ?

The shop was in operation for 40-50 years, he built cars, trucks, and motorcycles. He retired like 7-8 years ago. He wonders if he would have done better if he had focused on Harley rather than Honda but I think he did really #$%*ing well, lol.

I've seen shop owners stop working on 'Jap Bikes' because of $ that  and just do Harleys;with all the chrome & custom stuff:more 'Bling' more $.
I'm glad Phil stayed with Hondas 

I think he has been able to survive because he does everything himself. He rebuilds the motors, bores them, tunes them, rebuilds and syncs the carbs, laces and builds, balances his own wheels, does his own welding and fab, has a paint booth if he wants, makes his own throttle and clutch cables, knows electrical, used to race when he was young and built race bikes and sponsored teams and locked up wins. He can do all that with basically every vintage honda there is...doesnt have to outsource anything so money is always coming in. He turns away alot of work still wont work on goldwings and doesnt take on polishing work anymore.

[grcamna2]

Nice work. 

That's Phil's place ? Great looking shop !

this gives a better idea of the space, still lots more.

That's a wonderful shop with some sweet bikes in it.
How long has Phil been doing his business ?

The shop was in operation for 40-50 years, he built cars, trucks, and motorcycles. He retired like 7-8 years ago. He wonders if he would have done better if he had focused on Harley rather than Honda but I think he did really #$%*ing well, lol.

I've seen shop owners stop working on 'Jap Bikes' because of $ that  and just do Harleys;with all the chrome & custom stuff:more 'Bling' more $.
I'm glad Phil stayed with Hondas 

I think he has been able to survive because he does everything himself. He rebuilds the motors, bores them, tunes them, rebuilds and syncs the carbs, laces and builds, balances his own wheels, does his own welding and fab, has a paint booth if he wants, makes his own throttle and clutch cables, knows electrical, used to race when he was young and built race bikes and sponsored teams and locked up wins. He can do all that with basically every vintage honda there is...doesnt have to outsource anything so money is always coming in. He turns away alot of work still wont work on goldwings and doesnt take on polishing work anymore.

I hope you work with him and let him pass-on to you as much of that knowledge as he wants to:get you pumped to do the business. 

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

I wonder if that wood plinth is nearly as old as me.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Now that the motor is back in action, can I get a second to my nomination for this bike -- in the following thread:  http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,180400.0.html

[Little_Phil]

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1972-honda-cb500-four-7/#comments-anchor
 original gold 72 just listed on bat

this is only the 3rd stock cb500 on BAT,  TOTAL..all others are modified.

this one is a transition model, has small gauges and large reflectors, large rear tail light.

it was originally a candy jade green before restoration, original odometer looks like it had around 7-8k original miles on the motor but faces were cracked, body kit repainted, looks to have sourced an oem exhaust with rot in some spots on the underside, some coin size holes.

Not sure what it is trying to be. Certainly not a show pony. And wouldn't take much use before the pipe blows out. A few mismatched and aftermarket bits thrown in. I like the re-plated bolts though.

[Shtonecb500]

Decided to make a new clutch and  throttle cables tomorrow so it’s 90% back together.

tasks: installs new cables, oil, exhaust, fire it up. Checked all electrical and it all works fine, fingers crossed I want no road blocks on this revival.

[Shtonecb500]

Today I removed the rear fender, grab bar, mud guard, shocks and rear wheel. Polished the fender and grab bar, dismantled the shocks and polished them completely and resembled. Managed to find a good condition return throttle cable in the pile so was able to avoid having to make new throttle cables, did make a new clutch cable though....so all cables are hooked up. Degreased the rear sprocket, carrier, and chain and reinstalled.

While the rear wheel was out  I straightened out the crossmember under the seat, didn't use any heat just knocked it back into shape with a hammer the best I could, kept my other 550 next to me to reference it. Removed the stem nut and washer, triple clamp bolts and nuts and other nuts and bolts and cleaned/shined them up. Pipes 1 and 2 went on really easily but for some reason number 3 and 4 pipe dont want to line up at all, I decided to battle it on Monday when I have help. After that I just need to dump oil in and fire it. I might go up there in the morning and wrap it up.

[grcamna2]

I like how nice your making it 
Look forward to hear how it runs Now 

[Shtonecb500]

There are 11, i repeat, 11 active bidders on that gold cb500 on BAT, there are always bidders that come in the last minute. The is a very good indicator in my book for us 500 owners..

edit:sold 7600

[Shtonecb500]

I like how nice your making it 
Look forward to hear how it runs Now 

Im kinda stumped on how to get test miles on this damn bike right now. Winter literally just showed up here and is promising below freezing temps for weeks on end. I don't mind putting on carhartts and winter gloves but because these tires are original, i have no desire riding on 30 degree pavement that hasn't seen the sun in over a week. Im looking for a really safe, straight long stretch that doesnt get too much traffic...that way I can putz along never exceeding 60mhp and put 200-300 miles on it.

[grcamna2]

I like how nice your making it 
Look forward to hear how it runs Now 

Im kinda stumped on how to get test miles on this damn bike right now. Winter literally just showed up here and is promising below freezing temps for weeks on end. I don't mind putting on carhartts and winter gloves but because these tires are original, i have no desire riding on 30 degree pavement that hasn't seen the sun in over a week. Im looking for a really safe, straight long stretch that doesnt get too much traffic...that way I can putz along never exceeding 60mhp and put 200-300 miles on it.

I hear you on those straight-up break-in miles riding in the Winter;take a few lbs. pressure out of the tires to allow them a little more grip until you replace them Soon  ! Watch-out for the sand.
The Winter is a good time to break-in a fresh rebuild,keeps it cool;it helps to wind it through the gears multiple times,won't take long to shut it off to cool down for a few minutes before heading off again:'heat cycles',hot then cool then hot again helps. I like to start it for it's First start after a top-end rebuild and lightly 'blip it'/roll it up and down for about maybe 15mins;then shut it down for full cool down.
I then take it for a little ride next time,running it along through the gears until it's up to full operating temps,then shut it down for full cool down again.
I would go easy around corners,slowly until you hit the straights and then give it a few rpm's;the rings will like a bit of acceleration(forces them outward into the cylinder walls with more pressure)to a certain rpm,then let-off:loading them then unloading them.I wouldn't downshift too fast,keep giving it more power up-shifting.
Yeah,2-300 miles break-in to do your best to correctly seat the rings so they develop an even wear pattern;you'll be able to feel the increase in compression when kicking it over as those rings break-in.
Then when Spring hit's,finish breaking it in with high speed runs for another 3-400miles 

[Shtonecb500]

I like how nice your making it 
Look forward to hear how it runs Now 

Im kinda stumped on how to get test miles on this damn bike right now. Winter literally just showed up here and is promising below freezing temps for weeks on end. I don't mind putting on carhartts and winter gloves but because these tires are original, i have no desire riding on 30 degree pavement that hasn't seen the sun in over a week. Im looking for a really safe, straight long stretch that doesnt get too much traffic...that way I can putz along never exceeding 60mhp and put 200-300 miles on it.

I hear you on those straight-up break-in miles riding in the Winter;take a few lbs. pressure out of the tires to allow them a little more grip until you replace them soon.
The Winter is a good time to break-in a fresh rebuild;it helps to wind it through the gears multiple times,won't take long to shut it off to cool down for a few minutes before heading off again.
I would go easy around corners,slowly until you hit the straights and then give it a few rpm's;the rings will like a bit of acceleration to a certain rpm,then let-off.
Yeah,2-300 miles break-in to do your best to correctly seat the rings so they develop an even wear pattern;you'll be able to feel the increase in compression when kicking it over as those rings break-in.
Then when Spring hit's,finish breaking it in to the high rpm's for another 3-400miles 

There are two guys that come into the shop, one has a collection of vehicles in a hanger at the OCC airport a mile away and another guy is a pilot...im going to see if one of them can get me on the grounds to do laps on the bike or something.....at the very least gonna see if i can get the bike into his hanger to get pictures of it with some of his stuff.

[Shtonecb500]

Done


bike sounds amazing, Phil timed it and I spent the rest of the time detailing, polishing..just some small stuff to do before i take some new pictures

[grcamna2]

Done

Yeah Man 

[wolf550]

YES! get that thing broke in!

[Little_Phil]

I expect you will be glad to see it go and then GO. It's been a journey that is hopefully nearing completion.

[BenelliSEI]

Nice work!

[Shtonecb500]

Fuel lines un-hooked, bowls are drained, and it's stored until April.

Summary:
Damage: head destroyed, #1 intake valve spring and #3 intake damper/inner spring failed. #1 valve guides failed, valve dropped through piston, bent rod in #1. Cylinder #1 unaffected.

Motor work: Donor parts from a 73' CB500
Head reconditioned by Phil White, seats ground, new valve seats, 4 donor rods,  plastigage clearances within spec, all crank bearings were like new.
cylinder bore 1st over on all 4
Complete tear down to remove all debris and cleaned
assembled with new oil seals and clutch
new pistons and rings
all new gaskets
valves lashed, timed tuned, carbs synced.

Additional rounds of restoration would include polishing both hubs, new spokes and nipples, replacing of the front rim, painting the triple tree, replacing the front fender.

edit:that bike below looks slick without the grab bar.


Edit: Im going to remove the front and rear wheel, chain and front sprocket and put on another set to run the test miles.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Please feel free to post some of these new photos up on the Bike of the Month Voting thread!  http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,191522.0.html

[Shtonecb500]

Purchased this little stock seat lock that I see on some cb500s, figured I would add it to the bike since it has the original key with it and since i changed the push down gas cap lock with the key lock.

the key codes do not match, so the original key for ignition and steering lock and that one for the seat lock.


the tires say T 7102

Thats Feb, 71' right?

I have everything to do a dual disc, would that hurt value? (edit: i forgot what the tank looked like before i asked that)

Im worried about creating any type of micro rip, cracks in the old rubber if i replace the rim, what do you guys think?

[seanbarney41]

No idea on value, but from a performance viewpoint, dual disc is unnecessary for the lighter weight 500/550 but adds a lot of weight.