Topic: surge in fourth gear

[hymodyne]

So I went out yesterday on the bike, from first to third, no problem. in fourth, the bike would surge forward as if it were coming in and out of that gear. when I shifted to fifth, no issues at all. I thought it might be clutch plates stuck together, but after a 20+mile ride in 60 degree weather, it still had the surge in fourth. I had replaced the 2nd gear shift fork on this bike about two winters ago; I rode the bike about a week before this most recent ride yesterday with no issues after 60+ miles of highway riding.

any suggestions would be appreciated, as always,

hym

[Tim in Ohio]

Does the surge seem like at all like it could be a fuel issue?  It seems that you have been thinking transmission.

[SteveD CB500F]

Mine does that in third.

After lengthy discussion with Bryan Jones (is there any other sort?), we've come to the conclusion that is is gearbox wear - either worn dogs or selector forks. The bike is effectively slipping out of gear for a fraction of a second, before re-engaging. It will only get worse.

It seems a fairly common fault as the 500 was renowned for it's slightly weak clutch/gearbox design - one reason why Honda changed it for the 550.

Engine out and gearbox strip I'm afraid.

[hymodyne]

that's what I was afraid of.

hopefully I'll be able to finish the rebuild of teh 550 replacement engine I have befor riding season really gets here.

hym

[SteveD CB500F]

This is the best description I've found on the web. It's an archive as the url is now defunct and the pictures don't exist any more.

Still a good read though:

http://web.archive.org/web/20080129050926/http://www.hondapeople.com/four/cb500/gearshift/500fgear.htm

[tygrant]

your breaking through the sound barrier. call the guiness book, they may want to know about it