Topic: 1972 CB500 Needs Help

[petty1]

Hi

I have a 1972 Honda CB 500 - owned it for 2 years.  He's been sitting over the winter - battery is good but he won't start. I am thinking old gas, check the spark plugs and if that doesn't work - I am at a loss. Totally new to having an old bike and a no experience maintaining or fixing my own bike let alone an oldie. I am willing to do some work but I may be out of my league if its anything too involved.

Other issue I had when he was on the road last season, he would cut out when I was shifting down..usually he would start up again but last two times this happened I had to push him home...no idea where to even start with this one..

Any help is appreciated...

[fmctm1sw]

Well....  Spark, compression, and gas.  Verify those three things first I guess.

[1timduke]

Definitely change the gas.   The carbs could need cleaning and synch.   The other general items, new plugs, set points, timing, change oil, check battery/ cable connections, valve tappets, etc, are all needing to be checked if the bike has sat and it had previous issues.

It may seem overwhelming to try and tackle these old bikes if you're not used to wrenching.   But the general maintenance is actually pretty easy.   A few basic mechanic's tools is all you need for most of it, and all the people on this forum are happy to help and have more experience than I ever will.   

Welcome to the forum.

-Tim

[OldSchool_IsCool]

+1 on fresh gas.  How well does the battery crank the engine?  If it is slow, the battery will need a charge.  Get a "trickle" charger or a "battery tender".  A small one, 2 amps or less.  +1 on new sparks too.

A trick you can try to get her... er him... to start is to use some spray carb cleaner like Gumout.  Pull the air filter out and shoot a 2 second burst into the air box (or a short squirt onto the cones of the individual filters if so fitted).  The carb cleaner should give him enough go go juice to fire up at least briefly. 

+1 on a full tune up.  Simple tools and an hour and a half and he'll treat you well!  Get a manual or download one from the FAQ section here.

[Johnie]

Sitting over the winter - just a thought, did you drain the carbs when you put it up for the winter?  If not, I would pull the bowls off and clean the jets.

[Hush]

Johnie you said a mouthful, old gas goes off in 6 weeks and turns to jello.
Pulling the bowls might be a bit beyond you, anyone in the area of Motogrrl who can assist you?
The 500 has a kick start so try using that, it will drain the battery a lot less when starting.
Hmmm a bike called "him" "he" OK that might take some getting used to, we all assumed our bikes were female, something to do with unreliability/cantankerousness/sheer bloody mindedness but if you say you have a male SOHC4 good on you.
We gotta be impressed by a gal who owns a SOHC4, welcome to the forum and don't be afraid to ask the really dumb questions, I know I do regularly.

[754]

Go to Tsawassen on the 19 to the swap meet.

Bring the bike to the parking lot, put a sign on it looking for someone to work on it with phone #& carry a cell.

Pick & choose.. then later you can probably meet a few of the forum members.I should have a table with Honda 4 parts, and I am sure a few of us will be in the bar at a few points in time, or hanging around at certain tables..

 Usually plugs can go bad fast, try fresh ones and fresh gas before you start chasing down the problem..

[BeSeeingYou]

Sitting over the winter - just a thought, did you drain the carbs when you put it up for the winter?  If not, I would pull the bowls off and clean the jets.

This is one the biggest problems with small engine carbs in our northern climate.  Too many cycles of gas evaporating in the bowls and all of a sudden, nothing, the jets are plugged.  Best to have someone show you how to take them off and clean up the internals.  It's not that hard once it has all been explained.  Then drain them when you put the bike away for the winter, making sure not to forget to turn the petcock off.

[seaweb11]

There you are   Excellent.   Good luck with the help offered.

[petty1]

Hi all

I finally have him running Definitely needed new sparks. I drained the gas and discovered I am only getting gas when I am switched all the way over to res, which may explain why he would just stop running..no gas  .  Next job is to fix that problem and I still need a tune up and a new rear tire.  I am going to attempt to change the oil as well for the season.  I did find a couple of people to possibly help with the other more involved items like "cleaning up the internals" - whatever that means! 

Motogrrl



 

[bryanj]

More important than internal is get the points clean, gapped right and timing done. ALSO check that they dont stick on the pivots (good dose of WD 40 usually works!)

[Johnie]

Motogrrl...you would really get a lot of help from an owners manual as it tells you the basics of routine oil changes, plugs, plug gap, etc.  Then as you progress into the bike and learn more I would suggest a Honda service manual for that bike.  You can get both from www.Helminc.com  Plus there is a site on this board that has the service manuals you can download and I see the site on top of the tech page here.  And the guys on this board are so full of it...knowledge I mean... and they are more than willing to share.  So do not be afraid to ask any questions.