Topic: 72 CB500 project "Black Betty" (99% done)

[westondc]

I'm starting this project thread a little late so its more of a recap of what I've already done. I'm doing a mild semi-restore of a 1972 CB500. The bike was a bit rough with many modifications from the PO. So, I guess I'll kick things off by telling how this bike came to be in my possession...


A friend of mine was harping on me to help him find an old Honda to work on over the winter. i rode my CB350 up to visit him a few hours away and parked it out front of the bar to talk motorcycles over a few brewskies. the next day when i was taking the last turn before the highway toward home i saw a CB500 four outside at a yard sale. well my first thought was "awesome, i found a bike for my friend". i parked my 73 CB350 in front of the house and walked up to the bike. a man on the porch shouted  "we wondered when you would stop by to checkout this bike". hu? how did this guy know me. he went on to explain that he was at the same bar last night, saw my bike, and the group of them agreed that if anyone was to buy the 72 CB500 i was going to be me. he explained that it was his brother's bike which he had purchased new in 1973. sadly his brother passed away a few months back so his estate was being sold. i offered him 1/2 what he was asking since i'm a broke college grad, he gladly excepted saying his brother would be happy to know that the bike was in good hands. it started right up after some idle adjustment and my friend & i rode both bikes back to my place. while filling up with gas a guy got out of his car and said "whoa, i just stepped into the 70's! nice bikes guys, good to see somebodies keeping these classic bikes going." needless to say i kept the CB500 and sold the 350 twin to my friend. now the first things to go: two-up seat, big crash bar, rear lowering brackets.



Picture taken on purchase date 10/04/09

[scooter1]

Nice bike!!

[westondc]

i'm jumping around a bit but here's the most recent bike update:

I wanted to go with original 4 to 4 exhaust on the bike. to me, the stock exhaust is the most distinctive cosmetic feature that sets the CB500 apart from other bikes of the era. this one came with the 2 to 1 slipons which are in good shape. I've been scouring ebay for months. luckily i snagged two nicely priced sets of used 4 to 4s, picked the best pipes out of the bunch and mounted them to the old girl. total price under $150. I'm a happy camper

[andy750]

Great story and great bike!

Keep the updates coming. How about a photo of the 2 bikes together with some nice Nebraska scenery?

cheers
Andy

[westondc]

here's a few pics from my phone the day i got the bike, my old CB350 is in the first pic. unfortunately not much Nebraska scenery in the pictures.

[andy750]

Very nice and thanks for the shots! Both bikes look good! Have fun with it!

cheers
Andy

[westondc]

I did some searching on the forum and found a fellow SOHC4 member that was selling a seat, seat lock, and some uncracked side covers... all of which i needed. the seat vinyl was shot so i ordered a replacement cover off of ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Honda-CB500-Seat-Cover-1971-74-Four-CB-500-ST-PS-EF_W0QQitemZ380195989765QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotorcycles_Parts_Accessories?hash=item5885726905 . I'm pretty happy with the quality of the cover. i haven't completely installed it yet. i was a little concerned about how to fasten the cover to the seat pan as it only has a draw string that tightens around the inside of the pan. i bought some seat spike stripping which i will be installing http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/SPIKE-STRIP-Recover-Motorcycle-Seat-honda-cb-tack-tac_W0QQitemZ280440996462QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotorcycles_Parts_Accessories?hash=item414b96026e i'm looking for some chrome trim now to go along the bottom of the seat, any recommendations?

if you notice in the pics I've removed the tank and side cover emblems in preparation for a new paint job. removing the tank emblem was a real pain but i developed a simple process of removal which I've posted here http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=61428.0

[Stev-o]

Nice lookin' bike, will be even better w/the new seat.
I read on another thread that a member had used auto door edge trim on his seat and was pleased with the result.
You may also want to call an auto upholstery supply house and see if they have something you can use.

Good luck.

-Steve

[westondc]

I lined the tank with the use of a Northern Tank liner kit. It worked pretty well, but removing the rust first was a challenge. I bought some roofing nails and dumped the box into the tank. the tank was rapped in pillows and a blanked which were bound together with some rope. i put it in the dryer on the cool setting with the dryer door open. my friends stopped by and wondered what the hell i was doing  . about an hour of spinning took care of the major rust and the liner kit got the rest. A word of advice: when lining a tank make sure the temp your doing the process in is above 60 degrees F. The liner got thick on me due to the low temp and made it difficult to completely line the inside. luckily i realized this and moved indoors for the second coating. No more dirty carbs!

[westondc]

The tank and side covers are now in the shop for a painting. I juggled around the idea of having it painted an original color but finally settled on a single color, Gloss Black. A family friend is taking care of the paint job for me and he said it wouldn't be a problem to add the original tank stripe. If I had ordered the original color paint kit it would cost me double to have it completely done. So i figured I'd save some money and give the bike a bit of a custom look. heres a pic of a bike with the same paint scheme I'm going for...

[SonnysTile]

Man-O-Man that seat was HUUUUUUUUUUUGE!

Looks great, and nice score on the pipes!

[rickmoore24]

I agree about the 4 into 4's, they're badass!

[westondc]

Man-O-Man that seat was HUUUUUUUUUUUGE!

and it wasn't even that comfortable.

[westondc]

alright, got a call from the paint shop and the tank and side covers should be done next week. i'm praying for warm weather... its been to long since i rode the old honda. also excited to see how the paint turned out. pics soon

[westondc]

I got the tank and side covers back from the shop and I put them on the bike this weekend. my friend also threw in a plate from 1972 that corresponds with the county of registration. The Nebraska DMV will allow it to be use as a historical plate as long is its in good shape, which it is. My friend did a fantastic job on the paint and tank stripe. I'll post more info soon but i wanted to get the pictures up first.

(tank stripe is straight but theres an issue with some of the pictures)

[rickmoore24]

Your friend did a really great job on the paint, great looking bike.

[SohRon]

Very, very nice. I like the recreated tank striping; I had given it some thought for my bike, and it's nice to see how it looks. Really like the bike. Thanks for posting.

[traveler]

Beautiful bike....you can never be wrong with black.

THANK YOU for getting rid of that awful seat!

It really looks beautiful!  It's always nice to see someone build a bike the way they like it instead of follwing a trend.  This bike is perfect as-is, in my opinion.

Take care of her and enjoy...ride safe!

`Joe

[scooter1]

Nice!!!

[SonnysTile]

That looks like a seat latch from a '71 I think.  But its got a '72 taillight?

Was that your doing?

And for what its worth, it's turning out BEAUTIFUL! 

[westondc]

That looks like a seat latch from a '71 I think.  But its got a '72 taillight?

Was that your doing?

And for what its worth, it's turning out BEAUTIFUL! 

Yep your correct, the seat and latch were from a 71. my bike came without the seat/hinge/and latch. thanks to a fellow sohc4 member I got the parts and they mounted to the bike perfectly. i like the 71 latch because it doesn't need a key to unlock the seat. i didn't want two separate keys, one for the ignition and one for the seat lock. 71 and 72 taillights are different? i didn't know that. i actually purchased a new taillight lens and singal lenses from partsnmore.com and they look great. they are exactly the same as the original except the STANLEY and MADE IN JAPAN logos are not there. i also bought new mirrors from them too. they are also replicas of the originals. great place to buy parts.

thanks for the comments by the way!

[westondc]

a quick list of to do items:

- make or locate black stick-on gauge face decals for CB500
- assemble gauges and install them
- fasten seat cover and install chrome trim (door trim, also used on the tank) and seat strap
- locate a luggage rack, preferably one that doesn't mount to a grab bar
- tap holes for new bolts to seat hinge (old ones were broken off) and install seat
- install replacement foot pegs (original ones were bent)
- rebuild petcock
- pull rear tire and break drum, replace rear pads
- final carb cleaning
- oil change
- polish chrome here and there
- register bike at DMV
- admire finished work over a few beers and patiently wait for spring 

[SonnysTile]

that opens with no key?

I didn't keep my '71 long enough to realize that...

I've had 4 all together, all three years.

The '71 had a very similar but slightly smaller taillight.  It kind of just "stood up" instead of having the giant chrome mount back there..

I am eye-balling this set up on eBay : http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180399553098&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT#ht_1155wt_941/

The guy says it mounts to the stock holes so I wouldn't have to drill the fender to mount it.

[Stev-o]

westondc,

For your guage decals, email this guy, I bet he can hook you up.
He made 2 items for my 550, was VERY reasonable and shipped it quick.

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=58063.0


Good Luck,
-Steve

[westondc]

westondc,

For your guage decals, email this guy, I bet he can hook you up.
He made 2 items for my 550, was VERY reasonable and shipped it quick.

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=58063.0


Good Luck,
-Steve

thanks Steve, I'll check with him. the only issue is that my gauges are the smaller size with different locations for speed and RPM than the later 500, 550 and 750. i'm thinking he might have to make them from scratch. i've emailed a few members on the forum that said they make gauge face decals and thats what they've told me. i've already scanned my original faces with the intent to create new ones with photoshop. unfortunately i didnt retain much knowledge from my college graphic design class

[sallen]

Saw your bike came with the garnet brown color side covers. did you repaint those? I noticed you mentioned about buying some uncracked side covers. If you didn't use the brown side covers; would you be interested in selling those? are they cracked? steve

[westondc]

Saw your bike came with the garnet brown color side covers. did you repaint those? I noticed you mentioned about buying some uncracked side covers. If you didn't use the brown side covers; would you be interested in selling those? are they cracked? steve

hey steve, sent you a PM about the side covers.

[westondc]

After looking at my bike over a few PBRs in the garage I noticed that the discolored pipes were kind of an eyesore. blueing starts at the top of each header and runs down about 4 inches, they're not too bad but it's noticeable. i figured that once the pipes have blued due to heat and lean carbs, there's not much that can be done. luckily the SOHC4 forums have come to the rescue. i found this thread regarding the product Blue Job http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=19565.0 This looks too good to be true. well i ordered a can and I'm going to give it a shot. I'll get some before and after pictures and we'll find out for sure.

[westondc]

I got a few things done last night. i was hoping to get some pictures but my parents left for the weekend and took their nice camera. i unfortunately left my camera at my house. did get a few crap shots with my cell phone.

- pulled the exhaust off and removed the blue and brown discoloration with Blue Job which it probably the most amazing stuff on the planet, then put the exhaust back on. looks great!
- installed a luggage rack with removeable sissy bar. the rack is even labeled 72 Honda CB500 K1
- replaced the bent riders foot pegs
- removed the stock bars and marked the Euro bars for installation
- snapped a quick pic of my work

notice my helmet, now with matching pinstripe

[westondc]

another quick update. decided to go with euro bars on the bike. the stock bars just weren't part of the look i was going for. since I've gone with stock mirrors and not bar end, the mirrors stick way up from the bike when mounted to the high rising original bars. I've compared the euros with the super bike bars. i think the euros are more comfortable and i like the look of the pull back they have. i talked to some guys at the local shop and they recommended running the wiring outside of the bars, since routing the wires inside would require cutting holes in the bar to feed the wires through. i didn't like this look at all... and I've got the time to do it right. after some carefull marking of the areas i needed to cut, i put the euro bar in a milling machine and had it done in about 30 min. looks good, i just need to buy a dremel to smooth the rough edges. i would recommend using a milling machine to anyone looking to cut the holes required to run the wires through the bars. i was going to use a dremel to do this but i don't think it would cut it pics soon after the bars are mounted.

[Deceptibong]

is that a new helmet in the cell pics?  nice luggage rack too   I cant wait to see this bike in person.

[westondc]

is that a new helmet in the cell pics?  nice luggage rack too   I cant wait to see this bike in person.

i creatively acquired one of my brothers helmets since he purchased a new one. its a nice helmet and i added the stripe to match the gas tank. you should see the luggage rack with the tall sissy mounted to it, talk about retro! at least the gf will appreciate it for the long rides and it will be nice for the extra baggage (no pun intended ). oh man do i want to ride this weekend in the 55degree weather! unfortunately i haven't titled, registered, or plated the bike yet. i did check into it and its going to set me back about $120 with taxes and a vintage plate sticker. i still need to get the gauges done and mounted.... working on that as soon as a get home.

[westondc]

just for fun and out of boredom, here's a before and after as of now. bike still has original bars on it in this pic, no gauges, and seat recover is not finished. this is about four months progress into the project.

[Stev-o]

just for fun and out of boredom, here's a before and after as of now. bike still has original bars on it in this pic, no gauges, and seat recover is not finished. this is about four months progress into the project.

Nice job! That "before" seat was ugly. My 550F had a similar one when I bought it too.

[westondc]

Got the bike 99% done.
 
Fixed the petcock leak
recovered the seat
went through the wiring
installed euro bars
oil and filter change
carb sync
titled and issued historical plate sticker

here's a picture of Betty in her nearly finished state:

[sallen]

Wes--bike really looks nice. You've done a great job..Thanks again for the side covers you sent; they worked out great..Still holding the fairing for you...Steve

[westondc]

Wes--bike really looks nice. You've done a great job..Thanks again for the side covers you sent; they worked out great..Still holding the fairing for you...Steve

Hey Steve, thanks. got any pics of your bike? hows it coming along? thanks for holding on to the fairing. Good ole Feds want some more money from me and my girlfriend is moving to town so it looks like I'm still strapped for cash these days. At least I got the bike running and I can save on gas. I figured my gf and I can spend quality time together on the cycle, not on expensive dates  So myself and a fellow SOHC4 member are ridding through your neck of the woods on our trip in early May, if your 2 wheels are rolling you wanta show us around town?

[Chicago550]

Good looking bike! I wish I would have had a friend to paint my bike vs. the pricey/slow painter I used.

Are those the euro bars that you installed in that last photo? I'm torn between those and superbike bars but need to see how they are on a bike. I like the look of the lower bars and I've heard that they make highway riding more comfortable. Do you happen to have any photos of the milling process of those bars?

[westondc]

Good looking bike! I wish I would have had a friend to paint my bike vs. the pricey/slow painter I used.

Are those the euro bars that you installed in that last photo? I'm torn between those and superbike bars but need to see how they are on a bike. I like the look of the lower bars and I've heard that they make highway riding more comfortable. Do you happen to have any photos of the milling process of those bars?

yep those are euros in the picture. it was tough deciding between those or the superbike bars. if you do a search in the forum "euro bars" or "superbike bars" theres a post in there somewhere with a comparison photo of the two. i also compared them at the local shop. after some deliberation i settled with the euros because they looked more stock and the supers were too straight.

The milling process was rather easy. i wish i would have taken photos but i was in a hurry to get them put on so i could get the bike on the road. it was rather simple really. i used a large drill press with a milling bit and finished it off with a dremel. i believe you can get a milling type bit for a dremel if you dont have a milling machine. when i have some free time I'll right a quick step by step and snap some closeup pics if the finished bars.