Author Topic: 72 CB500 project "Black Betty" (99% done) (Read 18771 times)

westondc · « **on:** January 22, 2010, 08:33:03 AM »

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 · « **Reply #1 on:** January 22, 2010, 09:08:30 AM »

Nice bike!!

westondc · « **Reply #2 on:** January 22, 2010, 09:30:49 AM »

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 · « **Reply #3 on:** January 22, 2010, 09:38:52 AM »

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 · « **Reply #4 on:** January 22, 2010, 09:59:42 AM »

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 · « **Reply #5 on:** January 22, 2010, 10:01:27 AM »

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

cheers
Andy

westondc · « **Reply #6 on:** January 22, 2010, 10:17:35 AM »

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 · « **Reply #7 on:** January 24, 2010, 09:22:22 AM »

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 · « **Reply #8 on:** January 26, 2010, 05:34:41 AM »

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 · « **Reply #9 on:** January 26, 2010, 05:43:40 AM »

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 · « **Reply #10 on:** January 26, 2010, 07:29:38 AM »

Man-O-Man that seat was HUUUUUUUUUUUGE!

Looks great, and nice score on the pipes!

rickmoore24 · « **Reply #11 on:** January 26, 2010, 07:35:05 AM »

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

westondc · « **Reply #12 on:** January 26, 2010, 07:38:46 AM »

Quote from: SonnysTile on January 26, 2010, 07:29:38 AM

Man-O-Man that seat was HUUUUUUUUUUUGE!

and it wasn't even that comfortable.

westondc · « **Reply #13 on:** January 26, 2010, 11:46:15 PM »

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 · « **Reply #14 on:** February 09, 2010, 12:15:03 PM »

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 · « **Reply #15 on:** February 09, 2010, 12:46:11 PM »

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

SohRon · « **Reply #16 on:** February 09, 2010, 08:57:43 PM »

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 · « **Reply #17 on:** February 09, 2010, 09:03:24 PM »

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 · « **Reply #18 on:** February 09, 2010, 09:47:50 PM »

Nice!!!

SonnysTile · « **Reply #19 on:** February 10, 2010, 05:08:14 AM »

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 · « **Reply #20 on:** February 10, 2010, 07:16:25 AM »

Quote from: SonnysTile on February 10, 2010, 05:08:14 AM

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 · « **Reply #21 on:** February 10, 2010, 10:08:14 AM »

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 · « **Reply #22 on:** February 10, 2010, 11:20:57 AM »

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 · « **Reply #23 on:** February 10, 2010, 09:10:48 PM »

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 · « **Reply #24 on:** February 11, 2010, 07:58:15 AM »

Quote from: meriggi on February 10, 2010, 09:10:48 PM

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

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Author Topic: 72 CB500 project "Black Betty" (99% done) (Read 18771 times)

traveler