Topic: A noob's cb500 build thread

[civhatch90]

Hello all,

I recently picked up a 1973 cb500 with a clean title and mostly complete for $150. The previous owner had it for about a year and started disassembling the bike for a restoration but lost interest in the project.

This will be my first build, and the extent of my wrenching experience goes as far as checking valves on my Sv650 so this will definitely be a learning experience.

This build will be on a budget, I will attempt to get this thing running and going towards cafe racer style.There is no timeframe to get this done, and due to work things might move slowly.

Any input is greatly appreciated! As I said before, I don't know much about anything.

Parts I will need: gauges (glass on old gauges is shattered), exhaust, and maybe a gas tank if I can't salvage this one.

Here are some pics when I picked it up:





After some wrenching:





All I know about carbs is that they look like this:



Will try to shine this thing and see how good I can make it look:



Plan of attack: clean carbs, and install them back on whats left of the bike. Try starting the bike/diagnose how healthy/unhealthy the engine is. Then strip everything, clean, paint and do whatever else needs to get done.

How am I doing?

Oh, here are two pics of my other bikes:

[750K8 Kev]

Welcome!  Look forward to watching your progress, looks like a handful.

[Stev-o]

Welcome from Texas!  Will be a good project, but hard to do on a [small] budget. Good Luck!

Ps. Like your Kaw...

[civhatch90]

Ok, so I spent some time cleaning the carbs today. They look rough. The float bowls are cemented in place and I was not able to remove the pins that hold them to the carb. Is there anything i should try before hammering them with a punch? Pics...

After an outside cleaning they are ready to be ripped open:



Float bowl stuck in place, varnish all over the place:



For carbs 1 & 2, are the pins coming off this direction? ---------->


For carbs 3 & 4, are the pins coming off this direction? <----------

[Zaipai]

I would hit the pins with some PB Blaster and let it soak for a bit before getting at it with the hammer. Others may have a better idea, however its not expensive stuff and may just work loose the pins..

Great project you have there.. GL..

.: Scott :.

[civhatch90]

I would hit the pins with some PB Blaster and let it soak for a bit before getting at it with the hammer. Others may have a better idea, however its not expensive stuff and may just work loose the pins..

Great project you have there.. GL..

.: Scott :.

Thanks scott. I am cross-posting this build at another forum and it was suggested that I soak them in Pinesol for a few days. After doing some research, I will give it a try.

[fantino]

Definitely a project on your hands :-) I'm working on a 500 as well. If money is tight and progress is slow, just spend your time scouring the forums for good info. The 500 has lots of... quirks. Nothing that can't be solved with a little fiddling though. IF you get it running when you put those carbs back on (cross your fingers!) then the transmission is something you'll want to pay extra close attention to. The clutch and tranny are the weak point on these bikes, and have multiple points of failure.

If you need any donor parts for that carb, give me a shout. I have a whole extra set that aren't good enough to refurbish or sell as a complete unit, but there's plenty of good parts still on em'. I have a bin of 500 and 550 parts I need to start clearing out of my basement actually...

I'll be keeping an eye on this... good luck! :-)

[civhatch90]

Definitely a project on your hands :-) I'm working on a 500 as well. If money is tight and progress is slow, just spend your time scouring the forums for good info. The 500 has lots of... quirks. Nothing that can't be solved with a little fiddling though. IF you get it running when you put those carbs back on (cross your fingers!) then the transmission is something you'll want to pay extra close attention to. The clutch and tranny are the weak point on these bikes, and have multiple points of failure.

If you need any donor parts for that carb, give me a shout. I have a whole extra set that aren't good enough to refurbish or sell as a complete unit, but there's plenty of good parts still on em'. I have a bin of 500 and 550 parts I need to start clearing out of my basement actually...

I'll be keeping an eye on this... good luck! :-)

Yes, I have read about the weak tranny/clutch. Eventhough the engine doesnt run, I was able to shift through all gears. Thanks for the good luck wishes, I will need them...

[civhatch90]

I have made little progress since I started the thread. I have cleaned the float bowls in pinesol and I'm quite happy with the results. This is after several hours of parts soaking in pinesol and very limited scrubbing:

Before:





Half of this bowl was in the pinesol:







I will be doing the entire carb rack next...

[theofam]

I was having the same problem removing the carb float pins on my 750 this week, because I couldn't apply the necessary force when all four carbs were assembled on their stay plate - which is the piece with eight larger phillips head screws.  I removed the stay plate (and everything else holding the four carbs together), so I could get them, individually, in to a vise.  I then ground the point off a finishing nail (this idea came from a fellow member responding to my build thread on Paddy) and was able to use it as a punch to get them out. 

For the really stubborn pin on my #2 carb, I soaked it about 30 minutes in carb cleaner.  As for direction the pins need to come out, it appeared one side of the pin was flush on the arm whereas the other side of the pin was a bit recessed.  I applied the punch to the recessed side of the pin, and it worked great.

Good luck with the carbs and the build!

[civhatch90]

Good luck with the carbs and the build!

Thanks for the tips, I will surely soak the carbs in the pinesol or carb cleaner if pinesol doesn't work and then try removing those pins again.

[civhatch90]

I have finally been able to remove the pins and floats from the carbs. One carb is completely disassembled. The other three have the throttle slides stuck, they won't move. This explains why I was not able to turn the throttle when the carbs were on the bike. I am sinking them in pb blaster to try to get them to give up. Also, I completely cleaned the one I was actually able to pull off from the carb and now when I put it back on its very rough, and has trouble sliding back and forth. Should I lube it with something before reassembly?