Topic: Newby 1972 CB500 project

[Goofaroo]

Hi Everyone,

I've been watching the threads for a while now trying to get an idea what I want to do with this bike for a couple of months now. Here's the story, a little about me, and the current plan.

I've been into motorbikes since I was about 10 years old. I am a dirt and street biker. Did some desert racing back in the day, got into trials for a couple of years, owned various touring and sport bikes. I've always been my own mechanic. I currently own a 1988 Honda CH80 Elite, a 1970 Honda CT90, a 1985 Honda XR350R with a Baja Designs kit, a 1978 BMW R100S, and a 2004 Kawasaki Concours. I could go on forever telling about bikes I've owned and am still kicking myself for selling.

Enter the 1971 CB500.  I decided that I had to have an old Honda four and had in mind an early 500. I am still searching for a CB450, a CL360, and a CX500 just to keep around for future tinkering.

After a few days of watching CL, I found this 1971 CB500 with a vague description and a crappy picture. I called the guy and he told me he had been tinkering with it for a few years and had lost interest. He said he had rebuilt the carbs and had it running but it was leaking fuel out the overflow tubes. He said it was complete but fairly rough and would need someone that was really interested in it to bring it back to life. Asking $500, I offered him $300 sight unseen and assured him I would pick it up the next day.
When I arrived I was surprised to see that he had connected it to a batttery and had it running. I was even more surprised to see that the bike was VERY complete and in pretty good overall condition. Very little rust except for a few minor spots here and there and a few fasteners, Tank it straight and rust free inside. The crappy picture I have attached really don't do the bike justice. Anyway I payed him, received a bill of sale only, and brought it home. Once home I gave it a more thorough inspection and found that everything works, lights, horn, instruments, etc. all work flawlessly, seat pan is like new, wheels, hubs, and spokes are very nice and everything is practically corrosion free. Aside from a few dings in the fenders and some cracks in the right hand side cover is it pretty straight.

I have started the process of obtaining a title here in Oklahoma and according to a friend who works a a tag agency, the process shouldn't be a problem. We'll see how it turns out.

Anyway, my immediate plan is to fix the flat front tire so that I can ride it and see that it shifts nicely and runs cleanly. On the stand it fires right up, revs cleanly, and sounds as solid and smooth as a any engine I have ever owned.

I have to say that my plan was to buy a bike to completely take down to the frame for a complete rebuild but as nice as this thing is I have changed my mind. I think I am going to sport it up a bit and simply clean it up, paint it, put a 4 into 1 exhaust on it, new tires, superbike bar, and upgrade the suspension.

So far I have collected:
tires- Kenda Challenger rear and Cruiser Front
fork seals
new points
uni filter
superbike bar- will be cut shorter
new brake pads

I'm sure I'll have lots of questions as I go and I'll try do document my progress as I proceed. This may take some time as I have other household projects as well as maintenance on my other bikes that need to be done.

I've taken some better pictures that I'll post soon but my wife left the cable to that camera at work.

[Goofaroo]

It won't let me post the pics. I know- THIS THREAD IS USELESS WITHOUT PICS!

Pics to follow.

[Zaipai]

Yea, pics are nice. We get the idea. How many miles on the odometer, not that it is necessarily the correct mileage just a gauge. I think going stock or modified stock is the way to go. Going cafe would be a waste of a good bike unless you plan to keep it a long time (IMO). How did the tank look inside? How does the oil look, has it been changed? Sounds like its a clean enough bike that if you want to strip it to the frame and do a proper paint etc.. that you can wait until you have more time to dedicate to it. It took no time for me to strip mine down and paint it, took all of about 3 months working on it on the weekends only.

.: Scott :.

[Goofaroo]

It shows 19K on the odometer, the inside of the tank is good to go. At this point I think I'm going to clean it all up but not remove the motor. This thing will make a great rider and if I go to far with it I won't want to get it dirty. I am planning to paint it which will be first for me but I've always wanted to learn.
Anyway, I'll save the complete teardown for a future project. One of the attractions to this bike was to fill the gap between my little bikes and my big bikes. This should be a blast to squirt around on and take short weekend rides.
I'll make it look very presentable but it will still have a little "patina" when I get done.

[Stev-o]

THIS THREAD IS USELESS WITHOUT PICS!

  You said it!!

Kidding aside, welcome to "the club", sounds like you'll fit right in. Nice start on the 500.

[Goofaroo]

Photo test

[Goofaroo]

It looks like I have the picture problem sorted out. You guys better treat these like pure gold because I could start a project thread on what I've gone through to post these pics. I just abandoned Windows in favor of Ubuntu and also have a new camera. Let's just say that the forum didn't like my initial attempts.

[Goofaroo]

Dinner at the in-laws and now I finally got a chance to get started. Got the fork tube off the passenger side and got it apart. Very pleased so far. No serious corrosion anywhere and the stanchion looks great-no corrosion under the headlight ear and the working area is smooth and pit free. The spring was as bad as I expected and is sacked out to the point it showed practically no preload. I'm taking it to the spring shop this week to talk to them about making me some straight wound springs for my weight and desired results.
 
The wheel bearing seal on the driver's side had let go and the fork seal had as well. I have new fork seals but now I need to order wheel seals also. May as well order them for the rear while I'm at it.

My plan was to try to complete this project for $1000 but I think to be realistic it will probably be more like $1500.

Purchase price- $300
Exhaust-          $300
Tires & tubes    $150
Fork Springs      $80
Shocks (IKON?) $300
Misc.         It will be ugly

Geez!  It adds up quickly!

By the way, I looked the exhaust over and it is a set of CB750 cans welded to the CB500 head pipes.  It looks like it wasn't done with much love. I'll be able to tell more about them when I get them off the bike and if there is anything salvageable from them they will be free to a good home.

[Zaipai]

The shocks can be cheaper. See link below. That bike is a great starter, even if you just clean it up it will be a great daily rider with loads of personality, Glad it went to you and not the grave yard so many have ended up in.

Here are the shocks I have, near original and work extremely well.

http://www.crc2onlinecatalog.com/Index_Main_Frame.htm

They are 119.00 for the pair for all chrome, or 89.00 for black and chrome versions. If you are going to be out in the open you may want to just get an after market 4 into 1 say a Mac I got mine on ebay pretty cheap. Just a few suggestions.

+1 on Ubuntu!

ttys,
.: Scott :.

[Goofaroo]

I'm still considering my shock options. I have a set of Koni's that I've been saving for a project but I'm not sure I want to use them on this. The Ikons are the same thing but don't have the vintage mojo that my set of Koni's do. I'll probably keep hoarding the Koni's for a while longer or they may end up on my BMW.
The thing that appeals to me about the Ikons is that they are fully serviceable but there are probably others that are too. I still have time to decide. All I know for sure is that the factory shocks are shot and aren't worth trying to bring back to life.

[theofam]

You picked up a real nice bike for $300!  I'm curious to know how you tested the spring to determine it had no preload.

[Goofaroo]

I determined that first of all because the front end was pretty sacked before I took it apart, and secondly, there was no spring pressure against the cap at all when i removed the cap. Typically, you have to be somewhat careful removing a fork cap because the spring preload will try to shoot the cap up like a bottle cork and this thing had no pressure against the cap at all. Forty years of use or even just sitting on the spring will do that every time.

[Stev-o]

My plan was to try to complete this project for $1000 but I think to be realistic it will probably be more like $1500.

Purchase price- $300
Exhaust-          $300
Tires & tubes    $150
Fork Springs      $80
Shocks (IKON?) $300
Misc.         It will be ugly

Geez!  It adds up quickly!

Yes, it get's "ugly" real quick! It's best if you don't keep track of what you spend, trust me!

[theofam]

Ahh, OK.  I had the bottle cork when I unscrewed my fork caps, so hopefully mine are alright.  Thanks for the tip.

[Goofaroo]

A little progress today but work keeps getting in the way. Pulled the tank and everything looks pretty good under there. Now with the forks and wheel off it is very apparent that the steering bearings are indexing badly to the middle. I could do the old "rotate the races trick" but I think I'll splurge on new bearings. There goes another $50 on top of the $45 I spent yesterday on wheel bearings and seals.

I went to the spring shop yesterday to talk to them about making me some springs for this project and he had a Norton in his shop that he had done up very tastefully. It gave me a few ideas for the direction I want to go with this project. Anyway, the springs will be ready next week.

My idea of trying to button this thing up for $1,500 is looking out of reach.

 

[Goofaroo]

Things are starting to move along and I have a better idea of what I want to do with this project. I called on this bike listed on CL this morning and just missed it. Someone bought it last night while I was jacking around drinking beer and watching our Sooners beat Nebraska for the Big 12 title.

http://oklahomacity.craigslist.org/mcy/2092139522.html

If he's removed the ad it was a complete 1971 CB500 for $200 OBO. Might have been a treasure trove of spares for myself and others.

Anyway, I got the steering head apart in preparation for new bearings, got the speedo apart for some service and paint (tach to follow). Went through the caliper and master cylinder. Got the idiot light panel apart for paint. It always amazes me what a little cleaning will do to these old parts. The quality of the machining, casting, and materials used on these Hondas are top shelf.

Today I need to get the workbench organized and do some more parts cleaning and refurbishing.

The direction I'm going is toward a kind of "vintage muscle bike" look if that makes any sense. I think as I get the front end complete with the powder coating on the fenders and such it will hopefully start to look like what I'm envisioning.

The thread has been a great source of info and inspiration. If there's anyone local to the Oklahoma city or Tulsa area I'd love to get together and shoot some s#@t.



 

[Goofaroo]

A few more pics.

[Goofaroo]

Finally starting to get a few parts in the mail. I also picked up my new fork springs so I can now get the legs reassembled and tucked out of my way. I think I'm going to be pleased with the springs. They are shown in the foreground of the pic in front of the old spring. I had them made 7MM longer than stock and the dimensions are 22X25x460MM. They are 45# straight wound instead of progressive like the stock springs. I'm going with 10WT fluid. I'm very curious to say the least to see how well they will work.

The only other thing of note at this point is that I drilled a couple of new holes in the instrument mounting plate to move them about an inch closer together together. I just thought they looked odd with so much distance between them. I have the instruments apart for service and it is very tempting to paint the housings but so far I have just cleaned them and greased the movements.

It's also been very tempting to paint and polish everything else while I have it apart but so far I have managed to restrain myself. The goal remains to create a bike with some vintage vibe and patina and rock solid handling and reliability.

Next up is to disassemble the front wheel for a thorough cleaning as well as new seals and bearings. It's a greasy mess right now from leaking fork seals and blown wheel seals. All the spokes look good and will just need a tightness inspection and I'm thinking about safety wiring them just for a bit of style and extra strength. The brake rotor looks good under all that grease and should be good to reuse.

[Zaipai]

You sure are not living up to your handle.. You are a hard working person. Makes me feel like a slacker..

Nice work.. It should be a great runner and look pretty cool also..

.: Scott :.

[Goofaroo]

I'm not working too hard on it. I just do a little here and there when I have some time so it will take me a while to get it done.

It's going to be a very mild custom and I've got some interesting ideas I think for the paint scheme and a few accessories. Overall though, I am just freshening it up after years of decay. The motor runs solid and I just need to go through the carbs and perform some general maintenance. The front ends are always a chore because of all the wiring in the headlight, handlebars, switches, the steering bearings, the forks, etc.  The rear will be much easier.

By far the most difficult part has been not painting, polishing, or powder coating any of the parts that I have taken off.  I mean, I've got them in my hand!   It just isn't what I'm going for on this bike so I keep soldiering on with my plan. The only thing I'm not sure about is how the newly painted and powder coated body parts will look on the clean but well used chassis. I just got the new Motorcyclist magazine a couple of days ago and there is a feature article about a Triumph cafe bike that guy built and it kind of made me feel good about the direction I'm going. He has actually gone out his way to create the illusion of wear on the bike. I'm just going about it differently by just leaving it on mine.  At the very least I'll have a great rider and the hours spent tinkering with it will keep me out of trouble.

[Zaipai]

Sounds like you are sticking to your vision, that is really hard to do some times. I pull up www.bikeexif.com and I have seen some bikes with a very similar idea as yours. I think you will like the out come as long as you stick to the plan. No always easy...

.: Scott :.

[Goofaroo]

I haven't had a chance to do much lately but I did finally get a title and a tag. It cost me $118 to go to court and stand before the judge but he signed off on it. Then it cost me almost $100 at the tag agency to bring everything up to date.
 
With the title issue behind me I have been ordering a lot of parts so I need to get back to work on the scooter. Today I tackled the front wheel and gave it a good cleaning and some new bearings and seals. It cleaned up pretty nice and I'm glad to be able to get the new tire installed and set it aside out of my way.

I have decided to quit tracking the cost of this project but let's just say that it will cost a little more than I anticipated. 

[Zaipai]

Very nice.. Clean and shiny...

.: Scott :.

[Goofaroo]

Thanks. It's coming along but I've still got a lot of prep work to do before I get to the fun stuff. I looked at the shocks you recommended and I think I'm going to go with the black and chrome set. Thanks for the tip. That'll save me a couple of hundred bucks over the Ikons I had decided on. That'll pay for a lot of the powdercoating I'm going to have done.

Do you recall which length you purchased? They show them in either 13.25" or 13.20". My current shocks which I'm assuming are stock measure 12.5".  I was hoping to raise the ride height slightly from stock but that seems like it may translate to a lot at the rear wheel. Did you see a dramatic difference in height when you installed yours? 

[Zaipai]

On mine I went with the shorty shocks to lower the rear.. The ride is better, but that has more to do with the rear wheel being wider and the bushings on the swing arm then the shocks, tho I am sure the new shocks helped. The old ones where shot. I believe Joe (Traveler) has the 13.25 ones on his and just loved them.. Said it was the best money he spent on the rear. Until he got the lesters that is..

I think for what you are doing you can't go wrong with the 13.25" shocks..

.: Scott :.