jeff d, WOW,an Original survivor CB500K0 !
Thank you
Yes looks ace! What's not original except maybe a couple of plug caps and tires? Get yourself some new footrest rubbers.
I was going to get new ones, but I saw a comment on here somewhere that said that one way to tell a true unrestored bike from a restored one is the wear on the footpeg rubber!
Difficult to tell if that 500 is the VERY eary squarer front top case or not, it would be nice if you would pm me the frame and engine numbers plus build date to put into my list of them, if you pm me your email i will send you a copy of what i have so far as proof.
Cheers
Bryan
Bryan I'll PM you the numbers
Get yourself some new footrest rubbers.
Yeah, thats weird on how those are damaged. The old guy dropped it? Doubt he was peg draggin'!
Did you notice the "Honda Motor Co" on the one sidecover? Dont think I've see that before?
He told me that he let someone ride it once, and they crashed it. Fortunately it had huge crash bars on it then. I took those off.
The Honda Motor Co decals seem to be in Honda's promotional pictures of the Starlight Gold model. The left side cover is original and has the sticker. I have ordered a sticker for the right side cover. Shockingly, someone has some for sale on ebay.
The right side cover has a bit of a story. It was missing when I got the bike, old guy said it fell off on a ride and he went back but could never find it.
I looked for one for quite awhile and about gave up on finding a one-year-only Starlight Gold right side cover. However, Wolf550 on this forum had one that was rattle canned blue, but he could see Starlight Gold underneath. I was skeptical it could be fixed, but he said he'd get the blue paint off if I wanted to buy it so I did. He meticulously chipped away at the blue paint to reveal a finish that pretty much matches the fading on the rest of the bike. Thanks again Wolf550! We met up in real life and made the transfer.
That decal on the side cover is only on the very early 500 four from 71.
The only place i have found a part number is in a first series Japanese parts book i found by chance, also shows several unique parts on the Japanese model.
I had no idea this was a rare sticker until today!
I don't know much about the 500's but....
you should check and see if your bike's chain has a master link. If it does not, then it would probably be the original chain from the factory.
Also, see if the fuel lines and/or carb overflow lines have a red stripe on them. If they do, then those also would be original. It was for the '75 F's at least........
It has 9000+ miles but it's possible those were not replaced.....
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The chain doesn't have a master link. The fuel line has been replaced, but the carb overflow lines were original when I got it but they crumbled when I removed the float bowls to service the carbs. I have the remains in a box, but used new ones.
The tires appeared original when I got the bike! Rock hard, had to cut them off. Here is a pic of the old and new tire:
well, ...that's an even better, rare 500 in pristine, practically original condition.....
I'd be reluctant to ride it much. ...
Ok now I'm self conscious about riding it!
25 years ago I had bought a barely running 1965 Mustang convertible in similar condition to this bike, with a similar back story. I turned out to be a bit rare, and very original under all of the dirt. After realizing what I had it became more serious custodial project and I felt a lot of responsibility for it. Parts added had to be exactly correct, and leaving it in a parking was stressful.
I need to buy another completely common bike just to ride to coffee!
Mustang pic attached.