I recently sold my cb350f chop for more than it was worth, so of course I went cruising craigslist for a deal on a new project. Not 4 days later I had bought this 1971 500 for $300. It wasn't running but all the pieces were there and the motor turned over fine. The plan is a super budget build, and so far so good.
![](http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n593/cheezycube/be17ef6c.jpg)
What I've done:
-De-rusted the tank with vinegar and BB's
-Painted the tank and the side covers (along with many other parts) with my favorite thing ever, appliance epoxy.
![](http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n593/cheezycube/43f297ca.jpg)
![](http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n593/cheezycube/597a18e6.jpg)
![](http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n593/cheezycube/d7ea5ebe.jpg)
![](http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n593/cheezycube/8e4ac6b9.jpg)
![](http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n593/cheezycube/f9ace68b.jpg)
-Replaced a few cruddy oil seals
![](http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n593/cheezycube/DSC01498-1.jpg)
-Cleaned these nasty carbs (guy said he "just cleaned them recently" a.k.a. sprayed in the inlet with a hose and let the water sit and corrode everything)
![](http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n593/cheezycube/b9be1591.jpg)
![](http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n593/cheezycube/corrosion.jpg)
*no after pictures on these, but i cleaned them as well as was humanly possible
-Replaced a shoddy ignition coil
-Normal tuneup stuff like plugs oil/filter etc.
-New fat tires
-Then it looked like this, but not for long:
![](http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n593/cheezycube/DSC01480.jpg)
-Clubman bars, narrowed about 2 inches, and speedo delete with center tach mount
-Before I rebuilt the forks with new seals and shortened springs lowering the front end about an inch:
![](http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n593/cheezycube/9d3f7c97.jpg)
After:
![](http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n593/cheezycube/3834fca8.jpg)
The taillight I got for free from my buddy, its from a 1958 Sporty
-I had the caliper and lines/bracket from my 350 in my parts box (turns out its the same one from the 500) so I decided I'd do the dual disc swap. Soon I'll have the rest of the parts and she'll be ready for the road.
![](http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n593/cheezycube/4790ab6d.jpg)
![](http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n593/cheezycube/b3513bed.jpg)
Here's how it sits now, just waiting on parts to finish it up and start the undoubtedly arduous tuning process:
![](http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n593/cheezycube/32d6e7d8.jpg)
So as of now I'm in it for around $650 total including the forthcoming exhaust/dual disc/miscellaneous parts
Let me know what you think,
Davis