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Author Topic: 1972 500 Four restore  (Read 2016 times)

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Offline jakester

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1972 500 Four restore
« on: October 20, 2013, 08:21:41 PM »
I had never owned a motorcycle and after a lot of research and thought I decided a Honda would be the best route to go.  Their simplicity and reliablilty appealed to me.  I found an ad in craigslist for a 79' Honda 750 for $500.  I went and looked at the bike I was sure i was going to buy but as soon as i saw it i knew i wasnt going to waste my money on it.  It was very rusty, had a leak in the head, it was ridden hard, needed pretty much everything  I wanted a project, not a problem!  This guy had a garage full of motorcycles so i asked him what else he had in the price range.  We went in the garage and he showed me a 72' 500  he was asking $800 but he told me he was going to take $700 from another guy but he never showed.  I was with my wife and due to lack of knowledge about purchasing a motorcyle i quickly inlisted my dad for help, who is a guy who has ridden and been hurt by many-a motorcycles in his day.  I could tell he liked the bike as much as me and my wife did.  However there was no battery in the bike so we went hom empty handed.  The third time was a charm, we brought her home finally.  this was two days ago.  Since then i have done nothing but think about this motorcycle.  I quickly decided i was going to keep it mostly original with a few minor changes here and there.  I also would like to hear some ideas for mods.  Thanks for visiting!
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Offline goldarrow

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Re: 1972 500 Four restore
« Reply #1 on: October 20, 2013, 08:31:48 PM »
That is a real beauty. Add a rear grab bar, 3k tune up, ride and keep it maintained.  This one is too nice to make any other changes. 
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Life Is Full Of Challenges - And My Backyard Is Full Of SOHC4's

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Offline cheftuskey121

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Re: 1972 500 Four restore
« Reply #2 on: October 20, 2013, 08:38:35 PM »
you got that for $700??? I'll give you $1000 for it  8) welcome to the club

its going to be fun, frustrating, and most importantly...fulfilling.
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Offline jakester

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Re: 1972 500 Four restore
« Reply #3 on: October 20, 2013, 09:06:39 PM »
The goal is to take everything apart and rebulid it from the grount up.  Ill probably paint it black and pin stripe it similar to the pic in my first post.  I accidentally posted the pic of a black one i found online.  Mine is blue.

The pics are here:
http://s882.photobucket.com/user/jakerichard82/library/1972%20Honda%20500%20Four%20K1
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Offline brooze72

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Re: 1972 500 Four restore
« Reply #4 on: October 20, 2013, 09:25:29 PM »
Looks like a good project, seems like you got the guys all excited with the first picture post, it is a beauty.
Love the sissy & apes, haha!  Good luck & let us know how it goes.
PS 500's never came in blue or all black in NA.  Mine was black years ago, guess I should have pin striped it!
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2011, 2012 & 2013 Godzilla Relay Rally Rider
"Hold on loosely...don't let go
 If you cling too tightly...you're gonna lose control"
1972 CB500K1 - restored rider
1981 CB650C - new project

Offline jakester

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Re: 1972 500 Four restore
« Reply #5 on: October 20, 2013, 11:15:32 PM »
yeah i know black wasnt an option, but i gotta make it mine a little too. I like my rides black.  I am planning on mine to turn out similar to the black one in the pic
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Offline Bankerdanny

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Re: 1972 500 Four restore
« Reply #6 on: October 21, 2013, 03:22:59 PM »
Don't go too crazy on the 'ground up' particularly the engine. You can easily spend more money than it would have cost to by a very clean running bike in the first place.

Does the engine turn freely? Were you able to get it running? How many miles does the odometer show? If the engine turns but hasn't run yet I would pull the carbs and give them a good cleaning and new gaskets (the brass jets and needles are probably just fine), change the oil and filter, set the valves, gap the plugs and points and get it running.

If the bike runs well, no odd noises (as far as you can tell), then limit your work to cosmetic. Don't open up the engine for no good reason. You will add months and many $$ to your project.
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"The problem with quotes on the Internet is that you never know if they're true" - Abraham Lincoln

Current: '76 CB750F. Previous:  '75 CB550F, 2007 Yamaha Vino 125 Scooter, '75 Harley FXE Superglide, '77 GL1000, '77 CB550k, '68 Suzuki K10 80, '68 Yamaha YR2, '69 BMW R69S, '71 Honda SL175, '02 Royal Enfield Bullet 500, '89 Yamaha FJ1200

Offline Bankerdanny

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Re: 1972 500 Four restore
« Reply #7 on: October 21, 2013, 03:32:15 PM »
I took a closer look at your pictures and I see that it has 31.4k miles. That's more use than we usually see, but still not enough to justify a rebuild without evidence of engine problems.

Order a pan gasket and drop the pan when you do the oil change. You can see if there is sludge or metal particles in the pan and take a look at the condition of some of the internals.

That doesn't look like a 500 tank to me. It looks like pre-77 750 tank. Nice exhaust, the pod style filters are not well regarded here, at least on the smaller displacement SOHC's.

Nice base for a cafe if you are inclined.
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"The problem with quotes on the Internet is that you never know if they're true" - Abraham Lincoln

Current: '76 CB750F. Previous:  '75 CB550F, 2007 Yamaha Vino 125 Scooter, '75 Harley FXE Superglide, '77 GL1000, '77 CB550k, '68 Suzuki K10 80, '68 Yamaha YR2, '69 BMW R69S, '71 Honda SL175, '02 Royal Enfield Bullet 500, '89 Yamaha FJ1200

Offline jakester

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Re: 1972 500 Four restore
« Reply #8 on: October 21, 2013, 07:11:19 PM »
I agree with you on the engine, i don't necessarily want to take everything apart.  I'll take the head off and the crankcase cover off, i want to know the bike inside and out, and while the engine is out of it there wont ba a better time to make sure its all in good condition. the bike does run, it had some old gas and i can tell the carbs need to be rebuilt.  Im curious, about the tank, what are the differences from the original tank for this bike and the pre-77 750 tank?
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Offline brooze72

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Re: 1972 500 Four restore
« Reply #9 on: October 21, 2013, 07:38:15 PM »
From what I can see, I think it is a 71/72 500 tank
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2011, 2012 & 2013 Godzilla Relay Rally Rider
"Hold on loosely...don't let go
 If you cling too tightly...you're gonna lose control"
1972 CB500K1 - restored rider
1981 CB650C - new project

Offline Bankerdanny

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Re: 1972 500 Four restore
« Reply #10 on: October 22, 2013, 09:28:20 AM »
Look at the tank in the first picture he posted. The 500 and early 550k tanks were much more rounded than the 750 tanks. But maybe it's just an optical illusion created by the lack of the side stripe and two tone paint scheme.
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"The problem with quotes on the Internet is that you never know if they're true" - Abraham Lincoln

Current: '76 CB750F. Previous:  '75 CB550F, 2007 Yamaha Vino 125 Scooter, '75 Harley FXE Superglide, '77 GL1000, '77 CB550k, '68 Suzuki K10 80, '68 Yamaha YR2, '69 BMW R69S, '71 Honda SL175, '02 Royal Enfield Bullet 500, '89 Yamaha FJ1200

Offline jakester

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Re: 1972 500 Four restore
« Reply #11 on: October 25, 2013, 07:58:57 PM »
today was the first time i was able to work on my ride and i can defiantly say Ive learned a lot.  Ive learned a lot about the electrical system, how easy it is to dis assemble these things and how fun it is doing it!  Below are a few pics of the progress.  you can see more in my photobucket album.

http://s882.photobucket.com/user/jakerichard82/library/1972%20Honda%20500%20Four%20K1
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