Topic: 500/550/650's that followed me home

[Gurp]

Been a unusually warm winter down my way Ohio/KY border.
Makes me wish I would have not decided to put stuff up and kept it out and fixed minor things to ride the nice days.

[rb550four]

  The past 3 weeks have been unseasonably warm here . 4 weeks ago a fellow , my age, came to the theatre and dropped of his childhood machine that he and his brother and sister learned to ride on . It is a 1964 c110 50 cc sport that hasn't been run since those kids left home and has been parked in the parent's garage since the last child parked it and left home.
   The little bike had been kid tested  for sure and they racked up a hard 3800 miles on it. And after that 30 +years of sitting hasn't been kind to it.  The owner wanted to hear it run again, I wasn't sure if it hadn't been too beat up to ever run again and said so before anything was done to it. We settled on a reasonable budget only to see if it could run,  and that was fine because it is so easy to overspend on these little bikes ,get upside down, and never get back what you have into it. Well I know that may have happened to all of us here once or maybe twice....
  Long story  short , took 3 weeks , cleaning and going through everything  electric and gas related ,just to get it  to run  and improve any parts that needed immediate attention along the way making a running parts list for a realistic estimate for a total restoration . The funds were used up on the 2nd week  and it still wouldn't fire so I called him and asked if I could keep it for another week , no charge ,because I had enough effort in this little bike now I have to see it run too . I wouldn't want to trailer a dead machine back home either . So I took whatever I touched, set  or cleaned and did it all over again being careful to recheck continuity on every wire and circut  and by Wednesday  I gave it it 's first kick with pump gas and it fired right up. We were all very happy about that . The running list of replacement parts needed for restoration  alone was enough to stop the project from moving forward ,  and just as well , he knows that as an adult he would never ride it and it would just be parked along side of his Harleys.

[grcamna2]

  The past 3 weeks have been unseasonably warm here . 4 weeks ago a fellow , my age, came to the theatre and dropped of his childhood machine that he and his brother and sister learned to ride on . It is a 1964 c110 50 cc sport that hasn't been run since those kids left home and has been parked in the parent's garage since the last child parked it and left home.
   The little bike had been kid tested  for sure and they racked up a hard 3800 miles on it. And after that 30 +years of sitting hasn't been kind to it.  The owner wanted to hear it run again, I wasn't sure if it hadn't been too beat up to ever run again and said so before anything was done to it. We settled on a reasonable budget only to see if it could run,  and that was fine because it is so easy to overspend on these little bikes ,get upside down, and never get back what you have into it. Well I know that may have happened to all of us here once or maybe twice....
  Long story  short , took 3 weeks , cleaning and going through everything  electric and gas related ,just to get it  to run  and improve any parts that needed immediate attention along the way making a running parts list for a realistic estimate for a total restoration . The funds were used up on the 2nd week  and it still wouldn't fire so I called him and asked if I could keep it for another week , no charge ,because I had enough effort in this little bike now I have to see it run too . I wouldn't want to trailer a dead machine back home either . So I took whatever I touched, set  or cleaned and did it all over again being careful to recheck continuity on every wire and circut  and by Wednesday  I gave it it 's first kick with pump gas and it fired right up. We were all very happy about that . The running list of replacement parts needed for restoration  alone was enough to stop the project from moving forward ,  and just as well , he knows that as an adult he would never ride it and it would just be parked along side of his Harleys.

You make a bid on it ?

[RAFster122s]

Ran hard and put away wet... I'd pass on it

[rb550four]

  While I got that little Honda running mid week of the 3rd week ( the free one)  I had some extra time at the shop in reasonable working climate , without heat, to finish up another project.
   This time ,not a Honda. It was the 97 Bourget Python,, with less than 100 original miles on  an 40th anniversary S+S engine with dual NOS  bottles mounted partially inlayed in the fuel tank, 12 inch wide rear tire, tons of chrome and polished aluminum....
Hasn't been started in over 6 years with the gas left in it...everybody knows what was in the tank and it all had to be flushed. A relative of the former owner wanted to help get it started...dead battery, so jumper cables were involved . Nothing good could come from this  and it didn't.  But the damage  wasn't as bad as usual, instead of burning up the starter and fuse block and wires, 
for some reason ( I got so lucky)  the positive terminal melted off before anything else got damaged.
 So I picked up a new battery , checked the 10 amp fuse block and installed it  , which isn't as easy as it should be. The hard tail  has so much material  (large tubing cause the oil system tank is the frame) and I guess no one knew what size battery was needed because the battery it uses can not fit between any of the tubes to get the old one out or the new one in.
  That wide rear wheel has to come off to replace the battery as the battery box is welded into the frame and not bolted on so it could slide out the bottom. Not that hard , just a PITA, and has to be reset perfectly in line and equal axle spacing each side on the frame so it won't dogtrack.
  Got it all back together , all clean fuel system , fresh oil and cleaned filter in that frame, filled that tank with  fresh high test. and on Saturday at 3 oclock  I was on that machine on the sidewalk just outside the theater doors when it fired flawlessly for it's first time in many years.  I was alittle scared of this machine since the former owner  was  so scared of his 45 thousand dollar machine being such a  handful that it never even got 100 miles one the clock  , but after putting around on  the sidewalk for a while ,all I want to do is take it out on the road and see what it is all about. Right now the rear tire is like new , the front tire is stock from 97 ,hard , tubeless and flat in 10 mins. does not instill confidence so I'll order a new one this week  and hope for warm weather and clear pavement soon.
 

[RAFster122s]

Adventures abound with toys you borrow to get running, so to speak…
Be safe…
 Congrats on the successes!

[rb550four]

grcamna 2 ,  owner didn't want to spend that much on a bike he won't ride. Did you mean did I make an offer on that machine  to purchase? I would have no use for something that small , I never had a personal connection with those little machines, I like the way they look though. A while back after we got flooded by Irene I was asked to get a Dream back into working order , Loved the classic design , could hardly wait to take it for a test drive when it was finished. I took it out  down the road when I was done  , not at all what I expected, suspension totally sucked , tires seemed too small , handle bars not wide enough ...once I got over 45 mph I realized that these old machines are for older guys to ride at 30 mph and talk about how crazy they were on them when they were young . I stopped my test ride and turned it right around after reaching it's unsafe speed of 45. Those old guys  are still crazier than they think, I'd never take a ride on another one....but I do like how they look.
  RAFster122s I always have fun working on anything with 2 wheels , but I can t imagine putting time into a machine and having it never run, I can't let that happen . But I do enjoy a challenge every now and then. It's all just fun and games.

[grcamna2]

grcamna 2 ,  owner didn't want to spend that much on a bike he won't ride. Did you mean did I make an offer on that machine  to purchase? I would have no use for something that small , I never had a personal connection with those little machines, I like the way they look though. A while back after we got flooded by Irene I was asked to get a Dream back into working order , Loved the classic design , could hardly wait to take it for a test drive when it was finished. I took it out  down the road when I was done  , not at all what I expected, suspension totally sucked , tires seemed too small , handle bars not wide enough ...once I got over 45 mph I realized that these old machines are for older guys to ride at 30 mph and talk about how crazy they were on them when they were young . I stopped my test ride and turned it right around after reaching it's unsafe speed of 45. Those old guys  are still crazier than they think, I'd never take a ride on another one....but I do like how they look.
  RAFster122s I always have fun working on anything with 2 wheels , but I can t imagine putting time into a machine and having it never run, I can't let that happen . But I do enjoy a challenge every now and then. It's all just fun and games.

Ok    The owner took it back home with him 

[RAFster122s]

It stimulates the brain and helps sooth me when working in things with my hands, be it as mindless as sanding something, which I oddly enjoy, or adjusting and cleaning and installing parts. It is all good. That's why I don't mind the hours involved in polishing work... It can be tedious some times when there are hard to reach areas but the finished results are worth it to me.
Haven't polished anything 8some time though...been struggling with health issues and it has been limiting.

[rb550four]

   I haven t bought any 500 550 or 650 in a while, it's what I like to do, tear down rebuild , love it .
 With the coming of spring I have been dedicating all time ,motorcycle related ,to actually putting my but on a seat and some rubber to the road. I'm not letting a day go by without a ride if I can help it. So I was getting tired of riding alone on the road and asked my friend , who has been motorbike free for 5 or 6 years, to  come out and play on my 750 since he sold his 750. It would be just like his last one so it would just be a matter of hopping on , going on a slow, comfortable backroad ride , then we could build up the length of the rides until he was comfortable enough to just go out riding all day again. We used to ride together a bit a while back and always talks about buying some old BMW that he has always wanted....and for some reason , never got one.
 I took my fave 500 ,he  took the 750. I took the lead at 30 mph and kept an eye on him from the mirrors. The first 1/2 mile was okay , then I started loosing sight of him and waited for a while til he caught up . This had happened a few times after that and the wait time only increased . Hmmm. So I stopped at the intersection to the highway and waited. When he got there I asked him if he was ready to continue and he said  that sadly enough he no longer feels comfortable on a bike , can,t do it anymore  and was afraid to go any further. It was a heart breaking ride back home.... seemed to take sooo long. He has reached the age , he,s a young 76 year old in great shape who now fears 2 wheels. I felt so bad for him when  he explained his sudden realization and had that I my start to cry look, then I felt so sad for him that I might start to cry too, but didn't. We all manned up and road them back to my garage  and sadly walked him back to his house down the road. It's sad when people don't feel able to enjoy bikes anymore.  That  being said , I decided that I'm going to ride as much as I can before I am surprised by the same realization some day. At least I have the chance to ride as much as possible until that day arrives.

[rb550four]

   So , now that I have promised myself to ride as much as possible, I took the Bourget python with the superwide car tire on the rear out for it's second maiden ride..... the first owner managed 97 miles on it somehow in 1997, I managed a one mile ride of horror today. No, I didn't fall over...all good that way,  but I understand why it only has so few miles. It's a rolling disaster looking for a place to happen. It , with that super wide car tire on the rear is totally uncontrolable at any speed. I could ride in in a straight line with no corrections okay up to 2nd gear, any corrections that need to be made by leaning or steering are being hampered by the rear tire. The rear tire has total contact with the road when going straight and not leaning and seems doable because the center of the rear tire is in line with the skinny front tire giving the rider a false sense of hope.  when the bike is turned or leaned at all , the rear tire on the outside of the turn begins to lift leaving the traction /road contact area of the tire on the inside of the turn getting all the traction off center from the skinny front tire...the center  of the rear tire is no longer trailing the front tire because the traction is now off set up to 6 inches from center of an inline trail and is pushing the rear end of the machine further out of line with every revolution....it's either going to be a tank slapper or a high side unless the drive is disengaged by pulling in the clutch relieving the push from the rear wheel that has overpowering traction over the skinny front tire before all control is lost. like riding on marbles. I suspected at first sight of this machine that this rear tire is gonna be a problem but never expected the machine to be un rideable. So the next thing I want to try is getting a rounded rear tire meant for a motorcycle and see how much that will change controlability...at this point it s the only thing that can be done to be able to ride it at all. If that fails I'm afraid the parts are worth more than the machine and certainly medical bills so parting it out may be an option at a later date. It's a shame really , it runs fantastic, looks tough but it's not rideable the way it is .

[RAFster122s]

Sorry to hear about your friend. I hope you continue to enjoy getting out for rides and enjoying it. The bike, Bourget Python, sounds like a boutique bike, not meant to really be ridden...
Is the Triumph Rocket tire the size you need or is it a weird size rear rim? Would be sad to not handle much better with a proper rear tire.

Look forward to seeing more updates...

[rb550four]

  why yes, it has a weirdass tire size for todays standards but a few years ago I found a motorcycle tire that was as close  to perfect.... of course that boat has sailed for what was in stock then ...not a popular size, I guess. It is easier to get a 18 inch super fatty today over a 17 in. anything over a 200/45 size. Been on the interweb for hours now talked to all the tire tecs from any place I found on the  web .
 Ended up with a pirelli 240/45 zr17 it's not as wide as I'd like it by 30 mm. but I have no choice, I need to ride that bike , the lazy #$%* has been laying around since 97 ,only put on less than 100 miles in it's entire existance. It's time to put out or get out for it , and  it 'll be going out in pieces this time . Tire should be here in 2 days. and we'll see how it goes from then on, I suppose. Even so , it's all still fun and games.

[rb550four]

  The Pirelli tire came in last night, it went on today ....sweating bullets about the fit, hoped my math was right. Didn't have much room under the fender , polished the wheel while it was off  and slipped it into place . It fit with a pinched pinky width to spare. It s a hardtail so no worry of much height expansion.  set the axle and disc brake  centered it all up and it even fit better tightened it up  and took it out for a ride. OMG , it road like a dream, even better than any of the cb's in my shop, I'll go as far as to say that it is the easiest bike that I have ever ridden in all my years. I can't help to think of all the pleasure that the original owner missed out on because he just didn't change that car tire off the back . So now it's got new tires, oil ,plugs , a clean tank , new fuel lines , petcock and an inline filter if I missed anything in the tank during cleaning and it runs like a bear. Guess what, I think that I want to keep this machine...no, I really want to keep this machine now. Shoot , a few days ago I was ready to part this bike out, not anymore. All these years wasted as  mancave art. who knew could have gone either way.

[RAFster122s]

That's great news RB and I hope it gives you years of smiles. You aren't going to see any others on the street when riding and odds are it will have tons of questions when stopped. Sad the original owner didn't experience it as it should. Fads like car tires are akin to tracker and brat running Firestone tires, merely for the look at the severe expensive of handling and safety.

[rb550four]

  And again it happened, I was on my computer when I noticed the answering machine flashing trying to get my attention. Most times I might wait until later on in the day to see who it was, I've been waiting 2 years for a friend of mine that I hadn't seen in almost 20 years to blow through town and give me a call, so I listened to it. It was just another sunny day , I was minding my own business , and said yes to Dirty Harry's question, " Do you feel lucky today?". and hit play before "well, do ya punk" .  Turns out it wasn't my bud from many years ago but it was a new friend that I was about to meet about a mile and a half from my house ,who has been the owner of a Honda 550 that was left under a tarp for years when he found it but didn't know what to do with it but give it shelter in an overseas box. He was in town checking out some of my bikes through the glass doors of my theater and thought it was  time to sell that 550 and gave me a call.  I went up to see it...... just the way I like them it was rusty, filthy, and after years of kicking it over to keep it free one day it wouldn't spin anymore  ( stuck valve) he wanted $200 for it and I wasn 't about to argue and then went inside to get the title . Oh, I'd pay an extra $50 for the title, so would $250 be alright ? He was pleased ,I was pleased and the 550 made it's way onto the trailer. it's downtown being dismantled  and removed pieces being cleaned and polished along the way.
   I have rebuild a 550 engine for the next 500 or a spare should one fail and its been sitting around looking pretty but had no place to go for a year or so... now it has a new home. I'll rebuild the stuck motor after this bike is finished so there will be another spare. Planning all the normal stuff for this one , go through the whole thing , new bearings, brakes, steering bearings, fork rebuild slave and master rebuild , blast and paint frame , check and grease the swingarm brass,
go through and clean the wiring harness ( I have a new one just in case) the pipes are good up to the mufflers those are shot but I've been saving some aftermarket NOS 4 into 2 mufflers for a years and this bike will get those.
  I shot the last bike that found me green and have some left over , this one will be green too. The fender chrome was wasted and I'm fresh out of them so I sanded them down and shot those fenders green so I would have to commit to 2 green bikes in the heard, they came out good, so green it is. Of course I lost the battery side cover on the way home with it  but I have one last pair from Frankenstuff that will be used. This has all been very exiting for me, since I joined the SOHC 10 step program, I have only been backsliding maybe 3 or 5 times or so when it come to bike purchases, but let's not dwell on these set backs and certainly not consider the experiment a failure...I may not be the poster child but I could be a halfways decent sponsor for others with this affliction.
   Any ways , I had a good old friend ( who rides) visit the heard and I, that I hadn't seen in 10 years, so I cleaned up the bikes and the shop for his arrival. It was a good visit, the next day I was there alone cleaning the rust and parts off this new machine  when I hear this voice from the front door " Hey man ,you should come out here, I'm sorry , but I backed over your motorcycle." . I could hear my blood pressure go up right away, but there was something familiar about this guys voice , turns out it was my long lost for 20 year friend that told me 2 years ago that he would be dropping by. It has been an in credable weekend.

[grcamna2]

I'm glad you found another good CB550 w/ Title  plus your friend from 20 years back came to see you.

I'm due for some enjoyable times myself 

[RAFster122s]

RB, you can spin a tale. Congrats on a great week!
Here’s to many more like them!

David

[rb550four]

   grcamna 2, It's summertime , we all had a long winter, and we all deserve to be basking in good times while we can get them. Hoping that good times will find all who need it.
   David, Here ,here on many more like them. 

[rb550four]

    So  the 76 550 has been dismantled, most  of the parts have been cleaned and buffed, I'm using a soft wire brush on a grinder to get the old paint and rust off  the frame.  why do that and not just use the sandblaster ? That's a fair question. Because it's faster than using my compressor and sand blaster on the whole frame, seems it always either out of air pressure or black beauty and time is always a wasting . But it will be used on the nook and cranny areas that are impossible or dangerous to attempt with a 4 inch soft wire bush spinning around at like a hundred miles an hour on a grinder with no guards.  There is no OSHA requirements in my garage but common sense usually prevails at least half the time .... okay sometimes. I'm hoping to have it all clean and painted next week. Been putting in late nights at work during the recent heatwaves and just haven't had the energy to work on it at night....I must be getting old or something, but focused on getting it painted and starting the reassembly part.
   I've been wanting to get some pics up, and I'm gonna do it dammit, when I remember how to do it , it's been a while....maybe longer.
This could take a while.

[newday777]

I know of the using a 4" grinder on the frame routine.....
Keep up the good work. 👍

As to posting your pictures, I have to screen shot my pictures to be able to post them as my phone takes great pictures but they are too large of files to be accepted to post directly to the forum, but when I do a screen shot of each picture and crop them it works. I know, it's a lot of work to do it this way but I haven't learned the new ways to get around to resize or host sites as I'm just an old hound dog....and it works for me. 

[Kelly E]

    So  the 76 550 has been dismantled, most  of the parts have been cleaned and buffed, I'm using a soft wire brush on a grinder to get the old paint and rust off  the frame.  why do that and not just use the sandblaster ? That's a fair question. Because it's faster than using my compressor and sand blaster on the whole frame, seems it always either out of air pressure or black beauty and time is always a wasting . But it will be used on the nook and cranny areas that are impossible or dangerous to attempt with a 4 inch soft wire bush spinning around at like a hundred miles an hour on a grinder with no guards.  There is no OSHA requirements in my garage but common sense usually prevails at least half the time .... okay sometimes. I'm hoping to have it all clean and painted next week. Been putting in late nights at work during the recent heatwaves and just haven't had the energy to work on it at night....I must be getting old or something, but focused on getting it painted and starting the reassembly part.
   I've been wanting to get some pics up, and I'm gonna do it dammit, when I remember how to do it , it's been a while....maybe longer.
This could take a while.

We blast outside of the shop. We lay out a really big plastic tarp so we can recycle the sand. We sweep it up and screen it back into the blast pot. Anything that will go through the screen will go through the gun. The sand we use is extra fine grey sand, it's $13.00 for a 100lb bag from White Cap Construction Supply.
Since OSHA can't find your house make sure to use a good respirator. I wear my leather welding coat, leather gloves and a HF sandblasting hood. The respirator fits under the blast hood.
The only solution for running out of air is a bigger compressor.

[rb550four]

  Yes Kelly , I use a cardboard box over a tarp to keep the granulates in one area so It can be screen filtered and reused again....don't want to be cleaning the black beauty out of the crushed stone the driveway here, makes an awful mess. wonder if baking soda could do the trick without the toxicity, but haven t explored it on metal, but it's supposed to be great for removing paint from fiberglass parts. Was looking at a two stage compressor with a giant tank a while back, but I couldn't  justify the expense for the amount of blasting that I do these days. It sure would be nice not having to wait for my shop compressor to reload some volume at full pressure, and it would be really nice not having to pull those pieces of wire wheel out of hard to get places anymore. Part of the fun and games I guess.

[RAFster122s]

2 stage compressors are so much nicer. Having sufficient air volume and pressure available really makes a difference when working with air tools a lot. If you can find a good brand at a good price, it is worth considering.

[Kelly E]

We only have to set up the big blaster for frames. We bought a blast cabinet big enough to hold a swingarm. It's nice to blast all the small stuff easily. You can see it behind the tractor.