Author Topic: my wrecked cb500, thanks grayline tours! (Read 6269 times)

domer · « **on:** June 07, 2011, 08:00:36 AM »

So i figured after working on this bike for the past 3 years, i'd finally get a project thread going. if i'd have done this in the begining i probably would have saved myself a bunch of heartache and would have some documentation of what ive done. so ill try and break it down best i can from the get go...

i cant find any pics from when i got it, but it was beat.... and wrecked. picked it up for $600 from a coworker who had gotten in a head on, low speed collision. forks were shot, fender bars and a bunch of other little #$%* was gone too. and some suprises i didnt catch (more on that later) but i replaced most the f'd up stuff. cleaned the carbs and woo-hoo, i had a running bike!

here is one of the earlier pics, with a tank from a honda hawk (cb400a)

domer · « **Reply #1 on:** June 07, 2011, 08:26:27 AM »

so since that pic, i've been through it all. from teaching myself the full tune up procedure, to breaking cables and chasing down insane oil leaks. i've polished or painted everything i could get my hands on...

polished controls (sorry for the poor pics) by the way, i will never polish controls again. ever. biggest pain in the ass...

polished forks, brake caliper

painted spokes and hub, while the wheels were assembled, really not so bad when you have a lot of time and no money

also hacked the beat up front fender, and painted it black. really doesnt look as bad as i thought it would.

domer · « **Reply #2 on:** June 07, 2011, 08:37:27 AM »

i also picked up every finned cover i could get my greasy hands on. managed to get it all for under $80. points, stator, valve caps, starter cover all from ebay.... all piece by piece. then i went through some issues getting carpys rocket four seat, mis communications, poor product, all went well in the end though. and i would buy from him again! but the seat looked like #$%* with the hawk tank... so i had a 550 tank laying around and gave it a shot...

looks good to me, time to spray bomb the som #$%*...

domer · « **Reply #3 on:** June 07, 2011, 08:46:26 AM »

ok fast foward to just a couple weeks ago (im missing a lot of #$%*, pics included

oh well) so im sure some of you read my bike was parked in front of my hotel and got clipped by a tour bus... bastard. busted the mirrors, my perfect finned points cover, adjustable tomasselli clubmans are toast, gashed the exhaust, bent the foot peg and a few other little things

even lost the whole tank of gas

domer · « **Reply #4 on:** June 07, 2011, 09:00:16 AM »

so now ive got the front end off, figured id check the steering bearings...

and what do i find... well the reaqson why i couldnt take both hands off the bars. the tree is pretty badly bent, probably from the accident it was in before i got it (yup 5k miles on a bent steering stem

) ok, more money...

then one of my dads buddies walks up and says "your frame is bent" well #$%* me

so the frame is a little bent, oh well. im gonna give it a go anyway. got a $1200 check from the insurance company

and proceeded to blow it all before i found this! so im gonna give it a shot, cause im not pulling the motor till winter when i was gonna freshen up the frame anyway (needs powder coat)

so im waiting on $300 worth of little #$%* from dime city, got my stainless braided lines from slingshot, all balls (again) should be here tomorrow.... got a triple tree from geminimotors (thanks again man!), fork boots, bunch of gaskets and #$%* from charlies place... and also picked up these lovely tarozzi's from fast from the past. had to get something cool out of this little accident!

TwoTired · « **Reply #5 on:** June 07, 2011, 09:08:25 AM »

The bent frame is most likely why you've got steering head shake. And, it is unlikely a different tree will fix that. The bent frame has changed the head stock angle, altering both rake and trail of the front wheel. Totally understandable that the front end "hunts" for equilibrium. I'd not be surprised of high speed tank slapper either.

Good luck!

[Motorcycle Accident]TT-Tankslapper-19sec

Bankerdanny · « **Reply #6 on:** June 07, 2011, 09:19:39 AM »

Those bent Tomasselli's really suck, those bars are almost impossible to find.

Bakeoff · « **Reply #7 on:** June 07, 2011, 09:22:18 AM »

With the number of 500/550 frames out there, I'd look for another one. I have seen a bunch go for about $250 with a title...

domer · « **Reply #8 on:** June 07, 2011, 09:25:07 AM »

ya, i kinda figured... but i have had it to 95 ish on more than a few occasions, with no ill effects what so ever. but i wouldnt let go, thats for damn sure! it never had a shake per say, just a pull. but i always knew something was up and always suspected bearings cuase a good good size pot hole (lord knows theres enough of em round these parts) would produce a nasty "clunk" sound that could be felt. I'll get her through the summer, and bottle jack it out this winter.... if the bottle jack doesnt cut it, its frame time. id hate to do that though since its #s matching and all that... but who knows, if i put it back together and it rides like #$%*... ill rip it apart again! i just really really dont want to yank the motor out untill i can scratch together the cash to p.c. or even paint the frame... and paint the motor, and clean up the electronics, and possibly ditch the side covers, and the list goes on. kinda wish id of seen it before i spent all the insurance money though, would have changed the direction im going here....

luck and wisdom are 2 things i need, hence the reason for finally starting a project thread!

Greggo · « **Reply #9 on:** June 09, 2011, 08:02:10 AM »

Nice to see a build thread for this bike finally. Can't wait till she's done and we can roll!

domer · « **Reply #10 on:** June 09, 2011, 08:13:01 AM »

Well, we'll be riding soon! All my parts came into my work at about 1:30 yesterday... At 2, I got laid off... Apparently 5 years at the same rate of pay just wasn't affordable anymore. Cheap ass Indian mother #$%*ers, replaced me with some poor kid for a very sad hourly wage. I will never work for a "Patel" as long as I live!

Stay tuned for pics and reports, hopefully I'll have a test run in by dinner!

Greggo · « **Reply #11 on:** June 09, 2011, 08:14:12 AM »

Quote from: domer on June 09, 2011, 08:13:01 AM

Well, we'll be riding soon! All my parts came into my work at about 1:30 yesterday... At 2, I got laid off... Apparently 5 years at the same rate of pay just wasn't affordable anymore. Cheap ass Indian mother #$%*ers, replaced me with some poor kid for a very sad hourly wage. I will never work for a "Patel" as long as I live!

Stay tuned for pics and reports, hopefully I'll have a test run in by dinner!

Serious weak sauce man! I hope the cheap #$%*3rs are at least giving you some severance!

domer · « **Reply #12 on:** June 09, 2011, 08:26:58 AM »

Severance??? What's that

these #$%*ers are so cheap, that they refused to give me unemployment paperwork, and told me if I file, they will fight it tooth and nail. I filed anyway. Hell these cocksuckers won't give vacation, holiday pay or any other benefit that might cost them money. Funny how we cry union and all staff making over $12 an hour gets "let go" the next week.

Greggo · « **Reply #13 on:** June 09, 2011, 09:01:05 AM »

Quote from: domer on June 09, 2011, 08:26:58 AM

Severance??? What's that these #$%*ers are so cheap, that they refused to give me unemployment paperwork, and told me if I file, they will fight it tooth and nail. I filed anyway. Hell these cocksuckers won't give vacation, holiday pay or any other benefit that might cost them money. Funny how we cry union and all staff making over $12 an hour gets "let go" the next week.

Stick it to 'em! This is America Mother#$%*3r! They took my job!!

domer · « **Reply #14 on:** June 10, 2011, 07:53:17 PM »

so im not good at pictorials... once i get working, thats it.... i dont think about the camera till the end

but i got her all back together today!!!

last night i finished the front end, and then spent the rest of the night stripping all the old paint off of my ancient Kerker. Must of been 12 coats of paint on that #$%*er... started with sandpaper and quickly gave up favoring a brass wire wheel in the end of my dewalt. worked well, paint dissapeared and the metal underneath went unscathed.

Anyway, she got a new lower tree, fresh all ballz steering bearings... which was much easier to install than some of the threads i read made them out to be. drained and refilled the forks, got new blinkers, clubmans, dime citys oval mirrors (which so far i love!) and a bunch of other little #$%*.... here some pics

sadly im sure you can tell by the last pic, but during what i thought was careful storage of the tank while the bike was being worked on, it tipped, and the full tank went to 3/4 tank killing my rattlecan job with it. too bad it looked pretty good for spray paint.

took it for a shake down run, didnt last long... came home and bled the brakes again

then got it out for shake down run redux... i was pleased that i could let go of the bars at 80 mph but somewhere between 90-95 i begin to get a shakey reminder that my frame is bent. or at least that is my assumption. the good news is i have too many points to be riding like that in the first place!!! so for the time being a slightly tweaked frame it is. i was amazed at the difference, although i have to check the tree's again as the steering feels a little tight. but then again ive been riding this thing with a bent steering tube and frame for 3 years, so what do i know!

RAFster122s · « **Reply #15 on:** June 11, 2011, 01:16:04 AM »

Domer, sorry to read that you have lost your job. I hope your unemployment comes through and you pursue it. Shouldn't be a problem...
Good you got her back on the road, bummer about finding the bent frame.
Hope you are able to find another job soon and enjoy the bike and be safe, plus keep your "nose clean" while your out of work. Worst time for trouble to visit if you can avoid it.

Been there with the offshoring of jobs... 45 of us got laid off at a former company I worked for 17.5 years and they started 45 employees in the Poland office the next week. That was the start and decline of that program here in the US to a skeleton crew in the US with the bulk of the effort being done in Poland. They had unsuccessfully partnered with Tata in India and abandoned that and then insourced in the Poland offices in the company. (worldwide company) Either way it stunk and stung for it to happen out of the blue.

Hang in there! Your job is now to find a job.

Good Luck!

David

domer · « **Reply #16 on:** September 01, 2011, 04:52:47 PM »

well havent been around here much lately... too busy trying to find work! makes me realize how long ive actually been out of work $:-\$

well decided she finally needed some new paint. Got sick of looking at the gas stain running down my tank, and the marks on my tail... all from the the #$%*ing bus ::shakes fist::

decided to continue my rat rod esk look. so its flat black and chevy engine orange. Had to toss in the Metallica themed honda logo. Only cause ive seen it else where, and thought it fit well that and i was able to get a crap load of em done for free. i know ive seen this paint job before, so i apologize in advance for copying

what y'all think?

RAFster122s · « **Reply #17 on:** September 01, 2011, 05:06:10 PM »

Looks nice Dimer. Good luck with the continued job search.
David

Greggo · « **Reply #18 on:** September 01, 2011, 06:37:31 PM »

Looks sweet dude!

65Ch3v3LL3 · « **Reply #19 on:** September 02, 2011, 03:27:57 AM »

Great looking bike. The paint job does look a little familiar though. LOL. This is my other bike 08 VRSC DX.

domer · « **Reply #20 on:** September 02, 2011, 07:15:56 AM »

I ain't gonna lie... I thought the v-rod was the ugliest production bike Harley has ever put out... But you my friend found a way to make it attractive! That is one sweet looking paint job too...

65Ch3v3LL3 · « **Reply #21 on:** September 02, 2011, 07:39:32 AM »

Quote from: domer on September 02, 2011, 07:15:56 AM

I ain't gonna lie... I thought the v-rod was the ugliest production bike Harley has ever put out... But you my friend found a way to make it attractive! That is one sweet looking paint job too...

LOL, the V-Rod is what brought me to Harley. I guess we all have different tastes but thats what makes diversity which is a good thing. Mine isn't nearly finished but has come a long way. Building the 300 rear kit from scratch was a bit tedious for sure. Still to come is a drive side brake, spoke wheels, and a new fender and seat plus paint and a few other details. My CB650 though is getting all the attention right now though.

Your bike is looking good though so stay away from those buses LOL.
gh
Tim

fastbroshi · « **Reply #22 on:** September 03, 2011, 03:28:17 AM »

Chevelle, that's probably the only Harley I'd ever own, despite the difficulty of working on the motor. Domer, I don't understand why you want to dismiss that bent frame. If it was tweaked and you could let go without any ill effects, I could understand, but you said it'll still wobble at high speed. I know it probably just makes it a tad more dangerous, but in the grand scheme of things, it just takes one bad wreck and by then it's too late to change your mind.
I used to do bodywork and it's totally feasible you could straighten out that tube with a bottlejack/chaings or a comealong, and it would look straight, but the tubes integrity would be compromised. Kind of like a paper clip that's been bent. You can bend it back, but the metal remains fatigued and will break easily.
You wouldn't happen to have a model # for those rearsets would you?

domer · « **Reply #23 on:** September 03, 2011, 07:14:01 AM »

Kinda funny story that goes along with that... Was really busy for about 6 weeks or so and didn't have a chance to ride the bike. So when I finally did I pulled her out and started checking over everything, only to discover my tire pressure was way off. 22 in the front and 24 in the rear. For some reason I neglected to check this during the reassembly process. Filled em up, and she almost feels like a new bike again. I think the rear wheel might be a hair off center... But she pulled straight as an arrow all the way up through 90. I can even let go of the bars with out any ill affect. Though I am still on the hunt for another frame, the bend in this one doesn't seem to be affecting anything.

domer · « **Reply #24 on:** September 03, 2011, 07:19:14 AM »

Oh and I'll dig up the part number, but the tarozzi's are the ones for the 550, but work just fine on the 500

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Author Topic: my wrecked cb500, thanks grayline tours! (Read 6269 times)