Prepped for Surgery

You'll have to excuse the phone pics, as my digital camera's display is done for after a wet experience in Canada.

We pulled the bike out of the garage onto the back deck with the intention of moving the entire piece into the basement for a warm working environment for the winter here in Minnesota.  We did not believe how HEAVY and UNMANAGEABLE moving this thing up the few steps to the porch would be, so the plan changed. 

38 minutes later. . . . . 

MUCH EASIER! Put them in my new workroom that I have permission to use until April. 

A nice 2x4 stand for the engine:

Man those exhast ports are gunky! And those plug holes as well! 

I decided to pull off just one bowl to see how she looked. You would think they would have been dried out by now. 

Nope. Yuck. 

Well, the carbs will need cleaned for sure! I might use a kerosene/solvent bath as I need to dip these and my buddy's carbs from his 1980 Yamaha XS850 Triple. 

The nice thing that continues to prove beneficial is that the rubber (despite the tires) has been preserved quite well - the carb intake ports/inlets all look good, and the bowl o-ring is in good shape as well. 

I updated the cost sheet on the right side of this page with some expected costs. Lets see if I can come in under budget!

IT TURNS. . . .

So with a weekend of partying out of the way, I took to this little beast again Sunday night. I had Blaster in each cylinder for about 4 days.

Removed the lefthand sidecover and used a nylon tie-down to loop through the piece that turns inside the stator.

With some serious elbow grease it began to move! The number 4 cylinder has a click to it as it turns, which I assume is some rust left on the wall. Those pistons are full of gunk!

I tested for spark once it moved freely with the kick starter, and there was none. I used a continuity tester to check the coils themselves, and it's a no-go for those. I'll be looking into some aftermarket solutions for sure, no reason to attempt authentic!

The pipes are pretty rusted, so I'll be looking toward a 4 into 1 solution. However, the tank paint is ok with some dents here and there!

Love to hear your feedback!

Original Pics

So I can't stop thinking about this baby, and decided to post some pics of what she looked like 3300 miles and 37 years ago.


Lastly, I'd like to link you all over to the Wiki at SOHC.Net. I'm sure it will be a valuable resource for this baby! Honda service manual and everything!


http://www.sohc4.net/index.php?title=CB500

Impulse buys are the best.

Today I got a hankerin to look at the massive amount of people attempting to recoup some of that capitol they poured into the two-wheeled moneypit they purchased just after the weather got nice. I'm not picky about what I look at on craigslist's motorcycle page, but I do have a thing for vintage jap bikes.

My first was a 1983 KZ550. Bought for $350.00, partially rode but never fully, then turned around after a few cosmetic fixes for $500.00. God she was hot! Enjoy gawkinging at her below.

I've missed her so much over these past few years that I always said I'd get another. Well toay this showed up on craigslist: 1971 Honda CB500: seized engine. $199.00 . Long story short, the guy agreed at 200 for Saturday morning, then reposted it at 175. So I picked it up today instead for $25.00 off. Apparently someone wanted it gone. The only picture I have of it is right here in the truck.

What I can't believe is that it has only 3300 miles, and that there's almost no rust! The casings are pitted, but not beyond a good buffing. The forks have good compression, and all the blinkers look good. The tank is at about a 85%, with nearly no rust inside it and pretty nice paint still outside.

As these adventures in learn mostly what not to do when bringing a bike back to life, I encourage you to post your thoughts below on what I'm doing, and offer any insight that comes to mind.

I sprayed a whole buncha blaster into the cylinders, though I feel like it wasn't enough for some reason. The two center spark plug holes are so small that the outer diameter of my deep-well socket won't even fit in! The last gentleman had removed the plugs, and didn't put them back. Grrr, there's a whole bumch of bird/squirrel crap over the holes, and inevitably some in the chambers. What are your thoughts - should I try to vaccuum them out? Or just get it moving and burn it up?

The next step is to pickup a battery to check the electricles, hopefully they weren't a chew toy for some rodent! Also need to pickup a cheap set of clubman bars. about 30 a set, and will mount right up. Can't forget fresh grips! And a cafe-bump seat, and a. . . and a. . . and a. . . anda I should probably just focus on the running of the engine.

Cross your fingers!