HONDA CB500 FOUR #2 PROJECT UPDATES
This past Saturday I went to work on the 1972 Honda CB500 Four. I had been waiting all week to get cracking and I was happy with the progress that I made. This post will cover what was accomplished. As you can see from the picture below, the tank came off along with the carbs to be cleaned and re-jetted/rebuilt. I hadn't originally planned to due away with the air box, but several of the rubber connecting pieces were in bad shape and instead of trying to hunt those down and order them, I opted to go with a cool set of velocity stacks. The pod air filters have a good look, but they don't work with this model of bike. The only option besides the velocity stacks is foam and I'm not a fan. I'll post a picture of the stacks once the carbs are ready to go. There was a leak between two of the carbs that I still have to get tightened up before they go back on. Having them off gave me a chance to clean up the engine because it was pretty filthy. It's polishing up real nice, but still needs some buffing done.
The engine started right up once we connected a power supply and it sounds good. It needed a little oil because it was bone dry but after the trial run I did a full oil change on it to make sure it is good and lubricated according to specifications. I'm still on the fence about whether I want to keep the original battery box or have a new one installed but I don't have to decide on that right away. There are still a lot of things that need to be done. The points haven't been replaced but I did take a file to both of them to ensure a good energy flow. Those will be updated before long.
The lock for the seat was missing from the bike when I purchased it so I may try and find a replacement so it can latch down tight. I will be keeping the seat that came on it because it's an original, it's just missing that strap that is supposed to go over the mid-section. No biggie.
I had already purchased some Pirelli tires for this model several weeks back so I got started on swapping them out for the cracked and beat up old ones. The Pirelli's weren't cheap but since this is going to be a faster bike than my CL360 I thought they would be appropriate. If I like them enough, I may buy another set for my Brown 71' Honda CB500 Four. I haven't done much with that one yet. This one is a little rougher and will require more work, which is why I started it first. The rear wheel came off pretty easily once we removed the chain, which will also be getting replaced for a plain 530 O-Ring.
I forgot to take a picture of the before tire, but this is the new one before its strapped on. The old tire tubes were in bad shape so I drove down to the Honda Dealership quick like and picked up a new set. I'm not taking my chances on the old ones.
The rear sprocket was pretty dirty but that could be a future purchase once I have a chance to order some parts. I will also be picking up several more small wire brushes to go to town on those spokes next week. I don't see the need to get these re-laced unless I am going to do a full restoration on it, which aren't in the plans currently. Right now I just want to get it up and running so that I can go get it registered and start using it as my daily rider. I like seeing a little bit of age on my bikes.
Sunday morning I'll be going to the Long Beach Motorcycle SWAP MEET to see if anyone has any interest in buying the 1975 Honda CL 360.
No comments:
Post a Comment