Oh Lord (CB500) - The Leaky Bitch (p. 31)

Re: Oh Lord... (CB500)

Today we ate some chilidogs, drank some beer, and started tearing into the bike. We pretty much only really did the simple stuff today. Next time we will do the motor, and the front and rear suspensions. The bike came with a shop manual, so we have something to go off of.

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Re: Oh Lord... (CB500)

Hey well done. Just saw this thread for the first time. I picked up a 72 CB500 a few months ago which came as a frame with some wheels, a motor and three boxes of rusty bits. Have been slowly cleaning the bits up, painting em as I go and putting the whole thing back together. Like you I have never worked on bikes til this year but have learned alot from researching and reading the threads on this site as well as a few others. Currently I have a bunch of old electrical bits - with my lack of knowledge I am trying to work out firstly what they are and then where they go - which I am working through so I am really looking forward to when you get up to electrics on your build. I am finding it a bit of a challenge and sometimes think its too hard but when I keep looking at what the other guys are doing on here, it inspires me to keep going. All the best. Linton, Australia
 
Re: Oh Lord... (CB500)

Artboy said:
I am trying to work out firstly what they are and then where they go - which I am working through so I am really looking forward to when you get up to electrics on your build. I am finding it a bit of a challenge and sometimes think its too hard but when I keep looking at what the other guys are doing on here, it inspires me to keep going. All the best. Linton, Australia

Hey Linton, welcome. I'm sure if you start a thread and post some pics of your problems these guys will be all over it. You only have to ask ;)

Lots of 'em can't help themselves - they're compulsive posters ::)

cheers
ian (also Australia ;D)
 
Re: Oh Lord... (CB500)

put some clean rags in the intakes and exhaust bud... if dust and crud gets in there you are screwed unless you are opening it up later to do a rebuild... for the electronics on the CB are nice to work on there are some bare bones wire diagrams online for them to help you out... i am about to hardtail and chop my cb500 if you need anything let me know
 
Re: Oh Lord... (CB500)

Thanks for the heads up on plugging the exhaust and the intake.

As for the electrical stuff...
I was lucky as the bike came with a shop manual and the previous owner had actually purchased wiring diagrams showing how to simplify the electrical system on the bike.

I am considering not running turn signals on the bike to make it cleaner looking. Anybody here think this is an issue, or is that a common thing to do maybe?
 
Re: Oh Lord... (CB500)

Aight guys! Some of my first questions.
I want to run a BCR (Benjie's Cafe Racer) Fiberglass Dolphin gas tank and seat combo on this bike (http://www.benjiescaferacer.com/combo2.html). I also want to use the BCR's battery box/tray assembly (http://www.benjiescaferacer.com/battbox.html).

First off, how similar is my 1972 CB500 frame to a CB550? I don't know anything about bikes, so I don't know if the battery box assembly will work on my frame. Next, has anybody else messed with these BCR parts? Will that battery box work with the seat and fit right? What say the hive?

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Re: Oh Lord... (CB500)

Nevermind, Benjie answer my question for me. I can't wait to get the tank and seat!

Yes the battery box/tray we offer will work with the fiberglass seat that comes with the dolphin combo set. And yes the fiberglass dolphin tank, seat and battery box/tray will work all together and will work for cb500 four.

The tank will slide in just like a stock tank and will use the stock cb500 gas cap and petcock. The tank and seat will come with mounting brackets that will bolt-on to the frame. The seat will come with bolt-on upholstered seat pad, DOT approved tail light and lic plate bracket. The battery box/tray though will require cutting the tail of the frame pass the upper shock mount, sliding in the battery box into the cutted frame rails, then welding the ends together. We'll send you pics with measurements where you'll need to cut the frame. The battery box/tray will use the a cbr1000 battery. The stock cb500 battery is way too big and trying to tuck it under a tail will require making a big tail. And if we make a big tail, i dont think that you'll like how it will look with the bike.
 
Re: Oh Lord... (CB500)

Today, I had the urge to work on my bike. Now, I don't own a house with a garage, so it has been living at a sarge's house from work. Luckily, he left me with a key to his house while he is on vacation!

So, I wanted to take off the front suspension today, by myself. The motor is still in the frame though, and the bike ain't light. So, the first thing I did was get the bike off the center stand and on an oil change ramp for a car. Its sits pretty flat on the ramp, with the rear tire firmly on the ground and the front tire about 2 to 3 inches off the ground out front. Next, I loosened the bolts on the tripple clamps to free the front bits. Now this is where I am all pround of myself; to get the front end off the bike, I used a hydraulic car jack under the car oil change ramp to lift the bike off of the stearing stem. It took no effort, and it stayed nice and stable for me. Once I got all of that apart, I took the wheel off of the front forks, stashed everything away, and sat down to watch The Walking Dead. : )

I know, its not much progress, but it only took me an hour, and I think its pretty good for someone without a friggen clue of what they are doing! Thankfully I have the Clymer manual for this bike. Anyways, the minor pictures for tonights small progress. Let me know what you think about these front forks. They are clean and shiny underneath the boots, but pretty nasty under where the aluminum light support was.

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Re: Oh Lord... (CB500)

Question about the stearing guys!
Do I need to put new races and bearings on this bike now that I have taken the stearing apart, or can I just clean up, and re-grease whats there and reassemble it? The front stearing felt fine before I broke the bike down, so...
 
Re: Oh Lord... (CB500)

you can repack them with marine grease if you would ike but wiht as cheap as they are i would sugest replacing them, new bearings make a HUGE diff when it comes to stearing and old bearings even repacked tend to give you a "Clunk" on bumps and it is damb anoying!
 
Re: Oh Lord... (CB500)

you can do that and it'll be fine. But for the money get the tapered bearings. I've used pyramid parts and all balls and for the money all balls are much better. A lot more bearings in the cage.
Whats another 40 bucks?
Jay
 
Re: Oh Lord... (CB500)

The Clymer manual is okay, but I suggest looking online for a digital copy of the actual Honda service manual for it. It goes into much more detail. I had some times getting my bike back on the road where I would have gotten stuck if I didn't have both. As a beginner myself, I think it might be helpful for you as well. I even printed mine out at work so I could have a hard copy and not worry about getting my keyboard all greasy going back and referencing it.

The motor really cleaned up well. Make sure it's legal in your area to run without signals. Some people do it regardless, but you should be aware if they're not kosher.
 
Re: Oh Lord... (CB500)

Thanks guys,
As for the bearings, its not so much of a cost issue (but damn, its adding up in my head already!!), but an ability issue. I have no clue about getting the old races out of the frame and off the stearing "thingy" (the bottom clamp with the post that the race slides down over). Then there is the issue of getting the new races pressed.
 
Re: Oh Lord... (CB500)

You can just knock the old races out of the neck with a length of pipe and a hammer. The race on the lower tree needs pulled off. You can freeze it and pry it off sometimes. Mine came off pretty easily. As far as pressing the lower bearing onto the stem any auto garage can do that for a couple bucks if they charge you anything at all. Make sure that the new races that you put in the neck seat all the way and have the correct (if needed) spacers under them. Its really a pretty simple swap. Im sure if you search around here, you'll find a step by step w some pics.
 
Re: Oh Lord... (CB500)

Thanks Von, I am gonna look into it some more. I like the idea of the All Balls bearings.

Today's progress; finished stripping the bike down to the frame and stacked the parts away. This is the part of the project thats gonna suck, the waiting. Progress is now going to rely on funds availability. I am also really not looking forward to installing the motor back into the frame once its been painted!

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Re: Oh Lord... (CB500)

the lower bearing on the tree if you cut a notch in it then put a flat head screwdriver and smack it with a hammer it will break it loose. i did 5 of them yesterday to prep for powder
 
Re: Oh Lord... (CB500)

Appreciate the tips guys. This is the stuff I have no clue about since I have never even really ridden a motorcycle or worked on one before.

Quick question about the battery box tabs on the frame that I want to cut off. I notice some of them connect between two pieces of frame. If I cut them off, will they weaken the structure of the bike?
 
Re: Oh Lord... (CB500)

The CB500 makes an awesome cafe. Here's my daily driver:
1972 CB500
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Here's my current project:
1972 CB500
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I've never had any problems getting parts- new or used
If you need any parts let me know, I stripped two 500's this summer for parts. Some I needed. Some I ebayed. The rest are cluttering up my shop.
 
Re: Oh Lord... (CB500)

And the 500 shop manual is available to download on this site in the manuals section
 
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