First Bike, First Build: 1972 CB500

Just made an introduction topic about 2 days ago, and here I am with my first bike/project. Spent the day cleaning off years of dust and grime; it seems to be in pretty good shape. So far, I have a few things that are known to be wrong with the bike, from the previous owner:

1. Left 2 Carbs with gas leak issues, reason why the bike was parked in the first place.

2. Missing key at the moment, previous owner still looking. I may have to get one from the dealer/ have one made up.

3. Missing headlight and brake light is busted

After checking over the bike, noticed brake lever is free moving. There is no brake fluid and apparently no brake line so I still have to check to see if the brakes are in decent shape. The throttle seems to be somewhat stuck, but I think that is more throttle cable issues than anything else. The engine kicks over nicely, so it seems to be in alright shape, and the clutch appears to work. Other than that, everything else seems to be in decent shape, with just some more cleanup or replacement parts needed to bring everything up to order. Still not sure of the exact direction I want to take with the bike, but definitely leaning towards a cafe racer build. I am just focusing on getting the bike up to working order before I go off on a tangent. Hopefully you guys will be able to help me out as I move along, the site has been very helpful for learning even without a bike, so I know i'm in the right place. Here's a few pictures as well to give you an idea.

Looks alright, especially that seat. The carbs and brakes shouldn't be too hard to sort out, and if you run a new throttle cable with some lube put through it you'll be laughing.

As for the key, try and find out if these bikes had any other keyed point on them like helmet holders or locks for the under-seat area. Often these are keyed the same as the ignition and are much simpler to remove and take down to the locksmith.

Cheers - boingk

boingk said:

Looks alright, especially that seat. The carbs and brakes shouldn't be too hard to sort out, and if you run a new throttle cable with some lube put through it you'll be laughing.

As for the key, try and find out if these bikes had any other keyed point on them like helmet holders or locks for the under-seat area. Often these are keyed the same as the ignition and are much simpler to remove and take down to the locksmith.

Cheers - boingk

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Thanks for the tips! I actually got in touch with the previous owner today and it turns out he found the keys, so that is a non issue now. I guess the next step is to tear down the carbs and get a new battery. Could anyone tell me off hand what the most likely reason is as to why the carbs are spitting up fuel? I had the issue on my 40 DCOE's in my old BMW, and I vaguely remember it being a float issue.

Stuck floats is usually the culprit.

mr.umbrella said:

Stuck floats is usually the culprit.

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That's what I was thinking. Thanks

Finally have some time off in a week to get stuff done. Plan on rebuilding the carbs; going to try that home-made soda blaster in the 1-800-...section. New oil (+ Filter) and battery good to go as well. Should be able to get it running with some carb tuning after the rebuild. Also have some other parts to get to- new throttle cables and stainless allen head bolts to replace the lower hardware. Just waiting on a "chuck start" from Dime City Cycles (hopefully) - http://dotheton.com/index.php?topic=12778.0, have a spare kick start if that turns out to be undoable. Lots of other plans, but for now, this is my main focus.

Looks like a nice base for a build! Not to be off topic but what kind of old bmw did you have? 2002 perhaps?

Some minor progress as I have gotten more time as school finishes up. I'll post some info later, still a few things left before I can start it, but I have made some steps forward. Still need to fabricate one of those leaf springs for one of the carbs, but other than that, just some minor things.

Completely changed direction, as shown from the new pictures. Still not sure if it is going to end up more bobber or cafe style, but I think it will be a mixture of both. Plan to have it running by this weekend or early next week, would also like to get some clip-ons and fabricate a seat of some kind.

teddpage said:

Looks like a nice base for a build! Not to be off topic but what kind of old bmw did you have? 2002 perhaps?

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You guessed correctly, a 1976 2002. Still have it actually.

Just got done installing clip-ons. All the rust that accumulated on the fork tubes right inn the area where they would be almost out made it a pain to get them out smoothly, but still got them out eventually. Next plan to hook up the carburetors and make a new slim-line seat. I have seen some people on here using skateboard decks as a base and find it kind of interesting. I don't want to hack up the stock seat as it is too nice. I have a snow-skate lying around that I think would be even better than a skateboard as a base. Its made out of tough plastic and already has a "cushiony" layer on top while still having the same shape as a skateboard deck.