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CB500K1. Cafe Racer to Original...sort of!
AndyH:
Hi all,
I haven't posted much about my restoration since getting the bike so I guess it's time to provide some info.
I'm in Perth, Western Australia and acquired a CB500K1 which was converted to cafe racer style some 4 or 5 years ago. The bike was in overall good nick but obviously some things needed to change to bring things back to original.
The duck-tail seat, lo-rise handlebars and mini speedo and tacho needed to be replaced. Fortunately there were quite a few useful odds and ends that I got with the bike, and a subsequest purchase of a box of bits from another Perth local. :)
So as it stands now, I have a seat (original base and foam covered with a DSS cover), a new set of RHS and LHS switches (another story... >:( ) , a new handlebar and a bunch of other things like rear footpegs, new headlight and surrounds and a new 2-stay front fender.
I've been cleaning up the wiring loom and connectors, along with some other bits.
A close friend is restoring the instrument faces for me, so they'll be ready before long. 8)
And now to today!
I removed the “sub-frame” containing the reg, rectifier, blinker relay and solenoid in order to clean things up.
The sub-harness turned out to be an absolute dog’s breakfast….one of the multipin connectors was missing altogether!
Thanks to the CMSNL diagrams I soon figured out that the rectifier module no longer had a multipin connector on it. Instead, it was sloppily spliced into the sub-harness, with some of the connections just twisted together (no solder) and wrapped with cheap electrical tape. >:(
Once I realised that refurbishment was going to be difficult, I took a heap of photos. They’ll help with putting things back together, along with the wiring diagrams.
I tinkered with the idea of getting hold of a replacement harness (which isn’t available anyway!) but then I’d have to source a multi connector for the rectifier.
I’ll strip the paint off the sub-frame tomorrow, respray same then set about putting things back together. Won’t be too difficult, just not original….oh well!! ;)
I'll try to remember to take more photos in future. If you want to see what the bike looked like when I bought it, here ya go! 8)
Seabeowner:
As you say "cafe racer style" more than out and out cafe racer which can be very difficult to revert. Australian/NZ models are pretty much identical to UK if I remember.
Will you go for original style paintwork on the tank/side panels? And of course the 4-4 exhausts which I presume are actually made nearer to you than me, but do you have a distributor? Or do they have to go China, Holland, UK, Australia.
AndyH:
It will be restored in the UK style, as you've correctly surmised.
Original 4 into 4 are unobtainium so I'll stick with the 4 into 1.
I kind of like the tank paintwork so will probably match the side covers with the "candy blue".
I should have said from the outset that reverting to ab-original is an extremely difficult challenge so I'm just going to get it close.
I want to ride the thing, not have it in a display cage LOL!
toucheturtle:
Someone is selling copies of the four in to four exhausts in Australia on ebay but they want crazy money for them
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Honda-CB500-Four-CB550-Four-Mufflers-Exhaust-System-Replica-/182588936538?hash=item2a8326115a:g:QTMAAOSw3gJZJLA9
AndyH:
Yes I saw that. I can purchase a heck of a lot of other bits for that price! :)
A mate of mine who restores 750s recently priced a set of 4 into 4 from Motorcycle Yamiya......$6000!!!! ::) ::)
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