Author Topic: 500-4 scrapheap challenge  (Read 2528 times)

Offline haynes66

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500-4 scrapheap challenge
« on: February 26, 2018, 07:44:53 PM »
dont know if this is going anywhere, but i'll give it a shot.  back in 2015 i bought the remains of a 500-4 for £90. it was just up the road and the seller even dropped it at my house!



it came with a full set of original pipes which i sold for £60 so it's effectively cost me 30 quid. everything was seized solid and the frame was rusted through in some areas but i thought it would be a fun school project as i work as a site manager at a residential behavioural school. some of the kids are keen to learn about mechanics so they started to help me dismantle it.  however, it really was too bad to work on, the kids rounding off or snapping the many rusted in bolts and screws, so i put it in the boiler house and gave them a worn out superdream which was mouldering behind my shed. this has proved to be a much better choice as they are enjoying taking it apart. 
so i'm attempting to strip the engine in my dinner breaks but it may well end up as scrap if it doesnt work out.  i hacksawed the frame away but the long mounting bolts are proving something of a challenge.   i suspect they may have to be drilled out >:(
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Offline Trigger

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Re: 500-4 scrapheap challenge
« Reply #1 on: February 27, 2018, 07:50:35 AM »
Cover it in snow foam, a quick wash down and that will be ready to go  ;D
The only way is drill  ;)

Offline haynes66

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Re: 500-4 scrapheap challenge
« Reply #2 on: February 27, 2018, 04:43:46 PM »
i like a bit of patina ;D
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Offline Trigger

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Re: 500-4 scrapheap challenge
« Reply #3 on: February 27, 2018, 09:39:46 PM »
I can't work it out, is it a K0 or K1 ? Must be a few hard to find parts on her ?

Offline haynes66

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Re: 500-4 scrapheap challenge
« Reply #4 on: February 27, 2018, 10:10:43 PM »
i believe it's a k1, according to someone on here. i may not get very far with it, but i wouldnt bin it. there would certainly be quite a few salvageable bits on it even if it's not worth rebuilding.
« Last Edit: February 27, 2018, 10:13:08 PM by haynes66 »
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Online AshimotoK0

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Re: 500-4 scrapheap challenge
« Reply #5 on: February 28, 2018, 09:37:52 AM »
I can't work it out, is it a K0 or K1 ? Must be a few hard to find parts on her ?

If the seat is original ..reckon it's a K1.. the rear drum alone would be worth 30 quid if liner isn't cracked.
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Offline haynes66

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Re: 500-4 scrapheap challenge
« Reply #6 on: February 28, 2018, 07:11:48 PM »
someone on here has already had the front hub, but for some reason refused the rim, spokes and perfectly reasonable tyre...
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Offline taysidedragon

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Re: 500-4 scrapheap challenge
« Reply #7 on: March 01, 2018, 12:16:23 AM »
someone on here has already had the front hub, but for some reason refused the rim, spokes and perfectly reasonable tyre...
Fussy huh?  ;)
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Offline Green1

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Re: 500-4 scrapheap challenge
« Reply #8 on: March 01, 2018, 09:50:03 AM »
I will have the inner tubes if they still have some Japanese air left.  ;)
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Offline matthewmosse

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Re: 500-4 scrapheap challenge
« Reply #9 on: March 01, 2018, 12:42:50 PM »
That can be saved. My favourite 500/4 had extensive frame rot, I've had to 're fabricate virtually all the rear sub frame and bits of the loop. Some of it two times over as I have given it a decades worth of winter riding and rot does seem to spread if you miss a bit.
Got a 500/4 with rust and a sidecar and loadsa bits. nice and original and been round the clock

Offline haynes66

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Re: 500-4 scrapheap challenge
« Reply #10 on: March 01, 2018, 04:05:10 PM »
the frame has been disposed of as it was really bad on the offside. i wish i'd taken a photo of it. the area around the battery box/side panel had rusted away completely, probably as that was the side that got rained on the most. i've had a panther frame re-fabricated many years ago but this was too far gone. it didnt have a log book either. i do have a superdream frame which could work!!  a CB500N would get the purists gnashing their teeth!  seriously though, i have a big enough task stripping the engine.  the only other salvageable parts were the wheel hubs, forks and rusty swingarm
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Offline haynes66

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Re: 500-4 scrapheap challenge
« Reply #11 on: March 30, 2018, 02:27:09 PM »
so, i posted the above post about a cb500n in jest. but the idea kept going round and round in my head until i thought i'd sit the 250 frame on top of the engine to see where the sprocket position was, and to be honest, it wasnt far off.after further butchering of the frame it sort of almost lines up, so at this stage it's a possibility. the only thing that will scupper the whole thing is front wheel clearance as it's a fair bit further forward than the 250 motor.



it's a bit of a squeeze and there is no room for an airbox but it could be an interesting project.  so why am i even doing this when i already have a couple of 750's on the go?  well, my wife and i have had a turbulent couple of years but things are a lot more settled now.  however, i still have a lot of thinking time in my work which doesnt help, so i'm spending 30 minutes of my lunch hour to do a little work on the project every day.  so instead of dwelling on negative thoughts about the past, i'm focusing on the next hurdle/bracket/bodge that needs doing next.  i call it the 'clutter principle' where i fill my thoughts with relevant stuff instead of what i tend to dwell on.  anyway, it works for me!!  also, i think this project has some comedy value to it and will certainly confuse a few bikers if it ever sees the light of day.  the idea at this stage is to build it up to a rolling stage and more or less establish where everything will fit and so on, welding brackets where needed as i go along.  and even if it doesnt all work, it will be therapeutic for me over the next year or so.
 some people might get a little annoyed that i appear to be butchering two 'classics' to make this thing but the 500-4 cost me very little and the engine is potentially scrap and the superdream was about to be chucked in a skip.  if the engine is salvageable and i did get this thing on the road, i suspect that a few years down the line the motor would be returned to a 500 frame and the superdream bits thrown away, so no great loss there!   
« Last Edit: March 30, 2018, 02:34:07 PM by haynes66 »
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Offline mike the bike

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Re: 500-4 scrapheap challenge
« Reply #12 on: March 30, 2018, 03:04:00 PM »
Could be worse - a CB550 frame with a Superdream engine
Where's that 10mm socket got to?

Offline Colonial-Clive (yindi)

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Re: 500-4 scrapheap challenge
« Reply #13 on: March 30, 2018, 03:12:36 PM »
Keep us updated I like the oddball ideas that work. And it looks like that just might make it.

Offline haynes66

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Re: 500-4 scrapheap challenge
« Reply #14 on: March 30, 2018, 05:10:13 PM »
i've thrown everything together just to get an idea of front end clearance and it's not looking too good.





in the second pic i'm holding the ruler fairly horizontal and it is 5" from the filter bolt to the tyre.  can anyone with a 500 take a quick measurement from the same points please?
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