CB500t; has anyone here owned one?

[florence]

I know it's a very un-sohc4 topic but when I was in the states a few years ago I rode a cb450 which was great fun.  I am very curious about the CB500T.   Everyone says they are rubbish but is this really true? 

I like twins, I have a cb350K which is very enjoyable to ride but I find is just a little too small and I always end up thrashing it and breaking the engine.   I was hoping someone here owns or has owned CB500T and can give me their views.

[SteveD CB500K0]

My room-mate at Uni owned one in 1978.

He was very short and had to stop by the kerb to get his feet down!

He hated it and then the engine blew up. Fitted a new one from a breaker and then traded it for a 400/4 (which fitted him much better)

I rode it a few times - it vibrated like hell (after my 500/4). It was very torquey in comparison but was donkey brown and ugly...   

[Bryanj]

Starter clutches go regularly
Vibrate
Cam chain has to be split and riveted in situ to get head off
But ugly--especially in dayglo orange
not common to get used bits (or NOS now)

[florence]

ok, not sounding too good so far but I like the "torguey" bit.

Starter clutches can be removed.

Not too worried about appearance because I would ditch the tank and sidepanels etc.

Given the choice I would like to get an old Triumph but I can't afford one.  I'm looking for something that's a twin, 500cc or over and costs no more than a rough but running 500/4.

[SteveD CB500K0]

Thought about a Kwak W650?

[Yoshi823]

This was...was, one of my favourite bikes back in 1976/77...until I had a go on one. It pogoed round corners, vibrated a lot, the handlebars were too wide at speed, it vibrated a lot, it needed a 2nd disc...& it vibrated a lot.


Did I mention the vibration?


So I bought a CB550 instead.

[Dave M]

I was looking at a W650 in a Melbourne bike shop last week.

It's a 360 degree twin with a gear driven OHC and looks really "British".

Quite rare over here and expensive too. The shop had 3 for sale and newest was a 2005 and they wanted $11,000 for it.

For $13,000 you can get a new Triumph Bonneville T100.

[florence]

It's strange it should handle so badly, isn't it virtually the same frame and suspension as the 500/550 four?

[AshimotoK0]

Never rode a CB450 on which the 500T was based - was that a better ride? Vibrate less?

[the-chauffeur]

For a slightly more positive take on the 500T, and possible solutions/workarounds to some of its shortcomings - http://www.thefang.co.uk/cb500t.htm.

[Bubbadel]

I considered buying one back in 77, but got a 500/4 instead, i think i made the right decision..

[Waggles]

I had one for a while, bought it as new old stock around 1980 I think. When run in it was still smoking so I had to replace the piston rings, was OK after that. In the eye of this beholder I thought / still think its a cool looking bike and a bit different, hated that chrome exhaust balance monstrosity tho. It was economical ( and yes it vibrated more than a 4, but at lowish revs it was more a shudder than vibration ) and I found it rather jerky and a bit harsh at low filtering speeds ( think this might have been due to the primary drive being all cogs and no shock absorbing chain if memory serves? ) so it could be very tiring in heavy traffic. I found the performance a bit disapointing to be honest, it cruised easily and seemed to have a fair bit of grunt but if you really wanted to move you had to rev its nuts off, more so than a 4.

No idea of long term problems as the usual SMIDSY right hand turning capri wrote it off convincingly after about a year.

Overall a 4 beats it in all categories but if you consider it as a slightly modernised 450 its still an interesting bike. Heaven knows what spares are like now tho.

[K2-K6]

I've only really owned Jap stuff but more recently rode some brit twins (BSA 650, Triumph 750) from late 60's mid 70's and still can't quite believe how much they shake!!! and the Triumph felt quite slow which I "discussed" with the owner who said I needed to rev it more. Sure it was faster but just felt so cruel to it, like it was going to smash itself to bits. I wouldn't want to own one. I think you'd have had to produced kids if you were thinking about it before subjecting yourself to that level of industrial strength vibration ;-D

Also heard bad reports about 500T Honda, Friend had one that he was always repairing.

Odd choice but can be low cost is a Ducati Monster 600, one of the sweatest twins you'll ever experience and they feel so light almost bicycle like to ride. Try one if you get a chance, think they did a low cost no frills in black only called "Monster Dark". And they're SOHC per cylinder so almost count.