Teds new project a CB500 K1 mostly version 0.5 circa 1972.

[Oddjob]

Even Gerben cam make a mistake Ted. Always worth checking.

As for the boot, you may have to alter your riding position a bit or wear shorter boots. I've got some Marc Marquez ankle boots by Alpine Star and find them really comfortable, much more so then my Sidi boots.

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

Even Gerben cam make a mistake Ted. Always worth checking.

As for the boot, you may have to alter your riding position a bit or wear shorter boots. I've got some Marc Marquez ankle boots by Alpine Star and find them really comfortable, much more so then my Sidi boots.

I struggle with the gear upshift due to my size 12 feet in my Daytonas - not sure if I can shift the lever a bit lower down on the splines.

If you see someone in Derbyshire on a 500 riding extra Bow Legged it will be me !

[Bryanj]

I have read on the US site of people having that problem with the choke Ted but never had it myself, the lever can be moved on the splines but you need to make sure the clamp bolt does not foul against anything, if you want i will try and find another gear lever so you could try and modify the shape to help.

[Oddjob]

I'd check the gear lever Ted as well, behind the part where it clamps. The 500 lever is very slightly longer than the 550 lever but they look identical, it's very easy to mix the 2 up. The 550 has a letter A stamped on the inside of that block, the 500 doesn't.

Check post 171 on this thread http://www.sohc.co.uk/index.php/topic,19895.165.html

[flatfour]

On my 500/4 I found it impossible to ride the bike with full - length boots, due to the choke activating on some upshifts - not what you want when overtaking! (I'm a size 10, by the way).

The answer was to wear only ankle boots when using it, something that I found so comfortable that my new full - length boots remain virtually unused, except in very cold weather or when touring.

By chance, I ended up fitting a 750-gear lever on the 500 as the splines became worn on the original and I had a 750 lever in my box of spares. I subsequently found that, after riding my BMW and jumping straight on to the 500 in full - length boots, it had cured the tendency for me to catch the choke lever on upshifts - something that you might like to try yourself?

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

I'd check the gear lever Ted as well, behind the part where it clamps. The 500 lever is very slightly longer than the 550 lever but they look identical, it's very easy to mix the 2 up. The 550 has a letter A stamped on the inside of that block, the 500 doesn't.

Check post 171 on this thread http://www.sohc.co.uk/index.php/topic,19895.165.html

Not sure what the PO fitted I'll check the shifter.

Pretty sure I can make an interlock to keep the choke off without too much difficulty.

There is always a cable tie if all else fails.lol

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

I have read on the US site of people having that problem with the choke Ted but never had it myself, the lever can be moved on the splines but you need to make sure the clamp bolt does not foul against anything, if you want i will try and find another gear lever so you could try and modify the shape to help.

I'll check what lever I have first thanks Bryan - at least I've found the cause it was weird as the bike ran rougher and rougher so quickly. Glad it's something simple to sort out.

[3scs]

I have the same problem with my boots putting the choke on also but after realising what was happening it doesn’t seem to happen so much now so maybe I’ve adjusted my position slightly I also had an issue with my feet being too big I’ve got a 550k3 which isn’t a problem but my 550f2 I couldn’t change gear without catching the casing with my boots the k3 lever bends outward more than the f2 so I’ve fitted a k3 lever on the f2 problem solved my feet are size 10 so not abnormal

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

Finally went out on the 500 this morning without any drama - choke lever fixed in the OFF position with a narrow cable tie for now.

All five gears were good - I did quite a bit of accelerating & gentle braking to get the front pads settled - brakes got better with every application as the pads warmed up a little. Most importantly my hips were fine - it felt an easier ride than the 400 with the extra torque as you would expect.

A 10 mile road trip revealed a few things to look at during the re-build - an odd clonk from the front suspension area - plenty of general clatter from the engine but nothing too sinister sounding.
I'm thinking cam chain & primary drive chain & clutch area noises to my semi-trained ears plus a noisy exhuast blow near the silencer joint area.

Not that there was really ever any doubt - the engine will need stripping down it will be a few months before I start in earnest as I want to finish my 400 spare carb rebuild and put a few more miles on my 400 before the cold & rain sets in. I'll do a compression test beforehand to get a datum point. The engine pulls very well despite the above only wound her up to 60 mph briefly to feel the burn. lol

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

Nice project Ted! Good luck, we look forward to updates. (Check clock mounting bracket, bent or loose) maybe just the angle but look as if they are sitting flatter than the norm.

Only one nut holding it on - the other was loose!

I've started the frame strip already so engine might be out within a week or so.

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

Removed the sump this morning - the pick up mesh was covered in a black slime that as I started to pull at it revealed what looks like fine mesh fibre - maybe something out of an oil filter 500 mesh filter by Macabe Thiele, on Flickr?


.

[Oddjob]

Looks like the oil filter has collapsed, had the same thing happen to me although mine almost covered the mesh. Check the filter and see if it has deformed, mine spiraled like someone had wrung it out. That's what you get for using non Honda filters.

When removing the filter Ted, don't forget that the spring has a large washer on top of it that gets stuck to the rubber of the filter and if you're not careful, thrown away with it.

[K2-K6]

Certainly not supposed to be there Ted, and looks similar to some filter material.

However, the oil filter is only in line supply from oil pump and out through the pressured points at crankshaft etc. Makes me wonder if that's possible to pass so much material (is it more or less one piece) through an entire system without blocking it. Perhaps I've missed something along the way.

As Ken says, inspection of the filter may give a clue, but I can't immediately see it all going through that system to arrive at the sump in first place.

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

The material completely covered the gauze - as the black sludge fell off it clumped into the bunch in the photo.

I'm going to investigate the filter but of course it could have come from a previous one.

Update: The filter I just removed looked fine - looks like a build up from previous filter(s).

[Oddjob]

Mine went completely through the system as it ended up exactly like Teds, it may be fibres pass through and then mat onto the mesh. I do know it resulted in oil pressure light flickering on/off and scoring of the oil pump rotor tips, luckily I spotted it as I had an oil pressure gauge fitted at the time so I was able to slow down to avoid a seizure.