500 gaiters & fork ears alternatives.

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

One of my fork ears (RH) is in very poor condition being rotted inside as well as rusted & both gaiters are split.

As I was trying to get to sleep last night I wondered if as an alternative I could use a  short top seal like on a 400 instead of the gaiters that I am not that keen on visually.
An aftermarket headlamp bracket on the top of the forks might be a much cheaper/easier  way forwards as well as loking different - go for a 500 chromed headlamp bowl as per DS part.

Has anyone tried this or seen it on a cafe racer style bike?

[Oddjob]

I have a NOS CB500K fork ear Ted but no idea off hand which side it is, bound to be the left as it usually works out that way.

Extremely rare now to find one.

The problem with not using the fork gaiters is that leaves the mounting ring exposed on the ears, however going for aftermarket ones solves that problem, other alternatives are to use CB550F1 ears, those have the mounting rings but use a different mounting system for the indicators, or CB550F2 which don't have the rings but are hard to find in good nick, expensive when you do, or another possibility is using CB500T ears. I have a pair of those NOS as well, those have the indicators mounted just behind the ear, have no ring but look Honda standard. I know where there is a pair of NOS CB550F1 ears BTW.

Just so you can see what they look like

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/374169801731?hash=item571e421403:g:17cAAOSwo-1iyN-K&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoP5yBuDFBcyNiLTc7W8v7CYIqeMkHWuRhtvjFArFABSMVR3kIcuTwv5Ad0p5bdHSL4bqP0OdbprkrsjLtivYbNDDwHrseMepVb6lxQGVUNPSm47nwSZHS68LvJTrpDuC915xPQa4eg2W33v%2BjLqY%2FgrGoZ%2B03vkYWjYJ6%2BufrZwh%2BP%2BQlpvkr%2FPtD%2F%2BSsj66AVdLMSF57xECwKia4gedQJ4%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR470n8P5YA

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/275345348097?hash=item401bdc9601:g:CtoAAOSwKTNio4NW&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoGAeEPmKcC0xfsjH5AvL6P4%2BVeBWY7K7tDmhh9Tp0xQABFEggt9ll1HnEmtEzQWPXfKWFrf5sLpL0BO7TJEDrrEpbVspFrp0X41POuvY%2B6QkJW%2Fv6iHSuD1kjrPxX4wb%2F4KUAb%2BBe4kJ%2B5TJWCrwtYom%2Fb%2Bi8ZSybm%2Bovr6Yo3Q39jzo9G%2BlheouvB8iLnrnXbMBagF9a7BBbPlhzN%2FbgUM%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR-qZrcP5YA

Can't find a pic of an F2 ear they are so rare these days.

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

Ken I'm thinking of something like these you can mount the headlamp & indicators on them quite easily I used them on my 400 but retained the old headlamp bracket frame for extra rigidity & to mount the indicators.

Not sure if the 400 top outer fork seals would fit a 500 - are they the same diameter legs & stanchions?


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https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/401985633420

[Laverdaroo]

 No ted theyre bigger on the 500. The inserts and rings are available if you look, as are the ears but you have to search. It took me about three months to find a pair but as the bikes in a million bits it doesnt matter and thats whats to be remembered, take your time and keep looking, somethig will pop up.
Has Gary got anything in that huge bundleof bits he's got?

[gary123]

Is this any good. The reflector just spins so will need cutting off but I have a new one. [ Guests cannot view attachments ] [ Guests cannot view attachments ] [ Guests cannot view attachments ]

[Bryanj]

Ted you can fit 500T dust covers to the sliders, you might find www.motorcycleproducts.co.uk useful, its the retail side of the Hi Level wholesale people. I find the site a bit clunky and you will find the same thing repeated on different pages but prices are not bad if you make thr order up to cover postage

[gary123]

Picture 3 looks like it has a large dent but its nowhere near as bad as it looks.

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

I've PM'd you Gary.

[Oddjob]

Mine was a right hand fork ear Ted, if you decide to go new. Won't be cheap I'm afraid as I paid quite a bit for it when I bought it last year.

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

Ted you can fit 500T dust covers to the sliders, you might find www.motorcycleproducts.co.uk useful, its the retail side of the Hi Level wholesale people. I find the site a bit clunky and you will find the same thing repeated on different pages but prices are not bad if you make thr order up to cover postage

What's a 500 T ?
Are the 500 K3 suitable?

[Oddjob]

Cb500T is the 500 Twin, like a CB450 Black Bomber but bored out a bit and modernised.

500K3, didn't come to this country Ted and TBH whilst I think they'll fit the design may be different due to it being for other countries.

[Bryanj]

550 F and K are all same as the twin

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

Looking at the fork ear design when it rains heavily what stops water from getting inside the gaiters through the slots cut out for the top yoke?

One of my forks was badly rusted behind the ears. Those black segmented inserts hardly appear very water tight.

[Johnny4428]

Maybe more of a moisture trap than a protected area Ted.

[Bryanj]

Honda wernt worried about that Ted, only the outside apesrance, especially as it would not rot out inside warantee!