Hello from Mid-Suffolk

[Roxy John]

Hi all, I've just added a 1975 CB500 to my garage to provide some company for my 1974 Suzuki GT550 and I'm looking forward to the contrast  Wasn't really looking for another bike but a guy at work has a pal in Kent who restored the CB in 2018 but it's hardy been ridden since and he needed to get rid of it.

It needs a bit of a freshen-up; very slight evidence of rust in the tank and the throttle is stiff so will get the tank soaking in citric acid & water and hopefully whip the carbs off this weekend to see what we've got. I don't think it's been fired-up since 2019 so have squirted some oil in the plug holes and will see if she turns over in a few days. The clutch lever is also quite stiff but will investigate further when time permits.

She needs a battery and I'll do an oil & filter change before going any further - luckily I'm not far from David Silver (who supplied all the bits for previous owner to build it) so will undoubtedly be making a few trips over there during the next few months 

Looking through this forum it looks to be an excellent source of info so look forward to learning more about the bike!

Cheers,
Phil

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[andy120t]

Welcome aboard Phil. The CB500 looks great - lovely vpcolour. As does your Suzuki. Loads of info and help here too, if needed. Good to have more representation in East Anglia too!

[Nurse Julie]

Welcome to the forum Phil, mine is a 1974 ☺️☺️☺️

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[K2-K6]

Welcome to the forum.

Bike looks quite good, the GT 550 also and very nice engine on those too.

[Matt_Harrington]

Welcome Phil. I have soft spot for 500fours. Who knows, I may even get one.....

[philward]

Welcome to the forum Phil - from another Phil! Also a 500 owner. Enjoy the forum

[Johnny4428]

Hi Phil, welcome from up here in the north there’s a couple of us up here in Orkney. This is a great forum to be part of in terms of info, suppliers etc.

[Oddjob]

Hi John, some odd things about the 500 you may not have noticed. Firstly, it seems to be in Starlight Gold, which was only ever a 500K0 colour, yours looks to be a 500K1 and should be in Candy Gold Custom, the pic Julie has posted of hers is Candy Gold Custom, it makes no difference but it's nice to know if you ever need a touch up pen for instance. My 500K1 is also in Starlight as I tend to prefer it to the Candy Gold, although mine did start off as Candy Gold. It's less metallic and a slightly golder colour with the Candy Gold having more orange in the mix I think.

Secondly, it would appear that someone has changed the switchgear as there should be a separate headlight switch mounted onto the left side of the bars, yours look like 550 switches, is the high/low switch on the left side switch? does it have a pass/horn button on the left hand switch or just a horn button like the starter motor button? Again, not a big thing, I prefer the 550 switches as well. I'd say they also swapped over the handlebars grips as well at the same time as those are 550F grips, the 500 ones were IMO pretty uncomfortable especially with no gloves.

The UK 500 never got a disc guard, the 550 did.

Not sure what the rear grabrail is off, it sits higher and longer than any I've ever seen fitted before, could be a 550K3 or another make entirely.

I'd advise not pulling the clutch in if you can help it until you find out why it's so heavy, the mechanism in the left hand casing is alloy and can break if too much stress is put on it. Could be something as simple as cable routing, which is pretty important on the 500, there's a routing diagram somewhere on the site to help you get it right. Same goes for throttle cables, routing is important.

The bike looks fine, a really good start with probably some minor work to do.

I'd like to ask a favour if I can, are the chain adjuster blocks on the GT550 the same as those on the 500? Same thickness etc as I can source GT550 ones a lot cheaper than CB500 ones.

Was never a 2 stroke kinda guy but always had a soft spot for the Suzuki Triples, yours looks great, very nice indeed.

[Roxy John]

Hi all, many thanks for the welcome!!    Julie's bike looks a belter - I'll be getting the polish out at some point and that gives me something to aspire to!

Thank you Oddjob for all the info - I've only had the bike since Monday and haven't had a chance to check all the details yet but you've given me some really useful info, especially about cable routing, which may be the cause of heavy action in both cases.

I suspect mine is something of a bitsa, with frame and engine numbers suggesting that the former is K1 (2069###) and latter K2 (2158###) but it matters not to me - I'm just really chuffed to have got it in the garage. I'll check the chain adjuster blocks on the GT over the weekend and post some pics. The horn button is only that - not the combined pass/horn jobby.

Thanks again and I look forward to the next few months tinkering!
Phil

[Bryanj]

All UK 500's were K1 models and in 75 it would have had a K2 engine as Honda were producing 500K1, 500K2 and 550K0/1 all at the same time for different markets.
75 would probably been the last year the 500K was available and may have had the disc shield from new, the rear grab rail is not from a 500 as far as i know but looks ok.
If you pm me the full frame and engine number i will see where they fit in my list of numbers for you.

[Roxy John]

All UK 500's were K1 models and in 75 it would have had a K2 engine as Honda were producing 500K1, 500K2 and 550K0/1 all at the same time for different markets.
75 would probably been the last year the 500K was available and may have had the disc shield from new, the rear grab rail is not from a 500 as far as i know but looks ok.
If you pm me the full frame and engine number i will see where they fit in my list of numbers for you.

Many thanks Bryan - PM sent 👍

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

Welcome Phil, I love the Suzuki 2T's they were so quick compared to many other bikes back in the day.
I'm currently rebuilding a 500 so will read your posts with interest.

[Oddjob]

I'd also advise checking the cables themselves John. They can wear against the frame and other stuff, especially if they are routed wrong, check the outer surface for abrasions etc, any that go through to the steel braid will need replacing as they allow water et to enter and that causes the inner to start to bind onto the outer. I cannot seem to find the 500 cable routing but the 550 one is almost the same except for the lower half of the clutch cable, that's in the 550F appendum. Take off the throttle tube from the right hand switchgear and grease between the tube and the bars, everything should move freely and without any drag. If anyone has oiled the cables in the past this can also cause it as the teflon coating on the inner cable swells when in contact with oil, use silicon oil instead, if need be hang the cable off a door and allow the oil to soak down overnight.  Hold cable upright, slide up the inner cable and see if it drops under it's own weight, if it's free it should do easily.

If it has no pass/horn button it's off a USA model, that can be a problem as they tend to have more wires for indicator running lights etc or it could just be a copy. No biggie but I do prefer the look of the proper button.

I have quite a few parts for 500s and 550s so if you need anything let me know and I may be able to sort something out. 

One thing I would advise, replace the headlight bulb with a more modern LED bulb, that is of course if your current one has an H4 fitted, the 500 got a really weak 35w headlight bulb IIRC and it's like a glow worm in a jamjar at night. If you have the OE headlight I'd strongly advise replacement with a H4 headlight, that's if you want to see at night and more importantly, allow others to see you. Most 7" headlights will fit.

Take a few more pics of the bike, some from the other side, some with the seat up and we can spot anything that doesn't look right or that you should be aware of.

[Laverdaroo]

Welcome aboard, I'm the resident crap typist, just to warn you!

Great pair of bikes, the 500 looks a superb fidding bike and the GT is awesome, I nearly bought one years ago and wish I did!

Have fun, it's a great forum

[Rozabikes Tim]

Welcome matey. Lovely bikes. Can almost hear the spannies on the Suzuki just looking at it. The 2 stroke triples with those on are music to the ears.