My new toy

[mickwinf]

Just got this 500/4 from ebay, plan is to make it standard so will need original seat exhaust and both mudguards, anyone out there can help? Runs well and on the road so had a quick ride today, goes ok but has a flat spot just like my k3 did !

[Bryanj]

As long as you have loadsamoney Dave Silver has seat, exhausts and front mudguard. rear mudguard is chromed rocking horse poo, try ebay USA but the rear light bracket is different for US so try and get one complete

[SteveD CB500K0]

Check "Hondachrome" on eBay - he imports chrome bits from the USA.

What year is it?
K1 and K2 seats are quite easy to find (I have 2!) but the K0 seat is expensive if you want a real one and not a recovered example. You can get covers from about

[florence]

Very nice machine. 

I have a front mudguard but it needs re-chroming.

[florence]

P.S., where is your flat spot?  It may be the Motad doing that, when I chucked away my motad everything got better, including the weather 

[mickwinf]

Thanks for replys.The bike was registered 1974 so would this be a k2? I am checking ebay for chrome as i want very nice guards, does anyone know if "hondachrome" and "mudguardmahem" are the same people as i am sure i saw the same background on both listings.Bryan i will take your advice ref rear lamp bracket.Steve will post pics of seat would be interested in a swap, dont know diference between k0 k1 k2 seats.My seat has a couple of small tears and a chrome strip is missing.Florence the flat spot is just as you pull away about 2000 rpm, if you give loads of revs it is ok but i am  bit old for doing that round town!! Regards to all, Mick

[SteveD CB500K0]

K0 seat has 7x3 pattern, everything else is either later or a poor imitation.

This is a picture of the modern pattern seat that David Silver sells.

[florence]

Mine had a flat spot there with Motad on.  I guess if you are aiming for standard pipes that should go?

[s7paul]

I bought one of the reproduction seats from David Silver.  The only thing that really gives the game away is the shiny trim around the base, which looks different to the original.  However, the main issue is that the design of the base means that the seat sits about an inch higher than it should, so the lower edge of the seat seat isn't in line with the lower edge of the tank.  It may seem trivial, but I find it annoying.  The only way to fix it is going to involve major surgery to the seat base.

There is a company in the USA that refurbishes original seats (using the original base).  They list their seats on eBay but they're stupidly expensive (and so is the shipping cost).

In my experience good original seats are extremely rare, so SteveD could literally be sitting on a (small) fortune.

[SteveD CB500K0]

so SteveD could literally be sitting on a (small) fortune.

...but not necessarily a profit.

I seem to recall paying about $100 for it. He wouldn't ship internationally so Bob Wessner took delivery for me and shipped it over. Freight was another $70.

So it owes me just over

[mickwinf]

Steve i would be interested in an original seat to purchase/swap/part exchange i am trying to post pics of current seat, Mick

[toucheturtle]

Dave Silver sells both the front and rear mudguards, if you get the part number and type it in on his website they come up. He sells the 750 front mudguard which is almost identical except the stay holes are a slightly larger diameter where they bolt to the forks. The seats are pretty poor, sit too high and rock when you move about on them. You'll get a shock when you price up the exhaust, he was the cheapest though when I bought a set earlier this year. I've still got the lower two, they look fine when they're on but there's a patch on the tops which collect muck and is difficult to get at when they're on the bike. They're pitted there with a small amount of rust. They haven't rotted through and if you ladled them with grease I doubt if they'd get any worse. I don't know what kind of finish you're going for but I'd sell the pair for 50 quid plus postage.

[mickwinf]

thanks Toutchturtle for offer but i am going for a mint bike so will probably buy new will have to save up!!

[s7paul]

I bit the bullet a few months ago and bought a complete exhaust system from David Silver.  They are the genuine article, but though they look OK, the finish doesn't bear too much scrutiny.  There are scores along the inside of the bends on the header pipes (from the bending process) and there is silver paint on some of the welds (where the little stub for the link pipe is welded to the silencer).  I assume this is covering some areas where the plating was poor.  Overall, the quality is not as good as I'd hoped it would be.

Also, the reproduction brackets needed significant re-bending & holes slotting before the silencers would sit correctly in relation to each other.

[Captain Snakebite]

Very nice looking machine Mick - she'll be a peach when you're done.