Ready for winter...

[florence]

Hopefully, I will be getting the bike back on the road this month, just in time for winter.  I can't believe that during the best summer for many years my bike has been sitting under a tarpaulin!

[hairygit]

Unfortunately I know exactly what you mean! Although due to recovering from major surgery there is no hope of being able to ride mine this side of xmas

[florence]

I'm very sorry to hear that HG, I really hope you get better soon.  A few years ago I wasn't allowed to drive for six months for health reasons so I can understand a little.  At least I can be thankful that my bike is only off the road through lack of spare funds.

[matthewmosse]

My 500/4 has spent the last 3 years under a shelter and I've been making do with my 125 and 250 sohc twins for transport. Growing family (new boy arrived only last week!) means time to fix up the ravages of 180,000 miles of all weather riding and pulling a chair on my 500 have to wait - the worst wear is actually the brake pedal which has a god 4 inches of sideways play and I think it would be a bit off to expect the mot man to pass it again given how often he's put it as advisory and wd40 tin shims can only hide so much wear.

[florence]

Well, I was hoping to get ready for this weekend but quickly discovering that leaving a bike standing is never good.  MOT booked for tomorrow, I took the rear wheel to the tyre place but when we removed the old tyre we found that the rim is rusty again.  I did sand this all down and paint it seven years ago but it needs doing again so I brought the wheel back minus tyre.  Also, the brake shoes are showing signs of corrosion and I am worried the friction material is going to part company with the shoe as happened before, causing the wheel to lock up.  Time to cancel the MOT.

Does anyone know where I can get a rim tape??

[Bryanj]

Any decent bike shop should have them, an 18 inch will fit either wheel

[florence]

Rim tape ordered but wheel still in need of wire brushing.

[florence]

Wow, I thought I had found a 1972 frame with V5 but was shocked that the bidding went so high.  Is this a reasonable price now for a box of bits?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1972-Honda-CB500-Four-dismantled-for-restoration-500-4-/200966814191?nma=true&si=fXHefNlY%252Bcpv%252BdfPYYd68tW0wwk%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

[SteveD CB500K0]

The K plate (free tax) is desirable on it's own (with the frame and V5 of course...)

[florence]

That is why I wanted it, I thought as my bike needs a bit of work now I could swap everything over to the 1972 frame at the same time.  Oh well, maybe one day one will turn up locally. They seem to be getting rarer all the time, hence the price I suppose. 

The passage of time and motorbike values is a strange thing.  In 1979 my father bought a Triumph Tiger T110 from his motorcycling enthusiast friend for the paltry sum of £150.  His friend only sold it because for his taste it was too modern! It had telescopic forks!! I wanted to put it back together and ride it but was not allowed as my father thought it was too powerful for me.  The boxes loitered in our garage for a year or too before being sold on again without profit.  Anyway, I digress, I imagine we can all daydream about the bikes we should have kept.

[LesterPiglet]

I have found, through the years, that putting a bike away for winter is detrimental..in my experience anyhoo.
I've put them away to go back and find they just don't want to behave properly after I wake them up.
I try to use my bike as often as I can. No choice really. But I do find you can see problems when they start and sort them easily before they become an issue.
A half covered bike in the rain fares better than a fully covered one. ie. I have a bike (CB450DX) out the back covered with a "dust sheet" I bought in a pound shop. The cover just reaches from the headlight to the tail-light. I taped it to those lights, then spread it to tape to the winkys. (Use whatever form of attachment you like but this bike ain't moving for a while.) This forms neat little canopy over the bike. it still gets wet but I can see any rust or anything developing.
I may decide to use this bike over winter or I may not so the battery is removed only.

EDIT Sorry Florence. Due to the brandy napolean produced whilst not conquering the world, my reply on tinternet head got reversed and so I posted the above.
Rather then delete it and possibly disrupt the space/time continuum I thought I'd best leave it. It may indeed, help generations to come. 

[matthewmosse]

Yipes on the '72 honda price! I have one that was far more complete that I got for £100 off ebay but it did cost as much again to transport, but had a nice dunstall exhaust. the other 500 in the shed cost a heady £180 but had similar ammount of missing bits and a fairly nice paintjob. Seems they were a good 'investment' though at the time I was buying for parts to keep my own bike on the road.
To save my bikes from the worst of the mid Wales weather I prefer to strip any bike that won't see use for any length of time down to component parts and store them in the loft of my shed - there is limmited room down at ground level and I can pull a complete bik down to large lumps in half a day, and re assemble in a day unless there's fixing to be done - which is genrally easyer if the bike is dismantled so bits are accessible. You can loose that kind of time to a few rusted up bolts on a poorly stored bike. Not that it always works out.

[florence]

Well Oddjob, I may be interested in your frame as long as you do not want to charge masses for it.  Honda didn't match engine to frame numbers on these bikes.

[florence]

Well, my 'restoration' continues, rear wheel de-burred and rust removed with wire brush on drill.  Repainted inside with smoothrite, new rim tape and off to the tyre people today for tyre fitting.  Just need to order new brake shoes from Dave Silver and book MOT.

[florence]

Well, just ordered some brake shoes from Silver.  I am scared to look under the tarp, I don't know if there will be much of my bike left underneath!