Finally after too many years I'm working on my 500/4

[tom400f]

In that rooftop jumble attic, I have about 8 x 500 or 550 sohc engines, 2 bmw aircooled boxer  lumps with gearboxes. A rebel 125 engine, a few kh125 engines and some kl250 ones, and a hatz diesel in bits, and most of about 14 motorbikes.....

How the hell do you get it all up there? Difficult enough just managing with the bulk-buy toilet rolls!!!

And won't your ceiling collapse  ?

[matthewmosse]

Chain hoist was the main mover, a lot followed up a ladder, a busted up wooden ladder with old bits of steel pipe etc where rungs have collapsed. The shed attic was built by me on zero budget using recycled timber in the main. I hope it can take the load if it started to sag I have acro props and it is over engineered in the main. A lot of the timbers that carry load are 9x6 oak trusses, massive compared to modern building timber sizes. The rest is built of wood we logged by horse, and had sawn by a mobile sawmill. Minimal cash outlay. A lot of work. Waiting on the sawmill to come again to finish. Currently the wood to finish it is still very much tree shaped. Wr take diy to a silly level.

[tom400f]

Your place sounds like something out of Game of Thrones. You sure you're not a Member of the Night's Watch ?
 

[matthewmosse]

Nights watch? Not a member, who are they?. Our place is your typical timewarp, run down welsh hill farm. Most farms round here were like it when I was little, the last 20 years has seen most farms either sell up to neighbours or get big. We are really too small to be profitable, more of a hobby / retirement income for my parents, and a good source of lamb for my freezer. More to the point it is biking paradise being in the middle of nowhere, so long as you don't mind mud.

[matthewmosse]

Slow progress being made. Spent far too long with the lathe making anti crush tubes for the fiberglass mudgaurd at the back, fitted the front brake mount nuts. And finally got the bolt that runs through the rear bottom engine mount in properly. A 5 minute job on a solo, on my sidecar it goes threaded into a sidecar fitting on one side, so needs screwing into a hard to position fitting whilst through the engine etc. Dead tricky until I remembered about the stud driving set in the bottom of a tool chest, works in the same way as the starter clutch, 3 rollers that grip the stud. Fantastic bit of kit. Did the job in minutes, where struggling with mole grips had wasted twice as much time just because I was too busy to go unlock the other workshop.
 Other than that I have Bitsa would be pleased to know hada fair go at cleaning up the wworkshop. Sadly there is way too much stuff to do it properly. So I am building up 2 more bikes in the afternoons in the workshop where I fixed the lights. Kl250, and the 500/4 k0 are both undergoing the same wire brush in a drill then repaint job. Eldest kid started school last Monday so I have a few more hours to play with as an when the younger one takes a nap.

[matthewmosse]

Long time since anything happened on this but with the help of a good friend we dragged the old girl out into the sunlight, rigged up a temporary mini fuel tank, spent a few hours attacking wiring and she runs! Really nicely too. Then pulled the carbs off because the selling rubbers carb to Airbus were so hard they were nigh on impossible to get seated and 2 carbs were dropping a lot of fuel, quick removal of float bowls and needle seats revealed the 2 left seats had a considerable buildup of dirt behind and the o rings on the seats plus main jets were shrunk and perished. A rummage of the spares unearthed a softer set of manifold rubbers, ( they actually bend! ) and some new o rings of approximately the right size. Seems to have cured the overflow issue and still runs. Lots of wiring to do, plus find out about the current system for re registering as historic vehicle, mot or exemption etc, all changed since the old girl was last a taxed and mot'd road vehicle.

[Bryanj]

Do you have a v5 in your name?

[Trigger]

This post is 7 years old, how can it be titled finally after 3 1/2 years 

[Johnny4428]

This post is 7 years old, how can it be titled finally after 3 1/2 years 

Finally after 10 & 1/2 years the sequel? 😂😂😂

[SteveD CB500K0]

If you edit the title of your very first post Matthew, it will alter all those going forwards. The existing posts will not be altered.


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[matthewmosse]

Yes, been a long time. Thought it might as well all go in the same place. Been a few job changes, redundancies and changes in area of employment along the way, care is not my job any more, I'm now self employed- still no money but how it's because I invest it in tools and equipment rather than the wage being so pathetic.
Steadily ticking jobs off the list as far as working condition is concerned, yes, it looks slightly more barn find even than before, doesn't bother me, sounds great, looking forward to riding it again. Had a few bikes while this ones been laid up, non as good though. Ntv650 is the next best bike I've had.
V5c is in my name.

[Johnny4428]

Good luck with the restoration! Sometimes you have to be in the correct frame of mind too for these projects. Only you know when the time is right. Look forward to updates photos etc.

[matthewmosse]

She's no restoration to be fair, back in working clothes. Had my first  ride on a farm track and it put a massive grin on my chops. Brakes need some fettling, most of the wiring in the headlights still hanging loose in the breeze. It's going to take a bit of getting used to 3 wheels again and the laser exhaust is neither quiet or pretty. Tomorrow, electrics, brakes and photos. The main issues been time, too many projects, not enough time. Other bikes, running a 1960 landrover and baling hay with it, a 1960s 4x4 dumper, towable mini digger and home made mini dumper truck and wood processor to name a few have all pushed the venerable cb500/4 aside. Finally those other machines are saving me time elsewhere to give me the time to return to the bikes.

[Bryanj]

If v5 in your name and date of registration over 40 years ago(should be!!) You dont need mot just insurance and change to historic

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

I started working on my bike on the 29th June 2020 so Im just over my first year - I'm a tad on the slow side myself nice to see I'm in good company!

Being retired and not having moved house I have no excuses for my tardiness.