Honda-SOHC

My CB500/4 has a painted steel tail light/number plate holder.  Is this correct for UK model?  Some 500/4s seem to have a chrome unit; is this US only?

Also, can anyone clear up manufacturing dates?  Honda tell me my bike was made in December 1974 but I thought they stopped making 500s in 1973, although still available to buy in UK.  Bike was registered in 1976. (Frame number 2069XXX, engine 2106XXX)

I have been riding my Cb500/4 for 15 years winter and summer and I am now on my 4th piston, replaced as always due to corrosion and siezure.

Pump the old piston out and carefully scrape away any corrosion, a piece of wood is good for this as it does not damage the aluminium.  Next, clean with a rag, old towelling material is good and use brake fluid as a lubricant.  Once it looks pretty clean put in the new seal and press the piston back by hand again using brake fluid to lubricate.  The usual cause for it not going in easily is mis-alignment.  If you are putting it in correctly it will go in by hand fairly easily.  If you are forcing it with a clamp there is something wrong and you may damage the caliper.

While we are on this subject I have recently bought new brake pads from David Silver and I must say they are excellent.  I had EBC before and, althought they lasted for years, they were tough and unresponsive.  With these new pads there is a lovely feel to the brake, no squeaking, and two finger braking very usable.  Very impressed, it has transformed the machine.  I think they are made by Brembo but whatever they are they are the ones Dave Silver is stocking.

....a nod is all well and good but it is so hard to see, I'm never sure if people are nodding or not.  Oh well, perhaps I'm old fashioned yet again.

I just use an ordinary padlock through the disk, it isn't even designed for bikes but it works.

Not wishing to offend purists, I think bikes look so much better without front number plates, especially classic bikes, and I'm glad the law was changed.

It can be hard to get all the gears to engage without the engine running, gears need to turn in order to align with the selector dogs.

Being a luddite, I blame electric starts.  If you had kicked it over to start it you would have been alerted to the problem earlier. 

Thank heavens it didn't go bang.

Yes, my 125s had done a huge number of miles, I think that poor little gearbox is under a lot of pressure. 

My CB350k did a similar trick.  I changed the oil one day and one of the selector dogs off the back of a gear came out in the oil, oops!  It still worked and I rode it like that until the big end failed later that summer (1995).  The poor bike stayed in various sheds until I found another crankshaft earlier this year.  I stripped the engine, put the crank in, made all the gaskets, put it back together and after it's 15 year rest it fired up after about three kicks.  The only trouble is I refuse to spend money on it and I need some silencers before I can get an MOT so it's leaning against the back of the house waiting for the right bits to turn up.

cool, riding road bikes off-road is great fun.  I always used to go scrambling on my cb350.  I took my CB500/4 down a green lane in the woods the other day.  I was OK but if it had been wet I would have had trouble, it doesn't have the best traction in the mud.  I'll try to get some pictures next time.