Honda-SOHC
SOHC.co.uk Forums => CB500/550 => Topic started by: McCabe-Thiele (Ted) on November 06, 2023, 02:34:03 PM
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Is there an easy fix for floppy footrest when in the upright position?
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New rubbers sometimes fix it but not always, they are the "springs" that push the big washer down
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Check the pins Ted, sometimes due to lack of grease etc, especially as Honda seemed to have not lubricated any of the pins, like the seat pins for instance, they wear quite badly. Sometimes they elongate the hole, in which case drill out 1/4" and fit 1/4" stainless pins, readily available on Ebay. The rubbers also go rock hard and that means less spring as Bryan says. Check the riders footrests as well, those can slope down when flat, again maybe new pins but if not a blob of weld on the heel can make them sit flat again, nothing worse for me than my feet feeling like they are sliding off the pegs. I seem to recall I also drilled the riders footrest, fitted 3/8" stainless pins as the holes weren't exactly round anymore.
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You could fit extra washers, I cut some out from a black plastic oil canister.
Tightens the footrest pegs up a bit and gives a nice smooth action, plus won't wear the paint off the footrest brackets.
Good luck
Skoti
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Check the pins Ted, sometimes due to lack of grease etc, especially as Honda seemed to have not lubricated any of the pins, like the seat pins for instance, they wear quite badly. Sometimes they elongate the hole, in which case drill out 1/4" and fit 1/4" stainless pins, readily available on Ebay. The rubbers also go rock hard and that means less spring as Bryan says. Check the riders footrests as well, those can slope down when flat, again maybe new pins but if not a blob of weld on the heel can make them sit flat again, nothing worse for me than my feet feeling like they are sliding off the pegs. I seem to recall I also drilled the riders footrest, fitted 3/8" stainless pins as the holes weren't exactly round anymore.
The rear rubbers still slide on the newly painted footrests plus new SS Clevis Pins. The front riders footrests are OK.
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You could fit extra washers, I cut some out from a black plastic oil canister.
Tightens the footrest pegs up a bit and gives a nice smooth action, plus won't wear the paint off the footrest brackets.
Good luck
Skoti
I did try a spring clip on one side - I will try a SS washer - oddly enough my 400 ones did not have this issue.
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What I think he means is to cut some washers out of black plastic and fit them under the steel washer that sits at the bottom of the rubber.
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Ah so not making the pivot part stiif but putting more pressure from the rubbers to push down.
Cause being old plastic going hard with age then.
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As Skoti says, being plastic it should protect the new paintwork better as well. The metal washers tend to rub the paintwork off the corners of the bracket, especially if the paint is soft like spray paint, takes a bit longer with powder coat. Might try this myself, maybe make the metal washer out of plastic instead.
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I had one of my 350 rear footrest that was 'floppy'. The floppy footrest had a shorter rubber by a few mm (no idea why - from another model?). I put a suitable o ring on the steel footrest between the square section rubber and the square section washer to make up the difference. It was hardly noticable visually as it just looks part of the footrest rubber. Stiffened up the action a treat
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Like the o ring idea! Good way to use some of that bigger thick o rings in that kits that’s unlikely to be used for anything else. I remember too once applying a very light smearing or silicon grease to help the rubber slide a bit too underneath the rubber.
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The O ring idea sounds a neat solution.👍
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I prefer the plastic washer solution myself but can see the appeal of the oring.
The reason I prefer the plastic washer was it would also protect the new paintwork which the oring solution wouldn't do. Nothing worse for me than damaging new paintwork when you've gone to all that trouble to do it.
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I prefer the plastic washer solution myself but an see the appeal of the oring.
The reason I prefer the plastic washer was it would also protect the new paintwork which the oring solution wouldn't do. Nothing worse for me than damaging new paintwork when you've gone to all that trouble to do it.
Yes indeed Ken! Inevitably the corners of the brackets lose their paint.
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Would a plastic washer work for a floppy kick start too? It's a bit different I suppose as it doesn't have the rubber footrest, but might help squeeze it all together.
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Wave washer may work better for a kick starter.
Others on this forum perhaps have experience of that.
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Would a plastic washer work for a floppy kick start too? It's a bit different I suppose as it doesn't have the rubber footrest, but might help squeeze it all together.
What exactly is floppy?
@ Skoti What is a wave washer?
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Wave washer has a similar effect as a spring washer.
Wave washers get their name because of their wave shape. This distinctive shape produces spring pressure when the wave washer is somewhat compressed. Wave spring washers are suitable for a variety of bearing applications where a small deflection may be required. It is particularly common to use wave washers to take up end play and for the loading of bearing assemblies. You can search through our range using a number of filters, including inside diameter, outside diameter, thickness, free height and loaded height.
https://www.bearingboys.co.uk/?catid=2560&display=&orderby=&att1=8.89mm&att2=&att3=&att4=&att5= (https://www.bearingboys.co.uk/?catid=2560&display=&orderby=&att1=8.89mm&att2=&att3=&att4=&att5=)
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Would a plastic washer work for a floppy kick start too? It's a bit different I suppose as it doesn't have the rubber footrest, but might help squeeze it all together.
What exactly is floppy?
@ Skoti What is a wave washer?
Floppy means loose and wobbly, like a drunk man flopping about. 😁
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..and the bit that is floppy is the kick-start arm...it swings out instead of staying tight against the engine when not being used.
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Pretty sure there's a ball bearing and spring involved in that Andy, like the choke mechanism on the 500/550 but bigger. Small indents on the knuckle part that allows the ball bearing to locate and stay in the position set. Could be the ball bearing stuck because the spring has rusted and broke or there's so much crap in the tunnel it lives in that it just can't move.
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Thanks - I was just looking at an exploded parts diagram. The spring might be the first but to check/replace.one of those small 'to do list' jobs that I need to get round to!
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Ball bearing No.10, same as the 500 clutch push rod, got some of those NOS if you need one Andy. Spring not available but most likely something around that should do the trick.
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I am not sure, what exactly this thread is about. Anyway, this (see pic) is the condition my rear pegs are in, when lowered. That's the sloppiness mine have. How can I address this gloomy hanging down?
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Yikes that's worse than mine for being below horizontal - mine are all floppy when in the upright position as well.
Something for me to sort during the cold winter days.
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That looks to be a 550F rear footrest not a 500. The 500 are straight mounts not bent.
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No, the CB500K2 GENERAL EXPORT as well as the CB550K2 had these angled pegs.
Interestingly enough, I have seen pictures where they were angled forward and so by running parallel to the frame, stood out less, resulting in making the bike look more elegant.
I never use them, but what would be the remedy? I don't remember having read the remedy in the above?
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I had to put a couple of blobs of weld with the mig on the ends of the rests to straighten them on my K3.
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That's my solution as well Johnny, doing the same with the front pegs as well. It's either that or spot weld a small piece of metal down into the bracket itself.
The 500K2 IMO is a mongrel, it's got bits of the 550 that they were producing at the same time, like they'd run out of certain parts for the 500 and just threw some 550 bit's on instead. It's a poor mans proper 500 ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Parts book on CMS BTW shows them still fitted with straight brackets, the European 500K3 did have the bent brackets though.
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The 500K2 IMO is a mongrel, it's got bits of the 550 that they were producing at the same time, like they'd run out of certain parts for the 500 and just threw some 550 bit's on instead. It's a poor mans proper 500 ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Correct, just like the original CB500 Four shares parts with previous bikes. Now if you had the choice, would you like your bike share parts with previous bikes or rather contemporary ones? ;D
Parts book on CMS BTW shows them still fitted with straight brackets, the European 500K3 did have the bent brackets though.
Incorrect. > https://www.cmsnl.com/honda-cb500k2-general-export_model50441/bracket-rpillion_50711374670/
I like my angled pillions. They are much more elegant. It's like with that grabrail, all these fine details: bigger clocks, better suspension, improved swingarm as well as an improved clutch mechanism and gearbox etc.
Another advantage of the pegs I have. The rider has the choice: you can have them angle rearwards or forward. When I got my bike, they were angled forward. That was convenient on long sustained rides. Without having to stop, I could lower them and have my feet rest on them for a while, to avoid muscle strain from sitting too long in the same position.
Here's a tip. I'm quite tall, 195cm and have therefore removed the rubbers from my front pegs. Really makes a diference in angling your legs. There's no disadvantage: when you know how to maintain your CB500 properly, vibrations will practically be absent. There's no risk your feet will ever slip of, as long as your shoe soles are OK. Recommended.
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NEW pillion footrests DID NOT bend down towards the exhausts but were horizontal, bending down was wear frequently caused by passengers mounting the bike like a horse
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Well 2 can play that game. ;D
https://www.cmsnl.com/honda-cb500k2-four-1973-usa_model461/bracket-pillion_9501572100/
Straight as I said. The thing to note is that on the parts book list if you view it from the UK the European version of the K2 doesn't appear, the ONLY K2 version which does is the USA version, you an only state what you can see.
I'd sooner previous bikes mate, tried and tested unlike new bikes which are still being assessed :D The thing about it is why go with bent when all the models before used straight? why go with round bars and rubbers when all the rest were square? Because they didn't have any left is the answer, hence mongrel, made up of all the bits left from other bikes. You can't claim the 500 is also made of other bikes as almost every Honda is, same dash bulbs in all the 12v bikes for instance, lots share the same filters etc.
Clocks I'll give you, big improvement but suspension and swinging arm were the same as the K0 and K1, same with the clutch, are you sure you're not thinking of the 500K3 which did indeed get the 550 clutch and gearbox. The 500K2 didn't, it's essentially the same bike as the 500 except for the clocks.
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(Sigh) Oddjob, with all due respect, you have mistakenly selected the CB500K2-A, a model marketed in the US in 1973. The CB500K2-ED, -F, -G at CMSNL renamed CB500K2 GENERAL EXPORT has been assembled in 1976 and was marketed in continental Europe 1976-7.
When you open the CMSNL site: https://www.cmsnl.com/honda_model8286/
, type in the search window: CB500K2. The program will react with two options: the US K2 model and the K2 GENERAL EXPORT. Select the latter. BTW, IIRC that particular parts list is also in Ash box. If not, it is also here: https://www.honda4fun.com/dwnload/Part-List/CB500/CB500-K2-76-Parts-List.pdf
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Not sure how CMS looks to you in Europe DS but that's not how I see it, I select CB Four, that gives me the 750, 550, 500, 400 and the 350. You select the CC of your choice and if you select the 500 then you see all the models that CMS choose to list on that model, there are quite a few variants, however the ONLY variants we can see in the UK are the 500K2 USA and the 500K3 European Direct sales, we don't get the choice of any other variants after the K1.
IF I do as you said then yes I can see the K2 European however it doesn't show a year whereas the 500K2 USA version does say 1973. We confirms my belief that your K2 version is a mongrel, a bitsa, essentially a K3 badged as a K2. Just to clear the shelves of all those excess parts Honda had left over.
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[...] We confirms my belief that your K2 version is a mongrel, a bitsa, essentially a K3 badged as a K2. Just to clear the shelves of all those excess parts Honda had left over.
I agree. I've contacted CMSNL over this lack in the representation a decade ago. I have no idea why they present the Parts list in this manner and named it GENERAL EXPORT. It could be that they reasoned that this batch has been grey import.
This model has nothing of the CB500K3* (thank goodness), but shares many parts with the CB550K2, aka CB550K76. Assembly may have begun in 1975 and continued into 1976. My model has been traded into 1977. Both these CB500s and CB550s are the last of the old style models. I really appreciate the modifications, which were all improvements but for that silly beeper. Also I like the styling more than that strange paint scheme of the previous models with those colours of 'the age of Aquarius'. But I admit, I'm a bit oldfashioned: for me a bike should be black and certainly no sunrise or sunflake fancies.
* ... and so the CB500K2's Owner's Manual
https://www.honda4fun.com/dwnload/Owners-Manual/CB500-75-Owners-Manual.pdf
is wrong where it shows the K3 clutch cover and the 'blow-by-filter' arrangement. When asked around, none of the owners in Europe reported having seen these on any K2. Even more strange is that an Owner's Manual edited in 1975 (!) shows a clutch that did not appear before... 1977, and then on the CB500K3 model. It looks like the Honda editor in 1975 mistook the 500 for a 550 which did have these parts.