Honda-SOHC
SOHC.co.uk Forums => CB500/550 => Topic started by: matthewmosse on May 07, 2014, 09:10:47 PM
-
A big day for me, my 500/4 sidecar which has sat neglected behind 20 ton of rock in a lean to while the house is rennovated has finally been freed from behind the rock pile after hours digging and is now housed properly in a nice ventilated shed bought especially and just put up the other day. Work will start properly in a few days but for now the 500/4 is sat in what was an electricity sub station before it found ebay. Preping the site and building the shed was quite an undertaking but the revitalising of this bike will make that a picknick, 180,000 miles of wear to correct in bits like the brake pivotts is going to mean the lathe will be busy making new bushings, the gas welder will be busy on what is left of the motad exhaust - might be tempted to try building a one off end can or I might just fit the Dunstall system out of the loft or the Laser system though I found that loud (same system as florence off this forum has) Anyone know which is louder? Neither toutches the bsm downpipes to triumpth rockett 3 raygun the bike came with I'll bet. Other than that, it'll be a big lumps tear down, paint for the chasis (I'm considering blasting and powdercoat vs wire brush, red oxide and satin black topcoat), then re assemble with repacemnt bits or refurbishing as needed. Front muddy has had it, even by my standards but no surprises there as it was only the thickness of chrome in places before being taken off the road and already was developing small holes. For now I've emptied a can of penetrating oil and a bit of old engine oil over the worst bits and am leaving it to soak, only other changes that I'm planning are to put back th K&N fliter and 500/4 carbs the bike came with and retire the stock 550/k3 carb and airbox I'd fitted for the economy boost, not worth it in retrospect, I miss the thirstyer carbs ability to make every corner a powerslide by opening the throttle, also the k3 carbs seem to give trouble if stood for even a few weeks. Once done she'll be back on the commuting job, I'm really looking foreward to that. I might even treat myself to re commissioning one other 500/4's or the 550k3 after that, probably the 500/4's will win out what with them being most likely tax exempt. Not sure if I'll sell the 250 and 125 twins that have tided me through the rennovation years or in the case of the 250, bung a lighted match in the petrol tank, it may be a honda sohc bike, but not a patch on the 70's originals - both the twin's are mid 90's honda and the drop in quality from the 70's is deffinately there, they rust quicker for starters, and the fat rear tyres + longer swing arm makes them pants in winter, so much so that the 250 broke my foot this winter on ice, I've never dropped the 550 solo I had or the bmw of that era and I put that down to the older bikes thinner rear hoop, hell I rode the bmw in snow 4 inches deep over the Breacon beacons a fair few times with no issues, but the 250, that thing has fallen over every winter that it has been used.
500/4 here we go.
-
glad to hear you are getting the 500 sorted, mine is coming on too! If you need a front mudguard I have a non standard blade with an original brace which looks the part and seems to be stainless steel.
-
I might have 6 spares in the shed unless my memory is shot, some might be single stay 550 ones though. I think both the guard and the headlight were so obviously on their way that I sourced spares back when the bike was last in regular use, only risk on that front is if I've sold the spare to someone 'desperately seeking' I'm luckier still on the rear muddy, it's a fiberglass item that seems to be a plastic reproduction of the original, really lucky in that I've got 3 of them, they actually look ok, and unlike the chrome originals that rot easily and have definate hot spots for bad corrosion where damp can lodge and eat the thing they are inpervious to salt water, the fronts seem to fare way better.
Thanks for the offer though.
-
Its good to have a stash of parts, sometimes I buy things only to remember I already have one that I bought just in case!
-
Sounds like you have your work cut out Matt - look forward to seeing how it goes. Get some pics up.
Mick - I may be interested in the mudguard if you can get a picture to me
-
good to hear you are getting bike back together. The laser is loud in the extreme. If you want to sell it I would be interested as a backup for the one I have already. My bike must have been jetted for it a long time ago because it's the only thing that makes it run properly.
-
pic for hunterso
-
Good luck with the build...how's it progressing? The shed sounds interesting too ...piccie would be great to see.
-
Laser is louder than dunstall mate, but even better? is Piper
-
Progess is slow, airbox and suspension removed, engine still needs draining of oil and removing to rust treat everything, swing arm bolt proving an issue, due to sidecar fitment. Since starting on this the landrover developed a bottom end rattle that got worse so engine transplant, followed by head gaskett failiure!!! Right at the start of haymaking which is a landrover job, so it was all hands on deck to fix that - twice. I also treated myself to a taxed and tested ntv650 which is fun, fastest bike I've personally owned. I think Ive decided on the frame painting treatment, red oxide and satin black blackfriar metal paint, cheap as chips, easy to pach dammaged areas and having done a bmw chasis in it and left it kicking around outdoors it seems in better shape than anything else I painted around that time, and it is easy to apply. I think it will definitely get the triumph raygun of 70s vintage exhaust it came with re fitted Loud it was, heard it being delivered from 6 miles away, along with the k&n filter that uses the stock phenem chamber, that liberated enough horses to slide it sideways with a 500 motor, the 550 lump in there will stay for now. I also bought and stripped for future rebuild 2 road rollers - most likely to be resurected as log splitters or tracked wheelbarrows. My new shed is full within months of being built.
-
Well the latest update, started attacking the flaking paint, and found the rear left of the frame where the mudguard brace part is, has rusted through, not a lot left of the inner face of the gusseting that holds the shock absober top mount, so it looks like I have a days of welding and fabrication ahead and the engine will probably be comming out and the sidecar may also come off. Luckily I can weld and have already done the other side about 8 years ago. I also will repeat my easy find rust detection method on the rest of the at risk frame areas - I play an acetalene torch over the frame, if it heats easily, it must be badly rusted. I am a bit peeved to be welding the frame again but such is life. The welding I did last time seems to be holding up ok.
-
Well looking like a fair bit of work, frame now bare and sat on the workbench. Needs new headstock bearings, after using a slag hammer for arc welding and a 3lb ball pein hammer I have found the frame tube has severe (but looking quite localised hopefully) rust, right through the frame tube where the pillion footrest hangar sits and at the top, will get photos before cutting the rust out, going to be a major bit of surgery, basically the rear end has seen too many winters.
-
Rust is localised to 2 areas in the main frame, but the steel pressings are shot -
-
more of the frame, going to need a bit of thought before welding this up, given that it carries a sidecar and 2 of the 5 mounting points are rusted to tin can thickness. Amasingly after taking these I cut the rot out and the rest of the frame tubing is still shiny factory fresh steel inside, within mm of gaping rust holes.
-
Now welded up the frame tube having cut all the thinned steel out, footpeg hanger mostly fabricated, had to stop before it was done as it was time to cook dinner, also I managed to chop my thumb quite badly with the angle grinder when dressing the edges of the new footpeg hangar to get the taper right, think if I need to make any more replica footpeh hangars then I'll make a set of steel formers up, that said this one only took an hour so far and is looking like a close enough replica. Last time I think it took nearer 8 hours tin bashing the differnce being I now have a swage block to get the curves so am able to use 2mm thick steel and really bash it to get the shaping close to how Honda made it probably using big presses. Think gas welding will be best to get the ridge right round the middle. Top shock mount still to re make. Hopefully another few hours will see the frame ready for wire brushing and re paint, more likely it will take a day , but in dribs and drabs of an hour or two as and when childcare, work and daylight allow. Workshop lights have fused out.
-
Mattewmosse
Christ in all my time that is one of the worst I have seen wish you all the best
Cheers
Bitsa
-
Other side was just as bad when I did it many years ago, most of this had rotted from the inside, on a solo bike it might have gone un noticed, but the sidecar mounting up there mean I was really looking hard, with a spiked hammer for any thinning of the metal. I think a lot of it is down to riding in snow and ice when any sensible person has wrapped their bike up for winter, but I was enjoying the unique handling of sidecars on 2 inches of snow and ice, sadly the salt can get inside these steel pressings. By Christmas this bike will ride again, I will probably drill drain holes in all the repairs, plus fill holes, and give her regular doses of sump oil internally. She'll never be concouse but I intend to keep adding miles to the old girls clocks.
-
Welded up a new footpeg hagar and fixed that on, did a far better job than the other side and I think you would need to be looking quite closely to spot it is a repair. The rear shock mounting is also now structurally repaired and just needs the tail section to put in next. I must admitt I am quite enjoying doing some proper tin bashing, and the chance to actually use that heavy old swage block in my workshop.
-
Wow just noticed this post, you have a fair bit of work to do on the frame by the looks of it, do you think the heat from welding might distort it a bit?
pete
-
Wow just noticed this post, you have a fair bit of work to do on the frame by the looks of it, do you think the heat from welding might distort it a bit?
pete
You've been quiet lately Pete - where you been? Got the sandcast finished yet? ;-)
-
James i have not long been back from a nice hot sunny Mediterranean holiday, unfortunately i have got involved in a bigger project ( nothing to do with bikes) which has swallowed all my money and time, i will resume the sandcast and k0 projects late autumn
pete
-
Almost finished welding, I basically re fabricated all the pressed steelwork down the rear left of the frame, using a spare frame to copy. For convenience I used my Oxford oil cooled stick welder and did the welds mostly in 1 inch sections trying to keep distortion in mind. Getting the seams to look right is the biggest pain, last time I didn't bother, this time my workshop has more kit so I am able to get most of the z profiles fairly close to how honda did them. Just to crown this off I found the frame I am copying also has rust to the footrest hangers so I will probably be doing it all again soon for the k reg 500/4. Last repair like this I did was brase welded to better avoid distortion. This time I figured if I found it was badly out of true, I shall bend it right with a bit of heat.
-
Another 3 hours put in today, all welded and welds ground off, annoyingly spent an hour grinding out slag inclusions in a few welds and re welding, seems the rustier bits the weld metal just boils up and makes a porus mess, in the end I just cut out and let in big repair sections. I only kept a bit of th e original metal in any case, replacing each section 1 at a timecto try to maintain everything in position. If I did this again I think I would manufacture a complete subframe - doing both sides and the cross brace, probably faster than patching things up in the long run. Just crush tubes to add for the footrest hangar and indicator mount. Everything is nice fresh steel off a old golf course mower I recently bought off ebay, lovely quality steelbthat happened to be the right gauge, with the added irony of cutting up a machine that cost £10k new to fix something that was under a grand new. Next I shall wire bush in a drill clean it and bung on a few coats of red oxide and satin black paint. I will also fill the new frame sections with spray grease before welding in the crush tubes. What was alarming about all that corrosion is externally it looked ok, it was only a pointy hammer thar revealed the thing was bean can thin from internal rust. For some reason the computer won't let photos be saved smaller so they must wait.
-
Finally started on applying paint. Went wire brushes in a drill route, seems the frame had previously had powedercoat, where this had lifted I found a few rust traps but most was in good order outside of the reat subframe area so I scrubbed all the thing up to give a good key and have applied a rather nasty looking coat of red oxide primer, it does rather well on killing rust, and once thinned gives me the best chance of getting some corrosion protection inside any joins which is where water let in by capillary action seems to have done dammage. A top coat of gloss black or 2 and I shall then start the rebuild process. Noticed the swing arm has drain holes, will be filling these with thinned red oxide then draining and once dry, a bit of old oil. Keep the rust fairies at bay. Good thing about this cheap and fast way of painting is it will be easy to touch up if dammaged.
-
Sounds like you've got the frame back up to scratch Matthew, my dad always painted everything with red-oxide when I was younger and it seemed to last for ever.
Image sizes, alot of cameras have a resize option in the menu and you can bring it down to something like VGA file size without having to bother with changing it on a computer at all, be good to see some photos as you get along.
-
I do the photos on my mobile, then when the laptop is willing to play ball I reduce them and post. Sadly last few times it refused to save the modified images. Think the cable for the phone was giving poor connection. Almost all my IT stuff is out of date, bar the samsung tablet I am using, it might well have immage editing abilities but I have yet to find it.
-
ms paint will only re size 1 immage then it just gives a save interrupted error message. so annoying. frame now got a topcoat of rutoleum black, cos that was all I had, came in a box of sundry garage junk in a sale - cost £1.
now I just have to re assemble / clean the rest of the assemblies, hoping this will be faster, having a curious 4 year old around the shed makes welding and power tools needed for frame repairs a no go area. I think he may enjoy the bike comming together and more especially running, he loves the ntv at the moment and has already mastered nicking the keys and sitting on the tank to start it. This bike has already got wireless remote starting up to 200m and a sidecar - well needing re fitting.
-
another shot of the repaired frame, right side as you sit on the bike is an old repair, left side is this recent repair, I would hope if I tried this again to do a neater job. Just from my first repair and the second attempt there is a lot of inprovement but it is a fairly complicated job. If I tried another I would quite likely re make entierly all the pressed sections in new metal. On this one the outline of the frame is original metal with about 4 sections of infill new metal. I think it would give a better finish and be faster to replicate the pressings, grind off the old and weld on new, though I found the frame tubes also needed repair.
-
Well, got a brake linkage back in and that no longer has the 5 inches of play thanks to a chromed replacement pivott off ebay and a new tube welded in. Down to 1 inch of sideways play, room for inprovement but no longer in the realms of mot stress. I suspect much tighter tolerances might make the pedal slow to return, not to mention needing a 1/2mm smaller drill, if not 1/4mm which starts getting expensive. I think the bike may be back on the road for under £100 expenditure at this stage. The wheels are looking crusty, chrome coming off in flakes, the tyres will need to come off to inspect internal rust, and they're in for a coat of black paint, they were pitted as anything 13 years ago when they arrived as part of my 550k3 anyway, sure the originals are about, hopefully with better chrome, but they'll do a few years before they get re built. The re lining job I did on the back brake looks in good order. Todays job was to re fit the bike frame to the sidecar chasis, found one sidecar fitting is too large, not on a repaired bit of the frame or anything, got a sleeve to make now to tighten it up. Another cost saving will be a car battery in the sidecar, left over from scrapping the family run around it should outlast the precession of lead acid std batteries that at most pulled 2 years service from the collection of dead ones I have, at £40 a throw, give or take depending on if I was feeling fush enough to buy yuasa or cheap junk, car batteries are going to be some saving, they can take more abuse, cost less and probably will last longer.
-
Been pricing bits up online, even if I still had a valid honda owners club card with the 10% discount, we moto still looks to be cheaper for headstock bearings for the 500/4 and 250 nighthawk, especially if dave silvers still have thathigh postage for big orders policy. Back when I last ran the 500/4 it was dave silvers every time, but prices seem to be a bit up these days. £125 for a camchain tensioner, they used to be £50. Makes my stockpile of engines bought @ £150 plus postage seem a sound investment. Most are not that worn.
-
Matthew... enjoying the posts.
In these days where too many of us chase our backsides on the Internet, paying out enormous sums of money, your resourcefulness & innovation is a bit of a wake-up. I'll never admit to wanting a less than pristine old Honda, but do like the way you are so sensible about yours and make 'em work for a living.
Simon
-
Matthew... enjoying the posts.
In these days where too many of us chase our backsides on the Internet, paying out enormous sums of money, your resourcefulness & innovation is a bit of a wake-up. I'll never admit to wanting a less than pristine old Honda, but do like the way you are so sensible about yours and make 'em work for a living.
Simon
Quite agree, and i have a bike or to in my collection that i maintain in that same way, resourcefulness definitely being the word
pete
-
Thanks for the kind words, makes a much needed boost. More progress, front wheel wire brushed with the drill and since it was around a coat of silver wheel paint - probably out of the same job lot as the other tin of paint. Normally I hate silver paint where chrome should be, but I am hoping the chrome will shed the silver, and the rust will hold it a bit better with an oily rag to give some shine. Not ideal but cheap enough to last out these tyres at least. looks like spraying with wd40 and duck oil periodically failed on the externals but looking around the spoke holes from the outside it looks like rust isnt in there, hopefully, after all the internal was painted and less exposed, I am wondering if I should just leave the internals alone. Engine is in losely. my 2 hrs stint also involved helping send sheep to market, another lot of antique equipment in regular service, the sheep trailer and landrover are early 60's vintage.
-
A shot of the shed, someone mentioned it would be interesting, there are other sheds, more junk, anyone wondering about how tight the budgett for the bike is, well, for about half the cost of one bikes light restoration I bought a lathe. With all the farm kit we have that is obsolete as far as parts are concerned that eaily paid for itself. There are quite a few projects about, some rather hopless.
-
Notticed the engine number is a bit odd on this, sticker says assighned engine number if you canot make it out . it is not the original engine, just some 550 mill I had knocking around. Normal engine number place is left blank, not scrubbed out or anything, just never been stamped.
-
'Shed.jpg"
"Aladdin's Cave.jpg" may be better?
S
-
A lot of the better stuff is in other sheds ;-)
First bloomer of the job, fitted the swing arm etc, then realised I have an endless O ring chain, swing arm needed to come back out, sidecar then needed to come off as the swing arm bolt was too long to come out, so I have re fitted the swing arm bolt from the other side. I hope this change won't bite me in the behind later. The wheels look a lot better after a light spray with silver, the deep lustre of the remaining chrome shows through. I think I shall not take the tyres off, but carry a spare set of wheels in the chair for the mot test, spotted a small ammount of cracking in the tyres, not too bad for mot I think. Despite talk of O ring chains eating engine cases mine seem fine so far, last O ring chain lasted long enough to wear the rear sprockt out til it had no teeth. I have a chaincase that completely keeps crud off the chain for the rebuild, once I have cleaned the thing, it was properly coated in abrasive crud and looked like scrap, but the lightest wire brushing so as to not kill the O rings revealed a nice clean chain under the grease, just needs sluicing in wd40 or something and running fast to sling the crud off, and re lubricating.
handy workshop hint, at a local auction I saw some filing cabinets, they were cheap, very cheap compared to a tool chest, thr computer age must mean there is a lot less need for filing cabinets but they make excellent lockable tool chests or parts stores.
-
That sticker looks like a "yank" thing I have seen before where crankcases have been replaced with new, which come unstamped, and whoever did it did not stamp the original number
-
Several of my engines came from Ap incorporated, who inport(ed?) Bikes from usa. So very very likely a yank inport engine, they claim the bikes are all low milage which is a good sighn. I know it runs, does not leak, but when last on the road it wasn't exactly running very well, but I have since been reading a lot on this here forum, and thinking on the various clues of when it broke down, I think carbs and coils are going to be looked at. Also plug caps. However carbs are the prime suspect, they were the k3 ones I knew were capable of awesome economy, but I intend to revert to the cb500/4 items and regain the ability to spin the rear tyre every corner, and set aside the constant carb issues that plagued every bike those carbs were fitted to.
-
K3 carbs get clogged up very easy and are not the easiest to get clean
-
Beyond blasting carb cleaner through them repeatedlyI cannot claim to have had much to do with the 550 carbs other then getting cross with them. They were great for the year or 2 that they were on my 550k3, til it got too ratty to keep and became a parts bike. I do know the 500/4 carbs don't clog at all easily in comparison and some of the 500/4 projects I have bought ran even with a thick furry layer of corrosion in the floats.
Noticed this morning whilst childminding and ordering bits that Wemoto do wiring looms for the 500/4. @ £150 for a loom it would blow my budgett out of the water, but whilst it could be done cheaper by buying each wire individually from vwp it is still tempting. I shall wait and see how well my current loom works after the years of neglect. There was a charging issue, but I cannot recall if it was resolved. I hate wiring.
-
.... it takes all-sorts: I enjoy electrics.... primarily, I guess, in that its logical & the results are instantaneous. (er, one way or another!)
£150 is indeed a lot, but on the flip side some bloody electrical gremlin miles from home due an old hardened / corroded loom / plugs a pain in the proverbial. Given your 'practical' approach to the bike wouldn't new wires / non-standard (but quality) connectors etc be the way to go?
Peace of mind is worth a lot...
Simon.
-
Logically since a re wire with new wires and vwp decent connectors is something I did on my k3, it would definitely make sence to do the same again. I have most of the bits needed, albeit in too small quantities. I shall see how bad the loom is first, then decide. I won't be using the modern high performance cable though, I found the finished loom hard and stiff, and a bit fragile when it came to connectors pulling off unless soldered. A proper crimper might be better than my £12 one. Didn't do much to the 500 today, decided the ntv would benefit from new tyres instead. Just added changing tubeless tyres and fixing auction special dud compressors to my repetoir of 'skills'
-
...agree on the modern hi-Perf cable; just too difficult to work with.
-
Seat pan rusted out from the inside. Damn shame as it was otherwise in very good order being a genuine old stock honda one fitted by previous owner. I think replicating my own seat pan may be better than the pattern ones from what I have read about them. Luckily I have other spares for now, so that can wait til I need one to build up whatever bike the spare gets robbed from. Carbs and airbox now retrieved from the loft of the other shed -need the dust blowing off. That loft is far more of an Aladins cave, had to sort through 4 or 5 sets of 500 and 550 carbs to get my best geuss as to which the originals were. The good thing is as the bikes(and other projects) get rebuilt, the pile of bits gets more manageable. 3 or 4 years on house renovation has left the workshop un workable as I still was searching out bits that might be needed which have just ended up added to piles of spares.
Got the rear wheel in, re greased the brake pivott in the back plate, noticed a handy addition I had done by adding an O ring to the outside face -the pivot was still free moving and well greased and didn't really neec doing where normally I would expect it to need greasing annually or they sieze over a winters use, think there were felt washers there before? Either way, a worthwhile addition for a few pence.
Another nice step, I fixed up an old tyre changing machine I bought years ago that has been gathering dust. Should have done it a week ago, makes changing tyres a whole lot easier especially tubeless type. Had a go at a spare for the ntv, had the tyre off in a few minutes. This will save me a fair bit of cash I think.
-
Well barely had any shed time, been doing firewood again in my spare time. Nice to see my dad use his heavy horses for pulling logs instead of mucking out, but it doesn't get bikes rebuilt. I have however recived a set of headset bearings from wemoto, nice touch they included a notepad with a sohc honda 4 piper bike in the background along with some modern thing. Thing to note for others, the Japanese bearing set for the 500/4 lacks any form of seals, you just get the bearings by the look of it. I bought an 'all balls' head bearing set for the wifes 250nighthawk at the same time, this was cheaper and had the seals. I shall try to rescue my current seal for the 500/4 if I do not sell the nighthawk it will be interesting to see how the cheaper bearings hold up, the original set managed 30k miles or thereabouts. The tapered headset bearings in my 500 sidecar outfit did very well considering they were fitted by the previous owner, yhink they would have been the most expensive option from dave silvers given the previous owner bought a lot of new quality bits from there.
On the seat front I found a decent spare to get me going in the spares shed. The rotten one on reflection is not a whole lot worse than that of my 550/4 which proved easy enough to revive using brasing rather than welding, and a bit of new metal of course, so that will get set aside for an evening when the kids are in school. Good thing about that form of repair, it banishes rust as the brase doesn't corrode at all easily, and all the weak spots get treated. I note I will need a spare cover for one of yhe next bikes too. I always found having at least 1 spares bike thd same as the one on the road is by far the cheapest way to keep any bike running, anything breaks, rob the spares bike, buy a replacement or fix at your leisure. Parts always cost more if you really need them,nand turn up cheap if you don't, so I buy cheap and hoard if at all possible. - this doesn't work for immaculate bikes, bits are never cheap in a1 condition, but cosmetically scarred bits do come up cheap. Tomorrow I get a bit of shed time.
-
Well, heaset bearings installed, removing the old ones was not as easy as it could have been, I should have got yhem out by running a bit of weld round the bottom race in the frame whilst doing all that welding, stupidly I didn't, and took the thing to the other shed and started re assembly, the other shed has no power and currently about 10 ton of rubble blocking entry to anything as big as a sidecar, which is now re attatched. Doh! After some trial and error I found a pry bar with a right angled top that could be used to hook inside the headstock and behind the bearing, then a chisel from above knocked it out. Glad I figured this out as I sometimes work for other people who do not have the welder sat on standby, and it is handy to be able to bring along the right tool to help get the job done.
Forks not so good, one had quite a mess where a mudguard mount bolt had snapped off at some point, been drilled off centre and the alloy had a lump missing, so I chemical metalled the thing and will re drill and helicoil it hopefully in the right place. I have a few mudguard stays to re drill too. Found a spare mudguard in the shed, it is an old repaired one off a 550k3 and had literally fallen in half so I had welded in 4 inches of new metal in the middle, again the underside was so rusty that in places it is only the thickness of the chrome, but the brace area is solid new metal. I reacon it has another year in it. Looks a bit odd being spray painted silver over chrome -nessisarry as the centre 4 inches are polished raw steel, it needs something. Ok it looks a bit horrid, but that is good security, no one wants to steal a bike that looks worthless. I do have a better guard, but that can wait til summer, along with the correct chrome rear that lives on a shelf whilst a black fiberglass item gets the brunt of the salt. After that comes the electrics. Oh dear, I do so hate them, intermittent faults, you test it, all good, go a few miles it no worky.
-
Ah yes, no seal in the tapered headstock bearing set, checked old set, also no seal at the bottom, both the old set and the new set do however have a thick washer at the bottom, but not big enough to seal the bottom of the bottom bearing meaningfully, the last set did an awful lot of miles, so I figured it must be ok like that, but for peace of mind, I cut out a rubber washer from a landrover inner tube that fitted around the bottom of the race and was the right thickness / size not to get trapped in the pinching mechanism of tightening the bearings up, once installed it looks like it is just about right to keep stay crud out, and the bearings feel nice and smooth, though I did find after packing them with grease and working the grease in with a toothbrush that once assembled and dissassembled to check that the masses of grese applied had vanished, so I will in future assemble, tighten, move around the yokes a bit them re pack with grease just to be sure they are properly full. I also noted the hole for the steering lock means really even if there were a really good seal under the bottom bearing, dust and dirt can still get to these bearings, so well worth bunging a bit of spare grease around in there to catch stray dust, and well worth cleaning it out every year or so. Definitely not worth running with no mudguard as it is all that keeps anything thrown off the tyres from going up the steering stem, though the hole for the steering lock and into the bearings, not to mention the fork brace and mess no mudguard makes if you get caught in a shower. It mystifies me why people run without a muddy on the front. I also found the front guard I have has a nice little honda logo'd black rubber spray gaurd at the back. Bet these are now hard to get. Nice touch I feel.
-
Good point about steering lock 'hole'.... bet there are numerous old Hondas running around with unnecessarily failing lower headstock bearings...
Got lazy in my rebuild & simply used sealed bearings ... if I hadn't, sure as eggs are eggs, I'd find a stray ball on the floor a week later...
Missing the photos...
Simon
-
Photos tomorrow I hope, I 'lost' my moble camera phone.
-
Spent more time diggng through the shed, found this adapted spare set of forks for the sidecar I made up years ago, saves me trying to fix the original forks just yet, the drill wants to wander off into the softer repair metal so I will eventually takle this by making a steel guide plate and using my proper centre drills that are smooth sided, that can wait, these forks my just prove a handy bit of prior preperation. Twin disk brakes operated off a gpz 1100b2 master cylinder at the moment, might change that for something that will look a bit more in keeping with a 500/4. I also noticed one of the seats has a different seat lock - pretty sure this was off my early 500/4, it had quite a few differences over my 73 and 74 bikes, throttle lock screw / cruise controll and wiring inside the bars being most notable of these. More photos to follow as and whe the computer says yes, right now it's gone back into sulk mode and will not save smaller immages, the site will not accept full size.
-
RH seat in pic is the early K0 model and not common mate, has a totaly different lock
-
I did check the frame numbers on that 'spares' bike when I got it. I belive from what I could check at the time that it is a k0 bike. I noticed a lot of different features. It came with a dunstall exhuaust and apparently belonged to a mechanic who took it off the road for servicing 20 years ago, and left it partially stripped -small things like the rocker cover off. It cost about the same to get delivered as the bike cost, and is on a K plate. I dismantled it and put the bits in boxes the day it arrived.
I think it has just jumped a few places in the que to get rebuilt, oily rag resto again.
-
Some more photos, you can see how bad the seatbase is,belive it or not,saveable, ok it will not look mint, but with a afternoons work and a few coats of paint I reacon this will fit back on, feel fine to sit on and be at a glance, not too bad. I also dug out a fork brace that appears would fit a 500/4 - if the front mudguard were removed or heaviy modified, might suit some kind of cafe racer bike, I'm not sure. Interesting bit of kit, probably quite old as it has made in West Germany cast onto it. the exhaust stash has had a bit of examination. Current options looklike being laser, motad Neta, dunstall (if I can find the silencer) or a 4 into 1 slash cut setup off a chop. the bsm collector is a bit crusty but the silencer is still solid. That is my favorite setup but not replaceable at all easily. It is the chrome one with 3 stubs out of the silencer in the photo. Sounds wonderfull if loud, and I love the look. I am really hoping to get time to try to replicate the collector back in new steel and get chromed as I love the look and sound.
Computer let me do 3 photos and is now again refusing to save downsized immages.
-
In our house, & much to my wife's dismay, "nothing is allowed to die"... I rewire it, stick it in a new frame, fibre-glass patch repair it & so on. (I'm not actually 'cheap'... such things just give me a kick...in fact I blame it in my dad; was bought up with a lovely big workshop..
Anyways Matthew, you've taken it to a whole new level (!) .... I would baulk at much of what you do, and rather admit defeat.
I too had an old seat base on my K2; and bought it back to Brunei for restoring. Bloody customs found it, and lifted it out.... darn... there was more of it in the bottom of my suitcase than in her hands.
"You must pay 25% tax on its value" she says..
"What's 25% of nothing", I ask?
She threatened to take it off me...
"No problem" I says... "Keep it"
Disgruntled she waved me through.... within the hour it was in the bin: just too far gone.
Hey ho...
-
Lol, I also think I shall blame my dad. The beam the ntv exhaust is hanging off was salvaged off an old shed 40 years ago, bought home and built into a goat shed, when that was redundant, it got built into a kiln shed for dads pottery, now it is on the same site as part of my workshop. Crowning achievement of taking on insane challenges has to be our house rennovation, only 'trade' we bought onsite was the electrician, and for the re roofing we started by cutting down a few dozen trees in the woods for the timber, got them home behind a 1960 s2 landrover and had them sawn by a mobile mill. The barn my workshop is a corner of even has the roof tiled with wooden shingles which dad made at home. The entire structure is 16 metres long, 5.5 tall to the lowest point of the eves and 8 wide. All log construction and pulled from the forest by horse and dad, he is quite mad. I think we just like a challenge. Doing the metalwork is actually something I really enjoy, I had a bit of a flair for it I collage and am even considering if I could knuckle down to it, raise my standards of workmanship a bit and try doing a few bits of tinwork like vintage mudguards etc and see if I can earn a bit better than the trifling pittance I get being a care worker.
-
If you can find them i would love the frame and engine numbers off the K0, there are a LOT of small differences on them, i know somebody on here who wants the original fork ears with small reflectors and rubbers!!
-
Bryan I have a pair of nos KO headlamp brackets on my K1 with the small hole for the reflectors, not sure if I should drill and tap out or use the older style reflector.
-
I shall try to dig that info out for you Brian, might take a few days, remind me if I haven't rooted them out by the weekend. In my judgement the bike looked like it had been stooc unmolested for quite some considerable time so it may be the real macoy on the other hand it my just have inherited a lot of k0 bits. It would be nice to know if it were early, not that it really matters I geuss, it will probably be given a similar rebuild with minimal intervention. It still had the stickers on the rear guard under the seat though the tank is plain black so I geuss it has been re spreayed and all the chrome is worse for wear. It also lacked the chrome trim on the tank.
-
Backward step today, after a week of fencing and so fourth and no bike time, took an hour to try finishing off fitting the forks with the beefy helper springs. Previously I had them loosely in place and sat about an inch too low in the bottom yoke so they were below the top yoke. The beefy helper springs ( actually they are the springs off a dead set of superdream shocks, sat on custom ally seats to protect the fork tops ) problems arising so far on this setup, - the 500 fork ears have a spacer thing to hold the fork gaiters below the yokes, with these in place for some reason even pulling the forks up with rachett straps I cannot get the things to come up in the yokes enough, I think the helper springs should have that much give in them though I suspect the fork ears would need these lower rings removing for this setup to work in any case. Annoying as the setup fitted together off the bike on a spare set of yokes but not now. It also needs proper disk bolts not whatever was the right length in my bolts box, speedo gearbox looks very close to the bolt heads too. Overall I am thinking of reverting to what was there which looked stock, but had massive pre load spacers. I am not happy with modifying the fork ears, or particularly happy with loosing the gaiters. Twin disking I am not sure is needed. I only had that setup due to being told in my early biking days that my old 550k3 project bike would need it. On my green 500/4 sidecar I know the single disk was always capable of locking the front wheel. I will stop and think on it but may ditch the helper springs, or use 550 fork ears, I just don't know yet.
-
Reached a decision. Cb550 fork ears -I found 2 sets in the loft, there is only 1 cb550 I own, so that means other set are fair game. There are no spare 500/4 items in my store to butcher, they all have bikes. That gains me 6mm of fork free from the helper springs. Sticking with single disk for now. Think I will make it work. Did a stocktake of spare forks and other spares. Think I may have a go at a custom hardtail frame given I have a complete spare bike bar the frame and v5c. Better off for exhausts than I thought too, but a bit of welding due on a few. I think some of the winter evenings may be spent fabricating a fancy new collector and silencer that can be chromed as it will be free of exhaust gas residue. Photos to follow on a briguter day, nothing showing up in this light and a cheap camera. Finally fixed the workshop lights too, so long as the outer workshop is left off, they now work so evenings are do able for stuff off the bike. The shed the bike itself is in is not lit but at least now bits can be sorted after dark. Still have a kl250 to follow on before any more of the sohc bikes, but the sidecar comes first.
-
More progress made, brake caliper pivot was totally solid, now stiff as the proverbial but moving, leaving it soaking in wd40, this may give the twin disk setup a repreive, I am all for the path of least resistance - want my bike back. Front forks had to come back off, 500/4 ears removed, some random ones from the man cave seemed the best compramise. Not sure what they are off. Headlight replaced, old one was an mot advisory last time around for the silvering deteriorating. carbs and filter back on. it is now a rolling chasis but a lot of loose bolts to tighten. I'll be checking around sidecar alighnment soon, then electricals go back in. Still got to choose whch exhaust to fit. Also found a spare seat in the loft, cover trashed,good foam, sound base but massive crack in by the hinge. 10 minuites with a welding torch and a lick of paint and re use my original cover and foam. Loving the attic, every part I need is coming out of the woodwork. taking longer finding bits than doing the job.
-
One thing I love about this bike, the patina on the tank, it shows the sheer number of hours and miles of riding fun the bike has given.
Hopefully I can add a few more pictures too.
-
Appologies the thread had been bit dy, all words , no pictures, trying to make up for it.
Decisions descisions, which exhaust? laser and the 4 into 1 slash cut along with the chrome beauty are very loud, I love the chrome beauty but it needs welding to the collector, and in all seriousness, when the bike was delivered we heard it comming 6 miles off. Never heard the dunstal system if that is what it is, it came with the k0 - should it stay there?. Motad Neta (gold end can,) dull as dishwater, looks wrong. 4 into 2 - doubt it will fit the sidecar outfit. I cannot decide.
-
Tried the slash cut exhaust, didn't fit, collector is in contact with the brake pedal and the tail hits the rear spindle. Think I may get same result from the motad neta plus I don't particularly like it, just not right for this bike. I think the 550k has a brake pedal that goes under or sideways and over that placement of a collector, I could have swapped pedals but really feel there have already been too many compramises to originality. So Laser system it is. Dunstall one is earmarked to go back on the k0 it came with. I don't want to further rot the chrome beauty. Maybe in summer it will get repaired and fitted. Another concern is with the sidecar clamps it is hard work to get the exhaust rose bits past the clamps, the laser had a bit more freeplay to juggle things into place. Nothing is simple. On these bikes so many exhausts seem to fail to address the centre stand needing a stop. That and the brake pedal being different can really swine ones day up. ? Not far off starting the engine now. Think the brakes need a proper rebuild with new piston and seals, I will have another go at freeing off with wd40 and working it in and out, the swinging pivot now works freely but with probably slightly excessive freeplay, might need sleeving. I will be thinking on that, or may check in the loft for a good spare caliper.
-
Christ some of you guys would really feel at home here pictures of a shit mess workshop don't know how you get on.Frack tidy it up find out what you have and go from there.How the hell do you work in that environment?Sorry if it upsets just cant work in that surroundings
Cheers
Bitsa
-
Christ some of you guys would really feel at home here pictures of a shit mess workshop don't know how you get on.Frack tidy it up find out what you have and go from there.How the hell do you work in that environment?Sorry if it upsets just cant work in that surroundings
Cheers
Bitsa
If he tidy's up bitsa may be he will find your vernier ;)
-
Trig
Mine is spotless mate and you have no idea how frackin mad I am.If I do not find it sunday will go out and buy another bar steward and after if it comes to light it will be buried where I find it.
Frackin Annoyed
Bitsa
-
I know. The barn still has building work to do. And about twice as much stuff as I have space for. Trouble came with the kids. Had time to break stuff renovating the house and on the farm. No time to fix it. Projects piled on top of projects. It is amazing how completing a few of them frees up space. Just doing this sidecar has cleared a bit of space. Given the average bit of farm kit we have is over 50 and we still use some 100 year old stuff. Means we have a lot of spares around too. Local tractor dealers for some reason neglect to stock parts. I dream of having a clearout but it is mostly stuff we will need. Plus side is i can fix most stuff at low costs. Each to their own. I do clear the floor and sweep up at the end of each job. My dad generally messes it up before I next get out to The shed. Take my drills draw. All organised small through large. Took ages with a caliper ~I can find mine ~ and one dad job later it is mixed up with random sized bunged in. I could get cross or just get on with it. At least I get the odd dormer drill bit bought for me.
-
Matthew each to our own mate
but not for me
Cheers
Bitsa
-
I know how you old farmers work.
I have a customer that won't bin nothing as everything is considered repairable.My dad painted the outside of his house in the late 80's then he phoned me about 5 years ago for a price on just the bits that need touching in. :o
Mick
-
But pretty well everything is repairable. Given time and resources. Christ, an old friend of mine, sadly no longer with us, was still fixing up and using 1940s crawlers til last year. The things that I learnt about fixing stuff from that old boy. Hay baler broke. Mid harvest, no spare ones available, £100s in crop standing to be ruined by rain if not bought in that day. He had it running using a nail. I fixed it the same way using a link from a 500/4 chain once I knew the trick. I agree my workshop is barely workable these days. But i would sooner fix my bike first. Hence the second shed the bike lives in. Apart from the loft (rooftop jumble) I can still find most tools inside 5 Minutes let alone 5 days. ;-) organised chaos. All those crates of bolts the exhausts are on go on shelfs. Just easier to rummage on the power hacksaw.
So there are tightwad farmers in France too?
-
I love the stories of messy work shops, anyone who has been to my place will no the real meaning of mess and clutter, i am too ashamed to even post a picture, there are at least 5 restorations in various stages, trying to find anything is like a needle in a hay stack, its all part of the madness i think, yet i usually no where to find most stuff, if i ever try and tidy up it is a shit hole within a few days as i just have to much stuff and not enough space so you have to pull everything out to get to the item you want , i wish i could change and really do try but your either a tidy person or a messy person when it comes to workshops
pete
-
Totally agree with you Pete my garage is my office,workshop,joiners shop and general junk room all rolled into one tiny space.
My neighbor is even worse being a builder his garage is stuffed to the rafters he has to climbs over it all but strangely he always finds what he wants.
Mick
-
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. It started off tidy, but countless rummaging trips have turned it into disorder. The projects don't end there, downstairs there is a 1914 lathe I am converting to single phase and recommisioning and 3 power hacksaws. The one I bought new is so hopelessly unreliable I am rebuilding a vintage one. Finding a k0 has resulted in some upheaval as I wanted to know what exactly I had stored, not that I am any the wiser. I am not sure it makes much difference. The whole place is a bit like Gormangahst. Last proper go at clearing out I had netted £600 or so listing everything at 99p start. Nothing sohc sold, some bits of drz I pulled out of a scrap pile paying weigh in for it on the other hand went mental, along with some boat stuff Dad picked up in a sale we couldn't identify. Glory of ebay, it establishes stuffs true value if properly listed.
-
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 :o ?
-
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 ;D 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.
-
Your place sounds like something out of Game of Thrones. You sure you're not a Member of the Night's Watch ?
::)
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
Do you have a v5 in your name?
-
This post is 7 years old, how can it be titled finally after 3 1/2 years :o
-
This post is 7 years old, how can it be titled finally after 3 1/2 years :o
Finally after 10 & 1/2 years the sequel? 😂😂😂
-
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.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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
-
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.
-
Rides again, getting some random cutting out under power, starts after a few dozen kicks so a bit more setting up and checking. Spent the whole day fault finding wiring and so on, seems the resistor in the regulator was causing a short to earth, after much testing by my mate who understands electrical trickery. Luckily I had a pile of spares to swap out.
-
Always good to see a bike with a chair attached - reminds me of my very brief ownership back in 1966 of an Aerial Square Four with sidecar attached - oh how I wish now I had kept it - bought from Spotrtarama in Chesterfield part of the old Brocklehurst Motor Group for about £60 !!
-
Interesting set up, wondering if the extra springs on fork stanchions was a three wheel requirement? Also requires drink holder on side car! 😂
-
Looking good - That windscreen is huge!
-
The springs were something I'm trying out as a more sophisticated way to compensate for the extra weight than 6" pre load spacers used previously. I honestly cannt remember if that means I actually used a different set of forks though - I think I did. Certainly didn't dare strip the 6" preload spacer forks. Does seem to handle a bit better. Sadly means I loose the gators.
An Arial square 4? At one stage that was my dream bike. These days this old bikes my ultimate bike.
-
The springs were something I'm trying out as a more sophisticated way to compensate for the extra weight than 6" pre load spacers used previously. I honestly cannt remember if that means I actually used a different set of forks though - I think I did. Certainly didn't dare strip the 6" preload spacer forks. Does seem to handle a bit better. Sadly means I loose the gators.
An Arial square 4? At one stage that was my dream bike. These days this old bikes my ultimate bike.
Ariel Square Four - my brief ownership - I purchased it at around lunchtime on a Wednesday morning for £50 (My Dad attended monthly board meetings on a Weds afternoon - I was learning to drive so it was a nice run (driving lesson) from Derby to Chesterfield on L plates in his company Vauxhall Victor 101 circa June 1965).
Sorted out the Insurance cover and rode off back home to Derby - the steering damper was tightened right down but above 50 mph the steering wobbled so violently I could not control it. Reached Derby and realised there was drasically something wrong with the handling so returned to Chesterfield - traded it back in at the purchase price with the deal being I had to spend more money for the full refund!
Saw this yellow & black A reg Maico Letta 250 cc Scooter with full screen, badge bar & electric start for £80. Thus ended my Aerial Square Four ownership and I began my love affair with the Maico it was a great scooter sold in 1967 for a profit !!
-
The handling is part of the joy of side cars, I found mine really hard to stop shaking its head at some speeds but eventually learned techniques to deal with it though riding style. I find if you try to hold the steering tight and steer by muscle power it will probably literally throw you off and into a hedge. However let it shake a bit and give it a bit of leeway and it becomes quite fun. When my steering damper let go I actually didn't bother replacing it. I did at one point have a sidecar combo with leading link forks and a host of other improvements that fixed the quirky handling, I actually found it a lot less fun as a result.
So far post rebuild I've put 22 miles on the clock, carbs flood a fair bit, and the fuel tap bowl sprung a leak, pitted from the inside, replaced that with one off another project. Have taken the kids for a spin, from fairly indifferent they both seem to quite like it after a quick trip each - the elder demanded a second circuit of the village. I might have to refit the rear seat and passenger window. Plenty of jobs to do on it still, but I'm chuffed to bits getting to take it for a spin again after all these years. The engines sweet, pulls well.
-
The handling is part of the joy of side cars, I found mine really hard to stop shaking its head at some speeds but eventually learned techniques to deal with it though riding style. I find if you try to hold the steering tight and steer by muscle power it will probably literally throw you off and into a hedge. However let it shake a bit and give it a bit of leeway and it becomes quite fun. When my steering damper let go I actually didn't bother replacing it. I did at one point have a sidecar combo with leading link forks and a host of other improvements that fixed the quirky handling, I actually found it a lot less fun as a result.
So far post rebuild I've put 22 miles on the clock, carbs flood a fair bit, and the fuel tap bowl sprung a leak, pitted from the inside, replaced that with one off another project. Have taken the kids for a spin, from fairly indifferent they both seem to quite like it after a quick trip each - the elder demanded a second circuit of the village. I might have to refit the rear seat and passenger window. Plenty of jobs to do on it still, but I'm chuffed to bits getting to take it for a spin again after all these years. The engines sweet, pulls well.
As a raw 'know it all' 17 year old pumped with hormones I knew nothing about bikes with a sidecar attached and how they behave in the real world.
I'd seen a racing version I think they were called "kneelers" in Eckington ridden by the then local Honda Dealership owner Charlie Freeman so thought they were easy to master !
Isn't the internet wonderful for reviving a memory.
https://www.google.com/search?q=charlie+freeman+motorcycle+racer&rlz=1C1CHBF_en-GBGB934GB935&sxsrf=ALeKk00RO9_vQipNIYIslw4Kw42q1ZtsbA:1626415947677&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=85NAELJCHhAe0M%252CHO6eHuJMGhF7rM%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kRE_29-nyeWtjhlFS5ovmZDb0LDEA&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwihucXG9-bxAhU3QEEAHbedAUcQ9QF6BAgSEAE
-
That brings back memories, bought 2 bikes from Charlie, he was always good fun and his place in Eckington was always one of our regular ride outs.
[attach=1]
-
That brings back memories, bought 2 bikes from Charlie, he was always good fun and his place in Eckington was always one of our regular ride outs.
(Attachment Link)
Yes Charlie certainly was a character - I think my Dad visited him as his firm would buy cars from him when they took them in part exchange for a bike.
Even after his spell in clink for handling stolen bikes I think it was (well before my spell in the Fuzz) the business still thrived & his customers did not desert him.
Tbh as he was quite a bit older than me I just knew him as a mate of my Dad's who seemed very outgoing. Many years later I found out the firm were still trading - I think his son may have taken over - not sure of that now the son may have retired as well by now.