Honda-SOHC
SOHC.co.uk Forums => CB500/550 => Topic started by: Mitchv60 on October 14, 2012, 10:23:45 AM
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Morning,recently joined the forum and I thought I start a thread on my project I;ve just started. :)
CB500 1972 K2 purchased just over 3 weeks ago with the intention of doing a cafe racer build.Unfortunately the bike was in worse condition than I hoped so now its a ground up build rather than a tart up.
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/mitchv60/IMG_0097[1]_zps58cfed04.jpg)
First job is to make sure it runs before I take the engine out of the frame.I'm going to have a compression/leak down check done to see the the state of play and then I'll do an oil change if hasn't got to come apart,then clean the carbs.
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/mitchv60/IMG_01141.jpg)
Carbs off ready for ultrasonic cleaning/servicing.
Ordered my new battery,oil filters,carb servicing kits,master cylinder service kit as that seized solid.
This is state of play as of last night.It will stay like this now until I get the engine checked and carbs cleaned and back together to see if she fires.
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/mitchv60/IMG_01201.jpg)
Just for comical value,the pile of rust after the strip down :o
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/mitchv60/IMG_01121.jpg)
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Cb500K2
Were they imported in England?
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It was imported from the US in 97
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Interesting. The US 500K2's were 1973 and didn't have the colors and striping of the later 500K2 [ED, F, G] for Europe in 1976.
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::) ::)
yes,this is a bit of a bone of contention.
The bike was registered as built in 72 in the US so I presumed it was a K1 but i have been told by chaps on here it is a K2.
Have a look here and you'll see http://www.sohc.co.uk/index.php/topic,4793.msg22158/topicseen.html#new
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Time for an update :)
Things have been going a bit slow because work has been hectic.
The carbs have now been sorted ,ultrasonically cleaned and serviced by my mechanic and then back to me for the cosmetic bits.
There was only so much i could do to them because of the state they where in.
All the rusty steel bits have been cleaned and sprayed,the carb bodies have been dremeled with a wire head.The carb mounting plate has been vapour blasted and I've given it a couple of coats of lacquer.Most of the nuts and bolts have been changed to stainless.
This is the finished result,it won't win any concourse shows but I'm pleased with the results compared to how they where when I removed them.
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/mitchv60/IMG_01741.jpg)
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/mitchv60/IMG_01731.jpg)
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/mitchv60/IMG_01721.jpg)
I'm still waiting on my exhaust which should have been here today but it now looks like the 14th >:(
On the plus side I've had 2 new clocks and a bracket arrive from dime city cycles in the states,very nice quality as well.
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/mitchv60/IMG_01771.jpg)
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/mitchv60/IMG_01751.jpg)
Thats about it so far,need to get the carbs back on now to see if it runs.
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Carbs look great, nice job, its amazing how many man hours can go into building carbs
Pete
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The carbs look like a good job and all being about right with the motor should give you a more than evens chance of getting it fired up.
It amused me that you appear to have the carbs in the kitchen.....just clear all that cooking malarkey out the way and make room for some real stuff.....starting off in style I think.
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It's that level of detail I envy though. Look at every component / assembly in isolation and then say 'what needs doing to make this stand out on it's own'. Then, when it's all put together the attention to detail really hits you. I just wish I could do that .... usually I'm in too much of a rush to have it up and running, then I don't want to take it apart again. I think I lack 'finishing skills'!
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Yes I recon the carbs took me a good couple of weekends to do.
Yes the pictures where in the kitchen but that's only cause the lighting is good in there.
The brass caps are actually very polished it just doesn't really show in the pictures.
The only reason I've changed the clocks are because they are in such a bad state.They may be salvagable if you could find spares but it's unlikely plus there in kpm although I know you can get round that.
I've had another box of bits arrive tonight.
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/mitchv60/IMG_01781.jpg)
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250 superdream clocks are the same internally so I just swapped the inners into my old casings when they internally fell to bits on my 500. For doing carbs I have an old writing breurau in my sheds attic, with all the stationary holder slots built in it's pretty handy plus the writing surface folds up over it all to cover up the carb bits when not in use to keep the dust off. The breurau looks like somethig off bargin hunt and must have been a nice piece before the last owner let it get woodworm, my gain though, it was £2 and is stil tough enough for workshop use after a good dose of worm killer (and carb cleaner injected down the odd hole when bored)
Personally I abandoned doing cosmetic inprovements like that as once cleaned the temptation would be either to not use the bike or having to keep it that clean, I doff my hat to those of you who have the persaverence to keep at it and do the nice looking bikes and keep them there.
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I've managed to get a couple of small jobs done over the christmas break.
I mocked up the front end,bars,clocks and grips just to see if it was the look I was after.
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/mitchv60/IMG_01861.jpg)
Stripped the paint on the top yoke,removed the worse casting flaws and polished it.
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/mitchv60/IMG_01901.jpg)
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A bit more done,making the most of some time off over christmas.
Welded up the subframe loop and added some triangular gussets beneath it just to finish off the line of the frame so it doesn't stop abruptly.
I'll leave the dressing up of the welds till I've got the engine out of the frame so it's a bit easier to do.
I take my hat off to any one who is good at welding because I am not,I can turn my hand to most things but I admit I struggled a bit with this.
I suppose it will get easier the more I do as this was my first time.
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/mitchv60/IMG_01971_zps1f630f56.jpg)
Next job is getting seat pan sitting right and sort out the fixings for it.
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Looks like its coming on on well, i know what you mean about welding i try to do a bit here and there but i also find it hard
Pete
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Make life easyer, just tack weld the parts in place then leave final welding and dressing the welds until the frame is stripped and light enough to put each weld in flat as vertical welding is far harder to do.
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If that's the first time welding, then it doesn't appear too bad. I've seen some attrocious stuff and wonder how it stays together at all on some modified bikes.
It looks (can't see entirely as a bit out of focus) as though the weld penetration isn't too bad which is what you're after. don't be tempted to grind too much off for cosmetic purposes as it can result in significant reduction in material strength around the joins.
Another couple of steps forward at least.
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Seats done. :)
I purchased a second hand Giullari seat although from pictures I wasn't 100% sure it was the look I was after,but once it was on the bike my doubts where dismissed.
The seat needed some modifying to get how I wanted it so I've stripped the cover and foam.The pan was a bit rusty and I've had to do a couple of repairs.I've also trimmed the back to fit the frame,made a lock bracket and a couple of extra brackets for the back to remove any movement while riding.
Back to work tomorrow so work will slow up to weekends only.
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/mitchv60/IMG_01981.jpg)
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/mitchv60/IMG_02021.jpg)
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Seat pan,exhaust clamps and front mudguard have now been media blasted.
I wasn't sure the mudguard would be salvageable as it had a couple of small holes in,well this was the finished result :o
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/mitchv60/IMG_02201-1.jpg)
The fuel tank had a small rust hole in the side which was brazed but I then found another 4 pin holes in the underneeth at the front when I added the rust remover so they where repaired as well.
This was the product I used to seal the inside of the tank as most are only good up to 10% mixed ethanol petrol where this is was good to 100%.
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/mitchv60/IMG_02221.jpg)
The seat pan has been painted gloss black and I dropped it into the seat trimmers today for a new cover and foam.
Spent last weekend polishing the sprocket cover.
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/mitchv60/IMG_02351.jpg)
My new mudguard arrived so I've trimmed the sides and drilled mounting holes.This had the bar that links the front and rear(honda racing style)but I didn't think it would look right on a naked bike so I broke out the dremmel
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/mitchv60/IMG_02411.jpg)
So tomorrow I will drop the fuel tank,mudguard and bracket into the painters so he can get them done along withe the side pods he already has.
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looking good 8)
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Well the schedule has gone out the window by about a month due to the sudden death of my mum 6 weeks ago and losing just over 2 weeks due to concrete burns to my eyes.That said I have made a little progress.
The forks have been stripped and the stanchions sent of for rechroming,should have them back in about 5 weeks(7 week lead time) .
The front and rear hubs and rear brake assembly have been stripped and all the big casting flaws have been sanded out before I had them media blasted.
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/mitchv60/IMG_02781_zpsafd1db09.jpg)
I've had all the paint done.I've decided to go with silver as you can see instead of the original black.
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/mitchv60/IMG_02691_zps3aa1f194.jpg)
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/mitchv60/IMG_02751_zps9d97e846.jpg)
The seat pan was sprayed.I then gave it to Hoods County Customs who made all new foam and a new covering.
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/mitchv60/IMG_02741_zpsd98ade2c.jpg)
The engine is at my mechanics being stripped so I can get the cases bead blasted and then sprayed.
So that's about it so far.
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Thats looking great, love the paint and seat
Pete
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That tank looks great in silver! the rear brake plate looks like a later k3 item which dosent fit earlier hubs, has yours been modified?
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I haven't modified it but it's a US import so it may be different.
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Paint looks like a lovely job - do you mind if I ask how much you paid and who did the work? Seat also looks like a lovely piece of work. Looking forward to seeing it all come together...
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No you can ask.
I had the seat pan done gloss black before trimming.The tank had some brazing done,a dent removed and 2 badge cutouts filled,decals added
(i supplied them) and then the whole thing painted.The 2 side pods,front mudguard and bracket also pained and lacquered.
All done in Audi Ice silver with 2 coats of clear for a total of £325 and he delivered it back to me because he moved his workshop while halfway through the job.Robin is a one man band and has just moved to Hornchurch.
The seat cost £60 which I personally though was very cheap and would have paid double that.
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The paint and seat look like very well done jobs, it's nice when you pick someone to do it and they turn it out better than expected.
It'll be nice to see it when assembled.
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A little more progress. 8)
The front and rear hubs and brake plate have all been cleared with a matt clear coat to give them some protection and then all the new bearing where installed.I dropped the hubs off to the wheel builder 2 weeks ago(should have them back next week)to have the new excel valanced rims and stainless spokes fitted.
The engine has been stripped and vapour blasted and awaits me to take it to the painter once I get the head back.
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/mitchv60/IMG_02811_zpsbce5d076.jpg)
I've had the fork legs back today from Philppot and they have made a first class job.
Before
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/mitchv60/IMG_02501_zps0f9fb8e9.jpg)
After
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/mitchv60/IMG_02911_zps6167919e.jpg)
I've finished my mudguard/engine splash guard(not finished in the photo)and its trimmed sanded and ready for the finished coating.Made from a sheet of 2mm ally and bent to fit.
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/mitchv60/IMG_02871_zps30313907.jpg)
Frame has now had all the welding done and just need all the prep work to be finished before powder coating.
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Fork legs have now both been polished,picture is one done one not.
Forks have been reassembled and are being dropped off to Maxton ar the weekend to have all new internals and springs fitted to bring them up to current suspension standards as possible.
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/mitchv60/IMG_02951_zps2f340bbd.jpg)
Collected my new Excel Takasago flanged wheels with stanless spokes from the wheel builder this morning and very nice they are to. 8)
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/mitchv60/IMG_02991_zps29d1dc6c.jpg)
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/mitchv60/IMG_03021_zps60a28e69.jpg)
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Fine job your doing there.
Keep the pictures coming.
Paull
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looking very nice indeed bet ya well chuffed gives me a fair bit of inspiration for when i start mine keep up the good wrk look forward to seeing it finished
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Not really got any thing done in the last couple of weeks but I did have these beasties arrive in the post. :)
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/mitchv60/IMG_03232_zpsb859c789.jpg)