CB500 K1 Rebuild

[Charlie J]

Just an update on some limited progress made since my last post.

Rebored cylinder block picked up from Bryan. Great job done and I got the benefit of picking Bryan’s brain for half an  hour - priceless. He also took a look at the crank, shells and cam chain tensioner and confirmed they were ok to reuse. Thanks again Bryan.

I bought the bike without a log book. The process of getting a new V5C was fairly straightforward. I filled in DVLA form V62 with my details together with the frame and registration numbers and sent it off with a cheque for £25. I got an acknowledgement from DVLA a couple of days later saying that my application should be processed on 01st October and a V5C issued within a few days. Got the log book through the post on 5th Oct so no complaints there. Next step will be to get it SORN’d.

I’ve cleaned up the casings etc ready for painting with VHT paint but just have to wait until my wife goes out so I can use the parts washer for the final clean. For some reason, she seems to think  that just because it’s fitted in the kitchen it should only be used for dishes!
 
Once the cases were apart I could see the damage that the primary chain had caused by chewing into the casing. [ Guests cannot view attachments ]

Splines on kickstart spindle also stripped so have ordered a used replacement from eBay [ Guests cannot view attachments ]

Have dual purposed my bike lift as an engine stand using a length of rebar and some threaded bar. I was afraid to use my work bench in case the engine got lost amongst all the other stuff.
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The four gearbox bearings look, feel and sound ok to me, so given the high cost of replacements I am considering reusing them or is this false economy? The clock shows that the bike had done 47k miles but I have no way of knowing if this is accurate. Any views/advice on this would be welcome.


Thanks
Charlie

[Charlie J]

Thanks Oddjob.

I’ve put it on the ever increasing shopping list. The oil guide is not available via CMSNL or DSS but there are a couple on eBay from Germany - £32 + £16 postage!! I’ll check mine out to see if the damage is in a critical position. If not, I’ll try some super glue.

[Charlie J]

Hi all
Just getting around to reassembling my front forks after a refurb and need some help in identifying an item I had zip tied to one of the dampers. I’m guessing it’s got something to do with the front suspension but cannot remember where it came from and can’t find it in the manual or parts list. The forks are off a CB500 K1

Thanks in advance
Charlie
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[Bryanj]

Never seen one like that before

[Charlie J]

Thanks Bryan, if you don't recognise it, then it's probably not important. I'll just throw it in a box of odds and sods and who knows, one day I might remember what it's for!

[Charlie J]

I haven’t been very good at posting updates on progress, but after just about replacing everything apart from the frame and engine casings, the bike is more or less finished (see below).

It didn’t take me long to realise that my project bike was not complete enough and was in such poor overall condition that a “correct” restoration was going to cost more than I was prepared to spend. So, I just did my own thing with a vague picture in mind of what I wanted to achieve. I’m quite pleased with how it looks and the engine starts on the button and runs well with no oil leaks. I managed to do everything myself except the rebore (thanks Bryan J) and the seat reupholstery. Also thanks to all on the forum. I spent hours reading and learning from the sohc community.

However, I do need some more advice if anyone can point me in the right direction please. I rode the bike a few hundred yards down the road and all seemed well until I tried the back brake. There was a definite “pulse” through the brake pedal. I didn’t notice any cracking in the brake drum lining and have renewed the wheel bearings. I’ll recheck the drum lining, but is there anything else that I should be looking at that might cause the problem?

Thanks
Charlie

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[Bryanj]

99.9% that the cast lining is cracked and lifting, sorry for bad news

[andy120t]

That looks really nice - great work. I'm like you in not having funds for full redtorations, and it's nice just to get something back on the road.

[Sesman]

Nice job. My second project is not too dissimilar.

Second the rear brake theory.

Like those clocks. Can I ask from where you got them?

[Laverdaroo]

Great build, it looks brilliant, uyou must be really chuffed? Which exhaust is that, different from the norm and suits it really well, and teh shocks.

Another one on the road, well done.

[Nurse Julie]

That looks great Charlie and looks a real fun bike to ride. Well done for saving her. Enjoy.

[Charlie J]

Thanks to all for the kind remarks. It’s certainly a nice feeling to have rescued the bike from turning into a complete rust heap. The sound of the engine firing up on the first press of the button after the rebuild was music to my ears. Just need to get the brake drum sorted now.

For those that asked:-

Clocks were dirt cheap from EBay but look good, work fine and seem to be of decent quality. Here’s a link for where I got the rev counter from. I think I got the speedo from the same place.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/154291886420

Exhaust is Marving Honda CB500 Four Complete Exhaust - RACING Line 4/1 - Chrome from https://www.wemoto.com/

TEC Adjustable Damping Gas Shock Absorbers - Honda CB500 CB550 Four SOHC from
https://www.tecbikeparts.com

Regards
Charlie

[Sesman]

Cheers, Charlie.

[Laverdaroo]

Brilliant, cheers Charlie. Am I right in saying that the 500 pipes will fit the 550 then?

Mine is too far 'passed it' to restore so its going to be a resto mod like yours but love the pipe, I'd forgotten about Marving and to be fair not having done heaps of research yet as haven't needed to, I'm liking the idea of those pipes rather than mine which although standard are a bit jaded to say the least and the PO has had the grinder to them already. Might be an easy win for me.

Cheers

[Sesman]

Mmmmm, Marvin. Pipe of choice for the 500 back in 1975. Bloody loud though, as I recall.