1972 CB500K1: Goldie - First Ride

[SteveD CB500K0]

Having got "Goldie" back right at the end of probably the warmest and driest September ever and with a dreadful weather forecast, it was with some trepidation that I looked out of the bedroom curtains at a reasonable hour (post Suzuka Grand Prix) to find a glorious sunny (if not warm) morning. Time for a ride...

Nervous. Last time I rode one of these was about 5 years ago and I've ridden a series of modern Triumphs since then. Would it go? Would it stop? Would it piss fuel all over the swingarm and the road?

The answer was "Yes" to all of those...

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Fuel on. Choke on. Thumb the starter and she bursts into life.

As I remember, a cacophony of rattles at tickover with that glorious four-pipe Honda soundtrack.

First impressions? The front disc brake is absolutely useless (even on a dry sunny morning) - I'm going to have to take it apart and take a look. The throttle is very heavy and it feels very small.

I guess it is about the same physical size as the Street Triple that I rode the other day, albeit with less than half the power. I am definitely sitting "on" it and not "in" it as I do with the Tiger.

Filled it up with fuel. Yes it leaks out of carb #1 (more fixing to do). The neutral light doesn't work and the indicator switch has no central detente.

I really need to do a few miles and then go home and check that all the nuts & bolts are still there, that the tyres are still inflated and the oil level hasn't dropped. I needn't have worried. It was great.

After 20 miles or so I headed home. Maxed at about 75mph (ish) which was fine. Felt good, handled OK (a bit hard) and sounded great.

All in all, very pleased. It is still filthy after 8 years in a barn and there's definitely a "patina of age" about the bike. Love it!

[Johnwebley]

well done !!!

 the term,"still filthy !" is a miss nomer !

its looks spotless in the pics,be a rider ,not a polisher!

a 40 yr patina is well earned,

[Green1]

Agree with John be a rider not a polisher
The brakes aren't crap there progressive.
I got my Triumph going again today and nearly went strait over the handlebars.

Mick   

[Bitsa (Ralph Wright - RIP)]

Steve
Where did your hair go mate if your avator is you aswell?Guess it went west like the rest of us .Steve you make the bike look so small I am sure I do on my 750 but back then I was 20 stone plus and always my mates girl had enough room on the back as he never passed his test.All this stuff is amazing
Cheers
Bitsa

[SteveD CB500K0]

Avatar hair = 1976

Say no more...

[SteveD CB500K0]

I'm 11 st and 6ft mate (that's 1.85m and 75kg in French)

If you were a 20st biker even your 750 must have looked small!

Does my Tiger look small? It's only an 800 after all!

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[Norniron]

Love that tiger steve!

[UK Pete]

Well done steve , riding a classic is so different to a modern bike , you have to use a whole different set of rules and mindset , is it a keeper?
pete

[Bitsa (Ralph Wright - RIP)]

Steve
Your tiger does not look small.I found a photo off me not long ago on the 400/4 looked like a moped under me.
Cheers
Bitsa

[SteveD CB500K0]

I may have discovered why the front brake doesn't work...

Years ago I would have been able to answer this myself, but here goes.

This is wrong isn't it?

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[Johnwebley]

all I can see is were the mudguard is between the bracket and fork leg,
on mine it is next to the bolt heads,


the pipe and nipple look ok, check the pivot swivels,and the inner pad just lightly kisses the disc

[Trigger]

Yes, Steve. From the fork case it is the brake arm, then the mudguard. I wondered why you looked happier on the Tiger than the CB.

[Lobo]

Well Steve, I gotta admit to being totally confused by the pic versus your one at the opening of this thread. It's like some cryptic quiz... not given quite enough info... it seems to me that the forward stay has detached from the bottom of the fork leg... but that wouldn't affect the brake efficiency.. so give in!

But on a more serious note, and everybody accepting that I'm a returnee to biking after a 30 year gap...AND don't manage to get out regularly... even now.

Pete wrote , "Returning to a classic bike whole set of rules etc"... and yup, in the braking department there can be little argument. But often I'm on here, & folk rave over a recent ride on their 1970's machine (inc me!).. my question is how actually deserved this might be from a handling pov? Certainly, my old K2 is just not in the same ball park as my 2013 MotoGuzzi.... which feels like its on rails at all speeds. The CB on the other hand, at >80mph begins to feel, er, not somewhere I don't want to spend too long.
Hopefully my inexperience / lack of familiarity with the bike... but nonetheless asking whether it's me (= big wuzzer), a problem with my particular bike, or the fact that in truth, 50 years ago 'this is how it was'. I certainly remember never being 'concerned' at any speed on my old '400... but back then I was a (very) dumb 19 yrs old.

In summary, it does not instill the confidence that the 'Guzzi does, but just to reassure all (!), she's in no danger of being 'dumped', as this is only a minuscule part of what it all means to me.

Ta, and as always, thanks Steve for providing / managing this great forum,
Simon.

[AshimotoK0]

Yes I agree with what Pete is saying too. A lot of people have restored early 750's and then tried to use them and got a bit uneasy about the size/handling and sold them on. That's why my first 4 was a 400/4 as it was raved about in the press as being the best handling Honda of the 70's. My mate got me it from a dealers  he worked for in York, part time. He brought it over for me to East ?Yorks to test ride and although he was a hardened Norton Commando nut at the time, he had to admit that he was impressed with it's handling. Still out there today XDN128R.

I thinks Steve was a bit camera shy on the 500/4 pic and was a seasoned model by the time the later pic on the Tiger was taken
Nice bike(s) BTW Steve.

Cheers ... Ash

[SteveD CB500K0]

My wife took the photo(s) of me on the 500. This was the best one...

A semi-pro friend of mine took the Tiger pic in the carpark at Broadway Tower.

Sorry about the lack of clues - I guess I was still fretting about the poor front brake (God knows how it got through the MOT...)

The front guard is indeed mounted between the caliper bracket and the fork leg. The caliper does not offer up to the disc in parallel.

That's a job for the weekend then!

Of all the 500/550s that I've owned over the years (this is the 7th), I don't have a picture of that area in any of my archive folders. Thus the question.