An update on my Vintage Honda CB500
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- Опубликовано: 8 сен 2024
- The CB500 is back and running amazing! First ride for the channel coming soon. If you guys are in the Pacific Northwest and you're looking for someone to work on your old Honda motorcycle check out Bruce at Vintage Honda Service in Forest Grove Oregon. He was fantastic to work with!
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"Honda did the work, I'm just keeping it alive." - Very cool
Yeah he's such a boss
NOS is New Old Stock. This refers to parts that are new OEM parts that are left over from being stocked originally. It's a minor thing, but they are not used OEM parts.
Great video. I enjoy your authentic enthusiasm.
Most of these old Japanese bikes I’ve come across, have been sitting for many years.Some with incredibly low mileage.If you’re fortunate enough to find a skilled mechanic that specializes in these old bikes(like the gentleman in this video),you’re lucky.They can go through it completely,and essentially, you’ve got a new bike.Ride it, look after it, and it will last you the rest of your riding life.
One of the sweetest motorcycles Honda ever made. I got mine new in the early seventies and kept it for thirty years. A better bike than the more famous CB750, in my opinion.
But not as good as the 550 , imo, I owned both the 750 and the 550 hence the knowledge. The 550 was lighter and only slightly slower. I also had a 450 it was even the same colour . It was about as fast as the 500 ( had a race with a guy on a 500 with my 450. He got there faster but I caught up with him after a while.)
absolutely. enough power for public highway conditions, more chuckable than 750.
looks better too.
@@alloomis1635 Yes, almost always rode BSA's and a few Triumphs.
Those CB 500's really caught my eye. Great looks and a sweet motor. Really sorry to have sold mine.
Bought my 72 500 as my 2nd street bike after my 72 CB175. Had her for 2 yrs. Put a big bore kit in her at the ended of the first summer. Was a good bike but it was stolen that fall in the park, and they pushed her into the river. Cops retrieved her the next spring. I flashed the engine and she fired right up. Sold her to a friend and she is still running with over 68k on the OD.
@@davidrochow9382 Got a 75 CB750F to replace my stolen 72 CB500K and she is by far the better bike IMO! Just finished my 4th from the ground up rebuild and she has nearly 500K miles in total now!!
You're very lucky to find such a clean CB500, and a sympatico mechanic. I had a CB550F Super Sport, one of the best bikes I ever owned -- it was my daily commuter, backroad bomber, and touring bike -- with saddlebags, I rode it all over the Northwest. Btw, your Duros have the same tread pattern as the Continental Twins I had on mine. Wishing you many years of happy riding!
Congratulations, 500 is a great bike I rode that bike in 70s.
No place safe anywhere in South Florida for riding to many idiots texting and speeding in cars you be safe OK.
You have a great mechanic that you can trust outstanding.
man that colour green is the best, its a stunning bike, i remember the exhaust sountrack they rev so fast, bit like F1 cars
I used to own a CB500, from experience that front tire tread design will make the front-end squirm around on rain grooves. I learned to not fight it and just let it wiggle around but it is scary when it first happens. *That full chain guard with the lubrication is fantastic! They are used by owners who really maintain their bike well, like the one you got. I have always wondered why they are not used more often. I think the old owner put that spring on the throttle so he could use it like a cheap way to hold throttle for cruising.
I would get the more original exhaust; quieter exhaust is just nicer to deal with, loud exhaust is just fatiguing.
The best of the 70's Honda,in my opinion. And yes,needs the original 4 'tulip end' silencers,to complete...Lovely.
If I were you I would ground off the number of the key that is on the ignition switch. People with steel bikes in the old days by going into a dealer and telling them they need such-and-such number key they would buy the key and then they would ride off with your motorcycle. They then discontinued the practice of putting the number on the key switch. If I remember right you could put the improved clutch from the CB550 four in your 500. And Easy in Easy out job that will result in much better clutch action as well as much less clutch slipping. For me I consider my Triumph like one of my dogs. Back in the old days and used Honda cb500 was it kind of bike you would use to go back and forth to work on because if you got smashed on it you could replace it real easy because there were thousands of them. When you get to around 100,000 miles and you have to either rering or go bigger on the Pistons and do the valves I would entirely recommend replacing the cam chain and the tensioner mechanism. All of my Hondas word reliable and dependable but when the cam chain with SNAP it would destroy your engine completely. I would also put a set of crash bars on that bike because sheet metal like gas tanks are almost unavailable. You could probably get a nice replacement set of pipes through M go. Forgiveness crawling I have a government smartphone that is a moron. I would also call up Randy Baxter and see about a set of crash bars for the Triumph 500 because the sheet metal for that is available but super expensive. Crash bars save so much when you just have a slip and fall down and go boom moment. It's so nice to walk back to the bike and find that it's not damaged because it landed on the crash guard and slid on the crash bar instead of expensive British parts. Barnett makes cables for anything, and they are much better than original equipment cables. They also make very good clutch plates.
Really great find and worth putting the extra effort to make it more original, I rode a '77 CB550 Four cross country in '92 and when you made a big deal about replacing the throttle spring I had to laugh because that huge spring puts such a strain on your wrist on long rides that I wound up taking it out altogether because with the push pull throttle cables riding on the highway you can just set it where you want and still make fine adjustments when needed. The one funny thing was whenever someone else would ask to ride it they would release the throttle expecting it to spring back and get all confused til I told them they had to manually push it back. It is a hardy bike for an early sport bike, one nice thing is the dual starter, my starter stopped working and I never replaced it because of the kick starter, it reliably took two soft kicks with the ignition off and choke on, then turn the ignition on and would turn over first kick.
Exactly. From the chain guard and highway pegs I figured that the previous owner was doing longer rides.
While it's been restored to close to new, it is not what I want in my own bikes. LOL
IMO You customize your bikes to suit your needs and tastes, so I'm not going to knock it too much.
Le son des 4 cylindres Honda de ces années est encore inégalé à ce jour. Quelle chance tu as Bart d'avoir acquis cette merveilleuse machine!!!
Bruce's bikes are AMAZING!! Thanks for sharing them here!! I also really like your cb500. Great choice of bike! If you do decide to restore it some day, maybe don't go crazy on the restoration. Often when owners go all-out on the restoration job (like Bruce did on his bikes) they end up too pristine to use. And then they almost never get ridden. I bet the bikes are happier when they get ridden more frequently. Am really enjoying your channel. Best regards from Brasilia, Brazil.
What's the name of his shop?
@@tsoliot5913 I believe it's in the video. I don't recall the shop's name right now, sorry.
I was graduated from high school in 1973 and remember this bike well, because a friend had one when I was a freshman in college. A great, great size for a college student riding to campus.
Once the bike is setup and running right, you can do your own work. But you need that run right, sound right feel to know if it is right. Take care tightening all those old aluminum threads. I loved my 71 CB450, a great combination of traditional twin looks and racing innovation. That Super Hawk was new to me and the CB500 is looking cool.
I had one just like that in 1973 and my stock exhaust rusted out in a year so a friend of mine put a set of Jardine 4 into 2 and rejeted the carburetors! What a difference the exhaust made you could tell by the power and sound when it got on the pipes. I sold it when I went in the Marine Corps in 1974! It was such a great bike 🏍
Thanks for taking us on this journey! This is a dream bike! 👍🏻🇦🇺
I love your mechanic already because of his 996 superhawk. such a under rated but awesome machine.
He's honestly amazing and really knows his stuff
@@bartmotorcycle I have several containers of NOS parts for these. In discussion with my father we would part with an Australian imported CB500F still in crate for US$75,000.00. Have a great weekend!
My uncle had a Honda 500 Four. I remember looking at Honda 400 Fours on the showroom floor. I really liked them in yellow, which is unusual for me. Really enjoyed the video.
Love the old Honda Motorcycles! I have a 1976 Honda CB750, and it's absolutely awesome! I wish I had a vintage motorcycle mechanic where I live. The benefit I guess is that I now know how everything works! Keep up the great work!
Thank you, and how awesome is Bruce.
My first bike was a '76 550k, same color scheme. It took me many miles, but had the annoying habit of always popping out of 3rd gear. I soon learned to just skip through. I finally broke down and tore it apart, bringing the whole gear cluster in to a Honda mechanic who examined them and told me what to replace. I did, and for a few weeks it shifted fine, then went back to its old habit... 🫤 I eventually bought an '86 600 Hurricane and absolutely loved it. (#5 and #6 are a 599 and a XX.)
This takes me way back. my 2nd bike was a 76 [I think] 550 supersport. I think Honda only made 'em 2 yrs, 75 and 76. 75s were blue and 76 were orange. Great bike. I also had a 73 450, my first bike. Loved it also.
75 through 77, I have a 77 550f
My first road bike was 1972 CB500 four, chocolate brown. Your video brings back fond memories. Current bike:Royal Enfield Continental GT 650, Rocker Red.
The 650RE's are awesome bikes. My daughter has a chrome GT650.
Bought one of these 30 odd years ago. Paid 250$. Turned it into a bober/ cafe-racer. Now I'm not religious about bikes. Like them all, ride a 75 Harley. I like the ride, but this was the second Honda I owned and I liked them both(Super Blackhawk) the 550 had some snap. From traffic light to traffic light with swiftness. I left if factory silver, and didn't do anything to it that couldn't be undone.I gave it to my best friend's son, that's when I learn your best friend son isn't at all like your best friend. Keep the shiney side up
Great perspective and insights from the mechanic. Have him on again
I watch your videos everyday and you give a good breakdown on your channel. I bought a cb350 last year as my first motorcycle and watching your videos everyday motivate and document the vintage motorcycle experience. It’s funny because vintage motorcycles were just a random thing i just got attached to
Owned A CB500 from 1972 to 1975. Living in northern Quebec and Ontario, I put 33,000 miles on mine in 3 summers. Had a Windjammer fairing and for early/late year riding something called "HippoHands".
Nice I had one same colour back in 1975 second hand I think $2100 great memories
I own a 72 CB500 with 21k original miles and it still runs like a Swiss clock! The Honda CB engines were some of the best solid engines ever built in my personal opinion. The only thing that I'm not a true fan of is the fact that they choose to use a chain driven gear case from the crankshaft. If there's any sort of weak links in the engine, this chain would be the first thing to stretch out or fail over a gear driven system. Otherwise bullet proof system except for their engines which utilized their experimental valve spring which were a torsional type spring rather than a coil spring. They were trying to save valve train weight and they did work out, just not for the longer haul than a coil spring would last.
2nd bike I owned 1972.500,4clinder, my favorite bike awesome runner. Wished I still owned it
My first bike was a 1971 just like that, same color too. Not in as nice shape as yours. I had never ridden a motorcycle before I bought it from a friend's dad for $300 in about 1991, and rode it home with the admonishment from the dad that I dare not touch the front brake, lest it flip me over the front bars.(Old Harley guy). It was my only vehicle for the next 7 years. I rode it 40 miles a day to work and back the whole time. I might have changed the oil once during that time and did no other maintenance during my ownership. Second gear was broken when I got it, so I always just shifted through to 3rd. I tried to do a wheelie to impress some friends and second gear blew up and locked the transmission. It sat on the side of my house, as junk, for years, and I had to try to maneuver my giant van around it every time I left or came home. One day my brother said, "Why don't you just run it over?" So I did. I stopped laughing when I saw that it punched a hole in my radiator. I'm ashamed to admit that we chopped the bike up with an axe and threw it in the desert after that. I stayed into bikes from that time and have usually had at least one. Today I have a Flake Sunrise Orange 1973 CB750 that's basically all original, right down to the stock 4 into 4 pipes. It was manufactured the same year and month that I was born. There's no more than 3 weeks difference between our age. It makes me wish I could go back and save my Candy Jet Green CB500 from my stupid, younger self. Best of luck with yours. She's a beauty.
You need the right pipes. That engine sounds nearly right, but you can tell it's not quite as happy sounding as they are with the right pipes on it. You would likely be surprised at the difference in the machine when they got the right pipes. Not just the sounds but the responsiveness. You got a great bike there, look after her. Be well. Oh and the CX500 is in the same mold, it's a half size or so Honcatti or Duconda. I miss that one too. They know their V twins. That one is a bit picky about tires though, get them wrong and it's got a squirrely back end. 😉
I hear you on the exhaust thing. I had a CB350F and the exhaust on those was even more expensive than the rest of the bike. Your 500 is amazing!
Excellent video. I owned a CB500/4.
Mine had already been messed with. Had a nicely hand crafted 5 gallon tank and a rotten aftermarket exhaust. Had it all sprayed up nice and fitted a quality 4 into 1.
Did many miles 2 up with full camping gear.
Loved the tour of Bruce's bikes.
Your man did one helluva job on the carb sync! I owned a '69 CB750 back in the day and it was a real bear to keep in sync as it had an individual cable for each carb. (One into four cables) When it was right, it was sweet. Yours is sweet!! And yeah, they run a lot better with the gas turned on. LOL
That is a beautiful bike. Glad you are committed to keep it all original. Get the exhaust. A 1972 CB500 with 14K miles in nice shape, not perfect, sold for 16.5K on BAT 2 days ago.
Bruce Cummings needs a youtube channel chronicling his shops work and giving historical perspective on these Hondas. I'm thinking something similar to Iain Tyrrell's channel. I would watch every video and I'm sure many others would as well.
My 7th grade English teacher built Honda 450s to race at Ascot. He was using the torsion bar valve springs. There are coil spring conversions. I didn't know it at the time. Read it in March 1969 Cycle World.
When I was in high school In the late 60s, I owned a Honda 305 Scrambler. Darn good bike. I wished I kept it to this very day.
BTW I am an old wrench hand on older Hondas too.
Loving the longer format. It's best to pay the expert to get things 100% and now you can maintain it from here. Looking forward to you buying a lot more motorcycles. It's going to happen sooner than you think. You know I'm right lolol
It was really common back in the 70s to reduce the return spring on the throttle to make a quasi cruise control to avoid getting blue wrist.
So many abandoned cafe racer projects have made a nice original CB of any sort a rarity these days. Why eff with perfection? Really beautiful bike brother.
Lovely old bike, a friend of mine owned one in the 70s, I had the 400/4 which I loved, a great place to buy OEM and NOS parts is David Silver Honda here in the UK, he has a huge amount of stock...
My first thought about the "sticky throttle" is that the cables need to be oiled inside. Put a few drops of oil right on the cables at THE TOP so that it runs downwards into the inside of the cable. It will take a while.
I did enjoy this. Very, very cool bike I’d love to own myself. You did well on the find and the repairs. Lucky to have such a good guy at your service to o things right and at a reasonable price. Congrats man, enjoy it fully in the best of times and good health.
That thing is so cool. It’s so freaking awesome.
i loved this model when they were new in the uk. i liked the 4 into 4 exhaust.
Yeah 4into1, is down in San Francisco, I'm in Yuma, Az, and still they're very QUICK! When you order something it arrives!
The worst part about working on a bike is waiting for the part to come :kekw: (well waiting for part to come on anything generally)
Very lucky to have a Honda tech like that so close to you. And his collection seems fantastic too.
Great video and a great motorcycle! I have the opportunity to buy exactly the same bike from ‘72. Visually it’s in almost perfect condition. The only grape is, the owner told me the bike hasn’t been started even a single time for at least 20 years ( it was standing in his garage) so I worry how the engine internationals might look like.
in a pinch with a sticky throutal take off the top throutal cable. make a funnel over the end. and use 3 in 1 oil to fill up the cable. last resort replace the cable.
OMG... wow.. Bruce restore tow bike for me.. A beautiful CB750 and a mint CB500.. He does fantastic work and a great guy.. these CB 500's are really hard to find now.. I have been looking for one now for about two years.. Say Hi to Bruce for me..
That period-correct chain cover is pretty damn' cool though...
😊
Just got my CB400/4 super sport up and running and I agree with you and the mechanic, stock is best. Cutting these bikes up hurts to watch hah
First bike I ever tore completely apart
And rebuilt was a ‘81 Suzuki GS650G. I had no tool so I borrowed what I could find and learned by doing. Give it a try man!
Beautiful bike and a wonderful sound. Hope you can get the original exhaust pipes for it.
I put a set of Trumpets on my Triumph Daytona 500 and my neighbor down the road came to my house and asked me what I'm going to get my quiet motorcycle fixed. I went to a Harley aftermarket shop and we went to baffles and we got a check that screwed into the ends of the pipe one nut and bolt and we were done sweet exhaust nice but I don't have to wake up the whole neighborhood coming home.
An aside - anyone think Bart looks like a young Michael Schumacher? Love the videos.🏍
Awesome bike, have actually been looking at a few CB 750 Fours around here, they go pretty cheap, and sound really mean.😃👍
Nice big garage as well, space for many bikes!😁👌
You want a first series 750. They were detuned after that and are pretty sluggish.
@@redtobertshateshandles But wasn't the first series sand casted and pretty fragile?
Those first series bikes are also 3 times more expensive.
I’ve had 5 motorcycles. My favorite are my 2020 ninja 400 and my raked 72 Honda CB 500.
Don’t all spark plugs need to be torqued to spec?
Yessir!
That 500four looks great. Part of me thinks I should sell my 2007 Yamaha 1100 V-Star Classic & buy me a vintage Honda. But I only have 8k miles on my V-Star & it still looks as new as it did in 2007.
I mean you're gonna miss that low end torque and power but other than that its not a bad way to go!
Oh, I want to also add that the OEM handgrips were truly awful. Mine had a pair of Gran Turismo grips from Italy. To this day thy are still one of the best handgrips I have ever had on a bike. Oh yeah, the OEM return spring for the carb set was almost strong enough to lift a garage door. I mysteriously lost mine one time when I was working on my carbs. Oh, and yes, the original exhaust truly was a dream in terms of its very pleasant low noise level that no aftermarket exhaust can match.
NICE!
Had a couple of CB750's in the early 70's.
You know the spring-loaded screw on the throttle housing is a sort of friction type cruise control.
A stock exhaust would be worth it if you plan to keep it. Second best is a nice 4-into-1.
In 1992 a completely new stock exhaust for my GS1000s cost me $2500 and was worth every cent.
for the exhaust you can put vw beetle end mufflers (four in four is better,for looks as well as sound)on and they'll put out a superb sound,that's what I've done with mine.
Once the OEM exhaust rusted away one is left with a bike that will never be as pleasant or nice sounding as it was with the OEM mufflers. I later, wished I had known the tricks that would have made that OEM systems last as long as possible.
Looks like you found just the right fella to tweak your Honda gently on both bike and wallet. I've long held a sneaking admiration for those early '70s CBs of various capacities, which was frankly "unseemly" back in their heyday for a snobby and frankly masochistic Norton rider like myself, especially in the UK, where I resided through much if the '70s and early '80s. That 500 is a real "sweet spot" bike, practical for today's roads with no real concessions needed, though I'd also happily give one of their 350 or even 175 twins a good home if it came my way. A couple of observations: Your wife is absolutely right. Those pipes are just fine. There's no real need to have that thing festooned with that OEM bouquet of exhausts. That was one design note of some of that breed that I did find a little bit "hinkey" and excessive...even garish. I do hope you held onto that aftermarket final drive chain "enclosed cover". That was a very sensible period mod. Wearing it would definitely extend chain life. But another expedient might be to do what I do with mine after most every ride: simply give just that easy-to-reach portion of the lower run of that chain a light swabbing of plain old gear oil. I keep a little 2" paint brush in a wide-mouthed plastic jar of old 90 weight gear oil just for this purpose. An old cookie baking sheet or similar under the chain catches any drippage, which also tends to carry away any road grit. Done after most every ride, it means that on average my chain gets fully lubed every 4 or 5 rides or so. Following this easy regimen I'm at close to 15,000 miles on my old style plain link (not "o" or "x" sealed) OEM drive chain with scarcely 1/2 of its adjustment taken up. And judging by the straight unhooked and always glisteney look of the sprocket teeth, that regular lubing is doing them and the engine sprocket the power of good too, reducing wear. I never need to use a cleaner or pricey spray lube on my bike. And apparently, the highly-regarded FortNine in their tests concur: plain old gear lube's the best chain lube.
Holy shit its Fluump, I loved watching your other videos then one of yours was recommended to me and heard your voice and was instantly recognized. Unless you’re his twin lol.
As I said before very lovely bike... my OCD would like the rear brake actuator arm 1 or 2 splines further back but that's really nit-picking :)
Hey I appreciate the details too. I'll look at that
Sounds sweet. When you think about cars and motorcycles from that period. You would think they would be much less noisy. Cause when you see someone that used them back then. You generally think; that oll man always complaining about the noise.
But back then they where the noise makers.
Excellent and very interesting video! Thanks
I had been riding motorcycles for a couple of years when Honda brought the CB500 out. They were great bikes, very popular, and more affordable than the CB750. Yours is a great looking example. I would definitely advise going with a set of original or aftermarket 4 into 4 exhaust pipes. It will sound much better and get rid of the blat-blat sound. Or go to a full Kerker 4 into 1 if you want it to wail. One other minor thing....NOS is NEW old stock. Used old stock is just used. Nothing wrong with it but a purist (not me) might get after you about it.
Rewatching it I was like 'why do I keep calling this used old part NOS' lol
Why is the 4 into 2 not advisable
Those Highway touring Footpegs were a JC Whitney's item.
The 4 into 4 exhaust would look great
They are very rare to find in good condition but I love the bikes of those days the 70s 👍 .
Great bikes 71-74 ...looks great wait till you get original or pattern original pipes ..they are sick ..I'm after one of these myself.. regards Richard London UK 🇬🇧
You're my neighbor! I live on Oregon highway 202 eleven miles from Astoria. Several old bikes, 12 total. Welcome anytime.
Gorgeous bike!
This is identical to mine. (40 years ago).
Fixing a sticky throttle cable is almost as simple as adding air to a tire.
All you need now is to find an original exhaust system, that will really finish it off and make it sound way better than it does now.👍
Here in the UK, I hardly saw any Honda 500's in the 1970's. The 400/4 on the other hand, was everywhere. I'm not sure why. There weren't any odd licensing laws involved, those pertained to the 250cc class.
AWESOME BIKE!!!! I love The Honda CB's
Awesome machine and great vid 👍
Now you can ride with your Dad and be a Honda family, neat.
Bart…can you give us a ballpark $$ a vintage Honda costs…? I see them all over the place, thanks….keep up the great content.
You should check out Common Motor out of Houston for vintage and new manufacured Honda parts
Awesome bikes!
I have the same bike. I am jealous you have a good vintage Honda Motorcycle mechanic. Very hard to find in my area ; (
I like the CB-450
The SuperHawk 996 (HondaVTR1000F) is one of the cooler-sounding motorcycles _ever_. Since it is a V-twin sportbike, it sounds like a Ducati, without that horrible dry-clutch "rattle, clank, clank" sound. :) With the addition of Yoshimura slip-on exhaust, you can scare all of the cats in the neighborhood and trigger half of the car alarms. ;) I have a 1998 VTR1000F that I completely refurbished and hopped-up so that it now has 120 rwhp (3 hp more than an RC-51). Man, is a VTR1000F "SuperChicken" ever fun to ride!
Very cool! Love the paint so much. Idk if I could resist modernizing a couple of things, ha. (Hopefully you didn't get those couple used parts sold to you as NOS btw. Had that happen before)
Regarding the Super Hawk borrowing from Ducati, I had heard that Ducati had borrowed a lot from the Hawk 650 GT
Sharkskinz still has the mold for the VTR1000F after-market lower fairing, so you can order one and thus turn the VTR into a truly beautiful motorcycle that no longer looks so much like a chicken. ;)
"Thottle return spring" that`ll be!
NOS means New Old Stock. Oil pan is used, not NOS. Otherwise I love the video.
Oh, and the OEM grips truly did suck. LOL I used Italian Gran Turismo grips. They were extremely comfortable.
Nice Bike !!