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First project: 1972 Honda CB500-F.

21K views 44 replies 21 participants last post by  TrialsRider 
#1 ·
Hey everyone, this is my first post on the forum, so greetings! I just bought a 1972 Honda CB500-F and hope to have it fully cleaned/rebuilt and turn it into a cafe racer by the end of this summer. This is my first project, so I'm gonna need your help!

-Aaron
 

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#4 ·
clubmans w/ rearsets. I like the top pic w/ the bars on it.hows the tires, shocks ,fork springs. hows it run? like gs1327 said, don't hack it up. and most important no- cheap pods, keep that stock airbox
 
#8 ·
The guy I bought it from had the spare clubmans, so I installed them the second day I had it! Tires have a lot of tread left, shocks and fork springs all work well. And I've already put 100 miles on it ;) It is a machine. Part of me is with you on not wanting to hack it up, but if you've seen Joe's Lucky 13 cafe racer (google it), that's what I want to go for (with a few of my own unique takes of course).
 
#6 ·
Hillsy. Since moving here I'm still in shock mode with some of the machines around here. There are just so many of them. When I left some guy on bike point was trying to launch a Jaffa for 20 grand. Saw a big Zed here in close to stock, running condition for 4 grand. And I'm sure that's too much to pay for the thing.

Always looking for a Z1-R. Fucking love those things.
 
#16 ·
I seldom get involved in trying to tell someone what direction to go with their motorcycle since they may do something positive. But in this case with the condition it appears to be in I'd suggest keeping it a stock representation of a nice motorcycle.
ed
 
#17 ·
That "joe" cb450 is way better then that fucking piece of ship applebottom or what ever....
that dick bag get the bike running or now that its made the rounds of blogs they scrapped it?
 
#18 ·
The 500 you have is the exact copy of one I purchased new back in 1972. My self and two other buddies purchased the exact same bike at the same time. My buddies and I had many adventures with those 500's. I ended up selling the bike when I got an assignment overseas - that was a sad day.. I'd keep the current paint scheme as it is on of the best color combos to come out of Japan. I swear the Japanese have some strange color ideas...
 
#20 ·
I wish I had a time machine...I heard they sold for somewhere around $1,600-$1,800 MSRP? And I definitely love the sunrise orange/gold paint. I plan to repaint it because there is a little sun damage and streaks from gas overspills, so I hope the original paint is still out there and its not too expensive!
 
#19 ·
I have somewhat of a picture in mind, and I know what I want aesthetically out of this bike. I think we all have our own take on what a good bike looks like, and I think we all have some measure of respect for keeping these beautiful machines as original as possible. This being my first project bike, I'm going to need everyone's help/advice on the details and mechanical/bodywork techniques, and I'll do my best to come out with a CB500 cafe racer that ties British attitude of the Cafe era to good ole Japanese ingenuity ;)
 
#22 ·
lacking a proper bio from you, I would assume you are a bigger sized fella due to your forum name. If so, why would you want to screw up a decent riding position for one that folds you up like a paper clip? Those clubmans have got to go! Did you even ride the thing with the stockers? A good compromise would be superbike bars. Dont ruin your back for the sake of appearance.
 
#23 ·
I recall I paid something like 1400 dollars for the bike - I'm not sure if we got a discount because 3 bikes were purchased at the same time or if that was the sticker price. At the same time, I could have purchased a 750 triumph hurricane for the same dollars. If you can recall, the hurricane had the vetter body with three exhaust pipes sweeping up the right side of the bike. As much as I like the Honda - the triumph would have been worth mega bucks today if I still owned it and it was in decent shape.

If your thinking about re-painting with the original paint colors, check the web site ▀▄▀▄ VMR Paints ® ▄▀▄▀ - Vintage Honda Motorcycle Paint. They carry paint kits that are as close as you can get for the vintage hondas colors. You could purchase the paint and have a shop do the painting for you.

If you really wanted to end up with something of value, I would have the bike repainted and get a set of the original exhaust for this bike. Like above your could add a set of superbars to the bike which would work well with the current peg setup. I would say you could triple or more the value of the bike if it was restored to original condition. There is a fine line when choosing a bike to customize - or restore. Usually first year bikes are better restored than customizing. There are several sets of exhaust on ebay that could be had for 500 or under.
 
#27 ·
I appreciate the insight. I'm still not exactly sure which direction to take it in, but I'm wanting to find a middle ground (which means no frame chopping, but part exchanges on things like the seat, wheels/tires, and maybe the exhaust. Never was a big fan of the stock exhaust, but I do hear you out on how to increase the value). Right now I'm going to focus on disassembling it to restore and clean up the frame and engine components.
 
#25 ·
I like the bike, by the looks of things you've got yourself a good one. Have fun with it! A little more info in your profile wouldn't hurt.
 
#31 ·
lovely bike, wish we could get deals like that here in SA! The guys have said it a few times here, but don't go anywhere near Joe Lucky 13's look and feel, it would be very sad to do that to this bike. Rather ride it for a year and by then you would have fallen in love with the stock look, then buy another bike and do the Joe Lucky thing to a wreck rather.

For my money, I would say you should restore that old girl back to her former beauty, by the looks of it you wont have to do much...too many beautiful old bikes getting turned into shoddy "cafe's" these days. I started out doing that exact same thing and have changed direction and gone back to stock and couldnt be happier :)
 
#41 ·
On the other hand... this place is pretty much dead at this point so any content might be good content? Does anyone have a decent project underway here? I'm hoping to get my long dormant 350 back underway soon but then again I might also decide to sell it once I dig it out again. And it's probably a little arrogant of me to assume it's decent! :LOL:
 
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