What did you do with your CB500 today?

badseeds wrote:Rob, this is almost certainly down to corrosion on the brake cam, where it sits in the brake plate. I had the exact same symptoms and stripped and cleaned the plate and cam and added a new dust seal. Been fine since (18 months ago).

Very helpful, Lee. Nice one!

badseeds wrote:Rob, this is almost certainly down to corrosion on the brake cam, where it sits in the brake plate. I had the exact same symptoms and stripped and cleaned the plate and cam and added a new dust seal. Been fine since (18 months ago).

I bet it is the above too: I fixed a very similar problem (rear drum brake sticking) on my wife's YBR125 - that was all down to the cam mechanism binding at the point it goes through the plate - the brake itself was fine.

Took the CB out for a thirty mile spin as a bit of a shakedown.  It's the first time out since I bought the bike a couple of months ago and had done a raft of jobs/upgrades:-

Front forks rebuilt with Hagon springs and 10W oil
New YSS ecoline rear shocks
Hel lines front and rear, calipers cleaned up and sliders regreased, new EBC pads up front
New Michelin Pilot Activ's front and rear
Oil and filter change, new plugs, air filter and coolant.  Carbs balanced.
New mini smoked indicators, bulbs upgraded
GRP case covers, carbon fibre fender extender






Having ridden it, I'm not convinced it's the bike for me.  My commute is purely urban, with lots of filtering and traffic light grand prix's.  I'm thinking something smaller and lighter would be better suited.  I'll give it a few days and see how I get on...

Give it a few more goes: imho a CB5 is the ideal tool for those kind of activities (as well as several others). I mean a C90 or CG125 might be smaller and more manoeuvrable but won't win any traffic light GPs...whereas I found when I lived in London that on the CB I 'won' basically all traffic light GPs other than the odd psycho on a very quick bike who though accelerating up to 80 in town is fine.

What pressures are you running the Pilot Activs at? They publish 29F 33R which is basically just the Honda spec. I find they're way better at 33F 36R.

Also, check that the gearing is stock (15F 40R). If someone's raised it in the past with a bigger front or smaller rear sprocket then it'll feel less sprightly in town situations.

Thanks for the heads up on the tyre pressures, I'll give them a try.

I believe the chain and sprockets are the originals (the bike has only done 14000).  I rode a selection of A and B road along with some city riding and the bike handles and goes well.  The only criticisms I'd make are the brakes are a bit crap (although I was being careful with the new pads in the front), the vibrations through the bars gave me pins and needles and the standard can sounds a bit pants. 


I think I'll give it a while and see if I get used to it.  My CRM250 shod with winter tyres will hopefully be ready by the time the snow and ice arrive!

Give the cb a chance,  there a great bike ive also a fireblade, i havent ridden the blade all year. Looks like a clean bike you have there. The cb use to be raced in a series ,   is that a early zxr 400 you have under the sheet

Looks like an NC30.

Yes i think you are right badseeds, taught it was grey import zxr 400h

I used to have a red and black nc I didn't have it long I came to the conclusion after I  had ridden it a few times that I didn't like bikes with fairings

To be fair, I know that Jim breeds NC30s; he's got a particular fetish for them. And quite right too!

Fairings are nice things to have, except in a crash.

Yeah and major expensive to replace. Thats why chinise copys are selling well for quarter of price.

Yep, it's an nc30 in track guise.  It's type 1 bodywork is currently safely residing in the loft.  I've another 30 at my mum and dads in need of a resto; in the type 8 Oki.colours. 
 
I need more time,  money and space!

Does anyone recognize the place?

it looks a bit like ramsey hairpin but I know it aint

Ha ha! It DOES look like Ramsey Hairpin!

Is that the N375?

Looks like a nice place to go for a ride.

nice and leafey (watch out in the wet though)

Not the N375. A bit more above. The "estrada da pena".
Very know for it´s rally stages, in Sintra.
Check it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-bEzUipmWc

The guy in the Audi almost crashed my bike!

It is a great place to ride.
But with due care.
Most for the scenery than for the roads itself.
The Cabo da Roca, Europe´s most western point is close by, so it´s a very common to join both this interest points on a ride. 



The mountain, Cabo da Roca and the Ocean.
What a place.

That scenery looks amazing.  Getting back to nc30 i love to have one but it be too cramped. A friend use to have an nc 24 in rothmans colours i prefare the look of nc 24,  his didnt last that way long he smashed it up  on way to work . Theres not many good ones left now here any good ones are too expensive.

You can still pick up tidy, original nc24's here for around a grand.  I do quite like them but the 30 is far superior in pretty much every way.  Plus the 360 degree crank of the 30 makes them sound so much more agressive than 180 degree 24; same as the rc30 compared to the standard vfr750.

one of my mates has two rvf 400s he keeps one in the garage and the other behind the settee in his living room

I went up to the lake district for the day just to have a cuppa tea with a friend. I had so much time to kill that I ended up doing kirkstone pass x2 times as well as ending up on the A66 twice too!

nice time of the year to visit the lakes looking at all the trees going rusty