Portal
It’s been almost five years since I last posted on the forum, not long after I took charge of my Tango Orange CB500s in 2013. At that time she had only manged to cover 19,000 miles in her 13 years since being registered, but since my name’s been on the owner’s record we’ve managed to push that up to nearly 60,000. So, that being the case, I thought I’d bring you up to speed with how the last 40,000 miles have been.
I’ve really bonded with the bike - covering 250 miles most weeks on my daily commute in all weathers. I had the reg/rec fail not long after the bike came in to my ownership, leaving me stranded on the side of the M20, but apart from that it’s been an (almost) fault free five years.
As for consumables, tyres (BT45’S) tend to last around 11- 12,000 miles (fronts) and rears around 10 (I never cane the bike and my daily ride on A roads doesn’t see me take it much over 60 most of the time). Front pads last anywhere between 4-8,000 miles and rears go for 8 -12,000. Chains tend to last 20,000 miles – Honda or DID – I do have a Scotoiler fitted. I had the rad replaced with a Chinese one at 33,000 miles after a small ‘off’ on a gravel strewn road saw the original one holed and uneconomical to repair. The rear disk was changed around 32,000 miles as it had developed a slight warp, the rear wheel bearings lasted 36,000 miles and the head bearings were replaced at 44,000 – along with the battery. The front wheel bearings are still going strong at 58,000 miles!
The bike developed the notorious cam chain rattle at 40,000 miles, so the tensioner was changed, but within 12,000 miles it was rattling again. The dealer where I have it regularly serviced said, on inspection, that the chain was actually worn not the tensioner, so last summer I took the bike over to Tony Galea at his place in Wickford in Essex and he replaced the cam chain with the engine still in the frame. He confirmed the dealer’s diagnosis. I can highly recommend Tony’s work – in the early noughties he did a replacement cam chain on a CBR1000F I had too. I’ve had no rattles on the CB500 since the chain replacement and Tony also shims the valves as part of his service - he even stood me lunch!. It worked out much cheaper having Tony do the work in frame than having the aggro of taking the bike off the road and getting the engine out.
The headlight bulb lasted 51,000 miles and the sprocket carrier bearing finally cried enough at 56,000. This was swiftly followed by the little original damping that was left in the factory shocks deserting a few miles later (replaced by a pair of TEC’s) and the original exhaust can blowing a large hole in itself where all the road crud gathers between it and the swingarm (although I had been frequently repairing it with Gun Gum and repair tape for around 4,000 before it finally gave in). This has now been replaced by a Delkavic end can - which appears to have a much more fruity tone than the original. However, the downpipes are still the ones the bike left the factory with back at the start of the millennium. Finally, the swingarm bearings threw in the towel 1,000 miles later at 57,000 miles.
I’ve had most of the other things happen that tend to dog a higher mileage bike too. The right hand side panel has a broken front lug. I can’t seem to find another second hand one at a reasonable cost anywhere. All the indicator rubbers are perishing - necessitating them being repeatedly bodged together with black gaffer tape over this winter. I’ll replace them all in time throughout the coming year. Also, the left rear indicator mount rotted through, so the indicator on that side is now bolted directly to the mudguard (replacement of the mount with a better condition used part is another job for the spring). I have a Datatool Veto Evo alarm fitted to the bike and, although this has not been a problem, the led warning light has failed. Also, the paint around the front mudguard mounting points has cracked.
I had Daytona heated grips fitted when I got the bike in 2013 (although these are now choosing when they want to work – so another pair will be fitted before next winter) and the grips have been paired with Oxford Rain Seal bar muffs over this last two winters – a combination which, although not the height of fashion, certainly helps to make riding in sub - zero temperatures much more pleasurable.
So, to conclude then… I love my CB500! The mechanic that services it at my local Honda dealer rides one daily too – I guess you can’t get a higher compliment than that. Although the dealer has tried his best to tempt me with the newer model – lending me one each time mine is being serviced, I really don’t like it. It doesn’t have the character of my old bike and feels really ‘clinical’ to ride. I’m hoping to see mine carry on for at least the next five years and, if the engine does eventually go pop I’d be more keen to replace it with another lump from another CB than buy a newer bike. Besides, as well as being part of my life this past five years, mines been a media pin up too. She's also featured in ‘Bikes of Your Life’ in Practical Sportsbikes magazine a couple of years ago, alongside all the bikes that came before her.
So, that’s my last five years in (quite) a few paragraphs.
I’ll try not to leave the next post quite so long!
Mike
Ps. Orange bikes are faster!
I’ve really bonded with the bike - covering 250 miles most weeks on my daily commute in all weathers. I had the reg/rec fail not long after the bike came in to my ownership, leaving me stranded on the side of the M20, but apart from that it’s been an (almost) fault free five years.
As for consumables, tyres (BT45’S) tend to last around 11- 12,000 miles (fronts) and rears around 10 (I never cane the bike and my daily ride on A roads doesn’t see me take it much over 60 most of the time). Front pads last anywhere between 4-8,000 miles and rears go for 8 -12,000. Chains tend to last 20,000 miles – Honda or DID – I do have a Scotoiler fitted. I had the rad replaced with a Chinese one at 33,000 miles after a small ‘off’ on a gravel strewn road saw the original one holed and uneconomical to repair. The rear disk was changed around 32,000 miles as it had developed a slight warp, the rear wheel bearings lasted 36,000 miles and the head bearings were replaced at 44,000 – along with the battery. The front wheel bearings are still going strong at 58,000 miles!
The bike developed the notorious cam chain rattle at 40,000 miles, so the tensioner was changed, but within 12,000 miles it was rattling again. The dealer where I have it regularly serviced said, on inspection, that the chain was actually worn not the tensioner, so last summer I took the bike over to Tony Galea at his place in Wickford in Essex and he replaced the cam chain with the engine still in the frame. He confirmed the dealer’s diagnosis. I can highly recommend Tony’s work – in the early noughties he did a replacement cam chain on a CBR1000F I had too. I’ve had no rattles on the CB500 since the chain replacement and Tony also shims the valves as part of his service - he even stood me lunch!. It worked out much cheaper having Tony do the work in frame than having the aggro of taking the bike off the road and getting the engine out.
The headlight bulb lasted 51,000 miles and the sprocket carrier bearing finally cried enough at 56,000. This was swiftly followed by the little original damping that was left in the factory shocks deserting a few miles later (replaced by a pair of TEC’s) and the original exhaust can blowing a large hole in itself where all the road crud gathers between it and the swingarm (although I had been frequently repairing it with Gun Gum and repair tape for around 4,000 before it finally gave in). This has now been replaced by a Delkavic end can - which appears to have a much more fruity tone than the original. However, the downpipes are still the ones the bike left the factory with back at the start of the millennium. Finally, the swingarm bearings threw in the towel 1,000 miles later at 57,000 miles.
I’ve had most of the other things happen that tend to dog a higher mileage bike too. The right hand side panel has a broken front lug. I can’t seem to find another second hand one at a reasonable cost anywhere. All the indicator rubbers are perishing - necessitating them being repeatedly bodged together with black gaffer tape over this winter. I’ll replace them all in time throughout the coming year. Also, the left rear indicator mount rotted through, so the indicator on that side is now bolted directly to the mudguard (replacement of the mount with a better condition used part is another job for the spring). I have a Datatool Veto Evo alarm fitted to the bike and, although this has not been a problem, the led warning light has failed. Also, the paint around the front mudguard mounting points has cracked.
I had Daytona heated grips fitted when I got the bike in 2013 (although these are now choosing when they want to work – so another pair will be fitted before next winter) and the grips have been paired with Oxford Rain Seal bar muffs over this last two winters – a combination which, although not the height of fashion, certainly helps to make riding in sub - zero temperatures much more pleasurable.
So, to conclude then… I love my CB500! The mechanic that services it at my local Honda dealer rides one daily too – I guess you can’t get a higher compliment than that. Although the dealer has tried his best to tempt me with the newer model – lending me one each time mine is being serviced, I really don’t like it. It doesn’t have the character of my old bike and feels really ‘clinical’ to ride. I’m hoping to see mine carry on for at least the next five years and, if the engine does eventually go pop I’d be more keen to replace it with another lump from another CB than buy a newer bike. Besides, as well as being part of my life this past five years, mines been a media pin up too. She's also featured in ‘Bikes of Your Life’ in Practical Sportsbikes magazine a couple of years ago, alongside all the bikes that came before her.
So, that’s my last five years in (quite) a few paragraphs.
I’ll try not to leave the next post quite so long!
Mike
Ps. Orange bikes are faster!
