What did you do with your CB500 today?

Crash- Elmit wrote:
I'm not sure about the cooling, but now the fan cuts in when temp gauge reads in the middle, the hoses get hot, and I have pressure but I don't know if coolant is circulating correctly - I can see it circulating with the cap off though. 

On a side note, I discovered it is easier to remove and refit the carbs and airbox whilst still joined together.

IF all the hoses get hot that's a good sign ;)

I'd suspect that the temperature gauge has (in some way) been upset by the rebuild and is reading differently than before. I think it just works on resistance to ground, so it could just be a bad or corroded connection that will stop it reading as high as before.

If you leave the bike idling and the fan cuts in, does the fan stop again, after a while? Does the temperature gauge go down (a little) after the fan has been on? I suspect if both these things happen then you have little to worry about.

The only real way to tell is to wait until a hot day in summer and take it for a ride...

We only have one hot day (in Scotland at least.....)

skyerae wrote:We only have one hot day (in Scotland at least.....)

Makes cooling less of an issue... ;)

Yes ET, all the hoses get hot, and the fan runs for a minute and then stops but the gauge stays roughly in the middle of the white bar

The other day, passed mot.

Checked all the bulbs etc beforehand but one of the old aftermarket indicators decided to fail on the way. The wiring had perished so 2 new front indicators from Halfords later and all is well. Only did 1000 miles on it last year (spare bike) so usual January debate over selling it on, or not...


muttley1

declared a SORN. Tax runs out today but bike still in bits in garage due to charging issues.

loom on way from Andyc, new reg/rec here, just waiting for new gasket on alternator side. will refit original windings and hope all is well

Crash-elmit... Check starter rely the fuse in mine was starting to melt... Starter relay was scrap... Caused me no end charging problems

wornsprokets wrote:Crash-elmit... Check starter rely the fuse in mine was starting to melt... Starter relay was scrap... Caused me no end charging problems

good point will check it next time I'm working on bike

One of the CCT bolts snapped the other day while tightening it with the torque wrench.

Luckily it was protruding just a bit to carve a slot with the dremel and remove it with a screwdriver. A drill to make a hole for an extractor would not fit behind the engine, nor I could figure out how to remove the battery box to free some space and the dremel with a drill bit would not fit also.

The battery box is almost impossible to remove, until you strip the bike down.

Well done in sorting it out.

sullivj wrote:The battery box is almost impossible to remove, until you strip the bike down.

It looks like they put it in before welding the frame. The battery box is truly the hearth of this motorcycle.

What did I do with my CB today?

Now, having commuted for a few days after a forced un-hibernation (car broke down, the poor old thing), I unknowingly took part in the annual clear-the-streets-from-crap-after-the-snow-(what-snow?)-fest and picked up a screw with my rear wheel.
One less pointy object for other people to run over...
Oh well. That rear wheel had already been squared off quite well, participating in 2017-ride to Romania (and route 7C, the fabled Transfagarasan*). So, out with the old, in with the new. BT45->BT45.

What a difference.

And, springish weather; 12 C and lots of light. Mmmmm...


Enjoying life.

Some people like four-cylinder howl. I prefer two-cylinder-growl...

*) Route 7C comes highly recommended. Unlike Stelvio, Transfagarasan is sweeping serpentines, not abrupt hairpins. This means you can gun the bike, scraping hero-knobs. I lost count of the number of scrapes - it's that good a ride. And you're going to want to do it again for the photos. Awesome. 11 out of 10!

hh_12345 wrote:

sullivj wrote:The battery box is almost impossible to remove, until you strip the bike down.

It looks like they put it in before welding the frame. The battery box is truly the hearth of this motorcycle.

Clearly you've never attempted to remove the coolant expansion reservoir then

Jameshambleton wrote:

hh_12345 wrote:

sullivj wrote:The battery box is almost impossible to remove, until you strip the bike down.

It looks like they put it in before welding the frame. The battery box is truly the hearth of this motorcycle.

Clearly you've never attempted to remove the coolant expansion reservoir then

Now that you pointed it out I took a look at it and it surely is worse than the battery box.
The battery box at least gives you a chance to remove a bolt or two before realising it is worthless trying to remove it.

Today I commuted. Boring. Left work a bit early to avoid rain, supposed to get to here after 4 PM. Got home and decided to have a go at all the muck that has been accumulating. Combining a wash with rain has its advantages - local tap water contains lots of calcium, so rain works as a rinse. Nice.
Now, I'm having a go at planning 2019's first proper tour. Wife wants to go to Toscana sometime april. I've stated that I'll supply the (not 'a', but 'the') bike in Toscana for rideouts. Because that lets me go long-haul, while she gets to go through airport checks, flight boredom and general mayhem - twice.

1800 km. Hmmmm. A bit much for one sitting, considering I'll have to cross the Alps halfway. Section Munich-Innsbruck-Verona-Toscana would be a challenge after traversing the northern part of Germany.
Considering a pit-stop north of the Alps, near Munich. Airbnb - a better experience than hotels. If I'm lucky, I get to have a nice chat with a friendly host. Win-win

Grrrr!

That lasted for less than one day! Wife just canceled the whole trip. She had forgotten about upcoming exams.

That leaves me free to set my own destination - and that won't be Toscana. Somewhere mountainous. Norway would be nice. Going in April may actually let me avoid the norwegian mosquito-season, rumoured to be particularly unpleasant. But how cold is Norway in April?

Too cold for mosquitoes...

GollyGosh wrote:Too cold for mosquitoes...

I got 3 flies stuck on my visor yesterday... almost that time of year again!

I hope you unstuck them and set them free 

I did indeed, they enjoyed the ride that the rest of the family decided to hang onto my headlight today, halved my chicken strips again on both sides on the 180 tyre two days running.

not today but over the weekend, i rode so much i ran out of petrol. hit the reserve switch the first time and it was around 170 miles

Had a new DID chain and JT sprockets fitted (66,000 miles).  Starter motor brushes seem to be on their last legs - had to bump the bloody thing after it refused to start, just clicked.  Tested the battery - all good.  More expense in the coming weeks no doubt...

mikethebike wrote:Had a new DID chain and JT sprockets fitted (66,000 miles).  Starter motor brushes seem to be on their last legs - had to bump the bloody thing after it refused to start, just clicked.  Tested the battery - all good.  More expense in the coming weeks no doubt...

Mine lasted a bit longer after the first clicks, but I had to move the bike back and forth to start it.


Original brushes (+plate) were not cheap , so I bought some on e-bay and soldered them to the plate.

hh_12345 wrote:

mikethebike wrote:Had a new DID chain and JT sprockets fitted (66,000 miles).  Starter motor brushes seem to be on their last legs - had to bump the bloody thing after it refused to start, just clicked.  Tested the battery - all good.  More expense in the coming weeks no doubt...

Mine lasted a bit longer after the first clicks, but I had to move the bike back and forth to start it.


Original brushes (+plate) were not cheap , so I bought some on e-bay and soldered them to the plate.

Have you just tried cleaning the motor?

I did clean it and it worked for some time, but eventually it was new brushes.