buying- what to look for?

Haven't seen this anywhere else yet ( new to forum).
Any hints?
I'm looking to do the occasional trackday too if that helps?

Hello mate

Few things to check, firstly any service history!
Stick it on centre stand & check for play in head bearings, same for swing arm and wheels.
Take bike for spin to get it up to temperature & check for damp around expansion tank overflow pipe (head gasket)
Let bike idle for a while & wait to see if cooling fan comes on (head gasket again or fan earth lead snapped)
Check oil filler cap for mayo

There's probably more, usual wear and tear items and the calipers like to get siezed to the sliding pins if they haven't been regularly copper slipped.

Not too much to go wrong (or likely to go wrong) with the CB500 - that's one of the advantages :)

As with any bike (or car, or anything else) you'll want to get a good look at the previous owner and their reasons for selling the bike, this will often guide you towards the right parts of the bike to look at.

It will also depend upon your abiilty with a spanner; there are few things that can't be fixed with a little time, money and a haynes manual, so if you are relativly handy with a spanner many 'negative' things won't seem too bad.

Ideally you will now want to take the bike for a test-ride - before you start it up, carefully place your hand on or near the engine to check if it is warm. Has the owner been running it prior to you getting there? If so, why? Assuming the bike is cold you can gauge how well it starts - if the battery is well charged the starter motor should run quite fast and the bike should start easily with the choke on (especially in the summer). You shouldn't need the choke on for more than a minuite or two, once you remove the choke the revs should settle down to 1000 - 1500 rpm.

It is common for these bikes to have a completly harmless rattle from the clutch which is most noticable at idle in neutral. If you can hear a rattle, pull the clutch in - the rattle should disappear completely. If it does not, it could be a more serious problem.
Before you think about going for a test-ride it is worth doing a quick visual inspection of various things, for your own safety:

a. brakes/forks - hold on the front brake and pump the forks up and down, if there's any sign of oil leaking from the forks or the front brake isnt' capable of locking the front wheel while stationary just walk away (or at least, don't go for a ride!)

b. chain - should be oily, probably slightly dirty and definatly not too tight or too loose (too tight = if you can't move it, too loose = flapping all over the place)

c. lights - check the brake lights come on when you apply either brake and then go off again, check the headlight works (on at least dipped beam) and check the indicators work (at the normal rate).

d. throttle - give it a bit of a rev (assuming the engine is running) and check the engine speed returns to idle and that the twistgrip returns easily to its resting position. If you get the opportunity, check that turning the handlebars from lock to lock does not change the engine speed.

e. wheels/tyres - check the wheels don't look bent or damaged (it happens!) and that the tyres are pumped up and have some tread. If a tyre is correctly inflated it should be quite hard work to press your thumb into it, equally if you can see some tread and it looks deeper than 1mm (the legal limit) then that is OK for your test-ride. Have a quick check for nails etc stuck in the tyres....

Assuming the chain is well-lubricated and adjusted correctly (you should have probably checked these things earlier) all gears should engage relativly smoothly - there may be a good 'thunk' as you engage first - this is normal, especailly when cold (well, it is on my bike!).

Having engaged first gear you should be able to pull away easily without any undue clutch slipping or bogging down - the CB has plenty of poke with regard to acceleration, assuming you are willing to apply sufficient throttle and keep the revs up. So, unless you are used to riding superbikes, any 'lack' of acceleration should be regarded as a bad thing.

Brakes should be sharp and capable of locking either wheel if applied heavily, assuming they are working (you may not want to try this on the public highway lol :) )

There should be no 'notchyness' in the steering or any tendancy to steer towards the right or left.



I am sure there are other things to look out for that I haven't mentioed - other people will probably think of these.

Good luck - the CB500 is a good bike!

I forgot to mention; check the condition of the tyre valves! I had a VERY lucky escape about a month or so ago!

Thanks guys; anything else more specific to the cb500?
tA

birdy wrote:Thanks guys; anything else more specific to the cb500?

Erm... That was CB500 specific! I'm going by experiences with my own bike as I would imagine eternal is. What else do you need to know?

Sorry teamster - no offence meant, just thought there would be some inherent problems on the cb500, as most other bikes I've had had some- camchain tensioners, weak 2nd gears, cracked frames, weak rectifiers etc.
Mike

No worries Mike, no offence taken!
They don't really have any inherent problems, of all the bikes I've worked on the CB500 is probably the most reliable, they just keep on going!
Do watch out for blowing head gasket pressurising the coolant, also radiator rot. I've seen this crop up a few times on various forums (and my bike for that matter )

Thanks- how do I check the head gasket issue?
Mike

Get the engine hot & look for water being ejected from the expansion tank overflow pipe. Another telltale is the cooling fan not coming on although annoyingly this can be caused by the earth wire corroding off as well Also check the bottom left rad hose to see if it's hot.
This is all from personal experience!

Oh yeah, one other thing - I've had a few problems with my regulator rectifier, but I don't think it's any worse than any other bike; worth checking the headlight actually gets brighter when you rev the engine...