race style road bike

I want to make a race bike style road bike so it looks like a cb500 cup bike but road legal.

The question is which would be easier, buying a road bike and modifying it, or buying a race bike and making it road legal with all the switches, electrical gear etc to refit?

Has anyone done it either way?

I'd say buy road and make it race, the race components don't seem to be too expensive as I guess there is more chance of an off and they have to be easy to replace plus the bodywork is fibreglass.

I've got a single seat cowl and belly/oil catch pan for sale btw

Dan

And welcome along, do you have a bike then?

Really, why go to the bother? However, if you must, the race series doesn't allow major changes so either way will be ok. Having lights and indicators is a good idea for road use so perhaps thats the way to go, a modified road bike is saleable to anyone, a race bike not so.
You won't see a major jump in performance speed or handling wise. The best mod is a steel front brake hose with ebc hh pads, then decent tyres, a service and riding it.

Various race bikes for sale on the thundersport site, used cb5's gumtree, freeads etc

muttley1

Thanks Muttley, new to this forum. I've got 3 bikes, a Versys 650 for touring, an FZ6 that I use for Moto Gymkhana and a 620 KTM Duke that I bought for messing about on but have found I don't like the whole supermoto thing, it was an experiement. Plan is to get rid of the Duke, build up a CB500 for winter and messing around on, then see if the CB is any good for Moto Gymkhana. If it is I might get rid of the FZ6, have to see how it goes. A couple of the guys use CB500s for gymkhana but none of the really competitive ones do so I don't know how well it will cope with the unique demands of Gymkhana. And thanks for advice Jerry.

Either way would work. So long as the race bike still has a v5, retrofitting a thundersport bike to get an MOT should be minimal (especially if you're just going for a daylight MOT) due to the restrictions they have. Depending on the final look you're going for it could work out cheaper. You've much more chance of finding a stock bike that hasn't been thrashed or crashed though.

as you say I think the way to go is a road bike done up as a racer that way it will already have lights and all the other mot legal bits

...from someone who's taken it all apart and put it back together I can say it's a whole lot easier taking the odd bit off than stripping most of it down just to gain access to put bits back on

Never a truer word said.  It all depends what's been taken off to begin with though.  If the loom wasn't stripped when the lights etc were removed it should be quite simple.  So long as it's a thundersport compliant track bike there shouldn't be much internally to do to get it back on the road - assuming the redundant wires haven't been stripped from the loom & it still has it's clocks of course.

Going from a road bike you're looking at bodywork,  exhaust (left hand exit systems aren't exactly cheap) & possibly rearsets to get the look whereas the other way you're just looking at lights, mirrors, maybe a db killer or road legal can (,a locking fuel cap?) & a number plate.  The biggest problem would be the rear brake light switch depending on the rearsets used.

Aftermarket lights would most likely be best with a race body kit but either way you'd be looking at those to get the racebike appearance.

also some won't even have a ignition barrel. as for the brake light you can get a pressure one on the brake line

Some useful tips there, thanks

no worries, I wanted to go race replica till I took it out with minimal bodywork stepped back and though I really like that

Can I see a picture of it, open to ideas, doesn't have to look like a Honda cup bike

check my thread in the signature there is loads..... it was the one I took at the petrol garage that changed my mind

My buddies and I are looking for low cost and relatively low power bikes that we can thrash to their limit instead of high powered bikes that you simply can't get anywhere near the limit. Over the past few years we've all got rid of our litre bikes and moved to lower powered ones. A lot of the time we're not actually going much slower but the temptation to do immediate jail term speeds is removed and we have to work harder to travel at that pace which is much more satisfying.

absolutely agree with you there and I love the thump of the twin. I compared a few bikes and doing the 'vs' searches always showed that other bikes were a compromise compared to the CB

Forget the pics, think I found it, black one with gold wheels and small handlebar fairing, nice work.

Agree too, have had and enjoyed a fair few bigger bikes, the cb5 has stayed in the garage alongside, and outlasted em all.

Btw the racers do change the rear sprocket (+ its carrier) to alter the gearing dependent on the circuit.

muttley1

jerryfudd wrote:also some won't even have a ignition barrel. as for the brake light you can get a pressure one on the brake line

oh yeah, I forgot about ignition barrel & switchgear.

Converting a road bike may well be the easiest way to go & carries the benefit not being thrashed/crashed but I suspect road legalising a track bike would still work out cheaper depending on what's been done to it.

expatmanxman wrote:...then see if the CB is any good for Moto Gymkhana. If it is I might get rid of the FZ6, have to see how it goes. A couple of the guys use CB500s for gymkhana but none of the really competitive ones do so I don't know how well it will cope with the unique demands of Gymkhana...

I've been there a few times as a spectator and the competitors keep telling me that my bike is ideal for it and prodding me to have a go. There was a lady there with a CB500 at the recent round at Donnington Park, but I think she was a beginner, so it's hard to tell what can be done.

Give Gymkhana a go then, I think a CB500 should be good for it, just haven't seen a top rider on one. Moto Gymkhana is much more about the rider than the bike.  Will watch out for a CB500 at the next couple of rounds, see if you're there.

there is a smart looking orange one on fleabay at the moment

expatmanxman wrote:Give Gymkhana a go then, I think a CB500 should be good for it, just haven't seen a top rider on one. Moto Gymkhana is much more about the rider than the bike.  Will watch out for a CB500 at the next couple of rounds, see if you're there.

Next round is Kempton Park, but it's on the same day as the Beaulieu meet up. You may have seen me before if you've been to one of the previous three. I tend to hang about with Duncan a lot!