buying a cb 500

Hi all - a newbie to the site and a bit of a born again. After many years in a non motorbike life of kids and responsibilities, have decided to go back to it. Decided on a CB 500 to get me back on the road with some fun but not kill myself - don't have a lot to spend, but have found (in France) a 1994, looks in decent nick with 35000 miles for about £1500. Any advice on what to look for (apart from manky exhaust and downpipes), would it be better to wait for a post 1996 with rear disc, or should 1994 model still be good for steady riding.

Any views, comments really appreciated

Hi Hovis.

Mine is a 94 and has done over 110000 miles and is still going strong.

They suffer the usual problems of rust and corrosion due to their age but if you keep on top of things they are amost bulletproof.
I know people that prefer the drum over disc on the rear but both have issues, the drum lever has a felt washer behind it to stop the ingress of dirt but this is not always successful and the front sliding pin can corrode causing a stiff front brake

Thanks thats really useful - not seen the bike yet - looks OK in photos, but sometimes the camera does lie!! In your experience any good (usual) places to check for rust and corrosion where yours has suffered.

Thanks

Hi Hovis- Welcome to the forum. Parts that rust- take a good look at the swing arm,top and bottom.
Not very well protected from water from back wheel.Around rear  brake pedal mounting as well'
Rear suspension units and mountings. Downpipes and exhaust, though new stainless ones are available. Usual paint flaking to engine casings. But generally not much. They are a great reliable bike to own.
Check for any crash damage, weeping fork seals and if been well maintained, chain tyres etc.
Post us some pictures if you buy one. personally I prefer rear disc but drum is not bad,just keep water out. 

Many thanks great info. Not checked it yet - hopefully next week - according to owner has new chain set, battery, tyres and spark plugs and looks in pretty good nick. Downpipes don't look great but it is from 1994, so have to be realistic. But current owner has not used it a lot and kept it inside since 2002 so fingers crossed!!

Hope this works - picture from the advert:

That does not look too bad. one thing to note is the engine mounting bolts have a tendency to corrode in place I also notice the indicators are aftermarket and the front brake lever looks an odd shape

Thanks for that - I noticed the front brake lever looked a bit bent and possibly the end of the handlebar scuffed. Didn't spot the aftermarket indicators though, and I think the rear view mirrors are a new addition. I suspect it has been dropped on its right hand side and handlebars caught the fall - hopefully nothing drastic. Unfortunately it is 3 hours away - but decent ones without huge mileage are like rocking horse **** !!!

one place well prone to rust is the earth connection on the radiator as that is very exposed to the elements

Thanks will check it out

One job to do if you buy it is put a fender extender on front mudguard, keeps a lot of the crud of engine and around oil filter.
Bike does not look to bad,as you say may have had a slow speed off or just fell over,happens to anyone. What bikes did you ride before semi retirement from riding. I assume you are in France

The swing arm caps can be replaced with rubber ones.

I'd also be keen to remove the entire exhaust and spray it with VHT paint.

Looks pretty good though.

Hi all, my bike career is a little limited - spent a lot of my early biking days on army bikes - learnt to ride on an army canam, then Armstrongs and Harley Davidsons. Also had an old and close to death, mainly composed of rust Honda CB250. I then had for a number of years my fabulous CBR600F, 1992 model, which for me in my 20s was a fabulous bike - not sure as a 50 year old my back could handle it now though!! Wife and kids, etc then came along. We have now been in France for the last 10 years and those empty country roads have been calling for a while. Always been a Honda man - not looking for anything like the CBR again - so a CB500 seemed the obvious choice to learn to ride again and to have a bit of fun on once I have got my eye in again!!

Ive had two cbr 600s (f2) and i now have two cb500s there a great bike...welcome to forum

Crash- Elmit wrote:one place well prone to rust is the earth connection on the radiator as that is very exposed to the elements

This was the underlying cause of my overheating problem.

Thanks for all the info - currently stuck in UK in the Yorkshire snow - so looking forward to getting back to France and having a look at the CB 500 I have got my eye on at the end of the week!!

Unfortunately the last one I looked at turned to be OK mechanically but overpriced for condition - seat worn and torn, front guard cracked, lots of paint damage on the tank and a big dent at the front, as well as horrible aftermarket mirrors!! so would have been OK if a lot cheaper!! next one to look at is: Done 34000 miles , 1998 for £1300

Owner has obviously had a play with the front fairing - any body know where I could get a replacement front fairing for a 1998 500S. many thanks

Hi there,
The quick and dirty answer is none available from Honda. They weren't cheap when still available.
Ok, so the next step is to scour fleabay for the three sections needed to build up a front fairing. Bear in mind that the quality of the stuff out there is unlikely to be what you'd like as the fairing side panels are pretty thin on the ground. Probably best to hunt around the club and put up a wanted ad as well. The other thing is that you're unlikely to find decent fairing bits in the colour that you want. So....budget cost of getting decent fairing bits together, then add respray cost on. Could be quite pricey. You could also be lucky! 
The other ways to go are a one piece grp moulded fairing available from CWC (cars want change) from  fleabay. You would still have to spray this as it comes in the white. CWC are based in Poland. Not a deal breaker but it's up to you.
The last option is to get onto Skidmarks in the UK to see what they can do for you. Their website can be a bit unhelpful as they say they can do stuff, but put up generic pictures.
Hope this helps:D
Alex

Many thanks for all that - really helpful. As I live in France we get a lot of stuff from Poland, so may be worth a look. The seller says he has another fairing (?) we shall see - I am guessing for all the reasons you have stated the owner has had some damage to the fairing and rather than replacing has tried to cut it to a different shape taking off the damaged areas!!! We will see - hopefully have a look on Tuesday/wednesday. I suspect I will be looking for some replacement front indicators as well. But other than that the seller says it is pretty good mechanically for age. some paint damage on the tank in front of the seat.

Would you believe it!!!  https://www.ebay.fr/itm/BULLE-CARENAGE-MOTO-HONDA-CB500-S/323081044989?hash=item4b392183fd:g:HOoAAOSwnsRagtWK    €30

You are a lucky one, fancy finding a complete fairing in the right colour for 30 euros. Are there many CB500 for sale in France ?? The black one does not look to bad, difficult to tell without seeing close up. Best of luck finding the right one at the right price

CB500 for sale in France, how's your French??

https://www.leboncoin.fr/motos/offres/?th=1&q=CB%20500&it=1&re=2003&ccs=125

Thanks for that - I am trying to get one below 60000km (around 35-37k miles). There are a number of them about - unfortunately the vast majority are in the north or east all about 6 - 8 hours away from us - so getting a decent bike that hasn't been raced or is vastly overpriced for condition is tricky. There are a few about between 1300-2000 euros but I would definitely find it easier to get a good deal in northern France. Hopefully this one is OK - or keep looking!!