Project Café: 1973 Honda CB500, Part 1

By Landon Hall
Published on November 26, 2008
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Win our 1973 CB500 Four! Here it is in all its faded glory, but it's quickly turning into a different machine. As our series of articles describe, we're deep into our rebuild, turning this old dog into a café racer for the street. Look for the link to our sweepstakes – you might take our Honda home once we've put it back on the road!
Win our 1973 CB500 Four! Here it is in all its faded glory, but it's quickly turning into a different machine. As our series of articles describe, we're deep into our rebuild, turning this old dog into a café racer for the street. Look for the link to our sweepstakes – you might take our Honda home once we've put it back on the road!
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Our CB500's engine in mid-teardown as we get ready to remove it from the frame.
Our CB500's engine in mid-teardown as we get ready to remove it from the frame.
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There's that Wixam faring again. These things were all the rage back in the mid-1970s (ours is missing most of the plexiglass windscreen).
There's that Wixam faring again. These things were all the rage back in the mid-1970s (ours is missing most of the plexiglass windscreen).
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Detonation does very bad things to a piston. This is what we found when we removed the cylinder head and cylinders; a very badly burned no. 3 piston. Remarkably, that cylinder still had about 80psi of compression.
Detonation does very bad things to a piston. This is what we found when we removed the cylinder head and cylinders; a very badly burned no. 3 piston. Remarkably, that cylinder still had about 80psi of compression.
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The carbs weren't nearly as bad as we expected them to be. The float bowl on the left already got a quick cleaning. One down, three to go.
The carbs weren't nearly as bad as we expected them to be. The float bowl on the left already got a quick cleaning. One down, three to go.
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Muck, muck everywhere. This is the inside of the clutch release cover on the left side. Still not sure what was in there, but it looked like little berry seeds of some sort.
Muck, muck everywhere. This is the inside of the clutch release cover on the left side. Still not sure what was in there, but it looked like little berry seeds of some sort.
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Our CB came with extra electronics for free. We're thinking it was originally some sort of alarm or intercom system.
Our CB came with extra electronics for free. We're thinking it was originally some sort of alarm or intercom system.
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No, that's not a nail - it's a seat hinge pin. Really.
No, that's not a nail - it's a seat hinge pin. Really.

With help from Bikebandit.com, Motorcycle Classics took a tired old 1973 Honda CB500 Four and turned it into a café racer for the street. Our first report appears below, and you can follow the build by clicking on the links below. 

Project Café – Part 2
Project Café – Part 3
Project Café – Part 4
Project Café – Part 5
Project Café – Master cylinder rebuild  

The Bike
I can’t count how many times editor Backus and I have told friends that if you’re going to restore a bike, especially something common, take your time and find a decent example. Don’t buy the cheapest one you can find, because the $400 you might save in purchase price will be spent later in parts, time and headaches. Of course, we never listen to our own advice.

The problem is, we’re impatient. Heck, sometimes we’re just downright lazy. Because it wasn’t long after we decided that our next bike should be a Seventies Honda of some sort that one of Backus’ buddies e-mailed him a photo of his latest barn find, a 1973 Honda CB500 Four, which sounded like the perfect project bike to us. The CB in question was complete (even if the front brake caliper was in a bag), but it didn’t run. It was for sale, and, importantly, the price was right. It was obvious this bike had led a hard life and frankly, the closer we looked, the rougher it was. And while that didn’t scare us, in hindsight, it probably should have.
So of course we bought it.

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