1973 Honda CB500 K2 - motorcycles/scooters - by owner - vehicle automotive bike sale - craigslist (2024)

Please make your email clear that you're a real person who at least skimmed the ad, I'm just going to ignore unserious offers.

I bought this bike in 2021 when I was living in Texas. It was barn find. I had a garage, time, a little extra cash, and some dreams. I fixed all the leaks, rebuilt the carbs, brakes, forks and rear springs, the entire electrical system. Replaced the ignition with a DynaTech. Had got all the necessary CB550 parts to replace the front brakes with dual disks. Then the woman I loved decided she preferred a guy who does ketamine and makes documentaries about UFOs. Maybe my hands smelled too greasy.

So I moved to Seattle, no longer had a garage, and even my driveway was at a 20 degree incline. I rode the bike around town for a summer, but it sat outside through the winter, mocking me. Next summer, I cleaned it up, did a round of regular maintenance, but run into more mechanical issues -- one of the cylinders was refusing to fire, the throttle kept sticking, the clutch was clunking, the main fuse kept popping out.

This past winter, the bike sat in my buddy's garage. But he and I both want it gone from there, and I've lost the motivation. I've fixed those previous issues -- the cylinder wasn't firing because the corresponding carburetor bowl was blocked with junk, so I cleaned the carbs and jets, bought new OEM gas lines, and cleaned and sealed the tank. The throttle cable just needed some adjustment and lube, the clutch rod (a part specific to the 1971-1973 CB500, if you don't know about it ask me about it in the email) needed to be replaced, and I soldered in a standard modern automotive fuse to replace the old school cylinder main fuse.

She starts, she stops, she runs. She needs some work to be reliable, and I'd love to sell her to someone who is knowledgeable and experienced, whether you're restoring or modding. She would make a fantastic base for a cafe racer or a restomod.

Here's a list of major upgrades I made, so far as I can remember.

SUSPENSION
* Rear suspension: Ikon 7610-1302 https://www.ikonsuspension.com.au/product/7610-1302/
* Front suspension: Racetech FRSP S2341075 http://www.oemcycle.com/Item/product/900509034

IGNITION AND ELECTRICS
* Dynatech ignition: https://www.dynaonline.com/dyna-s-ignition-system-for-1969-1978-honda-cb500-cb550-cb750-ds1-2/
* Dynatech 5 ohm coils: https://www.dynaonline.com/dyna-igntion-coils-set-dual-output-5ohm-dual-plug-single-fire-dc8-1/
* New OEM wiring harness, the original was desintigrating
* LED front and rear lights, way brighter than the original
* New oil pressure sensor

BRAKES
* Stainless steel brake line for front brake
* New front brake piston and pads

CLUTCH
* The cb500 has the clutch cable going to the left side of the engine, which actuates a "lifter" mechanism that pushes a rod that goes through the engine block to disengage the clutch on the right side. This rod sometimes brakes. This is well-known about these bikes.
* New clutch cable, lifter, and rod.

OTHER
* The CB500 had an airbox that was notoriously difficult to remove, for carburetor access. However, rather than ditching it completely, since the carbs need feedback from each other's backpressure to regulate airflow, I made a small modification to shave off just a couple of millimeters off the back corners, and replaced the air intake with a single pod that the engineers at K&N were kind enough to confirm produces the same airflow as the original filter setup. More details on this mod in this thread here: http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,79958.0.html
* Replacement seat from Texavina: https://texavina.com/honda-cb500-k1-k2-cb500k-1972-1973-cb550-four-k0-k2-cb550k-1974-1976-motorcycle-cafe-racer-bike-seat-sku-k4303/

UNFINISHED
* I have almost all the parts needed to upgrade the front brakes to the dual disk system that Honda began using on next years' CB550, including the fork lowers, seals, a second rotor and brake caliper assembly, and bolts. You would only need to get a new master cylinder.
* The bike also comes with a bunch of other parts that I never got around to using: the original centerstand, a new throttle tube, new wheel bearings, a set of OEM points ignition if you prefer to be old-school and install that, an OEM oil filter housing, a bunch of other gaskets and seals and crush washers.
* I'm including any of those parts you might want, plus a Clymer manual, with the purchase of this bike.

I'll consider reasonable offers if you know what you're doing. Tell me a sentence or two about yourself and your experience.

The bike starts up and runs (here's a video: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ujpics4wxvyybssqr03ok/IMG_0508.mov?rlkey=thsvfzjrm9grmghcopqoddnqv&st=hw7thoco&dl=0) and you might be able to ride it home, but I haven't ridden it this year so you'd be doing so at your own risk.