Where Do CB Carburetors Go to Die??

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Dr. Frankenstein
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Where Do CB Carburetors Go to Die??

#1

Post by Dr. Frankenstein »

I have my eye on a basket case '71 CB500F, but it's missing the carbs, air box and filter housing, but 'other than that' it's all there (and unmolested, I might add)... but after doing some research on FB, eBay and Craigslist trying to hunt down the correct carbs, I notice that a lot of the similar CB's being offered up are ALSO missing their carbs and air boxes...just the carbs and air boxes! Where are all these carbs and air boxes going?? What, are they putting them in lawnmowers or something...?? (Now there's a cool idea...!)

Not to mention (pulling up my soapbox here to rant a bit, if that's okay) why do all these (ahem) ham-handed "unique individuals" take a perfectly good vintage CB, or KZ, or YZ, or whatever, of whatever CC and decide "Hey! That'd be Really Cool to take this perfectly beautiful vintage motorcycle and BOB it!! Yeahh...! Or 'Make a cafe' racer! Yeahh, man!! And rattle-can it All Black, too, 'cause I'm Bad-A**!" and then lose interest after they've chopped it to pieces and thrown away parts and half-assed a build after doing that and finding out there's more to 'doing that' than they bargained for and dumping the body on FB, or CL or 'whatever'...note, this has not happened to the one I'm looking at, but Man...! I see it a lot!

I dunno; maybe it's just me. It's been a long day. I don't mean to offend anybody, I just needed to get that out, to folks who might understand...and if anybody has a '71 - '74 CB500F carb and air set-up, please PM me.
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pidjones
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Re: Where Do CB Carburetors Go to Die??

#2

Post by pidjones »

I think Murray's Carbs has dual Mikuni solutions for most four cylinder Hondas. I think he has intakes and filters for them, and they are pre-tuned.

How many bikes have you seen advertised that "only need carb work"? These are purchased, and the guy that owns zero JIS screwdrivers decides he can do it, ruins them, and tosses them. Air boxes were removed to allow installation of those ulta-cool "pods" that guarantee the carbs will never run right.

Some hack jobs are due to previous damage making restoration harder than modding. Some just think it's "cool". Pretty common through the years.
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Lucien Harpress
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Re: Where Do CB Carburetors Go to Die??

#3

Post by Lucien Harpress »

Another perspective on the "hack jobs". Motorcycles built in any amount of quantity tend to go through a similar life cycle, I've noticed.

-Brand new, sell X number of units.
-Become obsolete or replaced with a new model.
-Nobody wants them anymore, but they're too young to be collectable, so are super cheap.
-People hack them up because they aren't worth saving (in a monetary sense).
-Bikes finally get old enough to become collectable.
-Age combined with scarcity due to aforementioned hack jobs drive up prices.

It happened with Harleys post-war, it happened BIG time with Japanese bikes of the 70s, and it'll happen to the next group of bikes down the line too.

We're pretty lucky Honda used a bunch of parts on many different bike models and tended to build a million of them. Just you try to find a Yamaha XS (1100 or, even worse, 750) still in stock configuration. Good. Luck.
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Dr. Frankenstein
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Re: Where Do CB Carburetors Go to Die??

#4

Post by Dr. Frankenstein »

Thanks Jones, now that makes sense! I never thought of the screwdriver approach. I have a set of JIS Vessel Megadoras that I only use on my Japanese bikes; the 'Impacta' impact one doesn't seem to work more than 1/3 of the time though so I have to revert to my bigger 'normal' impact driver, but I have a set of JIS bits for that too... Strangely, I feel better. The 'pod' thing makes sense too..."The More You Know"... :lol:

And Lucien, thanks to you too; your CB750 build was the inspiration for my latest 'itch'...My previous inline-four resto was for my '78 KZ650B, but your build inspired me to go looking. Again. anim-cheers1
(Btw, I found this '76 XS500 in Wilmington, DE, apparently posted last week if you're Interested. Don't know if it's still there, but for $300...no side covers, but looks pretty much all there.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/it ... _type=post
Here's a '78 1100 in PA, too; "Make Offer":
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/it ... _type=post

'78-'80 XS1100 Shop manual for $20, too!
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/it ... _type=post


(Yes, I have way too much time on my hands...)
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Sidecar Bob
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Re: Where Do CB Carburetors Go to Die??

#5

Post by Sidecar Bob »

Murray does indeed do carbs for those bikes
https://murrayscarbs.com/product/honda- ... rb-system/

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Re: Where Do CB Carburetors Go to Die??

#6

Post by low-side »

You also run into the eBay carcass, the vintage bike missing all it's body parts and carbs / airbox - all the high dollar easily shipped parts. Unfortunately, you can usually get more money out of selling those parts off a bike than you can from the complete bike.
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Re: Where Do CB Carburetors Go to Die??

#7

Post by Shadowjack »

"How to make a bobber". Never transfer the title to yourself. Throw away the front fender, the airbox, the taillight, the indicators, and the seat. Saw off the rear frame extensions and the mufflers. Paint whatever bodywork is left rattle-can black and add either a bicycle seat or a plank wrapped in cheap brown vinyl. Cut out all that extraneous wiring, because if you don't know what it's for and you don't know anything about electricity anyway, you obviously don't need it. Disassemble the stuck carbs, lose some parts, and throw everything else you took off into a box, if you can find them, then sell it as a project (no title, it disappeared) because "you don't have time to finish it".
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Dr. Frankenstein
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Re: Where Do CB Carburetors Go to Die??

#8

Post by Dr. Frankenstein »

Exactly! Just like low-side was saying, tonight I came across a beautiful '76 CB550 - Beautiful! - that the "Hero" was selling 'for parts'.... I just don't get people sometimes. 'Diff'rent strokes', I guess.

I was once out at a nearby mom-and-pop picking up some beer, and when I came out there was a big pickup with a car trailer attached, and on that trailer was a By-God 1939 gold Cadillac Fleetwood that the three kids (young adults, 19 - 20 years old) had dragged out of the woods somewhere. It was ALL There - big bullet headlights, engine cover, V-8 engine, spare wheel cover, all the badges, even the freekin' original cigarette lighters! It had a light patina of rust on it, but no damage anywhere that I could see, all the glass was in the windows, and even the upholstery - although a bit ragged - was all there! It was frickin' Beautiful!

"Wow, what, are you guys going to do with it" I asked, thinking of course somebody was going to restore it.
Beaming smiles all around because of their prize, one pipes up with "we're taking it into town and selling it for scrap!"

I died a little that day. I hope wherever it went somebody saw it for what it was. But I doubt it.
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ritalz
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Re: Where Do CB Carburetors Go to Die??

#9

Post by ritalz »

I've been digging around in my stash and can't seem to remember selling or find the carbs from my 500. One of my sons asked if he could try getting the bike back to running condition. I agreed (big mistake). After stripping it down and doing some work, he lost interest and walked away. I'll keep looking.
Al

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1975 Goldwing 'Max'
1984 Goldwing New Bagger Project
1976 Goldwing 'Grocery Getter' Sold
1985 Goldwing Interstate 'NCC-1985' sold
1981 Silverwing Sold
1982 Goldeing Project Sold
1981 Goldwing Parted Out
1983 Goldwing Project Sold
1973 CB500F Long Gone
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Re: Where Do CB Carburetors Go to Die??

#10

Post by Sidecar Bob »

I wonder if some of those missing carbs were from bikes that weren't drained for storage so rebuilding the carbs was beyond the abilities of whoever was trying to work on the bike and they sent them for rebuilding, then didn't want to pay what it cost so they never got them back.
Mr. Honda ('83 GL1100/Dnepr) summer How a motorcycle evolves thread
The Famous Eccles ('84 CX650EI/VeloUral) winter Never Ending Build (CX500forum)
Click: Colour schematics for all GL1000 & GL1100 and GL1200 standard models plus instructions on how to download the full size version
"A guy with two sidecars can't be all bad." - Cookie
Another guy with two sidecars..... Hmmmm... must be something to that....
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Dr. Frankenstein
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Re: Where Do CB Carburetors Go to Die??

#11

Post by Dr. Frankenstein »

Ritalz, or anybody else, Yes Please, let me know if you come across anything. I'm particularly looking for the carbs, and (hopefully complete) air box and filter case. What year was your 500? The one I'm looking at is the '71 CB500F, with the 4-into-two pipes. Might be a '72, because after all the research I've done on the bike I've only found a few pics of that model with those pipes. I haven't had a chance to make the drive to check it out yet though. The holidays and the weather are wreaking havoc with my recovery mission.
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Re: Where Do CB Carburetors Go to Die??

#12

Post by Sidecar Bob »

50 years is a long time. It could have an exhaust system from a different year. Or even an aftermarket exhaust.
Mr. Honda ('83 GL1100/Dnepr) summer How a motorcycle evolves thread
The Famous Eccles ('84 CX650EI/VeloUral) winter Never Ending Build (CX500forum)
Click: Colour schematics for all GL1000 & GL1100 and GL1200 standard models plus instructions on how to download the full size version
"A guy with two sidecars can't be all bad." - Cookie
Another guy with two sidecars..... Hmmmm... must be something to that....
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Re: Where Do CB Carburetors Go to Die??

#13

Post by ritalz »

Those 4 into 2 mufflers were easily rusted out in just a few years. Mine were pretty bad at about 5 years. If I remember correctly, mine was a 72 bought late in the year.
Al

2003 Goldwing Daily Rider
1975 Goldwing 'Max'
1984 Goldwing New Bagger Project
1976 Goldwing 'Grocery Getter' Sold
1985 Goldwing Interstate 'NCC-1985' sold
1981 Silverwing Sold
1982 Goldeing Project Sold
1981 Goldwing Parted Out
1983 Goldwing Project Sold
1973 CB500F Long Gone
1966 CL77 First Street Bike
http://www.ngwclub.com/gallery3/index.p ... ans/ritalz
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Re: Where Do CB Carburetors Go to Die??

#14

Post by Dr. Frankenstein »

He sent me a video of the pipes, they seem okay - there's a small rust-thru spot on one of the mufflers, near the end, but they otherwise look okay. I saw somebody on FB marketplace was selling a nearly pristine set for $85, but that's still too rich for me right now.
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Re: Where Do CB Carburetors Go to Die??

#15

Post by kerryb »

These weren't pronounced dead yet, but the corrosion on the inlets may spell their demise. They were in a field next to the barn!
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