Honda CB500 Cafe Racer

Finally, I could keep my hands clean and working on the wiring. Whilst many people would argue working on wiring is the worst part, I think it can be a bit therapeutic at times (well it was at the start). This could have also been because I was starting from scratch with a custom wiring […]

Engine Disassembly The CB500 engine is quite a simple design, especially given it’s a single cam design. However, it does require quite a bit of attention and focus during a rebuild to ensure you don’t miss anything. I made sure to take a number of photos throughout the process so I could remember how it

What inspired me to build a cafe racer Back in my uni days in 2017, a close mate and I would constantly send each-other gumtree ads of bikes that were disassembled, in boxes, etc to convince one another to start a project. However, it wasn’t until my mate suggested we go halves in a cheap

Disassembling the bike had many nuances that I wasn’t aware of, though it was not significantly difficult to undertake. So I had to watch YouTube videos and read forums on how to disassemble various parts. It was also made harder by the fact there were certain tools you had to either purchase or build yourself/

Disassembling the carburetors was definitely a significantly time-consuming task during this build. Though this was mainly the case as I spent considerable time attempting to zinc plate many of the small components. I explain the process I undertook with zinc-plating further below, however I do not recommend undertaking this task yourself. In my case, the

With the bike completely disassembled, the frame was ready for modification. I managed to find a scrambler seat on gumtree which I liked that would fit the frame. Using this as a basis for the cafe racer, I got started on cutting up the rear section of the frame. I cut off the section just