1973 T500 - How's it Look to You?

[pipelinepete]

Hi All,
New member here, based in Alberta. Recently picked up a non-running 1973 Titan with 22,000 miles showing. The PO just wanted it out of his garage so I got it for a couple hundred bucks. He claimed it was running when parked years ago.

Pics:










I completed a preliminary inspection. The good:
- turns over and has compression
- plugs looked good on removal
- brakes work
- able to shift thru all gears
- no play in forks or swingarm
- both wheels turn smoothly
- no evidence of a crash; no road rash anywhere (surprisingly)
- clutch and throttle seems to work
- seat pan has minor rust

The bad:
- fuel tank rusted inside, and dented
- shift shaft spline and gear shifter are stripped
- seat cover and foam obviously need replacement
- wiring under seat looks kinda funky
- missing air filter, turn signals, LH side cover, battery, and battery door
- tires are shot
- needs chain and sprockets

My plan is to make this a winter project and restore it to very nice condition (but not concours).

Do you see anything here that I don't see...anything I should be worried about?

The build date is 9/72. Could this mean the 1400 cc oil fix would've been done? It's still showing 1200 cc on the engine case. I plan to split the cases no matter what and go thru everything.

Here's my last two projects:




Comments/ feedback appreciated, thank you!!

Peter

[titan performance]

Pete.......you lucky man. What a nice buy for the money of a bicycle.
$200? = £135 GBP.
Over here, that bike would be £750 if you were lucky !

Looking forward to seeing it come back from the dead, but looks to be a very good basis to start from.

[Fritz500]

Ah! Same model as mine. Yours looks like it needs a bit more work than mine.
My work so far:

• I have removed minor spots of rust
• New tyres & tubes
• New fork covers and seals
• Front wheel bearings were rough so replaced them
• Carb intake boot had turned to stone - replaced
• New chain & sprockets
• Rear brake linings were on minimum so put in new ones
• Most of the case screws had been butchered so (carefully) put in all new ones
• Repainted rusty battery box
• Rebuilt the petcock - but then thought it'll just fail again so have put in a new on/res/off manual one
• Swapped those stupid big handle bars for some lower Euro style
• Tank, oil tank and plastic side cover are all pretty good so I won't be repainting them.
• Seat was mint (curiously)

I'll get it running and hope the bottom end seals are OK. I have bought some new ones and budgeted to replace them but I want to ride it first.

Should have it finished tidying it and ready to license in a week or 3 depending on the alignment of the planets.

It won't be a show winner but something to ride in the glorious Perth weather when I'm not rebuilding my 500J.

[MikeH1A]

Judging by the Mach IV, the T500 is going to look pretty different in a little while . You obviously have the skills so enjoy working the resto magic on another fine Suzuki.