New here, and that's 'cuz I found something in a barn...

[old t500]

So there was this '73 T500 that's been sitting in a barn since 1995. I've always wanted a 2 stroke street bike, and I've always wanted to make a cafe racer styled machine out of something, so I bought it.

18000 miles on it. It's pretty much all there as near as I can tell. Engine turns over and wheels roll.

Been working away at it for the past couple of weeks....Frame's almost empty now, just need to pull the front end off. Having fun and learning lots!!

[titan performance]

You sure have come to the right place to get all of your questions answered.....some very knowledgeable folk on here.
If you are looking for ideas....have a browse through our photo gallery, lots of nice 500 customs from all over the globe in there.
http://www.classic2strokesuzuki.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
...and don't forget some pics of yours too !

[old t500]

How does one actually attach a pic? I see the required places to click, can add the photo, but get a "attachment quota has been reached" message.....the file is "only" 113kb ----how small must attachments be?

[titan performance]

A limit has been reached, and pictures can't be directly loaded onto the site any more. You will need to find an alternative host for your pictures, such as photo bucket, and post the URL here.....never done it myself, but one of the other guys will give you the details, or have a search and you will find the instructions have been posted several times before.

[old t500]

So.....it's been a few months. Long post....you better get a beer.

Lots of pics, but none of anything you folks haven't likely seen before. So, just the highlights maybe?

As found in the barn in early October:


Home the next day after a wash:


After a couple of weeks, and some disassembly:


Cleaned up a little:

http://i990.photobucket.com/albums/af22 ... n%202z.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I pretty much knew that I would take as much as I could apart to clean/polish as much as I could, but still couldn't resist doing a little spitting and polishing to parts. The front hub after such an effort...... Overall pretty pleased with how "clean" it is/was...


Then I finally got the welded-on shifter lever off, so that the sprocket cover could come off, and almost thought something growled at me from in there:



That's a bit better:


Forks will get refreshed inside, but the outsides are cleaning up well:


As would be expected, carbs were a mess:

Cleaning is underway, and will be reassembled with carb rebuild kits.

Original tank had been rattle-canned badly, and showed signs of previous both interior and exterior repairs to leaks. Had some folks look at it, and it's not worth repairing. So, took the opportunity to tinker with the overall look of the bike, and picked up this KZ400 tank for pocket change. Pictures of it tidied up and primed forthcoming...



Also picked up this KZ front fender that will be chopped into a new shorter front and rear hugger.


Rear shocks....one a little further along the cleaning process than the other....


Oh look-----an old front hub that's been sitting in a barn for twenty years...


That KZ tank, sorted and primed:

I had taken the empty frame with me to see the tank, and figured there was a solution to mounting it. That too has been a work in progress, but is now sorted with some brackets and some OEM Kawasaki tank mount rubber bungs.

I've also got a box full of the smaller items that have been somewhat cleaned/polished (handlebar switchgear, mirrors, fork gators, etc etc). The latest blingifying binge has been on the hubs:


Oil tank acquired from AnythingGoes74.com:


And....an amateur attempt at photoschlopping together what I'm trying to build at the end of the day:


I'm thinking a matte Blue/Gray (think Dodge Ram Ceramic Blue) and white for the tank. That seat idea was inspired (stolen) from a Wrenchmonkees Laverda...I saw it and said YA!! The seat pan is built and ready to go to the upholsterer.

As we speak, the rims, that KZ fender and the frame/swingarm are getting sandblasted. The rims will come back powdercoated semigloss black. The frame as well will be black. Have to decide on either PC or paint on the frame----I know there's pro's and con's to both....and there's that thing called a budget. Have to decide on the fender colour too....

The astute among you might notice the lack of engine pictures/progress. Here's the scoop: This is my first attempt at "building", and I fully accept that I fell into the noob trap of tearing things apart before knowing the engine will run. Guilty.

The engine turns over, there was fresh oil in the tranny, and brand new spark plugs. The wheels turned, the brakes worked, and things lit up when a battery was connected. I had purchased the bike from the previous owners wife (he had sadly passed away 15 years ago) who she just shrugged when I asked anything mechanical----totally understandable. She was such a sweetheart though---the night I picked the bike up, she had dug out her late husband's riding jacket, and gave it to me.
I am very fortunate to have a few pals who are quite comfortable with anything from the 70's and in particular this bike, who are quite confident that there will be no major surprises. And if there are, well, we cross that bridge when we get there. Having a total blast with this though!!

So, thanks for reading.....I'll post again when I've got some more highlights!!

[Alan H]

Lots of work gone into that one!
looking good.

[old t500]

Thanks.

It's coming along. Supposed to be getting the sandblasted frame etc back sometime this week.

In the meantime, more polishing...

[old t500]

So it's been a month.

Progress, I guess....but feels slower (than, say, tear down!!!).

Wheel parts were cleaned, polished. Rims got sandblasted then powdercoated semi-gloss black. Re-laced in the basement, and trued by a pal.

Frame, swingarm and a KZ400 front fender also all got sandblasted.


That front fender was then cut into what will be a front and a rear, and efforts to fill in the old mounting holes and smooth out the surfaces for paint were undertaken. The front will be cut down a smidge more, and mounted to the shaved down original fork / fender bracket.


And rebuilt and cleaned carbs came back from another pal's shop...


What a great way to spend the off season!!!

[old t500]

Some small steps, some backwards, but mostly forward....

With cleaned and rebuilt carbs in hand, it's time to see if the engine will run. Yes...I admit it - I made the biggest noob mistake of tearing into stuff before even knowing....

Anyway, with frame supported, engine/carbs/exhaust and enough electrical stuff installed connected, she started up on the fourth kick.

And they rejoiced. Hell ya!!!!

Took the opportunity also to eyeball some front fender work. Shaved some excess off the fender brace/bracket, and cut and shaped the rear edge of the fender to be as close the front as my "learning as I go" skills allowed. Being happy with that, the fender got finishing touches on bodywork and coats of primer.




Also prepped the gas tank for Caswell sealer


Some of you may see and question the jumbled approach, but next step is to confirm once and for all the integrity of the fuel tank, and if it (yes....learning as I go!!!) passes, I will test for a couple of alternate locations for some of the electrical components (eg under the tank) and then the frame will be emptied again for detabbing and finishing.

At least that's the plan tonight......

[old t500]

Some shaving, priming, test fitting and painting....













Forks getting serviced on Monday, and once seat comes in, it'll be test fitted, the excess rear frame rails will be chopped, the frame will get painted, the harness will get pared down to only basic items and for some relocated components, and then dare I say....I'm in rebuild mode? Yikes!!!

Looking forward to the roadblocks, stumbling blocks and brick wall bumping that all that will undoubtably bring!!

Also starting to think about what OEM parts I'm ready to part with......I'll offer them up here first!! Not looking to get rich from them....but it would be nice to recoup some of my build cost AND possibly help another enthusiast.

[rngdng]

Looking good.



Lane

[old t500]

Thanks Lane!!

Quiet week...

With a pal's help, replaced the fork seals and changed the fork oil. What a straightforward design!! The good ol' days eh?

Had pretty much figured that I would run only a speedometer (no tach or other dash lights), but have been bouncing back and forth about using the stock speedometer vs a smaller aftermarket unit. Finally said----OEM baby.

Dug the unit out, figured that it would clean up with some paint (same paint as fenders etc). Got looking at some gouges in the casing (likely from a cable rubbing), and wondered if there was an inexpensive fix. Yup----bit of Kwik-weld, some sanding, and it was ready for paint.

before:


and after:



Also applied some clearcoat to those black painted bits from a week or so ago.

Waiting for my seat to come in....and will then fit up the tank and seat on the frame to finalize the tank paint scheme details and finalize the frame rear rail chop location. Then both will go to paint.

[othen]

That was an interesting project, thank you for sharing it with us.
Alan

[old t500]

Productive couple of weeks since the last update.

Some painted up parts patiently waiting in the basement:



Received my seat. Test fitted it and the tank on the frame:



Marked where some more cutting would happen:


Then...some painting!!


Which, effectively, puts me in "rebuild" mode!!!

[old t500]

Couple more chores done.

Got the front fender on


And the rear fender


And some rubber on the wheels


and some new shoes for the rear


Then my daughter got "creative" with the camera


Got new sprockets and stuck 'em on


then finally said "uncle" on the polishing thing----holy cow...that can consume a person!!


and installed the rear wheel


So the chassis is now a roller!!

Nothing too crazy in terms of finishing on these parts...all low key satin and semi gloss black. The pop of colour will come from the tank.

Hoping to get the engine back in the frame tomorrow.