My goal this winter has been to get a couple of T500 crankshafts to Mongoose Machine in Vancouver for rebuild. Mongoose scaled back their operation a couple of years back because the owner wanted to work less. I want to get my cranks done as quickly as possible lest he decides to retire!
The thinking was that this will be a parts bike for the 1975 T500 and the 1977 GT500 that are in my resto queue. (The '77 was to be a parts bike too because it was seized and covered in moss when I got it. But, the moss cleaned up easily and the engine unseized after I left some diesel fuel sitting in it for a couple of weeks). Now it's in the restoration queue!
This newest bike was advertised as a 1974 T500 as indicated by old Saskatchewan registration papers. But, the steering head nameplate and serial numbers indicate that it's a 1971 model. It was probably bought in 1971 but not registered for road use until 1974. Then, some nitwit bureaucrat at Sask Government insurance couldn't remove his blinders to register it by the correct model year.
The bike is painted white (one color it did not come in), is missing the right side cover, no side stand, and the center stand rolls over to a much larger than normal angle. There is no ignition key and all the turn signals are missing, as are both handgrips. However, both fenders are intact and in good condition, there is no crash damage on either muffler, the seat and seat trim is original, it has an airbox that's in good shape, and a chainguard. It has the correct 1971 gauges and the correct headlight shell--which is unique to the 1971. Finally, the gas tank inside has never been 'lined', and there is very little rust
As a first closer look, left side engine and points cover were taken off. Several of the screws were missing but good news, nobody has tried to substitute SAE screws for the correct 6mm metric ones. Part of the casing is broken away above the chain which is usually caused by when a chain breaks and piles up in the sprocket area. The pre-insulated electrical connectors under the points cover are almost always a sign of electrical bodgery, and someone has used the airbox as a mixing surface for 2-pack epoxy. Overall, not too bad.
The left header pipe had a curious kink at the engine connection and a great big sloppy blob weld. Maybe this was to fix a dent? The good news is that Delkevic in the UK manufactures pattern replacement header pipes.
