Damn!.......DAMN! Maybe not as much water got in as you might expect? I dont know how sealed the systems were back then and trapped air may help. I would start by draining the oil to see how much water got in. I don't expect that will come out good. Also removing plugs and see if anything filled in there. Then maybe with one of the bikes try flushing with good (cheap) oil then running it if possible for just a few minutes. Then flushing again with filter each time. If none of the bikes are a candidet for this then the above posts talking splitting cases are the only option. Of course new air cleaner, clearing exaust, etc. If you are willing to go this route it will give you an idea what the other 4 bikes are like. I would still drain all bikes and flush with oil to minimize damage asap. I had a Honda 350 3-wheeler go under in a dirty river one time and did the above and it lived a long life.
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I've been up to my ass all week in mud trying to get our buildings ready to rebuild and get back to livin', these machine are weighing heavy on my mind and I haven't the time to wrench them myself right now so, I brought them to a local snowmobile shop to do what you all suggested and possibly side step entire rebuilds for now.If they don't seize i'd be happy ,then I can split the cases,rebuild carbs,and give the harness a proper cleaning when there is time. Thanks for the help, I'll keep you posted on the progress.
The insurance agent said that I may have coverage on 3 bikes and he was on his way over today sometime.....we are currently enduring the start of flood #2 so we won't know for a while, at least they are on high ground now.
Progressive insurance has come through, 3 bikes are covered, totaled but covered! They are branding my titles and I get to rebuild them this winter but I'm not sure if I can get a salvage title fora mc in NY, I would 'vegone downtown to ask DMV but they were washed away too.So I'm hoping to purchase some machines 71-78 honda 500-4 or 550-4 in crappy condition with titleable frames,rebuild my engines and put the whole collection back together again, if anyone knows of these machines available in the northeast,please let me know. thank you.
Pbut I'm not sure if I can get a salvage title fora mc in NY
You can get a Rebuilt Salvage title for a bike from NYS DMV. The big pain in the ass is getting the bike through the exam. A co worker had his GSXR fail twice for different reasons each time. Of course, the DMV was more than happy to keep all the fees associated with both exams.
Thanks guys, I'll do the rebuilds this winter and see about that salvage title idea, and I'm still looking for titled 71-78cb500-4's or550-4 just in case NY DMV gets to be a hassle.
Oh oh, I just looked at the NY DMV salvage title link that jscott has sent. I'm gonna have a hassle, It took me 14 honda 500-4 and 550-4's and 1 GPZ 1100 to make these machines. I always ask the sellers to promise me that they are not stolen,I only buy in good faith, so far I haven't had any reason to doubt any of them but, vehicle confiscation for parts that are not origional,with no receipts for 30 year old machines? Who knows were all these parts came from? I can't be sure, I've only had them for the last two years. Too chancy to go for the salvage title....I am definitely looking for titleable frames. I've been on craigslist for the past 3 days,no luck yet but still trying.An eye out / ear to the ground/ any leads would be appreciated .Thank you.
So, Progressive Insurance was hard to deal with, they wouldn't take any offers on a lower $ pay out and a clear title on any machine, they wanted to total each motorcycle. I couldn't live with this, so I cancelled 2 claims and allowed them the title on only one machine, took the $2800 check and gave it to the parts shop and ordered a mountain of parts and only overshot my budget by $600. I's going to be a long winter and I'm planning to spend it wrenching my machines back to good working order. This spring I'm hoping for things to be better than back to normal and a barnload of fresh vintage Hondas to ride. I 'll keep posting the progress.
Anybody want to throw in a little bit of yingum for rb.........you know, for a couple cases of good brew while he is tearing down the bikes at night for repair?
I'll toss the first $20 in. RB, pm me your address and I'll get it in the mail if you promise to put it to mechanics lube to ease those long hours of restoring.
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So I been walking into the garage ,stare a bit, shut the lights off and close the door. Been having a hard time getting started. Decided that I need to build a fresh barnfind first , just to get in the motion. Well Santa came early for me , I found a 550 that hasn't been run for ten years, has a windjammer fairing and hard bags all around,the paint is shot,the chrome is so so and the smell of sour gas can fill a room. Yeah ,I took it home right away ! and it has title!I couldn't get it on the truck fast enough. It's in the barn waiting for me to finish rebuilding our store,maybe 2 weeks more and IT"S GARAGE TIME! I haven't been this excited since my last ride this August. If anyone is interested I'll keep a blog going . Thank you all
I sort of envy you guys that can rip these things apart and actually get them back together. I removed the AIS (yamaha PAIR) from my warrior but have been hesitant for no good reason with the 919. Maybe I would be more apt to tear a bike apart if it wasn't the only bike I have. An old member here (simpson) used to post restore projects all the time, but I don't think he is active here much anymore. Have at it...
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When I revamped my 550F, the hardest part is getting that damn bank of carbs to line up right when you put them back in with the stock air box. I swear it took me less time to rebuild the entire set of carbs then to actually get them back on the bike. It was a ton of fun doing it though. Good Luck!
It's been a while, just a quick update at this time.While in search of titled frames I did come across 1 550 needs restoration, a basketcase 500 (same frame+-). Rebuilt 4-500 engines so far and have 3 riders for the season so far. The last gem is a 500 bored out to 550, totally cafe'd, pretty snotty for a smaller machine,decent for a classic,should be fun.Rebuilt my favorite and 1st 500, finished a couple nights ago, it'll be nice to have my ass back on that one. The other 2 engines are for ongoing rolling projects. There is 2 more 500 motors on the bench waiting for a rebuild but, I need to get past the projects and go directly to the 550's next. There are 6 of them quietly standing in line waiting for their turn on the bench and I'm ready to give them their turns next. My garage is kinda tight for space right now so the coming of warm weather is welcome, I can at least shoot new paint at a proper temperature. Planning to start them this coming week.
Good to see progress! I remember when you first posted when the floods hit, man that was a shame with those bikes. I've taken to liking the 550s along with the 350s. Somewhere in the the future I wanna take one and build a cafe, something about a classic...
"Security is mostly a superstition, it does not exist in nature: avoiding danger in the long run is no safer than outright being exposed. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."-Helen Keller
http://s1170.photobucket.com/albums/r537/rb550fourI'm trying to send some pics and having some trouble so I can send a link to my album of most recent builds.The garage is dedicated to Honda 500 and 550 mainly, Although there is a 72 450 and an 80 650 in the mix. The space is a little cramped with the projects and rebuilds going on now and I should have cleaned it up before I snapped the pics but, oh well.The burnt orange 500 with the mustang tank ( my favorite) is done ,took it for a ride today during a hail storm,...nice.The red 500 cafe is the most recent of the builds, it's a little hotrod by yesterday's standards, but I can't decide if I like the fairing on or off. Project 1 and 2 are in there to ,both 500's,freshly rebuilt engines, bright orange tank will turn out mainly stock, I mocked up a Suzuki tank on the other one with extended forks,and bobbed fenders just to change things up a bit,there is 17 of them in that garage and none will look the same as any other when they are all finished. The stock 550K with ugly fairing and hard boxes pictured on and off will probably be the only true restoration in the place if I can stand it stock long enough to finish it stock.
The three really beat looking machines on the second page is Project one,two , and the third who isn't even a roller yet,the frame is painted but, it's power-plant is one of the 2 500 engines left on the bench in one photo. I'm planning to save those two rebuilds for last. Right now it's time to build some 550 motors and get the runners running and let the projects be projects. I'll be adding more to this album as time goes on and that is probably easier than trying to get pictures up individually.
And Andrewebay1, yeah the floods were a real kick in the pants and a heartbreaker but, a couple of positive things came from it.You can build a bike and wonder if it would've been better if you did this instead of that? Well now I have the chance to find out if that would've been better. Since all this rebuilding sometimes feels like a second job, I've been making a little more time for my wife , I'm in the house by ten instead of midnight. I'm not really sure how she feels about that but I am considering it a positive. And I'm glad to hear that a 350 / 550 is to your liking, Those early to mid 70's Hondas were a great lineup. I started with these 500/550's liking only custom/chopped or semi chopped. Recently, I have grown fond of the cafe.Cafe is so hot right now, I think that that is the bridge that can bond young people with classic machines. It's a good thing. I hope you'll take the chance and build your own cafe. I find that building these machines enrich every aspect of my life .
Still out in the garage ,Started breaking down the 550K with the ugly fairing. It's going slow because it really isn't warm enough to shoot the frame yet. I've been thinking about keeping it stock, but the overall appearance just doesn't do it for me. I'm thinking that new ford focus metallic lime green could help, and a bit of engine color. Buff out the chrome and polish the aluminum and see if that'll do it.
I've been trying to clear the engine bench of 500 motors, just one more left to rebuild and it'll go in the Kawa/ Honda Cafe.
There is a 550 motor that made it's was on the bench a few days ago that goes in the Unchopper, the next 550 motor on the floor waiting to get on the bench is a runner but I want to go through it before it goes in a cradle of the Burnt Orange Almost Stock 550. That's as far as I can plan ahead right now, there is always a surprise that alters the plan, I guess the trick is not to plan too far ahead.
Nice to see you keep going on these. I've only been working on my Yamaha XS750 for about 7 years and I didn't have to go into the engine or tranny. Lol
Getting there. Just waiting for some pieces for the carbs to arrive. Then after its running I'll finish the electrical. Then tires. lol
It did start as a frame, motor and tranny and 5 boxes of parts so its been a learning experience.
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