Scrambler 500T!

In the fall of 2000, I bought a 1971 Honda CL450 Scrambler for a song. It had allegedly been on the road that year, but I couldn't get it running so I stored it under a tarp for the winter. In the spring, my friend Adam helped me get it on the road. It was a lot of fun! But after a few weeks of roaring around the hills of western Mass., one hot day I was blasting up a long hill toward home and found myself losing power. The next morning I discovered a hole in the right piston.

I've pulled that poor old motor and am installing a well-maintained CB500T motor in its place. The tires are new Bridgestone Trailwings, a nice 80/20 street/dirt tire. I'm also mounting motocross bars (the originals are ape-hangers in comparison) and tidying things up a little bit. But not too much. When all is said and done this will still be more of a vintage beater than a show piece. Scramblers rule!

(This looks like a vintage shot, but it's actually my bike during its brief life on the road after I got it running. It's a bit muddy because I got it stuck up to the axles -- my neighbor pulled it out with his tractor!)

April 2001

Just days after winning the SRNE Dyno Day Low Horsepower Prize, the motor blows up. Coincidence, foolishness, or mercy killing? The world may never know. For $250 I didn't expect the thing to be perfect. Real motorcyclists are supposed to have "project bikes" anyway, right?

March 2002

I bought a CB500T to steal its motor. The whole bike is pretty nice, but isn't as cool as the CL. So it becomes a parts bike (the title is missing anyway), and the motor goes to a good home. Will it be the world's only CL500T? Probably not.

April 11 2002

Bought a well-maintained 1987 Kawasaki Ninja 750R from fellow riders up in Ashfield. Now I will have something to ride for the summer, which means less time pressure to get the Scrambler on the road, more time to do it right (this is just what Adam wants to hear -- it will never leave his garage now!).

April 14 2002

After not quite getting the motor to run while still in the CB500T, I decide to risk the swap anyway. Removed the carbs, exhaust, tank, and chain. Next step is pulling the motor out. Everything is so accessible in these old bikes. I just need to do my back stretches this week...

May 17, 2002

All riding and no wrenching last month, but today I pulled the 500 motor. It really was as simple as disconnecting all cables and hoses, removing about a dozen mounting bolts [thirteen -- Ed.], and pulling it out through the frame. The layout is very simple compared to anything modern, but at my pace it will still be at least a day of work to pull the bad motor and put the new one in. Then there's getting it running...

July 19, 2002

Inch by inch.... One of the nice things about having two or more bikes is that you always have something to ride. The downside is that your motivation to finish the "project" bike is proportionally reduced. So, two months after the last entry I've just gotten around to pulling the (bad) motor out of the 450. I also noticed that the rear swingarm had a lot of play, so I pulled that too and am probably going to be replacing some bushings. I see now how a quick engine swap turns into a complete teardown and meticulous rebuild -- once you get in there you think, "Well, as long as I have easy access to this, I might as well clean/paint/chrome/polish/replace it..." I will nobly resist this urge. If I actually get the thing back together and running, then I'll think about finer touches. Oh, I also pulled the stock bars and mounted the cool, black, low, MX ones. There is more to be done with these, though -- all the switchgear wires must be run through the bar, which means drilling and futzing. My goal now is just to make it run by the end of August, even if it can't be ridden.

August 7, 2002

The swingarm bushings are shot -- unfortunately they also seem to be permanently embedded in the swingarm. Copious amounts of flame and hammering failed to bring them out so the project is hung up there for the moment, since I don't want to put the motor in until the swingarm is back on. Work has gotten busy in anticipation of my three-week motorcycle vacation in September, so I think this bike just moved from "summer project" to "winter project" status. But by next spring, mark my words...

February, 2003

Well, it's almost spring. So I guess this is a "spring project" now. All the parts are there, I just have to put them together...

May, 2003

Dropped the swingarm off at Berkshire Cycle to get the bushings replaced. At this rate the project will be complete by 2006.

August, 2003

Picked up the swingarm with the new bushings. The pace is really picking up now!

April, 2004

Today I put the swingarm back on and mounted the rear wheel. The new bushings seem to fit perfectly. Will the Scrambler make it on the road this summer, I wonder?