Honda's Midi Masterpiece

Superb engineering and deluxe features - Honda's 500/4 had it all. Roland Brown re-lives the dream.

After a ride on the sweet running and well maintained CB500, it was easy to understand why Charlie Garratt, its owner, was so keen on the model in general and this bike in particular. The Honda four was quick, smooth, and more agile than I'd expected. It started instantly, ran flawlessly and handled very well for a bike that was more than 30 years old.
Charlie wasn't the least bit surprised when I returned from my ride with a big smile on my face, impressed by the CB500's all-round performance. As the boss of Oxford Classic Honda, he specialises in buying, selling and restoring Japanese bikes from the 1970s. So when you discover that this 1972-model CB500 is his own machine – owned for almost a decade, and lovingly refurbished – that's a weighty endorsement for the four that has always been slightly in the shade of its famous predecessor the CB750.
Charlie prefers the smaller of Honda's first two four-pot roadsters, and having ridden plenty of both models he's well positioned to comment. "The CB500 is very smooth, it's lighter than the 750, and I just find it a very comfortable bike," he says. "You sit in it, not on it as you seem to with the CB750. It's just really nice to ride."
Given that the CB500 can generate such enthusiasm several decades later, it's no surprise that the half-litre machine was well received following its launch in 1971. Bike magazine's tester reckoned: "Everyone who rode it was impressed by its excellent performance and the silky smooth way in which it went about its business." Over in America, Cycle World was even more enthusiastic, praising the CB500 as: "perhaps the finest combination of superb engineering and deluxe features we've ever come across."

Praise indeed, and no wonder. In many ways the best thing about the CB500 was that although it looked very similar to the CB750 and shared all the eye-catching features including electric starter, disc front brake and four-pipe exhaust system, it was physically quite a lot smaller and lighter. Okay, so its 50bhp peak output was 17 horses down on that of the larger-engined bike, but for many riders the reduced size and weight made up for that.
Although the two Honda models looked similar and shared their basic sohc, eight-valve aircooled four-cylinder layout, there were several significant differences between them. The 499cc engine's camshaft ran direct in the cylinder head, instead of in separate bearing holders; the central camchain was controlled by a guide plate rather than a roller assembly.
Cylinders were vertical instead of angled forwards; the CB500 used an inverted-tooth or 'Hy-Vo' chain to link crankshaft and gearbox; and its lubrication was by a conventional wet-sump system, rather than the 750's dry-sump arrangement.

Styling was a slightly more rounded version of the 750's look, but that was misleading because the 500 was considerably lighter and more compact. Its twin-cradle frame looked like that of the 750, but was a scaled-down version. The gaitered front forks were slightly thinner, wheelbase was 5cm shorter, and the seat was both slightly narrower and 2.5cm lower. Most importantly, at 185kg dry the CB500 was 30kg lighter than the 750.
Perhaps it's that rather bulbous but in fact not particularly large petrol tank that does it (capacity is listed at 14 litres), but Charlie's well looked-after four certainly felt smaller and more manageable than I'd expected, after I'd eagerly accepted his offer of a ride. This bike is a 1972 model that had done 78,000 miles when he bought it almost a decade ago. It's now well past the 80,000 mark although the variety of other bikes at his disposal means he doesn't put too many miles on it.
During those years Charlie has gradually brought the Honda back to this excellent condition, without having need of a big restoration. "The original owner loved it a lot and did a lot of miles," he says. "I've had the paint done, put on a new exhaust and replaced both wheels."
That exhaust system with its distinctively shaped silences is another unique CB500 feature, and the bike made a restrained but pleasant sound as it fired up with traditional Honda efficiency given a press of the button. Even as I headed out of Oxford Classic Honda's base at an old waterworks, and out onto the Oxford ring road, it was easy to see why Charlie had become so attached to the CB500. It ran very sweetly from low revs, cruised smoothly and effortlessly at 60mph, and could hardly have been easier to ride – yet when a gap appeared in the traffic and I opened up the bank of 22mm Keihin carbs, it surged smoothly forward with an enthusiasm that must have been mighty impressive back in 1972.

The CB500 wasn't an out-and-out speed king even when new, as its top speed was around the "ton" mark (Bike claimed a top whack of 102mph; Cycle World a possibly more scientifically obtained 98.46mph), when plenty of British parallel twins had been going significantly faster for years. But of course where the Japanese bike scored was the usability of its performance.
Its well balanced four-pot motor put a slight tingle through the bars between six grand and the redline at 9250rpm. But the Honda's general smoothness, combined with the slightly leant-forward riding position dictated by its near-flat handlebars, helped make it an excellent bike for sustained high-speed cruising. Its thick dual-seat also helped make the Honda a top mile-eater in its day. And its suspension was rated "exemplary" by Bike magazine's tester, although perhaps surprisingly the Cycle World test was less complimentary, mentioning the "loathsome rocking chair effect" of the under-damped shocks.

After last month's dramas sorting out bent forks it was something of a relief to get back to some straightforward assembly work, though as is always the case when working from a box full of bits I kept finding I had to keep stopping to order pesky circlips and washers. No matter how carefully you sort a project like this one, if you didn't dismantle the bike yourself and keep notes there will always be an element of the jigsaw puzzle about assembling it.

Filling the tank with 20:1 two stroke mix I turned it on and began to prod the kickstarter when I noticed that fuel was pouring from the tap where it screwed to the tank, as well as gushing from the carb overflow. So, despite a hint of life from the engine, I had to stop straight away and postpone the start up until I could source the correct sized fourpenny fibre washer to seal the tap to the tank. Then it looks like a session with carb float needles will be required. But to all intents and purposes the bike is finally assembled, and another half hour's setting up will see it ready for an MOT.
It's been a long and expensive haul for Brian, who first asked me to assemble the bike back in December 2003, and I would like to thank him for being so patient as the job ran late and went over budget by about 25 per cent.
But, alas, that always seems to be the case with any restoration project and the finished result will do him proud. Watch out for the little Fizzy at VJMC shows in the North of England this year, and if you still have a rusting example locked away in the back of the coal shed; dig it out and break out the spanners. You know it makes sense.

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