The time comes when a new bike arrives that it's usually time to move on.... But don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. I'll be keeping the Blades. This is just a winter project so I can have even more fun on track next year. The plan is to turn this CB500 into this After having such a blast on one at Mallory earlier this year
Saw the thread title and then scrolled down to the picture of the blue horror - and thought what you doing But it all makes sense after reading it all ! Will the engine need modification ? Be interesting to see the "before" and "after" pictures.
Blue horror?? I'm surprised you (@Mattie660 ) didn't put in an offer for it. I mean, it is all 'racked up' for touring and got the right bars and all!
Mad I know, but the "Pigs"as they're referred to are becoming quite popular on trackdays as they are the ones that will quite happily pass litre bikes on small tracks like Mallory & Cadwell. It will likely be a slow process, as I would need to throw another grand at the bike to do the conversion properly, but I'm going to concentrate on the important things first, such as modifying the frame for better ground clearance, adapting the exhaust to get it away from under the bike. Then there's the usual, bodywork,brakes, suspension etc. The engines are all stock.
Funny you say that, I'm considering riding it to the NEC in November for the free parking, complete with pillion passenger
I introduced the bike to Cadwell today I hadn't booked on, but that turned out to be a good thing as it rained most of the day and the tyres are sh!te so I didn't go on. Met up with a few guys I know on converted CB500's though and now I have a better idea of what work is involved in turning it into a short circuit weapon
Cool, I will stay at Donnington and snetterton next year then, don't want to get shown up by a cb500 on a tiny go-cart track shame Rockingham has now closed, would have been perfect for the scooter! but you still got Mallory
Bit disappointed you've not cable tied a few bedraggled stuffed toys to the indicators and grab rail yet....it's usually de rigueur on bikes like that
I'll stretch to a pig, but not in the wet. Adds too much weight I was talking to the guys yesterday about that and they literally strip out every bolt, wire, bracket and grind off any bits not needed to save weight. You can pick their bikes up, which explains why they're so quick.
Small capacity bikes are so much fun I had a zxr400 for a couple of years, only rode it at mallory and rockingham, was a hoot, managed a 1.03 on the little buggar at mallory, no braking into gerrards, was hilarious Small capacity bikes bring your riding on so much Rob
Quick update. I skipped a few steps. After pricing up all the parts and working out how long it would take to do the job properly I decided to plough the money into an ex race bike as the racers I spoke to at Cadwell last week confirmed that modifying the exhaust, frame and electrics take a lot of time & money to get right. This way I can spend my time and money on getting the bike how I want it. This is how it looks after I gave a clean, some basis services and stripping some unnecessary parts of the loom back.
Great start Muffy. You'll probably feel much more inspired to work on that than the Blue Bayou, which I suppose, is on ebay now? (Not that I'm a purchase candidate, mind you!)
Cheers. I took it to Cadwell yesterday for a proper run. I need a proper dry day, but all is good so far. https://www.1000rr.co.uk/threads/cadwell-opl-nov-9th.36257/
