A few months back I tried to start the CB500 in the cold, and stupidly switched on the choke before switching in the engine on. This little mistake turned into a big nuisance as the engine started, coughed and stopped and left me standing outside my office, repeatedly trying to start the bike again. However as the engine had got flooded with excess petrol, nothing happened. I ended up parking the bike overnight, in order to get it fixed the following day.

As I told the mechanic what had happened he explained the following: Once the carbs flood with fuel, the spark plugs will get wet and basically become useless. After that, the points of the spark plugs (even if you do take them out, wipe them dry, and sand off the dirt from them) will never be clean enough to give a reliable spark.

It’s not all that bad though. Replacement spark plugs come for around £6, and if you have the original tools that come with the bike, you will already have all required tools to replace the spark plugs yourself.

Here’s what you do. Once you get two replacement spark plugs, take the side covers (shrouds) off the tank. On the top of the engine you will see black rubber plugs which go all the way inside. This is a little fiddly, especially if you have big hands, but it’s just about possible to pull out the plugs from the engine and take them out entirely, put the spark plug socket inside the cavity you just removed the rubber plugs from. Open the spark plug by twisting on the tool with a spanner going anti clockwise. This may require quite a bit of force!

Once the spark plugs are unscrewed, just take them out, if you can reach make sure the area round the spark plugs is clean and dry, and put the new one in. Repeat this process on the other side of the engine. Once you’re done, simply push the plugs back in, make sure they are properly tightly connected - you might feel a subtle click when they push in, after which they won’t move around anymore. Then put the shrouds back on and you should be up and running!

Well, I’ve been a bit busy lately, blowing some cash on bits for the bike. And even if I say so myself, I’m quite pleased actually. Let’s recap what I’m trying to achieve; My 1996 Honda CB500 is looking a bit tired and rusty, and I’m planning to do a bit of DIY restauration and custom paint work on it to make it look good again.

My wishlist before starting the project was as follows:

1. Replacement footpeg rubbers - CHECK
2. Replacement body panels in order to do a full DIY respray, without the risk of permanent damage to original paint! - CHECK (just require front mudguard, but I’ve got my eye on one already…)
3. Possibly replacement headlight cover
4. Respray of engine & gear box
5. New levers to go with the new handlebar
6. New, more modern looking indicators - CHECK
7. Respray of exhaust, or new one depending on how difficult it would be to get a good finish on the old one.
8. Respray of grab rails and other bits and pieces.

So as you can see, there is definitely some progress there already! Last weekend when the body panels I have purchased got delivered, I did see that I’ve got a long way to go in order to achieve what I want.. The tank I purchased needs a bit of care - some rust removal and dents & scratches to be filled. So I’ve stocked up on Hammerite Rust Remover and also a tube of Body Filler from Halfords. And after giving sanding a shot for a while on Saturday, I’ve decided there’s another thing I’m going to have to invest in. An electric sander.

I’m not yet entirely sure what type I should go for, but at the moment it’s between a regular el-cheapo detail sander or a Black & Decker Mouse. The latter seems to be quite good, as far as I could tell from some online reviews I found. But it’s going to take a bit more time researching before I actually buy one.

So here goes, my updated wishlist:

1. Replacement front mudguard, perhaps a fairing as well
2. Possibly replacement headlight cover
3. Respray of engine & gear box
4. New levers to go with the new handlebar
5. Respray of exhaust, or new one depending on how difficult it would be to get a good finish on the old one.
6. Respray of grab rails and other bits and pieces.
7. Electric Sander

Many people who own older bikes may have thought to themselves – why not have a go at repainting the bike at home.

Well I’ll admit, I’m one of those people. And I have taken matters into my own hand, with those around me being extremely divided about the topic. I am going to repaint my bike, and because I’m inherently a bargain hunter, I will attempt to do so on a small budget (yet aiming for the best possible finish!). So following my usual approach for everything, it will take a lot of work, a lot of time, and perhaps a bit of luck.

Repaint Strategy – in order to minimise risk I am going to paint replacement bodywork for my bike. Luckily, because my Honda CB500 is a very common motorcycle, used bodywork is readily available on Ebay and not very expensive. Below find a step by step guide I’ve set for myself:

Step 1. Purchase replacement bodywork;

- Tank

- Side panels (2x)

- Tail piece

- Mudguard (front)

- Tank shrouds (optional – as I haven’t been able to find any yet!)

Step 2. Repair and Prepare; all body panels will be sanded down thoroughly, any rust removed, dents and scratches repaired as far as possible. Once this is done (I’ve set myself a timeframe of 3-4 weeks to do this, since I’ll only get time in the weekends, and I’m quite lazy really), I will prime all bodywork with a rattle can of grey primer (Halfords – 400ml for £5.99 I think). Two to three layers should do.

Step 3. Design; Now my husband keeps insisting I’m doing all this the wrong way around, but after prep work, or during, whenever I get spare time with a graphics software, I’ll have to come up with a design for the paint work. Keeping in mind I’m a total novice to custom automotive painting, I’ll have to keep it fairly simple, or practice like mad in order to find out where my limitations are.

Step 4. Equipment; Depending on what design I’m going with, I’ll have to get painting equipment. At the moment I’m inclined towards using an HVLP spray system for the bulk of the work, and airbrush the detailing. So I will need to buy the HVLP system, a compressor and perhaps another airbrush (the one I have is very basic).

Step 5. Materials; obviously only if I’m totally sure about the colour scheme, I will need to purchase some paint. Considering I don’t have a professional spray booth, or even a garage to my disposal, I would like to use water-based paint, minimising any health risks I’m exposing myself to.

Step 6. Execution; actually paint the bodywork. I’ll have to do this outdoors in the garden, so will need to pick a few weekends with good weather forecasts… All bodywork will need to stay outside for drying even!

Step 7. Installation; the big swap over from old body to new… Like changing the bike’s clothes! Before I do this I’ll need to make sure the tank I’m currently using doesn’t have a whole lot of fuel in it, because I doubt my landlord would appreciate petrol spills on the driveway.

Step 8. Finishing touches; maybe the custom fever has gripped me so much by then, that I’ll want to do a whole new host of things to the bike, like paint the rims or something crazy like that, change the seat cover maybe? I don’t know… I’ll see once it happens.

Throughout this entire process, obviously I’ll keep posting updates and pictures of how I’m getting along. If you’ve got a project of your own which you’d like to share, please do let me know. The more the merrier!

Well as I’ve already mentioned in the About page, I’ve recently started riding around town on the ‘96 Honda CB500 my husband bought over a year ago. Since he’s bought another bike in the meanwhile, plus we also have got a car, the Honda had been lying idle for a while, but this is no longer the case!

I’m now taking it to office almost every day, and with summer approaching, my use of the bike is only set to increase.

So now that I’m using it full time, I can’t be satisfied with the state it’s in at the moment. It’s like an old work horse, which has collected scars over the years, never kept dry and safe, developing rust and generally looking a bit tattered. But I’m going to change all that and in the process individualise the bike to suit my taste.

Over the weekend, I started on this journey - I bought a tube of Autosol Metal Polish, and went to work, cleaning the metalwork of the bike. After finishing the following can be said:

Good bits:

Bodywork in fair order, requiring a respray though

Seat in good condition,

Good tires & wheels

New handlebar & end weights

but that’s about it - bad bits:

Rusty chrome; headlight, shockers

Flaking paint on engine

Torn footpeg rubbers

Faded black plastic (mudguard, meters, indicators, etc.)

Rusty exhaust & downpipes

Scuffed clutch/brake levers

So my wishlist is as follows:

1. Replacement footpeg rubbers
2. Replacement body panels in order to do a full DIY respray, without the risk of permanent damage to original paint!
3. Possibly replacement headlight cover
4. Respray of engine & gear box
5. New levers to go with the new handlebar
6. New, more modern looking indicators
7. Respray of exhaust, or new one depending on how difficult it would be to get a good finish on the old one.
8. Respray of grab rails and other bits and pieces.