The best part about scouring the World Wide Web for interesting motorcycles is always walking away with more knowledge than I sat down with. Often times I’m taken in by a bike I’ve never taken any time to look at and get to experience its entire history.
This particular day, I was drawn in by what often catches my eye, which is an old bike looking like new. The Honda CB500T was the accused bike this time. Most of the time when I zero in on a bike, I’m faced with the task of just hitting the highlights of the bike’s history and specs. Not so this time. The CB500T had a production run from 1975-1976. I didn’t need to do much more research to find out it wasn’t a hit. The 500 was equipped with a 498cc DOHC parallel twin engine that produced a claimed 34 horsepower. It’s fed by dual CV carbs, and interestingly used torsion bar valve assembly. The torsion bar valve set up was shared with the CB450 and is kind of rare. Instead of a spring returning the valves to the closed position, a small cylindrical torsion bar is place across the valves. The bar twists when the cam lobe hits the valve to the open position then the bar returns it after the lobe has moved on. Pretty cool actually. This clever set up was over shadowed by a lack of refinement, and some serious vibration issues around 50mph.
This CB500T caught my eye for a couple of different reasons. I love the color brown on bikes and cars. Don’t ask me to explain, it’s completely subjective, and I won’t defend it. I also love brown leather, and that seat is singing to me. Brass tacks, this is a very nice light restoration. The frame has been powder-coated and the paint has been re sprayed in the original brown and gold. The seller claims that the 500 has been restored using all NOS (new old stock) parts, which is pretty enticing. The engine has less than 100 miles, and it’s all 100% stock. Maybe this bike wasn’t a big success for Honda, and maybe with good reason, but that leaves us today with a rare, interesting bike. I’m into that.
Find this 1976 Honda CB500T in Laguna Niguel California for $6,500 here on Craigslist.