Description
Honda CB500/4
MID-LIFE BIKE CRISIS?
Dave McKenlay’s 40th birthday was looming. He was happy riding and polishing his Honda 400/4 but it just wasn’t enough. Then Mrs. McK came to the rescue…
ALTHOUGH I have always enjoyed riding the 1976 CB400/4 I restored three years ago, I had become bored. Polishing it just didn’t make up for the enjoyment I’d had rebuilding it. The answer seemed obvious – restore another bike. But what? The search began.
As I was approaching the ‘Big 40’ my wife offered to buy me a restoration project as a present. The only drawback was that she wanted to choose it herself – not really an option because she knows absolutely nothing about bikes!
My initial thoughts leaned towards a dohc 750 Honda. Or better still, a 900. Several trips were undertaken but nothing came of any of them. Then a work trip found me travelling along the A5 in the Midlands. By this time a copy of Mechanics was a regular companion for me to check out any suitable dealers in the towns and cities I visit during the course of my work. I drove through Atherstone in Warwickshire. The magazine told me that Gov’nors Bridge Motorcycles lived there. Worth a look on the way back. By lunchtime on that Thursday I stood forlornly outside their premises staring at the ‘Closed on Thursday’ sign. Sod’s Law had struck.
But as luck would have it someone was there and opened the door to me. I explained that I was looking for a 750 to restore. No, but they did have an Italian import 500/4 in need of some TLC. I looked it over and decided it was basically sound. A deal was struck and the bike was delivered to my home in Leicester that evening – not bad service on their closing day!
