1. Husqvarna Motorcycles Made In Sweden - About 1988 and older

83 CR500, here begineth the lesson

Discussion in 'Vintage Restoration Projects' started by Wildebeest90210, Dec 31, 2011.

  1. Wildebeest90210 Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    Gloucestershire.
    Thou shalt not ever buy a shiny motorcycle at a service station from a man from Yorkshire in a white van. I might not get the pics right as its my first post but you should see a mixed up 83CR with 84 plastics. "Its just been rebuilt mate, might be tricky to start". Yes with no spark it was !!! Fixed that by spacing the stator out 1 mm but had the knackered shocks off being rebuilt so didn't try to start it. Then I started to look at it, what an absolute dog. What a cobbled together sack of ****. A 430 motor in a 500 frame is ok by me but then in trying to fix the gear lever return I found the case had been bodged and the outer clutch plates had been rubbing filling the gearbox with ally grinding paste. "You might want to change the gearbox oil soon mate" He knew !!! Then I found a blanked off waterpump, the wrong case entireley!!! Then I spotted a spacer under the barrel, signs of tuning, uh oh. The pics don't do it justice, all the meat gone from the inlet port and yes, it is cracked. A maico 490 piston ported by a 3 year old with a penknife cos its run out of liner and over a mill play in the big end sideways. A scrap barrel piston and head thank you very much. The crank cases are full of paint that much I know but I don't have the mental strength to split the cases yet.
    On the bright side I have some shiny things in boxes waiting but that seems an awful long way off.
    I've tried ranting at the wife but she just smiles as you would do to a mental patient, so thanks for listening if you got this far.

    !B1E6GU!Bmk~$(KGrHqN,!hEEw5sM1PbvBMd!tLjHYw~~_3.jpg 100_3421.JPG 100_3422.JPG 100_3424.JPG 100_3425.JPG
  2. hvaloz2 Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    fareham
    oh dear...well keep us informed...any trouble with the 40mm fork legs let me know.. i got a spare set from my old 84 500cr.
  3. MOTORHEAD Husqvarna
    Pro Class

    Location:
    Mount Vernon, Indiana
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    none
    Other Motorcycles:
    2014 YAMAHA YZ250
    Well, I think it looks pretty nice. Looks like a great starting point for a good resto project, even though the engine may be a mess. Hope you got a decent deal on it.
  4. Wildebeest90210 Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    Gloucestershire.
    I paid full whack for a rebuilt bike ! It was partly my fault, I was blinded by the white blue and yellow and it was my first twin shocker since a AJS stormer in 1984. Big donkey ears.
    Plastics/tank are all sold and 83 ones bought and frame etc off for powder coating so its gone from a rider to a nut and bolt rebuild. I have a good barrel,piston and head on the way from the US.
    Still, should pass the time during the winter.
  5. adam6402 Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    Tulsa, OK
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    None
    Definately feel your pain. Nothing worse that finding out what you thought was a good deal and the hot new toy ready to be played with is not so hot and will take major work before you can have some fun with it. Good luck!
  6. cheko7 Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    hunter valley nsw aus
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    85 500CR 94 250WR 04 125CR 10 300WR
    Other Motorcycles:
    Cagiva WMX 250 88 2/89WMX125s
    some times you win some times you lose keep your eye on the prize it will be great out come and a awesome bike
  7. euro bikes Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Hi, Bad luck! but you could now put a four stroke motor in it ,i have one with a 500 Yam and it's quiet good to ride
  8. Wildebeest90210 Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    Gloucestershire.
    Cheers for the sympathy. Good idea about a 4 stroke, hadn't thought of that but I really want a 2 stroke as my last project (pic) does that for me. I bought the KTM after getting punted off my road bike, I thought an enduro would be safer but didn't realise the county I live in restricted all its byways so I rebuilt to tear up small country roads of which we have plenty. The Husky will be for the same thing, I'm going to lace the hubs up to 17"rims and run it on a daylight MOT, In the process of road registering now. I like the idea of a vintage 2 stroke supermoto ...(sacrilege !).
    Stripped the clutch off today and it all looks good !!! Some play in the mains but they will get changed as a matter of course.
    Any ideas where I can get a good workshop manual from ?

    And finally, great quote from a funny article about a suzuki TM400 called 'the thing' by Pip Higham in the UK mag classic motorcycle mechanics ...
    " A final word about piston ported open class motocrossers, your life is not complete until you sit on one with the engine running. Just don't ride it ....EVER !"

    Can't wait !

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  9. jimspac Husqvarna
    Pro Class

    Location:
    Connecticut
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    82 250WR, 82 430WR, 84 250WR, 85 400
    Other Motorcycles:
    86 400WR, 82 Montesa Cota 349
    Hang in there. A blocked up W/C case is better than none at all. Chances of finding a nice OEM case are getting slimmer as the days go by. At least you can get a nice aluminum case from HVA -Factory. You should be able to find just about all you need on the forum here.
  10. mike328 Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    colorado
    Those AJS stormers are great looking bikes, never owned one myself. I was a Greeves Griffon owner...it was fun but painful to keep tuned - running
  11. Wildebeest90210 Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    Gloucestershire.
    Latest pic, kickstart gear been eating in to the casing all contributing to the grinding paste gear oil. I will make up a phosphor bronze bush for this unless anyone knows of a better fix?
    Will split cases this week. Mains def shot, gears all select and drive by hand so fingers crossed.
    Might dig out a pick of the Stormer Mike, a 370 built from a box of bits when I was 14. My Dad couldn't believe it when it ran. I couldn't believe it when it spun 180 on the very first corner, I stayed on, if I hadn't I'd probably be playing golf instead now.

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    mike328 likes this.
  12. grouty Auto Lover ...

    Location:
    South West UK
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    78 390WR, 78 390 AMX, 500 Humph
    Other Motorcycles:
    works 73 CCM 520, another 73 CCM520
    Why not rebuild it and go twinshock motocross ? There is a fantastic scene up north. Tis a long drive for me from down south, but the tracks are worth it.
    As for the seller ....... name and shame I reckon ! If it was not as described by him verbally or in the advert, then we need to know. The scene here in the UK is small enough for someone to know.
    Good luck with the rebuild.
  13. MOTORHEAD Husqvarna
    Pro Class

    Location:
    Mount Vernon, Indiana
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    none
    Other Motorcycles:
    2014 YAMAHA YZ250
    Well, all things aside, I'd love to have it even if I had to fix it. I think it's beautiful.
  14. adam6402 Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    Tulsa, OK
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    None
  15. ruwfo Administrator

    Location:
    NJ
    Husqvarna Motorcycle:
    1980 390CR, 1982 430CR, 1984 400WR
    Other Motorcycles:
    1985 250XC, 2016 FJ-09
    Oh ,yes, watch what you buy or trade for, my 84 500CR had a chunk of the lower cylinder liner broken off. I found out later,
    he dropped it on the side walk, but still put it together & with a new piston to boot. And yes a winter project can be
    fun.

    Husky John
  16. Wildebeest90210 Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    Gloucestershire.
    All the way from America! Thanks Clint, a barrel piston and head that looks as it should. Some fettling and matching should keep me out of trouble for a while followed by some vapor blasting. Had a nice stainless exhaust stub made up for the Pro Form pipe.
    Made up a fork for the little end today and a case splitter. Both worked like a charm and all looks OK in the cases (bar all the grinding paste and knackered bearings) ! Its good news today!
    Hadn't found the link to the schimmelaw bike, very nice indeed. Going to have a good read through tonight, no stoppies for me though, will keep the standard TLS.
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  17. mike328 Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    colorado
    Great Documentation. Its definately a labor of love...I know!!!
  18. gert Husqvarna
    AA Class

    hello mike

    I want to no what tolls or instrument you have to put together the engine.
    Have you any bdesign for ir
    Tjosan gert in sweden
  19. Michel Dufayard Husqvarna
    Pro Class

    Location:
    France
    At that level, is it an English speciality ?
  20. Wildebeest90210 Husqvarna
    AA Class

    Location:
    Gloucestershire.
    In the interest of world peace I would like to think at that level such behavior transcends all international and racial boundries and that in France you also have people who would take advantage of a forty someting year old who is reduced to a drooling mess at the sight of a motorcycle so aesthetically pleasing that one would quite easily consider selling a major internal organ in order to aquire it. Ne vous importer jamais !!!