Light Restoration | 2005 Foreman 500

[shadetree 5,864]

7 minutes ago, oh400ex said:

Shout out to @jeepwm69 for saving me today.

 

I was trying to pull the centrifugal clutch with a three jaw and it just kept slipping off.

Went and read some posts and found one on the old forums describing how you can use big hose clamps to hold it together. 

 

Going to go ahead and order the tool but got it off thanks to you! 

 

hammer, smack..off it comes.

[jeepwm69 7,605]

I had some big clamps that held the solenoid box on the motor on the Warn 8274 winches (old upright Warns).

 

They work good! 

 

Any time I try using a hammer on these Hondas I regret it.  Mushroomed a CV end this morning just barely tapping on it.  KNEW I should have gone back to the shop and gotten that brass mallet!

[shadetree 5,864]

5 hours ago, jeepwm69 said:

I had some big clamps that held the solenoid box on the motor on the Warn 8274 winches (old upright Warns).

 

They work good! 

 

Any time I try using a hammer on these Hondas I regret it.  Mushroomed a CV end this morning just barely tapping on it.  KNEW I should have gone back to the shop and gotten that brass mallet!

LOL, when you are installing a cv axle, ALWAYS PUT THE CASTLE NUT ON, THEN I USE MY PLASTIC HARBOR FREIGHT MALLET TO TAP IT INTO THE FRONT DIFF.

[Fishfiles 20,145]

Dead blow , shot filled hammers and mauls or a block of wood and a steel hammer 

[jeepwm69 7,605]

7 minutes ago, shadetree said:

LOL, when you are installing a cv axle, ALWAYS PUT THE CASTLE NUT ON, THEN I USE MY PLASTIC HARBOR FREIGHT MALLET TO TAP IT INTO THE FRONT DIFF.

 

 

i had one of those.  The plastic all broke off!  Harbor FRIGHT!

[jeepwm69 7,605]

4 minutes ago, Fishfiles said:

Dead blow , shot filled hammers and mauls or a block of wood and a steel hammer 

 

Heck I was barely tapping on it.  Had to be quiet or I'd wake the wife at 5:30AM.  She's not a morning person either!

[shadetree 5,864]

6 hours ago, jeepwm69 said:

 

 

i had one of those.  The plastic all broke off!  Harbor FRIGHT!

lol, the ends on mine are showing use for sure !..lol..but still works good !. mines orange, you musta got a pink one ?..lol. 

[oh400ex 629]

3 minutes ago, shadetree said:

lol, the ends on mine are showing use for sure !..lol..but still works good !. mines orange, you musta got a pink one ?..lol. 

If one of y'all left it in the sun and the other didn't well there is your problem. I left a plastic hammer outside by mistake for a few and put it back with the others from the set. That one was brittle enough that it cracked to pieces the next time we used it but the others are fine. Even long term indirect sun could ruin on I would think... of course it was from HF 😄

[shadetree 5,864]

9 hours ago, oh400ex said:

If one of y'all left it in the sun and the other didn't well there is your problem. I left a plastic hammer outside by mistake for a few and put it back with the others from the set. That one was brittle enough that it cracked to pieces the next time we used it but the others are fine. Even long term indirect sun could ruin on I would think... of course it was from HF 😄

yep, got mine from HF as well, but i leave all my tools in their place ( for the most part ) inside my shop.

[oh400ex 629]

Well things sure have slowed down now that the weather is getting colder.

 

Got the clutches, friction weights and springs replaced. Shifts perfectly now and centrifugal clutch is working again.

The drum was slightly grooved but definitely usable with new weight set.

 

Clutch plates were in-spec and even if they weren't could have been ran again. 

As you can see in the pictures everything was aggressively cleaned and re-oiled before going back in. 

I think all I used was scotch-brite, plastic blade-style scrapers, WD-40, assembly grease, GN4 and lots of paper towels (blue towels are better but more expensive)

Compressed air is super important for getting the grit off parts before reassembly too.

 

Wheeler man...

I would have never taken an abrasive (more aggressive than scotch-brite) to the drum.

That was a big risk in my mind... I just hope you got away with it.

 

Jeep's hose clamp trick works like a charm. Almost good enough that you feel like you don't even need the real tool...

I have used a strap before but this worked so much better. Thanks again!

 

Shade you owe me one. The first gear in that bike is good.

Video is uploading but long/short is that it shifts perfectly and first/reverse is exactly like any other gear.

 

Take a note of the difference between old friction weights and the new assembly. Definitely needed it.

New (OEM) springs make the clutch and centri-clutch feel amazing. Would never consider any other springs but OEM when doing a clutch.

This bike will run many trouble-free miles on the new OEM clutches!

 

A few pictures of the in-progress restoration on the yellow plastics.

After washing with soapy water and scotch-brite the parts are sanded.

If there is no damage I start with 220 on a power sander.

Knock down the entire panel evenly as possible and use a sanding sponge for anywhere that can not be reached.

 

I then move through the grits. All this is done dry and using air compressor to clear sanding dust.

220 > 400 > 600 > 1000 > 1500 and the soft cotton buffing wheel to finish. You should be using an impact driver with adjustable speed trigger for that step.

The reason that an impact is better than the drill is when the wheel catches an edge the impact slips while the drill digs. VERY light pressure at first with the cotton wheel.

No compound of any kind and make sure the surface is clear of sanding dust with air compressor before buffing.

 

It can be taken to a ridiculous level but to factory mirror polish is not difficult. If you try and skip a few grits it will be much harder.

Never use a heat gun to refinish plastics.

 

Thank you for looking!

 

 

 

Edited October 27, 2020 by oh400ex

[AKATV 822]

Wow looking good!

Have you ever tried your plastic restoration method the the faded Honda red (pink) plastics?

I have never found anything that worked out too well, but I have not tried your method

Edited October 27, 2020 by AKATV

[oh400ex 629]

18 minutes ago, AKATV said:

Wow looking good!

Have you ever tried your plastic restoration method the the faded Honda red (pink) plastics?

I have never found anything that worked out too well, but I have not tried your method

 

It will make it polished pink if it's faded enough. Looks really cool if done right. Custom colors are expensive lol

 

Look on the bottom of the fender for your end color. If the underside is faded that means the entire plastic is now that color.

If it is red underneath it will look brand new when done with this method. Start with lower grit than 220 if you have to.

 

Edit: You need to try this on clear plastic if you haven't. I'll take a picture of the gauge after but it will look new. Headlights etc

  

On 10/12/2020 at 4:17 PM, shadetree said:

once you get it running ?, fire it up, shift it to 1st gear, hit the throttle, see if it jerks, clunks ?..if it does ?, then yes..1st set is trashed. then you can send me that bet'n money you lost !..rofl.

 

On 10/13/2020 at 3:59 PM, shadetree said:

for the most part, i do hope you don't have to rip it all back apart ?..cuz yes..it does suck big time !.

 

"For the most part" 🤣

 

I love this about you my friend. I would bet you have been called honest-to-a-fault a few times in your life lol

You could have kept the "a part of me hopes you have to take that thing back apart" to yourself but that wouldn't have been the truth.

 

Here is video proof that shade is wrong once every year or two 😂

I just hope you stay wrong on this one and I'm not back in a month taking the tranny apart while full on humble pie!

 

Ignore the valve tick-type sound as it doesn't do justice to reality. The engine is actually super quiet and sounds very loud in this clip. There are no fenders or covers on the bike which really makes things louder. Bad camera and super shaky but you can hear the clean shifting and 1st gear. Running great!

 

Edit: Can't tell in the video but I am going up/down a hill in the field and it is very rough lol

 

 

Edited October 27, 2020 by oh400ex

[shadetree 5,864]

14 hours ago, oh400ex said:

 

It will make it polished pink if it's faded enough. Looks really cool if done right. Custom colors are expensive lol

 

Look on the bottom of the fender for your end color. If the underside is faded that means the entire plastic is now that color.

If it is red underneath it will look brand new when done with this method. Start with lower grit than 220 if you have to.

 

Edit: You need to try this on clear plastic if you haven't. I'll take a picture of the gauge after but it will look new. Headlights etc

  

 

 

"For the most part" 🤣

 

I love this about you my friend. I would bet you have been called honest-to-a-fault a few times in your life lol

You could have kept the "a part of me hopes you have to take that thing back apart" to yourself but that wouldn't have been the truth.

 

Here is video proof that shade is wrong once every year or two 😂

I just hope you stay wrong on this one and I'm not back in a month taking the tranny apart while full on humble pie!

 

Ignore the valve tick-type sound as it doesn't do justice to reality. The engine is actually super quiet and sounds very loud in this clip. There are no fenders or covers on the bike which really makes things louder. Bad camera and super shaky but you can hear the clean shifting and 1st gear. Running great!

 

Edit: Can't tell in the video but I am going up/down a hill in the field and it is very rough lol

 

 

lol, hey..just because its working as of right now ?, does not mean you won't have to tear back into it later !..lol. also..i can't be right every day !!..lol.

[oh400ex 629]

Buttoning this bike up finally after many delays. 

Changed the gear oil again (and for the last time most likely) 

Got the plastics finished and started assembly. Old superglue and baking soda fix on the cracked factory "snorkel" 

 

The last few issues needing to be addressed are the gas gauge and cooling fan.

 

Yet to see what the exact problem is with either one of these but fan is not kicking on and gauge flashes like it isn't connected.

Anyone just know what the issue is from experience with these bikes?

[AKATV 822]

Hi

I noticed on the last 500 I did awhile back that my gas gauge would flash when unplugged

If I remember correctly, there are 2  wires with plugs on the wire lead coming out of the tank for the float assembly sensor

If it is still plugged in and connections are clean, you might try pulling the float from the tank and (most likely) you will find that the the small wire fingers that rub on the main plate when the float goes up and down are corroded/dirty or worn/broken off. Its possible to very carefully clean if dirty, if broken, the sensor will need replacing.

If there is not contact at the sensor plate area it is the same as being unplugged and the gas gauge will flash (error)

I got lucky and was able to clean my contact points with pencil eraser and all was good.

I think any condensation in tank plays the devil on that contact area, so its best to keep it covered up with fuel

I think the fan module is an "all in one" on these combining CDI and fan control together. They seen to go out about as often as the fan controls on 400/450s does which are separate modules

I have had good luck reflowing control modules in the oven at 450 for about 7-10 minutes but have never tried it on a 500 yet

I think Jeep might be trying to reflow one in the future, as he just did a couple Foreman 500 machines that both had bad fan controls and the fans were wired to a switch when he got them

We were just talking about it a few days ago, he put fully working ECUs back in so he now  has 2 spare modules that dont kick the fan on and was considering "baking" one

It also might not be your ECM,-was wondering if you tried testing the fan motor directly and if so, grounding the oil temp sensor wire to see if fan comes on?

Good luck let us know how you make out

Edited November 28, 2020 by AKATV

[oh400ex 629]

Well I didn't get a chance to check the fan yet but the fuel float contacts were corroded away. Will need a replacement unit.

 

Got a lot of the plastic put together and some of it back on the machine. Wanted to show the baking soda / superglue fix on the factory snorkel. It doesn't show so was left rough but can be sanded down if you want a better finish. Still need to treat all black plastic with Cerakote trim coat but they already look pretty good.

 

I'll finish putting it together tomorrow hopefully.

 

Thanks for looking!

[retro 4,048]

Great work oh400ex! I envy your trickbags of "home remedies"! 🙂

 

[Chevymec 510]

Speaking of the factory snorkel, how important is it to have? My 500 had an aftermarket snorkel on it and I took it off so pretty much open straight to the box. Never have any plans of riding in deep water.

[oh400ex 629]

17 minutes ago, Chevymec said:

Speaking of the factory snorkel, how important is it to have? My 500 had an aftermarket snorkel on it and I took it off so pretty much open straight to the box. Never have any plans of riding in deep water.

 

It also gives arguably better airflow as the main intake would be behind the gas tank instead of closer to the engine.

This bike is never going into deep water again but I think it's the right thing to do either way. 

You can buy this part brand new for a reasonable-ish price.

 

There are some that don't have the deal on the side that interchange but I don't know off hand what models.

[jeepwm69 7,605]

15 hours ago, Chevymec said:

Speaking of the factory snorkel, how important is it to have? My 500 had an aftermarket snorkel on it and I took it off so pretty much open straight to the box. Never have any plans of riding in deep water.

 

You probably ought to get one in there just to be safe.  Let me check my stash and see if I have an extra one.  I think I've gotten a couple from PSN with the "pile o bolts" stuff I've gotten from them. 

[jeepwm69 7,605]

On 11/28/2020 at 11:55 AM, AKATV said:

Hi

I noticed on the last 500 I did awhile back that my gas gauge would flash when unplugged

If I remember correctly, there are 2  wires with plugs on the wire lead coming out of the tank for the float assembly sensor

If it is still plugged in and connections are clean, you might try pulling the float from the tank and (most likely) you will find that the the small wire fingers that rub on the main plate when the float goes up and down are corroded/dirty or worn/broken off. Its possible to very carefully clean if dirty, if broken, the sensor will need replacing.

If there is not contact at the sensor plate area it is the same as being unplugged and the gas gauge will flash (error)

I got lucky and was able to clean my contact points with pencil eraser and all was good.

I think any condensation in tank plays the devil on that contact area, so its best to keep it covered up with fuel

I think the fan module is an "all in one" on these combining CDI and fan control together. They seen to go out about as often as the fan controls on 400/450s does which are separate modules

I have had good luck reflowing control modules in the oven at 450 for about 7-10 minutes but have never tried it on a 500 yet

I think Jeep might be trying to reflow one in the future, as he just did a couple Foreman 500 machines that both had bad fan controls and the fans were wired to a switch when he got them

We were just talking about it a few days ago, he put fully working ECUs back in so he now  has 2 spare modules that dont kick the fan on and was considering "baking" one

It also might not be your ECM,-was wondering if you tried testing the fan motor directly and if so, grounding the oil temp sensor wire to see if fan comes on?

Good luck let us know how you make out

 

 

I haven't tried it yet, but I got this and the little "fingers" on the float look the same as the OEM sending unit.  I have one put together but haven't tried it yet.

 

 

[Chevymec 510]

1 hour ago, jeepwm69 said:

 

You probably ought to get one in there just to be safe.  Let me check my stash and see if I have an extra one.  I think I've gotten a couple from PSN with the "pile o bolts" stuff I've gotten from them. 

Sweet! Let me know. I'd much rather get it from a member.

[jeepwm69 7,605]

34 minutes ago, Chevymec said:

Sweet! Let me know. I'd much rather get it from a member.

 

I know I have a couple in my shop.  Just need to make sure I have enough to finish up the two machines I'm piecing together and still have an "extry"!

[jeepwm69 7,605]

On 11/30/2020 at 10:59 AM, Chevymec said:

Sweet! Let me know. I'd much rather get it from a member.

Well I struck out.  Found one, and found a 420 intake, but that was it.  Apparently I've moved that one around so much that I thought I had multiples. 

 

So not only do I not have an extra, but I actually need one LOL

[oh400ex 629]

Well it's done!

Assembled is more accurate 😁

It still needs...

 

Rims painted (along with a few other parts)

Gas gauge fixed 

Final plastic treatments and protective coatings

Stickers

 

This is a good representation of what the bike will actually look like after a few months of real use. I will come back and post its beauty shots in a few days.

Shifts great, everything works, great power, engine sounds amazing. Owner is very happy with the results.

 

Thank you for looking!