I have very recently bought a 1971 Honda CB500. I'm pretty new to motorcycle maintenance and but hope that I will learn a lot caring for this bike which is in fairly good shape. One issue that I am having is that when I first accelerate in 1st gear or 2nd gear and sometimes when I'm cruising it stutters and seems to lose power for a sec. There is also the strong smell of gas by the time I finish riding but there are no visible gas leaks. The bike starts first time and the loss of power seems to get worse the longer I ride (usually after 30 - 60 minutes). Another issue which I'm not sure if it is related to this or not is that when stopped and idling the revs will suddenly drop down and the bike will stall if i don't rev it a bit at which point the RPMs settle again although this also gets worse the longer I ride the bide and sometimes have to keep it slightly revved when stopped at a light. The Carbs have been balanced and the bike tuned recently.

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

Sounds like your getting way to much fuel in the system.

 

forums.sohc4.net
Good site for Honda CBs.

But sounds like your alittle rich. Check your air filter. Check if your choke is working properly (stuck on). Check if your exchaust for clogs. Might need a carb rebuild.

More info at the site. They are very helpful (not to say this sight isn't). I have a '76 CB550 myself. Good luck.

 

Thanks!

 

My bike always smells like gasoline. When I was fumbling around with the carbs cleaning them and what not I replaced a few rubber lines. I think they're drain lines but I too smell gas when I'm finished riding. I thought there was something wrong with my bike and it was just the choke. However if your riding this on the street you probably already checked that. I would suggest cleaning the carbs.

 

Yeah I've suspected that it may be the choke. Did you do any adjustments/fixes to your choke or was cleaning the carbs the answer. Do you still have the gas smell or is it fixed now?

Thanks.

 

My choke was actually stuck I'm not sure my buddy fixed that he stored it at his house till we could drive it home. Cleaning the carbs definitely helped. Before I bought my bike it sat on the kick stand, not the upright one and one of the carbs was just filled with complete gunk and clogged. I don't really know much about the fuel to air mix but that might be a problem. I still have the gas smell and I think it always will.