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Honda GB500 Clubman

snowface

snowface

team threw crew
Joined
Jan 23, 2007
Location
Satan Rosa
Moto(s)
a MANLY MOTO!!!
Name
sal
any BARFers have any personal experiences with this beautiful machine? i've fallen in love with it. there's one parked near my work everyday and i oogle it and drool daily.

gb.jpg
 
It is sorta a English bike knockoff designed to look kinda like a 70s Triumph etc. You won't get power, handling, brakes, or resale, but it is cute.
 
They have kinda a cult following. It's a single, so hella thrumbly, but zippy and fun, from what I've seen and heard. One of the ERC instructors I had, Lisa, used one to demonstrate the exercises; and while it isn't a powerful or super-performance machine, it looked like a fun, cute little sucker to bomb around town on.

I'd totally pick one up if I didn't carry passengers so often. If you get one, I will totally buy you a big ice cream sundae at Fenton's for a spin.
 
since it is based on an xl500 motor, i would think there might be some aftermarket support?

I like 'em , too
 
They are collectors items and a lot of people love them. I rode one and wasn't that impressed. It felt kind of cheap to me. But you can hop them up pretty good.
 
awesome! thanks all. nemo, you're on. :thumbup

part of my interest is that i'm considering selling the beloved B12 and working on a cafe racer (just a thought for now). however, being that my wrenching skills are terrible, i'd like to start with a fairly reliable project so that i can still enjoy a quick ride.

it seems like this bike is pretty much bullet-proof out the box. modifying it for performance and asthetic value would be my end goal. i doubt i'd do any major touring on it, but for personal reasons that's ok for now.

it seems that it's no super sport either, which is fine. i pray i'm not too accustomed to the bandit's power to tone it down on this lil pup. it seems there's some agreement on it's poor price:talent ratio (which the bandit is absolutely reversed on). are there any bikes one would recommend with a better value but similar cafe-style (triumph)?
 
You may want to take a look at stuff like the Yamaha XS 650 or whatever the Kawasaki 60 triumph clone was. The Yamaha has pretty good aftermarket support and availability even though it is ancient. The Kawasaki was made until rather recently but was never as popular. Both will give you two pistons instead of one but will be somewhat less cool in stock form but because they are cheap and not so cool are far better candidates for modification. The CB, due to cult status, may be best left alone.

Getting outside the box, a nice dual sport would compliment the big bad bandit well, as would something like an SV 650 or Hawk 650, although the Hawk, like the GB, suffers from being on the wrong side of the bang/buck equation. One of the shitty aspects of Bandit ownership is that you are unlikely to find anything close in terms of bang for the buck or torque for the dollar, which means that when it is time to go shopping it can be somewhat sad and grim.
 
I know a woman that owns one and it's purty, too. Not sure what she thinks of it performance-wise, but she's got a small herd of bikes to choose from, so I don't think she's too worried about it. She's had it for a few years. If you're serious about getting one, I can put you in touch with her.
 
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also, if you haven't found 'em yet, poke around on: http://caferacer.net/. Some funny characters on that forum, but all in good fun. Plus lots of good links and pictures to drool over...
 
cafe-racers and old school bikes are only a dream until you have had to deal with their handling and other maintenance/repair issues. Then you remember that the 'good old days' weren't as good as people make them be. :p
 
snowface said:
part of my interest is that i'm considering selling the beloved B12 and working on a cafe racer (just a thought for now). however, being that my wrenching skills are terrible, i'd like to start with a fairly reliable project so that i can still enjoy a quick ride.
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That's kind of a step in a WEIRD direction, I hope you don't mind me noting.

You may not want to REPLACE your bullet-proof, completely RELIABLE regular-use MOTO with the project bike. Instead you may want to ADD the project bike to your EVER-GROWING stable of STEEDS!!

You don't want to get FRUSTRATED in your quest for wrench knowledge, or disappointed with a project bike that turns out to be DEMANDING of your time.

You CAN have the best of both worlds!! Anyone who tells you otherwise is a BITTER person, and only trying to kill your dreams. Listen to your inner child. While you're at it, take him out for a beer.
 
budbandit said:
You may want to take a look at stuff like the Yamaha XS 650 or whatever the Kawasaki 60 triumph clone was.
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Moike said:
If you want to build a cafe racer on a budget. Find a early 70's Yamaha XS-650 twin and drop a solo-bump seat and flat-top scalloped tank on it.
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Maiden 4EVA said:
That's kind of a step in a WEIRD direction, I hope you don't mind me noting.
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i think all signs point to "keep the bandit, get a different bike for customizing."

so much smarter than my original plan. thanks everyone for the insight. when i do get around to it i'll definately post up a thread with all the lovely details.

for now, i still dig the GB. i guess i could use it as inspiration for my cafe project. :thumbup

thanks again everyone.
 
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