[KamikazeSloth]

I'm relatively new to the motorcycle world, I've ridden for about a year now, but this has been off and on, primarily on other people's bikes, but I've had a good amount of time to learn how to ride and become accustom to riding in general. I've recently found a 96 500LTD that I'm looking to buy and since this will be my first bike, I'm looking for a good starter that won't cost me an arm and a leg. My only fear is my height, I'm 6' 3" 195lbs, I know I can fit on it, and won't be doing any long rides anywhere, I'm getting this conserve gas instead of my truck plus I'm just trying to slowly get into bikes and hopefully learn all I can now and then move onto another bigger bike. My question is, what place aside from the dealer can I get OEM parts, or something like that, this bike is in good condition for its age, but it has dent in the tank from falling over in a windstorm, and the front brake lever is bent as well, I've found a replacemetn lever, but a gas tank is proving to be more work. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

P.S. I've yet to take the MSF course, but will very soon.

 

[ispeed77]

first off, welcome to the forum. second, as i tell a lot of people, spend some time on Ebay. especially when it comes to OEM parts, Ebay can be great for that stuff. i think you will be happy with the LTD as a first bike and you will enjoy tinkering with it until you are ready for something more your size. enjoy the forum and keep us posted on your progress.
david

 

[KamikazeSloth]

Thanks, I'm so excited to get back on a bike, its been awhile and I miss that feeling. I should probably get the bike in early March if everything goes ok, I've got to find a time to get off from work and school and travel to get it. I'm looking for a carb rebuild kit for it, but my attempts so far haven't produced anything. Also, I know they make some foward controls for 500's, how hard would it it be to try and mod the cbcustom's foward controls for the 800, they seem to be the cheapest I've seen anywhere, and aren't the frames very similar with the 500 LTD and 800?

 

[ispeed77]

you got me there, but i am sure someone will chime in and help you out. we have quite a few 800 riders here, so i am sure someone has an idea.

 

[BRlawman]

Welcome to the forum KamikazeSloth. Unfortunately, I can't offer any help on this problem. But I'll look into it for ya. Hope you enjoy the forum.

 

[centerpunch]

I have a freind in the auto body business and he was willing to paint some saddlebags for me for bucks. Have you talked to a body shop about painting it for you if you strip the tank. they can bondo the dent and make it look like new. It might be cheaper than buying a new tank. I stripped and old tank of mine and was amazed at all the little dents that were fixed with bondo.

good luck.

 

[2WheelFun]

How bad is the dent? I've read that you can apply heat to a dent (use a heat gun "carefully" and then once the area is heated....place a piece of dry ice to the dent and it will pop out.

 

[SteveA]

I bought a 500LTD for my wife. I am also 6'3", and am the one who did most of the break-in riding. My knees were practically in my face! The seat step was in the small of my back & hurt after about 10 minutes on the bike. Make no mistake-it is one sweet bike-smooth, good power, great mileage, great handling. Accesories are virtually non-existent as a general rule. Fire & Steel has a few. Check their catalog online. Some guys have bought the Vulcan 750 when they returned to riding. More room, superb power, shaft drive, self-adjusting valves and good instrumentation. All that for not that much more weight.
Ride safely

 

[KamikazeSloth]

As far as the dent goes, its on the left side, and is about the size of a orange, it fell during a windstorm, gotta love hurricanes. Now, with the size, I'm pretty much expecting the fit to be pretty close, but for a starter, and for the money, I'd rather get riding, plus I don't have near enough money to get anything bigger unless a miracle happens soon. I'm hoping there might be some way to modify foward controls from a 800 to fit in the 500, its probably wishful thinking, but it couldn't hurt to find out. Also, with the size, the bike won't be driven long at all, daily commute, about 5 miles each way, so I doubt I'd be really sore and I had the chance to sit on and feel out a 98 800, it fit me fine, only thing that worried me was that the brake pedal seemed kinda high, but I still could reach it, so I guess the only way I'll find out is the get on it and ride. Thanks for all your help!

 

[Mangler]

Welcome to the forum KamikazeSloth,as far as the dent on the tank your 3 options are -ebay (used) Body shop or new.If ya know someone in autobody you might get a deal,not sure what a used tank goes for.Foward controls you can try to rig it up but I'am pretty sure the dont make any for the 500.Thats about the only drawback to the 500 (aftermarket parts) it's a great bike enjoy it and keep us posted,take a few pic's and post them in the show off your ride section when you get the bike.

 

[woodchucks800]

How bad is the dent? I've read that you can apply heat to a dent (use a heat gun "carefully" and then once the area is heated....place a piece of dry ice to the dent and it will pop out.

Whistle I heard it in reverse you freeze an then heat slowy.Maybe someone that has actually done it will chime in? It won't get sharp creases out but it would get it out good enough to repair an repaint.

 

[KamikazeSloth]

Thanks for all the help guys, as far as the dent goes, I'll probably live with it for a while and then have a body shop take a look at it, or I've got a friend who has offered to help me with it, he's done lots of work on ducati's and I've seen some examples, for what I'm looking for, I might just let him help me with it, we'll see....

Now for the forward controls, I've only seen two kinds made for the 500, and they're close to 400-500 bucks, so thats a no go, plus they only move the entire setup about 2 and half inches forward, I'd like lots more. What I'm gonna do is email the guys over at cbcustoms.com and see if they either know the answer, or would be interested in maybe looking into seeing what it would take to modify some of their's to fit a 500. Thanks again for all your help!