When you’re ready to sell it…
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Yeah the '85 was a monster with 52hp, the most that Honda ever put in a production motocross bike. I raced open class Hondas in '83 (CR480R). Then had a local sponsorship to ride Yamahas '84-'86. But when I was paying my own way again in '87, I went back to Honda. In '87 I raced CR250R and CR500R. Both were great, and the 500, though badly undersprung, had the motor and chassis pretty well sorted by then. That '85 was a Danny “Magoo” Chandler replica of his '82 & '83 works CR500 and was insane. Kind of like offering the public Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari.
No one rode a 500 like Magoo! 1982 MX des Nations…
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Is that you in the shot?
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@chipwich You had us pumped!! I had a 450r in the dunes of Qatar. WAAAAY too much bike for me so I sold it. Can’t imagine a 550 motocross.
Where are you roughly in germany? I am happy to come over and test drive it for you if the trip is reasonable. The Dortmund/Koln area is about 2.5 hours away for me(from the dutch west coast).
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Should be easy to remove them as a block and just soak it in carb or brake cleaner! My CBR only requires the fuel tank to be removed(2 bolts, few hoses) and then you remove the airbox with the air filter and you’ve got your carbs. the CB takes about the same effort.
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I am quite a bit further south unfortunately, near Karlsruhe, so that’s about three car hours south of Köln if you drive fast.
And I have to say:
Y’all are a great source of motivation for me to get that bike going again, thanks for that!
Last night I spent three hours on
https://www.cb500-wiki.de/ looking up stuff. 
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Better to soak in diesel. Leave for a day to loosen anything nasty then wash out in petrol
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This is all true.
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Or gasoline itself, to avoid diesel traces ending up in the combustion chamber, but yes good point!
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Gas evaporates… And it doesn’t loosen the hard stuff like diesel does. If you flush it through thoroughly you’ll have no problem. Besides it also lubricates any rubber O rings in the carbs. I use it for almost everything lol except cooking!
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With soaking I was more thinking of submersing it in gasoline in a bucket or something, not a thin layer!
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Just make sure it’s outside! 
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And you’re NOT smoking. 
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All good advice.
I would concentrate on the security related issues first. IMHO, new brake fluid is a must. Let a fellow biker check the tyres. If the rubber is too hard I would recommend getting some fresh tyres. Nothing feels better.
Might be worth to check the fuel lines as well when you check the carburetor. They tend to get brittle with age. Maybe you still have the documents from the previous inspection and can find out when they have been replaced the last time.
Enjoy your fun project.
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First get it running, then focus on control mechanism! Why try and fix peripheral issues when you don’t even know if it will crank in the first place!
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^^^ Dude’s a mechanic!
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It’s a Honda. It’s going to run.
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That I fully agree with! Though in what condition is secondary. Get it running, flush the oil and clean the carbs if need be, same for tank, then focus on control issues. Front fork seals may have dried out too, that sort of thing.
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