What would I want with a junked out 1978 Honda CX500?
Posted on | November 7, 2008 | 10 Comments
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I came to Los Angeles and within 3 hours of arriving I was already picking up a bike.
For some reason the CX500 and CX650 motorcycles have slipped my grasp over the past few years. I was supposed to pick one up about a year ago, but that deal got squashed somehow. So when I saw this “beauty” up for grabs I jumped on it.
Obviously it is a dog. A dead dog. The bike is beat to junk and weathered worse than McCain’s face. It is only missing the headlight, blinkers, side covers, and clutch lever, but the seat, gauges, throttle, tires are absolute garbage. – On the plus side the motor turns over fine so I’m sure it will be a runner.
The Honda CX500 was introduced in 1978 so this is a first year model. Common problem points were stator failure (particularly on the early models) and cam chain slop. With the cam chain properly adjusted at regular interval these bikes will run 100,000 miles easy without a rebuild while cruising 80 mph all the while. They were marketed as a downsized touring bike, this is true particularly with the CX650 which was available in “Silverwing” trim with full touring fairing and luggage.
I haven’t decided to what extent I’ll dig into this bike. I have a crush on this CX500 dual sport bike which I believe was built by Phil Kopp in Australia.
It’s obviously a poor mans HPN rally bike, but sometimes you just have to work with what you have.
The disadvantage of a CX500 for this style of bike (compared to the BMW Boxer) is the counter shaft design of the motor. Transversely mounted twins are notorious for having a gyroscopic effect when you hit the throttle. Honda eliminated this by having the output shaft spin the opposite direction as the crank. While this smooths out the motor in a sense, it also makes it slightly more complex, heavier, and more difficult to modify for performance. But I digress. ..
I’ll post my progress as it comes.
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10 Responses to “What would I want with a junked out 1978 Honda CX500?”
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November 7th, 2008 @ 10:51 am
sounds like a righteous project! Keep up the good work!
November 13th, 2008 @ 8:48 am
That’s going to be a tough project but I hope it goes well.
November 21st, 2008 @ 12:57 pm
Good information in this post, keep up the great work. Cheers.
October 31st, 2009 @ 4:54 pm
I had a 1980 junkheap so i went radical and turned it into a 5 seater trike . GO FOR IT
March 22nd, 2010 @ 1:25 am
Wow, I just bought an old 78 cx500 the exact same color and everything as yours! Mine was kept much better however, lol. Bring her back from the dead man!
March 22nd, 2010 @ 7:26 am
@Bill – Wow, I’d LOVE to see some photos? Have any floating around somewhere? Sounds like a sweet project.
@Muleskinner – First step was fixing some Keihin 38mm PWK carbs
http://www.flickr.com/photos/evanfell/3044313912/in/set-72157608729036236/
April 13th, 2010 @ 3:03 am
If ya end up needing some pointers on these cx500’s check out choppercharles.com , You will not meet a better bunch of guys on these forums.
Does not matter what your question might be, these guys will know the answer. They have been a world of help to me as I’m about to do a stator job on mine.
April 20th, 2010 @ 7:54 pm
hello everyone, i have what i believe to be an 81 cx500 motor. It is in a custom made bike. A guy lost interest in this 90% completed project. The bike has set for a year so when i go to fire it for the first time im sure a lot of rubber stuff is gonna come apart. can u help point me in the right directions> Also what is this triple bypass that i hear about that will need to be done?
April 20th, 2010 @ 8:01 pm
@brad What rubbers are you concerned about? The intake manifolds can be sourced from a variety of online vendors. There isn’t a whole lot of other rubber parts on the motor, except for caps and covers.
The bypass is probably related to a new stator – but you won’t know if you need one until the bike is running. Why not just fire it up?
I’d love to see a picture of the custom bike.
June 20th, 2010 @ 2:33 pm
I have a 78 cx500,love it.I am in the middle of redoing some things on it,when i am done ill post some pics for all.This bkie was bought in worse condintion then the one above.I have 1972 triumph straight bars,custom bobber seat,lowered and i am going to shave rear end to put 200 tire back there.I came here for help w/ wiring,and i got it.Just like in your posting,yes the stater has to be changed.i have all my parts now its time to get busy.