Japan Meets Britain...

Vince Lupo said:
I like the wheels you have going - they look like Dymags, but I'm assuming they're painted Comstars?

I was reading about the Moto Guzzi V50 in this month's Motorcycle Classics Magazine, and they said that the CX500's dry weight is almost 90 lbs more than the V50 -- where do you think all that extra weight is?

Hey guys......well the headlight maybe smaller than the original, I haven't really compared the two as yet. I definately think it's not original, the previous owner has installed it and not sure what it's from but I intend finding out.

As for the wheels, yep standard Comstar, just been bead blasted and powdercoated Satin Black. I think they came up looking a million bucks! ;) They blend in more with the bike and don't seem to stand out as much as they used to, wasn't a fan of the Comstar look, I do like my 'spokes' but I'm happy with the result now.
 
Well the White Rose VJM show in Spring Grove, PA was this past weekend, and about 80 bikes participated in the judging. Really beautiful day in the upper 80's, and my ride from Baltimore was about 180 miles round trip. The beast was awarded Second Place in 'Most Unique' category (so does that mean it was the second most unique bike there?). First place went to some silly little Kawasaki drag bike (I hate it when then they show up and spoil things!), but overall it was a good event.
 
Latest addition to the beast - a good friend of mine who is an artist added red coach lines to my rims. Very sharp!
 
CaTacl1sm said:
def diggin the headlight setup.

is it just me or does your headlight seem smaller...

You know.....I was just looking at the photo of my tow CX's together and I think the 'headlight' size is an optical illusion. Because I have that stainless steel visor or peak over the light in this photo it seems smaller, also you don't have the 'ugly' fairing around the headlight which I think also adds to the illusion that the original headlight is larger.

Still, I'm not too sure what the headlight is from on my cafe.?
 
Dropped by my mechanic's place to see the progress on the latest work. New fork tubes by 'Forking by Frank', John Tickle headlight brackets from the '60's (got rid of the upper fork tube covers), more of the exposed spring showing. The only things left to do are to re-apply the checkers to the top of lower fork units, new rear aluminum sprocket and, um, I think that's it!

Second photo is of the man who works the magic: John Grainger with the creation!
 
Thanks for the comments. The silencers are Norman Hyde 'TOGA' Gold Star Twitter mufflers, though I don't think they 'twitter'. Very heavy duty quality, though I think that Armours makes a set that may even be heavier.
 
Just got the bike back from the mechanical guru, John Grainger, and it's exactly as I envisioned it. Just noticed in the photos that the headlight bucket needs a bit of a tilt upwards.

Short of chrome plating the frame, I think we're....um, done? Is that possible?
 
Man.....that is one 'ssswwwwweeeeeeettttt' looking ride. Well done to the 'Guru' and yourself. ;)
 
Man it was a COLD day for a ride -- 37 DEGREES!!! But, it was nice to take the bike out for a 40 mile 'shakedown' ride to see how the front end works (40 miles is all that my fingers could handle).

While the 'old' front end used to jarringly ride over the 'speed bumps' on the Baltimore Beltway, the 'new' front end is much much better, and is sure to save not only my spine but also a few handlebar-mounted pocket watches. The 29 tooth sprocket makes a nice difference on the highway too, and the 'ton' is now easily achievable if so desired. At an indicated 90mph it's doing 7500rpm in 4th, and with a redline of 9200rpm....

The only bummer is that I discovered (pre-ride) that the headlight bucket has a crack in it, just by the right hand mounting hole. It comes off the base of the 'domed' area of the hole, and extends from about the 3 o'clock position out about 1/2" (I seem to recall that the bucket was cracked there before it was chromed, so I guess the chromer's repair didn't hold). Hopefully I'll be able to mend it from the inside with some JB Weld or the like, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it won't spread. Figures that you'd get everything 'perfect' and some little stupid thing like this should happen! Ah well.....
 
man I wish it was 37 degrees, east coast US has had 10 degree weather for the past 2 weeks....miserable. Your bike is flawless, verrrrry nice.
 
Trying to solve a problem that I initially didn't know I had.....

When I bought the bike five years ago, both the front brake cable and speedo cable were zip tied onto the fender stays. I asked my mechanics to see if they could work up a suitable 'fix' for this zip tie situation. Little did I know at the time that the fender stays were supposed to have the metal guides for the two cables (for some reason they were either broken off, or removed by the previous owner - don't ask me why). I had all the custom paint work done, THEN I discovered what the stays were originally supposed to have! So, I lived with my mechanics' fix for the next few years, and gradually grew to dislike the manner in which the cables were routed (the speedo cable in particular, which was routed on the outside of the fender stay). If you look at some of the earlier photos of the bike, you'll see what it looked like before this recent change.

So, rather than go through the time and expense of having the fender and stays done the 'right' way, I came up with my own solution which I am much more pleased with. Plus, it only cost me the price of two plastic Honda cable guides and I did it myself. I also have a grey pair of rubber cable guides, but I like the black ones for now.

The guide on the stay is actually a speedo cable guide that has been re-purposed. It's also clamped on in such a way that it can be easily removed. Much nicer, I think, than the way it was.

Question though: Should the speedo cable and the front brake cable be the same length, or does it really matter?

I'd love to have the cables routed the 'proper' way with the 'proper' guides, but finances dictate that this be the solution for now. Plus I did it myself, which is a big deal!
 
Damn thats nice ,i do like early Hondas.Took my bacon slicers off to fit the big disc on my bonny. i like the goldie type silencers also.
 
clutchslip said:
Damn thats nice ,i do like early Hondas.Took my bacon slicers off to fit the big disc on my bonny. i like the goldie type silencers also.

Many Thanks! Yes, I made sure that this creation had some of the big Brit names: Norman Hyde (silencers), John Tickle (headlight brackets), Bill Selby (bacon cutters), Hagon (shocks), Altette (horn), Stadium (mirror), pedestrian slicer from a pre-unit Triumph, upper shock knobs from a Norton, Amal carbs. Plus there's even a 1960 Ingersoll Triumph pocket watch on the handlebar mount, so I think the bike is now 50% British.

Maybe call it a Trinda?
 
A few recent detail shots.....

Detail5.jpg

Hand Painted 'Special' on the headlight

Detail4.jpg

Different view of the Honda logo

Detail1.jpg

My Favourite View!
 
Just got the bike back from its latest round of adjustments and fixes. I had the speedo cable guide on the right fender stay fixed, so it looks much better than before. As well, I had a chrome chain guard installed on the bike, and it really brightens up that part of the bike. Bike runs great, and it's ready for the ride out to Mid-Ohio at the end of the month.

chrome2-1.jpg
 
My first attempt at a video. Gives you an idea of the muffler sound:



I'll try a forward looking view next....
 
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