Project Shinjimei- 73 TX500

Re: Project 3 the Hard Way- 73 TX500

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My clipons finally showed up! I'm so jazzed. Maybe now I can get some actual work done on this sucker! They're so sweet... Even the bars are aluminum!
 
Re: Project 3 the Hard Way- 73 TX500

It's been a while with no progress. I got the clipons on the bike, but that's it. The guy who owns the building my bike is stored in needed to work on a big old Ford, and it takes up the whole shop, plus has my bike pinned against a wall. Hopefully I'll be able to get at it on Thursday, maybe at least get the throttle done and start on the wiring. That is all.
 
Re: Project 3 the Hard Way- 73 TX500

Well, I STILL can't get at my bike, but I wanted to have a record of my "wish list" of parts and mods, so I have a reference point when I start work again.
1) Frame to be painted hammertone silver. (Done)
2) Wrenchmonkees style little round taillight. (Done.) Most likely from Cycle X.
3)Pertronix Ignitor parts to make my own electronic ignition I ended up buying a Newtronic unit made for the bike also planning to use Ford coil-on-plug coils.
4) I'd LOVE to lace up some 17" black, aluminum rims with stainless spokes. Not likely, but it is a "wish" list. I managed to lace up some aluminum 18s using stainless spokes and a YZ250 rear hub. Bonzer. Also took care of the next item on the list.
5) I'd also like to ditch the drum brake out back. Maybe a GS hub or something could work. Not a high priority. DONE

6) New fork seals DONE and Timken neck bearings.
7) A GS500e motor for when I inevitably blow this one up. ;) (Ended up finding a Rebel 450 and did some motor mods.)
8 ) Guages and indicators of some sort. An Acewell if I win the lottery. Chrome minis and little LEDs in the meantime. DONE Got the Acewell!
9) High pipes! I'll settle for reverse megs in the meantime. I found a nicer 2-into-1 that I'll be modifying, also to look like the Wrenchmonkees bike.
10) Braided stainless brake hose up front. DONE
11) Paint the fork lowers to match whatever my final color for the tins will be. I'm thinking a nice olive green gloss with gold flake... Maybe with dark green scallops. (I have some nice Hyosung inverted forks now.)
12) Rear shocks. At least 14 1/4" long. I'd like Redwing Hammerheads in spite of their relatively low performance. I've got some RFY piggybacks, but they're too long... Still working on a solution.
13) Pingel petcocks. I need some kind of reserve now that I'm not using the seat hump tank. DONE.
14) DCC LED bar-end signals. DONE.
15) new chain and sprockets. DONE.
16) paint wheels black. I laced up some black anodized aluminum rims instead....
17) bronze swingarm bushings. Now running roller bearings with the Ninja 250 swingarm.
18) An RD350 six-speed trans. (Nope. Honda motor came with a 6speed as original)
I'll add more as I get there.
 
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Re: Project 3 the Hard Way- 73 TX500

there's a '78 XS500 on Craigslist for 600 bucks and I have no money! DAMMIT! I'd have loved to get my hands on a later motor.....
 
Re: Project 3 the Hard Way- I'M BACK BITCHES!

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I finally was able to get into the shop to work on the bike. Today's progress: hand controls. Dig the waffle grips! I also was able to complete the throttle cable assembly.
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I also decided to mock up the shift side rearset assembly. Final mounting will require some welding- the top mount needs to sit in the "v" of the frame. I also need to replace the footpegs. As you can see, the rubber is gone, and they're ugly besides. I've decided on some old motocross "bear trap" pegs, since they match the BMX pedal kicker.
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As you can see, I haven't gotten the broken stud out for the right exhaust yet. I'm sure it's also obvious that the shop is a mess. Lol.
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I need to get a 24" braided line made up for the front brake yet, and do the wiring for the ignition and lights. Oooooh, and I've got the seat section at home so I can spray it and foam it. Picked up some closed-cell from home depot. Gonna spray bomb the fiberglass metallic black to match the tank for now. I'll change the color after I work all the mechanical bugs out. Slow progress is still progress!
 
Re: Project 3 the Hard Way- 73 TX500

I am so pissed! I ordered my bear-trap pegs off of ebay and got an empty box! Damn you USPS!
 
Re: Project 3 the Hard Way- 73 TX500

Are you sure those coil over plugs will work? I seem to recall that on bikes at least they are really low resistance and are designed to work with electronic ignitions with short dwell time. I don't know if that applies to the Ford coils you are talking about.
 
Re: Project 3 the Hard Way- 73 TX500

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Just added a little black to the palette... I think it looks good.
Teazer, no i'm not certain the Ford coils will work, but I figure I can always add resistance, kind of like the old Chevy method of putting an inline resistor in the coil circuit. I will be running an electronic ignition, so I'm pretty confident I can get away with it.
 
Re: Project 3 the Hard Way- 73 TX500

Okay, so I've been toying with an idea for a while, and I guess I need an informed opinion from someone who's had a TX500 motor apart. I used to own a few CB450's, and they didn't use balance shafts. They vibrated, but not to the extent of shedding random parts from the bike or anything.
So.... Yeah. Since the balance shafts in these bikes need so much attention, i'm considering removing mine entirely. Or, at the very least, removing the chain so it doesn't spin. Actually, the second is more likely, since it requires less work. (the balance shaft weighs, what, 8 pounds? Think of the effect of removing 8 pounds from the flywheel and you may understand why i'm considering it.) I'm not going to attempt it without some more knowledge, though.
To all the more knowledgeable fellas, will having the balance shaft stationary cause carnage through lack of clearance with other internal parts? Has anyone else tried it? I know i'm insane, but I'm seriously curious about the possibility.
 
Re: Project 3 the Hard Way- 73 TX500

I had that year TX and I'm not sure if I would get rid of anything labeled for "balancing" something. I think of ceiling fan blades , wheels etc....a few grams means a lot...and 8lbs was probably put there for a decent reason....

With that said, I've happened to have owned many a failed motorbikes from yamaha...like the Yamaha Vision....so I can't tell you that it WAS truly put there for a reason ;D but I'd still be worried about what might happen if it was just "swinging around in there" heh.
 
Re: Project 3 the Hard Way- 73 TX500

Well, I appreciate the input. Of course, the idea is to STOP the balancer shaft "swinging around in there". It does serve a purpose, obviously, but that purpose is rider comfort. Which I have little interest in. My concern is: if the balancer isn't moving, will something else swinging around in there hit it? It a sizeable chunk of steel.
 
Re: Project 3 the Hard Way- 73 TX500

Before I forget, GSXR stick coils are around 1 ohm primary 13ohms secondary - just as a reference point.
 
Re: Project 3 the Hard Way- 73 TX500

Ha! I get so used to repurposing car parts I forget about bikes... Yes yes, gsxr....
 
Re: Project 3 the Hard Way- 73 TX500

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After I bolted up the new caliper adaptor, I noticed a flaw.... Can you see it? The caliper is rotated too far forward.
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In the second picture, you see how far off my design was, with the caliper in the proper relation with the rotor. I suppose I can't complain too much, since the first draft was done in cardboard.
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Oh well. At least it's a correctable problem. She's such a pretty bike. I'd hate to screw up so bad I have to quit... Still having issues with the exhaust though. I cant seem to get that damn broken stud out of the head... The welder and a nut is the only method I haven't tried yet.
 
Re: Project 3 the Hard Way- 73 TX500

Balance shaft: I completely removed the entire shaft,bearings,chain, sprocket,the entire system.I was shocked how little difference it made in vibration!! I forgot how much weight it was,but it was a bunch.My opinion,remove it.
 
Re: Project 3 the Hard Way- 73 TX500

Jimmer, I appreciate the input. I have doubts about my ability to remove the whole balance shaft assembly, though. Do you think if I just removed the drive chain for the balancer something else spinning around in there would hit it? It's not that I don't want to tear this motor down, because I really do, and of course that would be the time to find out. Now, I don't want to do a half ass job, but with my situation financially (lost a good job, got a crappy one, have no money) I can't afford the things I'd need to do a proper build. So, yeah, I'm trying to half-ass my way through this build... Ugh, I'm ashamed...
Oh, I read your TX/XS500 blog. I really like your approach to the oil filter availability problem. And, did you build that two-stroke powered XS500? That looks like a real hairy ride...
 
Re: Project 3 the Hard Way- 73 TX500

You can remove the balancer assy for very little,if any cost.I will donate a case gasket if yours tears.The hardest[and it really isn't much of a deal] is pulling the clutch basket to get the last bearing out.Yes, you can leave the balancer in and just remove the chain,nothing will crash.But why not spend a little extra time and ditch a few pounds? Yes, I slapped the CR500 motor in my spare chassis.It worked fantastic,except to run 1/4mile I had to gear it way too tall and it really killed the holeshot.1st gear was too tall and 5th gear was still too short.But it was fast as heck inbetween! My best pass was 12.32ish@108/109mph.It had stock porting,big Mikuni,Jemco pipe.It would have been awesome with a 6 speed.
 
Re: Project 3 the Hard Way- 73 TX500

Oh,you just go in it from the sides,you can leave the motor in the chassis.
 
Re: Project 3 the Hard Way- 73 TX500

That's good news... You know, maybe I will try it. I've gotta open the right side up as it is, to fix my bungling of the kick start mechanism, so I suppose it's worth a shot.
 
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