Yo. Young student guy from Finland posting his first on this forum.
Long story short, my father in law gave me his old Honda CX500 '78 that has been standing outside for the last 7 years.
This is how it looked when I picked it up.
This is how it looks right now.
Now, in between those two photos a lot has happened and I've discovered a lot of weird stuff done by the previous owners (not my father in law, or so he says
). Just to mention a few things: a LOT of different screws and bolts in places where there should be similar ones, big rusty holes in the swingarm "fixed" with electrical tape (I'll post a picture later on), really messy silicone gaskets all over the place.. ah well there's more but can't remember them right now.
So, about my intentions. It's going to be a café or a brat. Haven't really decided yet.
The engine is in pretty good shape, a part from the cam chain rattling that I've understood is more of a normality than abnormality with these babies. Since I live in Finland, it get's pretty cold here (imagine Canada in wintertime). That being said, the engine, still full with oil, coolant etc., has lived a bit inside the engine during all these years. I figured that the head gasket probably had given in to the coolant that had frozen (and swollen) inside the heads, resulting in a glorious mess of all kinds of colors. Luckily it was easy to clean.
I'm waiting for a gasket set and a lot of other stuff too from the UK. When I get them I'll be able to put the engine back together. No major repairing needs to be done to it.
The wiring etc. seems to be okay, at least testing with a multimeter. We'll see what the connectors say later on. Obviously I've tried to clean them too but you never know.
As for the ignition, I've already ordered a new CDI unit from the guys over att ignitech.cz . Rather than buying a used CDI unit that's 35 years old, the Ignitech seems like real good value. Some have reported that the engine revs and sounds a lot healthier than with the original CDI.
A lot of other small stuff needs to be fixed and replaced too, like the front brake caliper, brake lines, fork seals, etc. I've already redone the carbs so they should be good to go.
I think that's all for now. Feel free to ask Q's
Some pics along the way to this day (chronological order)
These holes were taped with electrical tape.. good going.
Long story short, my father in law gave me his old Honda CX500 '78 that has been standing outside for the last 7 years.
This is how it looked when I picked it up.
This is how it looks right now.
Now, in between those two photos a lot has happened and I've discovered a lot of weird stuff done by the previous owners (not my father in law, or so he says
). Just to mention a few things: a LOT of different screws and bolts in places where there should be similar ones, big rusty holes in the swingarm "fixed" with electrical tape (I'll post a picture later on), really messy silicone gaskets all over the place.. ah well there's more but can't remember them right now.So, about my intentions. It's going to be a café or a brat. Haven't really decided yet.
The engine is in pretty good shape, a part from the cam chain rattling that I've understood is more of a normality than abnormality with these babies. Since I live in Finland, it get's pretty cold here (imagine Canada in wintertime). That being said, the engine, still full with oil, coolant etc., has lived a bit inside the engine during all these years. I figured that the head gasket probably had given in to the coolant that had frozen (and swollen) inside the heads, resulting in a glorious mess of all kinds of colors. Luckily it was easy to clean.
I'm waiting for a gasket set and a lot of other stuff too from the UK. When I get them I'll be able to put the engine back together. No major repairing needs to be done to it.
The wiring etc. seems to be okay, at least testing with a multimeter. We'll see what the connectors say later on. Obviously I've tried to clean them too but you never know.
As for the ignition, I've already ordered a new CDI unit from the guys over att ignitech.cz . Rather than buying a used CDI unit that's 35 years old, the Ignitech seems like real good value. Some have reported that the engine revs and sounds a lot healthier than with the original CDI.
A lot of other small stuff needs to be fixed and replaced too, like the front brake caliper, brake lines, fork seals, etc. I've already redone the carbs so they should be good to go.
I think that's all for now. Feel free to ask Q's
Some pics along the way to this day (chronological order)
These holes were taped with electrical tape.. good going.
