CX500 PartII
- Thread starter Steve F
- Start date
Steve F
Been Around the Block
Its much better, I notice it most on the freeway where I dont need to hold the throttle open so far and the speed tends to creep up rather than down. Basically it makes it much better at the higher speeds. If I'm prepared to tuck in it's even better but I look pretty stupid doing that onthe freeway 
So, one of the best mods I've done from a high speed point of view and it looks cool as well
Cheers
Steve
So, one of the best mods I've done from a high speed point of view and it looks cool as well Cheers
Steve
Steve F
Been Around the Block
My bike is apart at the moment in preperation for the heads and carbs but I got sidetracked You can see my inner rear fender and it looks pretty average being plastic and scratched up etc as well as having an unused mount on it. I decided I am going to replace it with a carbon fibre one. Since I try and do all this on a bit of a budget it will be a composite fender, which sounds cool anyway, first layer is fibreglass (woven) and then carbon fibre over the top of that.
Today I knocked up the basic fender, I need to trim it, cut off some unsed bits and fill the holes and then sand the whole thing and smooth a little ready for the first layer of carbon fibre. I'll vacuum bag it when I put the CF on it to get a nicer finish and will pop it back on the plastic fender if I can to give it some support while in the vacuum.
Anyway, pics of the fibreglass part, just waiting for the CF sheet to turn up in the mail.
The blue is tape that I put around some of the mounts that will be cut out and smoothed.
It's this section that needs to look good as it can be seen, once finished I'll clear coat the CF and hopefully get a nice shiney finish to it.
Cheers
Steve
You can see my inner rear fender and it looks pretty average being plastic and scratched up etc as well as having an unused mount on it. I decided I am going to replace it with a carbon fibre one. Since I try and do all this on a bit of a budget it will be a composite fender, which sounds cool anyway, first layer is fibreglass (woven) and then carbon fibre over the top of that.Today I knocked up the basic fender, I need to trim it, cut off some unsed bits and fill the holes and then sand the whole thing and smooth a little ready for the first layer of carbon fibre. I'll vacuum bag it when I put the CF on it to get a nicer finish and will pop it back on the plastic fender if I can to give it some support while in the vacuum.
Anyway, pics of the fibreglass part, just waiting for the CF sheet to turn up in the mail.
The blue is tape that I put around some of the mounts that will be cut out and smoothed.
It's this section that needs to look good as it can be seen, once finished I'll clear coat the CF and hopefully get a nice shiney finish to it.
Cheers
Steve
Steve F
Been Around the Block
Carried on working on the rear fender ready for the carbon fibre layer, I'll be using polyester based resin so used a light skim of polyester filler to really try and smooth it out before the carbon fibre goes on.
Also got some Polish/Wax and polished the front fender now the paint has well and truely hardened. Turned out real well for a rattle can job in acrylic, didn't even need to cut it back.
Got my thinking if I paint the rear fender to match on the main section and just have the CF exposed on the 'wings' of the fender.
Cheers
Steve
Also got some Polish/Wax and polished the front fender now the paint has well and truely hardened. Turned out real well for a rattle can job in acrylic, didn't even need to cut it back.
Got my thinking if I paint the rear fender to match on the main section and just have the CF exposed on the 'wings' of the fender.
Cheers
Steve
Maritime
Over 10,000 Posts
Nice work Steve. Looks great. I was checking out battery mount options on my CX project and I was thinking the air box mount would work, I see that is what you used. How does it hold up? Looks ok. I was thinking of a metal of fiberglass box with holes but you seem to just have it strapped in place. How much weight did the CF fender remove vrs stock ABS?
Cheers
Maritime
Cheers
Maritime
Steve F
Been Around the Block
The battery mount works great, although I did put a rubber pad down to stop it moving around. I'm thinking of going to fully sealed battery though so I can lay it on it's side and hang it from the frame rails in a box. No rush on that though and this position has worked great for 3 years now
I need to finish the paint on the underside of the fender today so I'll weigh the two and see.
Cheers
Steve
I need to finish the paint on the underside of the fender today so I'll weigh the two and see.
Cheers
Steve
Steve F
Been Around the Block
Painted the valve covers ready to go on over the weekend with the rebuilt heads. This will be a test to see how the paint (not heat proof) holds up. If it goes well I'll paint the whole engine like this. A bit of prep and it should come up pretty nice, going for almost a powder coated sort of look.
Cheers
Steve
Cheers
Steve
Steve F
Been Around the Block
More paint but more importantly some performance. Modified heads are on along with a pair of Mikuni VM34's.
Half way through, heads off, carbs getting ready for ebay mechancal fan binned and end of the cam cut off to allow clearnace for Ducati electric fan
Cheers
Steve
Half way through, heads off, carbs getting ready for ebay
mechancal fan binned and end of the cam cut off to allow clearnace for Ducati electric fan
Cheers
Steve
hybridfiat
New Member
Nice work. I really like the CX500s' shape and size. It is one of the best platforms for a Cafe job. Ive tried to source a CX500 for over a year now but settled on a Guzzi.
Well done, keep posting!
;D
Well done, keep posting!
;D
Steve F
Been Around the Block
Made a simple dash plate for the water temp gauge, the gauge was strapped to the ignition switch but since I dont have one anymore (uses a RFID ignition) I needed somewhere to mount the gauge.
The switch is to manually turn the electric cooling fan on, when the elextric fan kicks in, either with the manual switch or the temperature switch the gauge goes from a blue backlight LED guage to red. I did this so at a glance I can tell the electric fan is working as I hope I cant hear it Also it's much easier to check a colour at a glance as oppsed to a temp, RED means the cooling fan is on BLUE and it's off.
The panel is angled slightly so it matched the Acewell speedo mounted next to it. I'm thinking I wil use this as a template to make a carbon fibre gauge mount.
And the guage when I last took a pic of it working.
Cheers
Steve
The switch is to manually turn the electric cooling fan on, when the elextric fan kicks in, either with the manual switch or the temperature switch the gauge goes from a blue backlight LED guage to red. I did this so at a glance I can tell the electric fan is working as I hope I cant hear it
Also it's much easier to check a colour at a glance as oppsed to a temp, RED means the cooling fan is on BLUE and it's off.The panel is angled slightly so it matched the Acewell speedo mounted next to it. I'm thinking I wil use this as a template to make a carbon fibre gauge mount.
And the guage when I last took a pic of it working.
Cheers
Steve
Steve F
Been Around the Block
Tested it.
With the fan in auto mode and the manual switch off
With the fan in auto mode and the manual switch on
And the wiring loom to override the fan thermo switch and to power/change the gauge colour etc
Now to put the matched temp sensor in there so the gauge reads correctly
Cheers
Steve
With the fan in auto mode and the manual switch off
With the fan in auto mode and the manual switch on
And the wiring loom to override the fan thermo switch and to power/change the gauge colour etc
Now to put the matched temp sensor in there so the gauge reads correctly
Cheers
Steve
Swagger
Putting boot to ass since 1967!
Very cool Steve. I really like the color shift based on fan state, quite ingenious. Question; why not create a single alloy dash plate for both the temp gauge AND the Acewell? That would be really clean looking, sort of tying the whole 'dash' area together.
Steve F
Been Around the Block
Got the engine all back together and ran it today, took about 20 minutes of idling to get up to temp and then the fan kicked in, brought the temp back down and went off.... Perfect This wait also gave me a chance to check for leaks and it looks like both oil leaks I had are now gone along with a minor water leak I was getting occasionally. Another win.
And then to top it off the postie turned up with a little piece of Italy for the CX
And where the bike stands at the moment, a few more hours and it's ready for the road test
Cheers
Steve
This wait also gave me a chance to check for leaks and it looks like both oil leaks I had are now gone along with a minor water leak I was getting occasionally. Another win.And then to top it off the postie turned up with a little piece of Italy for the CX
And where the bike stands at the moment, a few more hours and it's ready for the road test
Cheers
Steve
