CX500, Turns Over But Doesn't Start

HiroProtagonist

HiroProtagonist

Been Around the Block
Hey All!

I just finished rebuilding my CB350 that I was planning to turn into a cafe bike, but after getting it all together I realized that the original pieces were in such good condition I wanted to leave it as a bit of a blend of Cafe/Restore. Mainly just a restore with rear-sets, clubmans, lithium battery (so the cavity in the middle is open) and Mikuni carbs. Fast and fun to ride but still has the stock seat/tank/pipes/fenders etc.

SO, I'm still interested in getting a bike that I can feel fine about beating up a bit and build my own seat for, etc., and for this I was interested in a CX500. I found this on CL:

http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/mcy/5276280083.html

and was interested in picking it up, BUT, it has 50k miles on it and I honestly don't know the extent of work that is implied with electrical issues on these. The CB350 electrical was shot, but $400 later, with a new Pamco, Rick's Charging System, MikesXS Coils, it was honestly a minimum of effort. Even redoing the wiring harness took about 3 hours once I figured out what I wanted wired up. HOWEVER, the CB350 electrical is about as simple as it gets. I'm guessing a water-cooled, electric start only CX500 is not going to fit that bill.

The CB350 also has only 5k miles on it, and my other bikes haven't had more thank 10k, so I'm not sure what kind of problems I suddenly have to start expecting/looking for when I get up to 50k

I'm going to go look at it this weekend, but I'd love your advice. Is this a good deal? Am I looking at a problem that is going to be a black pit for $? What are the vital questions to ask about this bike/things to look for, particularly considering the issues I see? Should I be looking for flakes in the oil before buying, etc? Is 50k miles the top of the life for these/should I wait for one with less miles?

Thanks All!
--Colin
 
Hey man!

The only now about the cx's that there is a big big inspection which is normally stamped by three dots and the motor number where the motor must go out of the frame.make sure that it def got that.
 
And some of the same guys on the CXforum will be giving you the help on this forum as well
The 3 dots was for a particular year of CX and not the one he is looking at
 
see if it has spark. if it does not on one or both of the cylinders, the next thing to check would be cdi box. it's a common problem. there's upgraded aftermarket ones available on cx500 forums for around $200-250 if this is what's wrong. It could also be the generator, but you have to remove the engine to inspect it and/or replace it. It's common to swap a goldwing unit in.
 
you can only swap in a goldwing unit if you use a ignitec ignition unit

owner already says it has spark issues so at that mileage you will need to do a triple bypass on the motor

so you could do a stator test on the motor not running but you cant static test the cdi box

and the stator is 30 plus years old

but at a guess you could need to throw a stator mech seal and timing chain in

then find out you need a cdi or ignitec

then you need to clean and rebuild the carbs throw a battery and some new tires and brakes at it

so if you are not willing to toss say 500 plus what you pay for the bike at it

find one that runs
 
Thanks for the input CXMan. I'm assuming that $300 of that is the battery, tires, and brakes. This is super good info. I'm down to throw that much at it, but I'm aspiring to keep the total under $1k. As I said, I know old CBs and that this price could without fail be running well (new charging etc) for under $1k. HOWEVER, I have no clue as to the complexity of these engines.

Probably:
New Stator
New Timing Chain(?)
New Cam Chain(?)
New CDI
New Coils
New Ignitech(?)
New Tires
New Battery


SO: Does the Ignitech replace the CDI? Is that the modern upgrade for it? If I were to want to scrap the old electrics and put new stuff in would I get a new stator/ignitech/coils? That's obviously the method for CBs. Will I likely need to replace the cam chain and timing chain? That's a chore that I've never done before, but I'm looking to have something to dig into here.
 
depends on how it runs and what he wants for it

the condition

date code on the tires?

mileage on the motor

does it need a triple bypass

are the carbs working properly
 
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