Yo, been reading for a while. Thought it might be time to start a thread here, too. I have a thread on another forum but that's more for asking for help.
I got my father in laws old CX500, which has been standing outside year in year out for about six or seven years. Hot in the summer, freezing cold in the winter. The coolant had actually frozen and forced it's way into the left cylinder, and had cristallized into this multicolored goo.
Anyway, obviously I wanted to go through the whole bike as it looked like it was in bad shape. It really wasn't, but still needed some love to clean some rust etc. Only the swingarm needs to be replaced, I've ordered it already. Got it cheap from ebay.
I'm still in the process of repairing the damn thing, so the actual rebuild hasn't quite started yet. But once I have it running, I'll give it a café look. No fiberglass seat pan, but a self made (hopefully, I'm on a student budget) seat with a little cafe-ish hump in the back.
Stuff to get.. clip ons, bar end mirrors, rear light and indicators front&back, new speedo, an electrical fan to replace the mechanical... the list goes on.
I'm thinking I'll keep the tank as is (as for now), as I want it to show what the bike has been. Also, the tank is in really good shape outside and inside. Only minimal rust in the corners inside. The lack of tools, patience and skills results in a pretty rugged look for the bike, which I don't mind. It'll probably only show the bike's age, which I think is cool. As long as everything works mechanically, I don't mind the bike looking a bit rough. That's why the bikes working title is "Ruffy".
Just ordered a set of Metzeler vintage-look tires (ME11 front and ME77 rear)
I have a lot of stuff coming in the mail, just waiting for them to arrive.. braided brake lines, new rear shocks and some minor stuff that simply needed replacing.
I'm a 24 year old student from Finland, just FYI.
Some pics below. Thanks for reading.
Bike when I picked 'er up.
Tearing it apart
Crystallized coolant
Luckily, engine in good shape
Flipped the bar upside down to "cafe" it, just to visualize
Lowered triple tree for visualization. I don't think I can lower it this much without modding the intestines of the forks. It would simply bottom out too easy.
Today, the frame paint job done. Not too happy with the final result, but it'll do.
I got my father in laws old CX500, which has been standing outside year in year out for about six or seven years. Hot in the summer, freezing cold in the winter. The coolant had actually frozen and forced it's way into the left cylinder, and had cristallized into this multicolored goo.
Anyway, obviously I wanted to go through the whole bike as it looked like it was in bad shape. It really wasn't, but still needed some love to clean some rust etc. Only the swingarm needs to be replaced, I've ordered it already. Got it cheap from ebay.
I'm still in the process of repairing the damn thing, so the actual rebuild hasn't quite started yet. But once I have it running, I'll give it a café look. No fiberglass seat pan, but a self made (hopefully, I'm on a student budget) seat with a little cafe-ish hump in the back.
Stuff to get.. clip ons, bar end mirrors, rear light and indicators front&back, new speedo, an electrical fan to replace the mechanical... the list goes on.
I'm thinking I'll keep the tank as is (as for now), as I want it to show what the bike has been. Also, the tank is in really good shape outside and inside. Only minimal rust in the corners inside. The lack of tools, patience and skills results in a pretty rugged look for the bike, which I don't mind. It'll probably only show the bike's age, which I think is cool. As long as everything works mechanically, I don't mind the bike looking a bit rough. That's why the bikes working title is "Ruffy".
Just ordered a set of Metzeler vintage-look tires (ME11 front and ME77 rear)
I have a lot of stuff coming in the mail, just waiting for them to arrive.. braided brake lines, new rear shocks and some minor stuff that simply needed replacing.
I'm a 24 year old student from Finland, just FYI.
Some pics below. Thanks for reading.
Bike when I picked 'er up.
Tearing it apart
Crystallized coolant
Luckily, engine in good shape
Flipped the bar upside down to "cafe" it, just to visualize
Lowered triple tree for visualization. I don't think I can lower it this much without modding the intestines of the forks. It would simply bottom out too easy.
Today, the frame paint job done. Not too happy with the final result, but it'll do.
