cx'y 500

[IED]

Ok, back to this for a minute.

I filled the voids with some polyfoam packaging blocks then sanded them sub-surface of the frame edges. The reason for this is, If I fiberglass straight onto the polyfoam it will melt as the glass starts to cure, and I wont get a crisp finish to cast my mould.

I used construction filler to go over the whole plug and I'll sand it back to the spines that form the frame work.

It will need a few more fills and sand to get it right, but it will be worth all the effort.

 

[IED]

Quick question, does anyone know how the get
the fan off the front of the motor? :-\

 

[dean owens]

M14 x 1.5 bolt. make sure the end is flat. start screwing it in the the fan will pop right off. have you thought about converting to an electric fan?

 

[IED]

Thanks for the advice mate, I kinda hit a brick wall there for a moment.

Electric fan!? sounds interesting.
Is there a reason for this conversion, and if so could you point me in the direction of a 'how too'

 

[dean owens]

no problem. glad i could finally offer something on this board other than "nice bike" ;D


here's a thread about it on the cx forum i frequent. they guy who first gave it a go gave these reasons for doing it.

The advantages are some increase in performance.
Better cooling cycle
Little or no chance of the Mechanical fan grenading the Radiator.
Faster engine warm up.
Parts are easy to source and replace.

here's a thread with links in it with the how-to's and what parts to get.
http://cx500forum.com/index.php?/topic/6360-electric-fan-conversions/
i plan on doing it once i get to this point. mainly to do away with the grenading of the radiator. i have two mechanical fans and both are showing signs of cracking. really don't want to take that chance.

 

[Erskine]

If you go down to a breakers yard and have a look at car ones, they are not very big at all.
I retro fitted an old ford one to a Mazda pick up I used to have, it was a piece of piss to do and I did notice better fuel economy. I ran it off a switch on the dash and just flicked it on if the temp guage started to rise.

 

[IED]

Thanks for that little gem lads, it something I'm deffo gonna look into.

 

[IED]

The filler has gone off enough to scrape and sand back to the markers and get the rough shape

I'm gonna let it dry for another day then give it a 2nd fill

While I had the heat shield off I gave it a crafty refurb

And pop riveted it back together

Another box ticked.

 

[IED]

no problem. glad i could finally offer something on this board other than "nice bike" ;D


here's a thread about it on the cx forum i frequent. they guy who first gave it a go gave these reasons for doing it.

The advantages are some increase in performance.
Better cooling cycle
Little or no chance of the Mechanical fan grenading the Radiator.
Faster engine warm up.
Parts are easy to source and replace.

here's a thread with links in it with the how-to's and what parts to get.
http://cx500forum.com/index.php?/topic/6360-electric-fan-conversions/
i plan on doing it once i get to this point. mainly to do away with the grenading of the radiator. i have two mechanical fans and both are showing signs of cracking. really don't want to take that chance.

I dun a bit of snooping around and it looks like a piss easy conversion, so, I'm gonna do it.

Thanks for the pointer mate.

I just have to find a switch that will fit into the thermostat housing as I cant find anyone in the UK that does the BWD Automotive TFS500 Radiator Fan Switch.

Bummer

 

[dean owens]

the fella shep who first did this conversion is in the UK. he's the one who started the thread i linked to. if you need any help contact him. he's a great guy and is really knowledgeable when it comes to these bikes.

 

[IED]

Xlnt m8 I'll drop him a line, thanks. ;D

 

[bikeboy]

I'm getting better at this. This thread only got to page 4 before I caught it :

Looking forward to seeing your build take shape. That seat looks cool too.

cheers
ian

 

[rat_ cxn]

coming along nicely ;D

 

[IED]

Thanks lads, I'm really getting into this build and can see it taking shape quite quickly. Its a different animal to my blade as it won't take anything like the time or money to complete. Keep checking in fellas, its good to know someone's interested.

 

[IED]

Got in tonight and gave the pod a quick sand

Then gave it a coat of PVA to seal it

While I was waiting for thzt to dry I decided to lower the rear seat mount

after grinding it off I chopped off about 2cm from both sides.

I have got a few bits and bobs to weld so I'll do them all at the same time.

I went back to the pod and stuck on anothe coat of filler, and tomorrow it will get a sanding with 120 grit.

Then turned to the radiator and gave that a cleas up. I think I'm gonna get it re-cored as its a bit forked.

 

[Erskine]

Cracking on nicely there! A good day for rear subframes
I finally got my back end raised a couple of inches today (phnarrr)

 

[IED]

The pod is just about ready for a final fill then a sand with 220 grit then I'll make the base

The engin was really cruddy so I removed the fan and gave it a clean

The fan wont be going back on as I'm gonna do an electric fan conversion.

 

[IED]

OK, on to the base
I placed a section of 12.5mm ply on to the frame and marked a center line on it, then from the front marked back to the pod 330mm and sat the pod onto it.

I marked round the pod and marked up the front of the seat

The it was a quick wiz round with a hand saw and jig saw for the curvy bits.

I need to do something with that gap under the seat above the frame

I cut some blanks and ran a plane over the edges to bevel them as I want the sides to taper out

Its important to get both sides the same so take care doing this

Well then, I'm not a 100% on the shape of the sides but I can always chop em.

Starting to look a bit more cafe now.

 

[honeybadger]

Love that seat! But you could theoretically just make that gap into more seat pad! But I must be old already.... 23 and I'm looking for excuses to make my bikes more comfortable ;D


I moved my RSV mille's clip ons to the top of the forks yesterday too

 

[IED]

Lol, I could do that mate but I really like the flat cafe racer seat look.

23!!! and youre worried about comfort mate, lol. I just turned 50 and sometimes I still go out without putting a coat on :