I wanted one, looked at many but today I have a Honda CX500B. 

Talk about old school, chokes, rear drum brakes, automatic nothing but what a laugh. As the reg starts ERC it will known from now as Eric and let me introduce you all. 

The tinkering will commence once I've found a workshop manual for it 

Top stuff! Nice one! 

 

My dads still looking for one he's happy with. It's been going on a while. haha. 

 

Certainly seems to be a fascination with CX's.. 

There is some piles of junk going for silly money as they're so popular. This one looks better in the picture than it actually is but mechanically it is very good with new swingarm, exhaust collector box, rear shocks and starter. 

It's going to be  completely stripped and rebuilt. I'm thinking of doing the scrambler still but the mechanics are that good with all original parts I could just go the easy route and keep it standard.  

Nice one

Looking good but what's that blue thing on the side?  Do you even need to pay that now?

Much maligned especially in their day, but also appreciated by many. I loved mine until it was stolen.

I look forward to seeing it returned to its former glory. I hope you enjoy it. Nice choice.

26 minutes ago, Bud said:

Looking good but what's that blue thing on the side?  Do you even need to pay that now?

 

It ran out in 2015. Lord knows why he still had it on

5 minutes ago, CWARD said:

 

It ran out in 2015. Lord knows why he still had it on

 

The 'retro look'  

Nice little bikes

 

The couriers' weapon of choice in the Metrolops, so should do you proud, or is this a career change?

1 hour ago, kevberlin said:

Much maligned especially in their day, but also appreciated by many. I loved mine until it was stolen.

I look forward to seeing it returned to its former glory. I hope you enjoy it. Nice choice.

 

I may end up disappointing you as I'm thinking of making into a scrambler. 

4 minutes ago, punyXpress said:

The couriers' weapon of choice in the Metrolops, so should do you proud, or is this a career change?

 

I had in the early 90's for commuting, they seem to have shrunk a bit since then.

This one is in better nick than the previous one but it's going to ridden for fun until the insurance runs out next month then stripped to be built into a scrambler. 

22 minutes ago, CWARD said:

 

I may end up disappointing you as I'm thinking of making into a scrambler. 

With its high centre of gravity I think you might be disappointed if you convert it to a scrambler. What about a bobber?

Ive been spending way too much time on Pinterest looking at different builds and everything is possible except for a cafe racer, I don't like them. 

When I was based down in pembrokeshire in the late 70's I decided to buy a brand new bike as my last ever bike (back problems LOL),the local dealer tried very hard to sell me a CX (and I was tempted) but I decided to have a brit bike as my last ever bike - so I bought a brand new Triumph 750 Tiger - and here she is a couple of days later

I had owned a few foreign bikes before (as well as some old brit iron) so the fact they had by then put the gear shift on the wrong side didn't cause too many probs LOL

There are some 'classic' 70's Airmens cars in the car park of course.

 

 

Regardless it is still a nice bike. The frame and forks on those old Triumphs look they'd flex a bit at speed. Even with the rake on them forks it must have been an interesting ride.

I do not remember any real bad handling problems,she was a tourer though !Used to ride up to Leics to see a blonde friend sometimes : ) and she used to cope with the welsh roads ok - but then I was used to riding all sorts of bikes (some good,some bad) - my all time favourite was my 1970 BSA A65 Thunderbolt - great touring bike : ) - nice long wheel base - rgds YS

There seems to be a theme with randy lads on bikes travelling long distances for a leg over

 

2 hours ago, CWARD said:

There seems to be a theme with randy lads on bikes travelling long distances for a leg over

 

 

We've all done it   

 

i did a high level route in a foot of snow once for a jump. Feckin terrified i was. Wagons a foot from the back wheel n i couldnt get out of the tyre tracks  

What a sad bunch we are 

On 12/05/2017 at 08:12, CWARD said:

There seems to be a theme with randy lads on bikes travelling long distances for a leg over

 

And not just on bikes LOL,I used to drive  a mini van from Pembrokeshire all the way to near Kings Lynn,Norfolk to see a friend :),stopped doing that when I had a close call driving back through the middle of nowhere at stupid o clock on a monday morning (fell asleep at the wheel) but luckily got back on the road without stopping or damage - that woke me up .

A couple of years later I used to go from Oxfordshire up to Lancs in my Hillman Hunter GLS (Holbay engine) to see a real honey,they had stopped 5 star petrol by then but the addition of some 100LL avgas stopped the beast from 'pinking' ,that car hated 4 star fuel.

It was a nice car for motorways and loved having overdrive on the gbox.

Edited 15 May, 20179 yr by YS53

My CX [maggot] was an ok ? bike , but much preferred the Kawasaki GT 550 /750 & the Yamaha XJ 900 did not really care much for the Suzuki GS 850 though... ALL SHAFTIES !!!! currently owing a Yamaha MT09 Tracer , traded in a Honda NC 750X[good on fuel but rather lethargic 2 up]

2 hours ago, BACUPIAN said:

My CX [maggot] was an ok ? bike , but much preferred the Kawasaki GT 550 /750 & the Yamaha XJ 900 did not really care much for the Suzuki GS 850 though... ALL SHAFTIES !!!! currently owing a Yamaha MT09 Tracer , traded in a Honda NC 750X[good on fuel but rather lethargic 2 up]

 

There is no single thing on the CX I could say is brilliant, it is just the typical Honda functional bike. I've just hankered after one for a while and now have one which brings back the nostalgia of my first bikes. Riding it is quite fun though. I'm not talking knee down, pulling wheelies kind of stuff just more connected honest ride. It's probably the equivalent of buying an Hillman Imp just without the rust. 

 

I liked the GT750 too with its triple engine, certainly had a bit more go than my CX but handling was still as lazy. It's another bike that goes for silly money now.

 

The NC750X is good bike and I was recommending on another thread for someone wanting a bike to mainly commute on but still have a bit of fun at the weekend.

Quick update. The bike turns out not to be a 1979 CX500 but a 1981 CX500B. I know it was a European import but during registration over here it has been stated as the wrong year. Apparently happens a lot. I can get the V5 registration corrected with authentication of the actual year which David Silver's has done for me already, just not not sure if I'm that bothered. 

The bike is more original than I first thought as I believed there were quite a few  pattern parts on it. The cost to restore it would still be expensive but selling the parts I remove to build it into a scrambler will help a lot to offset the conversion.  

I'm slowly sourcing the parts I need and will be starting the strip down come October. I've even got a welder now care of Coops and a couple of mates to show me how to use it properly.

Edited 8 August, 20178 yr by CWARD

Only just spotted this thread.

 

IMO, it being a B is great news! The original bike had a dodgy crank and cam chain tensioner, whereas the B onwards only had the dodgy cam chain tensioner :-)