New project - 1979 Honda CX500

[vr4awd]

Well its time for another project to go wth the other projects i have on which are

VR-4 EvoColt C5
Lancer GTI Evo Replica Project
98 mitsubishi colt CJO Demo car
Project chicken chaser (yamaha cw50)
50cc Trial bike project
MidiMoto Project
Rover 400 repair and sell project
Renault megane RT 1.4 repair and sell project

I now have another project to keep me busy which as you see below is a 1979 Honda CX500 Road bike.

Got it tonight so thought i would take a couple of pics for the bike fans among us, general to do list is to repair the brakes, tidy up and possible respray

Then the bike will go up for sale as i dont hold a licence or a bike licence so this bike is no good for me to keep hold of although i will get a couple of shots of it before i mot and tax it before putting it up for sale, so if any bike fans out there amongs us may be interested just keep an eye on this topic for all updates on it before it goes up for sale with tax and mot.

 

[andypocock]

A plastic maggot

 

[michael1703]

ive had about 4 of them as i used to be a m/cycle courier, ive still got rwemains of them kicking about, let me know if you need anything

 

[Robotstar5]

Had a couple of them, looks like some one has painted the wheels black to make it look like the later model. Got a Haynes manual for it if you're interested.
Regards, Stuart

 

[michael1703]

i think they are later wheels, the spokes are the other way 'reverse comstars' ?

 

[Iain Westland]

genuine miles?

Iain

 

[vr4awd]

aye nothing has changed

also yes guys i have a haynes manual so that will come in useful as its my first motorbike iv restored or worked on

as for the wheel debate i culdnt tell you if they are origional or painted etc


michael1703

i may need some bits so if i do il be in touch, first thing i need is to find a battery for it

 

[zardoz]

In the mid 1970's my mate had a great little Honda CB200 in the days when any 17 year old could drive a 110 mph 250 CC motorcycle with L plates on!

Does anyone know if this was true about the two stroke Kawasaki S1 250s (Samurai range). That insurance companies would insure nobody under 21 on them and anyone under 27 suffered massive premiums, as so many were geting on them thrashing them and dying in the first week?

The Kwacker KH 250's which was its replacement, were not much slower either

Here is a pic of the Kwacker S1 250cc tripple

 

[Paul.]

I had a KH 250 in the early to mid 70s, very quick machine, we didn't even wear helmets in those days either, It was a 72 model bought as a write off for a song. and I rebuilt it, I don't remember the the insurance being particularly expensive though

 

[zardoz]

It was supposedly the S1's that were expensive to insure, or impossible to insure if you were under 21. Or so the Myth goes. I dont think Adam and Jamie will help me solve this Myth though

How was the Handling on the KH? Any improvement on the S1, or was it still a wobbly widowmaker ?

 

[Paul.]

How was the Handling on the KH? Any improvement on the S1, or was it still a wobbly widowmaker ?

Its a long time ago, the only thing I recall was it seemed heavy, Mind you I was a young lad then only 7 stone wringing wet!. I don't do bikes nowadays, too many idiot car drivers about who have never been on two wheels.

 

[wyn]

They were pretty heavy from what i remember, my mate had one and we used to ride it across fields just after slurry had been spread to make it a bit more interesting, not much grip though.

I bought it off him later and also had a suzuki TS 90. So i thought it would be a good idea to put the KH engine in the TS 90 frame. I had to offset the engine so the middle plug wouldn't hit the frame and also rearange the tank with a hammer to get the other plugs to clear.

Never finished it though and chucked it all away.

 

[Afterimage]

How was the Handling on the KH? Any improvement on the S1, or was it still a wobbly widowmaker ?

I had a KH250 in the late 80's,the handling was acceptable,the performance no better than a four stroke 250 and the fuel consumption awful at 40mpg.It made a nice ring from the pipes though,but at 90mph it left a kind of James Bond smokescreen behind it.

 

[Robotstar5]

Should have tried the Mach III 500 or H1 750 triples, OK while you could hear the induction roar but when they came on "pipe" as for handling, frames seemed to be hinged in the middle, but they went that quick on the straights you could stop and push it round corners!

 

[zardoz]

Werent those H1's the engines often made into monster 1000cc jobs or something? People used to weld two engines together if I recal correctly ?


ps: If anyone here went to the NEC Classc Car & bike show a few weekends back, please read my post here.zardoz exhaust welding post

 

[Wedg1e]

I don't do bikes nowadays, too many idiot car drivers about who have never been on two wheels.

Very true but if you ride something that looks like a Police bike it's surprising how they get out of the way...
My ST1300 with pillion, full fuel tanks and all the luggage stuffed weighs about 30Kg short of half a tonne so anyone who fancies pulling out in front of me is going to need surgery to remove the word ADNOH from their forehead...

 

[Rusty]

I had a KH 500 I think it was an ' L ' reg from memory , good in a straight line , not so good around the twisties I later bought an RG 500 Gamma, wonderful machine

 

[shenion]

Roomate in school had a H1 triple. Had a nasty habit of tha gas cap hitting you in the face when it got "on the pipe" (he had aftermarket pipes.)

Was real fast 0-100. Then all hell broke lose trying to stop or turn

I still am mad at him 20 years later for getting rid of it. It was one of the most unique and historic bikes built.

 

[hareng]

Think it was 81 or 82 when they banned over 125cc 12hp.
Many mates had the KH, H1, X7 and later RD's who had to get rid of them. Personally thought they were slow and cant remember any of the gangs moaning about insurance.

 

[HasBean]

Wasn't it the H1 that was banned in America? I know one was because so many people were killed riding one in the first fortnight of it's release. Something to do with the hinged middle and the way nearly all the power came in at once at xxx revs.