Author Topic: 78' CX500 Cafe Project  (Read 56342 times)

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Offline Zaipai

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Re: 78' CX500 Cafe Project
« Reply #150 on: January 09, 2010, 08:42:59 PM »
Well, I got a petcock and fired her up today! Sounded low and rumbley, quite amazing!  I took some video but accidentally erased it .
The right side carb was dripping like madness and come to find out I am missing a screw so the whole bowl was leaking around the gasket
. Gotta get that taken care of and fill up the brake ressy and bleed it out .. also put the upholstery pan on and finish painting my custom buillt side covers. Looks good in the sun eh?  ;D  never mind the puddle , she just got a little excited! We both did ;D
Video to come. 
Dude, that is amazing looking.. (minus the excitement puddle .. ) You should be proud.. Nice work.. When its finished (pan etc..) you are never going to get off the bike!

Can't wait for the video...

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Offline Industrial Cafe

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Re: 78' CX500 Cafe Project
« Reply #151 on: January 09, 2010, 08:44:00 PM »
lookin' real purdy!

VIDEO! I wanna hear it!
Now, about that dusty old motor..? hmmm
everything I say is pure speculation and
I have no idea what I'm talking about  ._.


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Offline 78whiteorbs

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Re: 78' CX500 Cafe Project
« Reply #152 on: January 10, 2010, 07:30:06 AM »
Thanks, I got plans for the motor, just wanted to fix the gas leak first otherwise it'd be a lost cause . I originally flat blacked it with Hi-temp but I think I might gloss it with hi temp. It is really dusty thought too , might look better washed up.

Offline 78whiteorbs

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Re: 78' CX500 Cafe Project
« Reply #153 on: January 10, 2010, 12:15:38 PM »
Gotta install the carb kits and clean those up and get them good and dialed in but from a dead cold start it sounded nice revving it up . Small exaust leak from header to h-box , so gotta get soemkinda gasket or something. Still I am STOKED! It sounds much nicer in person , it is exceptionally low toned , I was suprised to hear such from a smaller bike like this !


Offline Zaipai

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Re: 78' CX500 Cafe Project
« Reply #154 on: January 10, 2010, 12:23:28 PM »
Man that sounded great! Once the carb thing is fixed it will be ready to roll (once the tach is hooked up! ;) ). That is one shiny tank nice work on the paint job!

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Offline 78whiteorbs

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Re: 78' CX500 Cafe Project
« Reply #155 on: January 10, 2010, 01:06:53 PM »
Thanks Scott. Yeah , I forgot the tach or screwed it to the speedo by mistake . The paint , while not perfect shows pretty good and that is fine by me ,especially for a first attempt at it . I will get better with some more practice. I would love to get a bike with a kick start though as you can push start this bike in a pinch but not quite as cool . I am looking for a 450 scrambler about a '72 or so or a black bomber , or even a cb400 with a bomber tank , check this one out.

Offline 78whiteorbs

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Re: 78' CX500 Cafe Project
« Reply #156 on: January 10, 2010, 01:12:48 PM »
I like this one cause the tail piece matches the tank perfectly. Bet there is only one of these.

Offline Zaipai

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Re: 78' CX500 Cafe Project
« Reply #157 on: January 10, 2010, 01:28:11 PM »
That will also be my next project bike, would be perfect for around town riding.. If I ever finish this one that is.

Also check out this thread, its not quite what you want but he is doing some fun stuff with it..

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=44304.0

Also I can't see the paint up close but sure did look purdy to me..

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Offline 78whiteorbs

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Re: 78' CX500 Cafe Project
« Reply #158 on: January 15, 2010, 05:46:47 PM »
Update, took the bike out tonight and had great fun , for 5 minutes...
Just rebuilt the carbs and for some reason it is stalling out after getting up to 3 gear or so . I think I mixed some needle jets up or something .....dang. Also heistated under throttle. before it ran great just was leaking fuel , now leak is fixed but ................ well , guess I will have to take the carbs back off tomorrow and see what I mixed up in there.............bah.!

Offline 78whiteorbs

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Re: 78' CX500 Cafe Project
« Reply #159 on: January 15, 2010, 05:48:23 PM »
! plus , pushing it home I met this guy who stopped to offer help that actually lives right buy me and has a old triumph tiger cafe'd. Dude was tripping out over my bike . Nice guy , gonna ride with him when I get this solved.

Offline Industrial Cafe

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Re: 78' CX500 Cafe Project
« Reply #160 on: January 15, 2010, 05:50:57 PM »
it's gravity feed right? possible vapor lock?
everything I say is pure speculation and
I have no idea what I'm talking about  ._.


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Offline 78whiteorbs

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Re: 78' CX500 Cafe Project
« Reply #161 on: January 15, 2010, 05:56:40 PM »
Hmmm, I soaked my gas cap in carb cleaner untill all the paint came off as I realized only too late that painteing a vented cap was a bad idea.... I guess I could crack open the gas cap half way and if it was locked that should be that huh?  I was pushing it home which was mostly down hill  thankfully, and I fired it up and cruised back home in 2nd gear.  What causes hesitation in throttle response? When revving it on idle it is very responsive. Just not in gear. Clutch feels kinda funny too , the friction point is way way out .

Offline my78k

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Re: 78' CX500 Cafe Project
« Reply #162 on: January 15, 2010, 06:00:15 PM »
I wouldn't do any further diagnosing until your gas capped vent is unblocked.

I wouldn't suspect anything major at this point...

Offline Industrial Cafe

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Re: 78' CX500 Cafe Project
« Reply #163 on: January 15, 2010, 06:01:23 PM »
adjust your clutch and make sure there's no u bends in the fuel line.
 and vent your cap.
everything I say is pure speculation and
I have no idea what I'm talking about  ._.


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Offline 78whiteorbs

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Re: 78' CX500 Cafe Project
« Reply #164 on: January 15, 2010, 06:03:25 PM »
will do, how about and s bend? I am running a fuel filter and it is kinda cramped

Offline my78k

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Re: 78' CX500 Cafe Project
« Reply #165 on: January 15, 2010, 06:07:43 PM »
did you clean/derust the tank?

Offline Zaipai

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Re: 78' CX500 Cafe Project
« Reply #166 on: January 15, 2010, 09:12:27 PM »
will do, how about and s bend? I am running a fuel filter and it is kinda cramped
You might try it with out the filter, it could be the filter is too restrictive.. Just a thought.. I had one on my bike and turns out that is what was causing my problem.. tho it may not be the same for you.. just some thing that pop'd into my brain.. Also we need some pic's of that cafe from the guy you met. Would love to see it..

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Offline 78whiteorbs

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Re: 78' CX500 Cafe Project
« Reply #167 on: January 15, 2010, 09:49:39 PM »
I'll start fresh tomorrow. The vent might be the issue.As for the Triumph Tiger,yes, I will. Not many cafe bikes in this town , what are the odds? And he lives right by me too. That is too cool.  I am thinking it was starved for gas. Well ,all and all I was happy to push it home in a way. I enjoyed the short ride and have learned to kinda not be so shocked by such things, plus hey ,if I had not been pushing it I wouldnt have met a new friend>  Weird how those things work.   


Offline Zaipai

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Re: 78' CX500 Cafe Project
« Reply #168 on: January 16, 2010, 05:59:56 AM »
I'll start fresh tomorrow. The vent might be the issue.As for the Triumph Tiger,yes, I will. Not many cafe bikes in this town , what are the odds? And he lives right by me too. That is too cool.  I am thinking it was starved for gas. Well ,all and all I was happy to push it home in a way. I enjoyed the short ride and have learned to kinda not be so shocked by such things, plus hey ,if I had not been pushing it I wouldnt have met a new friend>  Weird how those things work.   


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Offline articblue

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Re: 78' CX500 Cafe Project
« Reply #169 on: January 17, 2010, 03:24:51 PM »
Seems like you're making progress :)
My 2cents, probably the same advice already, however, make sure those floats aren't sticking, that'd cause it to bog down with one cylinder getting lots of gas while the other probably wasn't getting enough
Eventually I'll get something that runs, but until then I'll wrench until I make it run.
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Also, another 'new' project 1975 Honda CB400F.

Offline Zaipai

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Re: 78' CX500 Cafe Project
« Reply #170 on: January 17, 2010, 06:21:03 PM »
Seems like you're making progress :)
My 2cents, probably the same advice already, however, make sure those floats aren't sticking, that'd cause it to bog down with one cylinder getting lots of gas while the other probably wasn't getting enough
Very good point Artic.. It could be that as well..

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Offline 78whiteorbs

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Re: 78' CX500 Cafe Project
« Reply #171 on: January 17, 2010, 07:14:34 PM »
Float action was nothing out of the ordinary however I did mix up the jets, causing it to run like a scalded dog up to 50mph and then nothing when the higher speed jet was suppose to kick in but was actually lower. Also changed the spark plugs, the old ones I am ashamed to say were atrocious. Now Got good hot blue spark and all the jets are right but alas for some reason my petcock clogged . Could it be because it was off a parts bike and prolly had never been cleaned? Yes, shame on me ....I got what I deserved.
Cleaned the petcock and now got good gas flow . Ran outta daylight , tomorrows a new day .

Offline Industrial Cafe

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Re: 78' CX500 Cafe Project
« Reply #172 on: January 17, 2010, 07:28:27 PM »
when I put a newly slopped tank on my bike it clogged the low jets and the petcock up every time I rode it for about a month.  then I put Lucas fuel system treatment in it and never had the problem again.
everything I say is pure speculation and
I have no idea what I'm talking about  ._.


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Offline 78whiteorbs

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Re: 78' CX500 Cafe Project
« Reply #173 on: January 17, 2010, 07:49:28 PM »
Good idea IC , will pick up a bottle.

Offline 78whiteorbs

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Re: 78' CX500 Cafe Project
« Reply #174 on: January 19, 2010, 02:15:52 PM »
Got the carb sorted. I had the needles reveresed  ::)  donkey kickin power to 45 mph and then nuthing .
So now it's popping a bit and hissing a little , sounds angry or something. Got some exhaust leaks to sort out around the h-box but it should be good for a longer ride this go round :) !   Also bleed the front brakes . Little trick I learned for bleed a totally dry line and caliper:
buy some aquarium hose and hook it up to the bleeder nipple. Fill the master cylinder and keep it full or never let it run tou the holes or this wil draw air in the system and that is what you want rid off. Now suck on the aquarium tube steadily make sure not to swallow and (wait a minute , this is sounding bad....) ok scratch that , have your girlfriend suck on it and assure here if she swallows any it wont hurt her ! Wait , just kidding. Really though this will draw all the air outta the line and alternate pumping the brakes with the sucking on the line. Man *thinks to meself* bleeding brakes is dirty work !   
Anywho I did this and it is the homeade low budget way of bleeding without a vacuum line.  Worked great.
 now gotta find which wire the horn went to.