As soon as I saw the thumbnail I said to myself "He saw BJ's Adventure Build." Sure enough. You Two should definity colab in the future or maybe even on this build.
I work on pretty much everything from harley, suzuki, kawasaki, yamaha, amongst others. Nothing magical about honda stuff. Honestly I wouldn't touch this platform. The ignition systems are trash and when it fails its game over. Something like an old Vulcan 800 would be a great old crappy bike to start with.
My dad used to have an '83 CX650 (674cc) Custom (made only one year). Thing just never could idle quite right and those compound-angle-mounted carburetors were a nightmare to work on. Engine was 80° Vtwin so it was less than smooth, one handlebar would damage your nerves and one mirror was completely uses blur. Otherwise an okay bike in terms of ergos and comfort. Shaft drive is a no brainer.
I have a friend whose CX500 Silver Wing is approaching 70k miles, it runs like a graped ape! He stripped the Honda luggage off it and outfitted it with stiffer forks springs and slightly longer shocks, and dual-sport tires and panniers. He takes it on both interstates and fire roads, no problem! The only problem he's ever had to fix were the stator and its connectors.They tend to overheat and melt.
Loved my cx500. When I sold it I made sure to finish fixing a few issues for the new owner. Things I learned: if backfires on deceleration , replace the low speed idle cutoff diaphragms in the carbs. If you get timing issues the first thing to check is that the plug wires have the correct resistance: and its two different values for left and right wires. When I was harvesting parts at the local bike yard they told me the couple bikes they had in were at like 180k and 260k miles on original engines....... expect greatness from these durable machines.
Sweet. I built a 1981 GL500 into an ADV bike years ago. Now, at 70,056 miles, I still love it! The GL makes a much better platform with the Pro-Link air suspension. BTW, I only paid $200 for the bike. I wish I could send you a pic.
I love the CX500. It was my second street bike, my first being a Suzuki 450. I'd still have mine, but my father sold mine without my permission while I was deployed (note to other service members, don't sign power of attorneys unless you 100% trust the person)... we didn't speak to each other for years afterwards. I loved your build and it brought back a lot of good memories.
I'm disabled but I enjoyed touring before becoming disabled. I rode a CX 500 like that across the country twice in the early 1980's while in the Navy. I can't ride modern touring bikes simply because they have become small economy cars with 2 wheels instead of 4. I discovered by accident I could install a 1970's era Vetter Windjammer fairing, bags, and trunk on a Honda VLX 600 Shadow. I did that and it became the perfect lightweight touring bike that manufacturers no longer make. Later I added a Velorex sidecar because my age required me to give up two wheels to continue riding. The only mistake I made was not adding the Sidecar a lot earlier lol.
Craig I’m working on a similarly colored 78’ Honda CX500 for my uncle, making it a full on adventure bike for him. If you’re missing any pieces or forget how something goes on just reach out! Hopefully his will be running soon!
Adventure bike builds are doing for less popular bikes what low riders have done for a lot of less popular cars; saved them!!! I have seen low rider builds bring long unappreciated (non impala) cars to Sema levels of beauty. Thus preserving them. Now I am seeing cafe racer builds and adventure bike builds do the same for some unloved vintage bikes. What a cool project, Craig! Can't wait to see this build put to the adventure trails!
Big G'day Craig from Down Under 🇦🇺 Just watched you on Bikes & Beards latest video.... & yes I will admit it got me😭😭😭😭 as you rode up & handed over the keys, God bless you & everything you guys do. May all your days be Harley days 💪🖤🧡🖤🧡🖤💪 Safe travels 🙏♥️🐾🐾🇦🇺
So much fun! This was my first big bike as a teenager. 1981 Honda CX500 custom. Mine was blue and black. I loved that bike. It took me on some great adventures! I love your vids! Thanks for sharing.
This channel helps me appreciate the old bikes and reminds me that they deserve sun too. I rode my 1982 GPZ1100 today and the bike I affectionately call 'Ol' Breaky' felt great to ride. That big 4 has a soul that makes me smile when it sings.
Wasn’t Graig supposed have this bike torn down for you? Pretty certain he needs to have a sense of urgency! Luckily Craig doesn’t disappoint! In all seriousness, this channel is awesome!
After that comment on the Honda snowblower... I have to share mine. Bought my 2cnd Honda lawnmower in 2003. It still works fine. My brother in law is still using my 1st Honda mower, its old, really old. But 2 years ago, I thought maybe I should get the latest and greatest - the one with the "autochoke". The one that will make my life easier. The "autochoke" that stopped working last year. Rather than take it in to the dealer, who doesn't give a crap about lawnmowers, I give her a shot of starting fluid to get her working. Now that's progress Honda! Those choke cables and stuff... who needs em? Great channel guys!
Thanks for helping me kill time at work with these. Everyday I just can’t wait to get back into the garage and start wrenching. Got my 05 crf450r I’m restoring and this is great motivation
Quick tip from an old CX500 rider: if you have the chance, replace the oil pump chain tensioner if you can. It’s the one weak point of this otherwise fantastic engine.
I have to say, I have almost zero interest in motorcycles, never owned or driven actually. But I still find myself watching your videos more and more. Nice, happy, relaxed quality content. 👌 Greetings from Finland.
"On this episode of The Bearded Mechanic, Craig tries to do things correctly." "Hmph - that's weird." Gold. Can't wait to see what you guys do with this one!
Hey Craig, I just bought a CX500 and pulled a big windshield off of it that your welcome to. Also it does have adjustable suspension, the front forks are air forks and you can adjust the pressure for preload, almost like its meant to be an adventure bike.
I absolutely love what you've done with the channel. This is a fantastic build. Would love to see you do the same thing with a cafe build, maybe using a classic goldwing.......
I like what you are doing here. Two long videos in progression with the same bike. Adventure is a state of mind and we can all see that this bike is already an adventure. Thanks for taking us with you.
Really cool video! Adventure bike, yeah! My favorite quotes. Craig " look at that! , look at how adventurous this thing is looking" Dan " is it looking adventurous, or is it just looking stripped? " Craig " one man's stipped is another man's adventurous"
You and Sean got me into riding! Can’t express the amount of love I found in this community! You’re awesome and I’m happy to see your channel doing so well!
I used to have an Ascot 500 and a goldwing 1100, I miss them both. Both motorcycles were basket cases and needed serious help. However with lots of Labor of love and lubrication they both ran perfectly.
Craig thanks for all the carb rebuild tips, finally followed your lead and rebuilt the carb on my 20 year old Honda Gorilla, started 1st kick and now runs super smooth couldn't have done it without you ❤
Miss my 1980 CX500. Bought at 17,000 miles, added another 20,000 no problems. Took me 4 months to get it on the road, thanks to CX forums and Murry's Carbs.
I have a cx500c that I want to build a adventure/ flattrack style bike and this video is getting me super excited and giving me knowledge on were to look for parts.
Modded a CB500 into an adventure bike when i was in Uni. Took bits from a wrecked KTM. Basically the only things that were left from the Honda was the chassis, the engine, tank and seat. Pretty much everything else, including the rear fork were from that KTM. Lots of machining and welding, but it was fun. Unfortunately, the engine assploded, and i pushed it off to a friend. If i were to do it again, i'd probably focus more on the engine, even when that thing was running, it wasn't enough. The "big engine" is important. You want a smooth one, but it needs to be potent.
I don't ride motorcycles, I'm not a mechanic, and I love this channel! Craig is so entertaining and funny. Keep it going, fellas..... now I want a bike, I can't wait til my wife lets me!
I built a 1971 xs650 into a desert sled. It was awesome and I took it all the way across the country to the Mojave desert where I raced my buddies. Then I sold it cuz I didn’t need it lol
Haha! I loved how you opened your mailbox and walked away with the tire! I started cracking up because that's a joke I'd do. :) I can't wait to see how this build pans out. I'm sure it's going to be amazing and buckled up for the journey. See you next video!
The CX block is very easy to drop! You can, and should, drop it as a unit with the cooler amd such in place. The haynes manual (or a online rip) has all of it on it.
I’m so I excited by this build! When your video dropped a friend sent me a message and gifted me his 1982 GL500! So I’m super excited to watch your build and hoping to do something similar.
Amazing! I just posted a video about my experience with CX500 . I come in the house and here you are working on this gem! Those old “Twisted Twins” are the toughest!👍👍👍
Ha! This reminds me of a friend's project from a couple decades ago. He started with a Honda VT500 Ascot and made an adventure bike from it. He rode it for most of a decade, and it became well known among the Adventure Rider gang in the Rocky Mountains. I took a couple long rides with him. Besides sitting a bit low, he managed to ride it like an adventure bike competently. I don't remember what all he did to it, beyond adding knobby tires. I did something like this starting with a mid seventies CL400 Scrambler. I had great luck on that build shortening the seat, by simply cutting off the back half of the seat pn, then playing with the cushion shape before sewing up a very simple seat cover. I shortened the seat in part to allow space for a luggage rack behind it. It looked great in the end!
Way to have fun with this bike that would likely have been scrapped. I’m making a mini adventure bike from a Ninja 250 on my channel, people seem to like it.
If you are taking much of the engine apart, you should look up the CX500 "Triple Bypass". It's a common set of three maintenance items that CX500 owners always end up doing at some point.
I was riding a ftr and a scout rogue yesterday on demo day and I must say that the Scout rogue blew me away, such a nice bike, I'm not a cruiser person but I love that bike ^^
