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Honda cx500 DualSport Conversion:

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hilligan said:
Very interesting. Any updates?
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Actually, yes (sorry for not posting) a lot of water has gone under the bridge since the last updates. I moved so relocating has taken most of my attention away from the cx project.

Since then I added a rear rack - again sorry for lack of pictures of that work.

Also in mid October we took the CX on a dual sport ride in Arkansas - some good testing for the bike:

Here while riding up a mountain forest road just north of Mena Arkansas we took a break to let the cx cool down - this was the only time the temp gauge got up around 210'F - right after a 15 mile run down hwy 270 at 60-70mph we hit this road and did a steady climb at around 30mph - lugging the motor there was not enough air at that rpm being pulled through the radiator - the rest of the ride I paid more attention to keeping rpm up or speeds up to keep more air going through the radiator.

So one of my next projects will be to remove the mechanical fan that spins off the cam shaft and replace it with an electric fan conversion (this is a common upgrade I found on the cx forums).
http://cx500forum.com/index.php?/topic/1878-electric-fan-conversion-data-faq-thread/page__p__22340#entry22340

Also as you can see by the rocks all over the place the need for a skid plate was more than evident - I would cringe every time I heard a thunk from rocks being tossed up by the front wheel

GEDC0427.jpg



A pic from Albert Pike swimming area.
GEDC0414.jpg


More from the roads south of Mena - this area was so nice I just have to post these pictures - we were there just about a week before the peak color change

GEDC0413.jpg


More riding: I think I may need to go back to Mena for more testing - :lol2:

GEDC0400.jpg


A pic from the dash board (Yea check out the colors of the foliage) - :rider:

GEDC0393.jpg



This time with test rider - :mrgreen:

GEDC0384.jpg


A popular spot - yea the cx made the rocky climb to the tower with ease

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Rman of 237 said:
Cool new pics! Dig those goggles/ face shield:trust:, retro or what? Don't tell me Scott still makes those things.:brainsnap If they do....:clap:!!!!!:lol2:
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No they dont - I slipped up, now I am showing my age - :rofl:

Actually, for most non competitive riding I still prefer my old open face bell mag4, when I need to spit or wipe the dust grime off my lips I just pull up the old scott face fender for easy access. It's lighter too than most other helmets I have. Again when just play riding I also still like my old (well broken in) leather boots over the plastic shielded ones I use when I'm racing - I'm kinda supprised you guys didnt give me a hard time over wearing those too :rider:

I'll post more pictures of the cx as it progresses.
 
EnduroRdr said:
No they dont - I slipped up, now I am showing my age - :rofl:

I'm kinda supprised you guys didnt give me a hard time over wearing those too :rider:
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Trust me, I went easy on ya!:lol2::haha: My boots back in the '70s were the old buckle type until the straps got so rotten they broke off.:doh::rofl: One of the coolest Christmas presents ever was in like '81. Fox MX Boots. With clips and (a new word at the time).... 'Velcro'!!!!Thanks Dad!!!!:zen:
 
Updates?

Great project. Looks really good.

One thing I noticed though. No Gutter Guard on the radiator?

Any Ideas for paint, bigger tank. Crash Bars?

Gotta love that sealed shaft drive, huh? Frickin chains.

Bags or Ammo Cans mounted for longer trips?
 
Now that's a cool project. Great engineering and toolmaker/machinist skills at work. Now that you are closer to MS., I may run into you on that five-hunnert twin. :clap:
 
Looks like you have done a most excellent job, and I bet that beast is a blast to ride off road :clap: Can you tell me what kind of mirror that is you have on it, and how do you like it? Can you actually see out of it at speeds, and does it stay in place pretty well?
Thanks.
 
That is GREAT! I will never look at a CX the same way again. It kind of reminds me of the bikes that Wendy used to show up at Sidewinder with years ago. He always thought a bike could be improved. Or maybe he just had alot of bikes around and thought "hey, that may work on that other bike." Yeah, that's probably it. Last I heard he was driving those vintage car rallies with Vernon Markworth. I miss those days.
But, you did a great job with that CX. It shows us what can be done with some imagination. Sam
 
bigphillip79 said:
Updates?

Great project. Looks really good.

One thing I noticed though. No Gutter Guard on the radiator?

Any Ideas for paint, bigger tank. Crash Bars?

Gotta love that sealed shaft drive, huh? Frickin chains.

Bags or Ammo Cans mounted for longer trips?
Click to expand...


I got a lot of plans in the works - doing most of what you ask about too.
But the one thing I need most is what I'm lacking most - Time.

Thanks for the imput and support from all - I'll be sure to post up some improvments as soom as they're done.

I may be riding it this weekend if my time issues permit - East Texas Dual Sport ride Jan 8th & 9th 2011
 
Had a long break from working on the bike (several months) but after a warm weather ride I got reminded of the cooling issue of the fork conversion blocking the air flow to radiator. Temp gauge would hover around 210 on 88' day when ridden hard - remember last summer? 95+ will send me over the boil if ridden hard! Had to baby it a few times last summer to cool it off while riding.

So I started on the conversion from the mechanical fan to an electric fan.

CX forms also say in addition to better cooling (constant air across radiator with electric as in slow traffic situations) that you can also feel a performance gain from the loss of mass the motor has to spin when the mech fan is removed. We will see!

View of the mechanical system:
P1000118.jpg


Now it looks naked!
P1000120.jpg


The Ninja 500 fan from ebay:
P1000119.jpg


Fitting the fan mounts to radiator:
P1000122.jpg


Radiator after new fan mounted:
P1000125.jpg


Sometimes (per the CX forums) you have to cut off the end of tapered cam shaft to make clearance for electric fans if they are too thick. I searched for the thinnest fan I could find before settling on the Ninja 500 in an attempt to keep the option of going back to Mechanical fan if needed.
A wise man never travels down a road he can't go back on unless there is no other way.

Here you can see I have about 1/8" clearance from fan motor.
I hope the fan moves enough air it only covers about 1/2 radiator (probably more like a 1/3 considering the round shape on a square).
P1000129.jpg


Will report back after another ride. I need to get it ready quick - planning another Mena AR ride later this week after Easter.
 
What about adding some scoops or air dams to the sides of the Radiator to catch more air when your riding.
 
bigphillip79 said:
What about adding some scoops or air dams to the sides of the Radiator to catch more air when your riding.
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Funny you should say that! After more testing I found that sustained high RPM riding still runs a little hot, 15 min of over 7K RPM and temp guage was pushing 212F.

So now some sheetmetal work needed:

Made these scoops:
P1000140.jpg


P1000139.jpg


Here is the view straight on from the front: you can see that the front forks were blocking direct flow into the radiator, I could verify that by placing my hand in front of radiator during riding and it was not much air movement.
After scoops added air was forced into it:
P1000141.jpg


So then while I was there I decided to open up the back of the fender to allow air to pass through it also.
P1000143.jpg


P1000145.jpg
 
1TallTXn said:
Nice looking project :thumb:
I'd look at fabbing up some kind of a skid plate for that engine. Maybe cylinder head guards depending on what you're gonna do with it.
Click to expand...

bigphillip79 said:
Updates?
Great project. Looks really good.
One thing I noticed though. No Gutter Guard on the radiator?
Any Ideas for paint, bigger tank. Crash Bars?
Gotta love that sealed shaft drive, huh? Frickin chains.
Bags or Ammo Cans mounted for longer trips?
Click to expand...

Well eventually I get around to these things:
While playing with sheetmetal the other day I got my hands on some Stainless Steel expanded metal - made a nice radiator guard. And I used same to block rocks from coming through the hole in the fender.

Also while I had my bro-in-law with his welder setup for aluminum I fabbed up a skid plate:

P1000137.jpg


used some rubber grommets where it makes contact under the motor - I found 4 places that look strong based on the seams of the casting - nice and flat too :mrgreen:

P1000138.jpg


So now it is ready for some more rock testing. Heading out to Mena in the morning. I'm pretty sure that front part is gona sound like a Caribbean 55 gal drum with every rock that fly's off the front knobby.

I used to cringe with every rock since the oil filter and clutch cover were so exposed - But I can ride with out fear of leaving an oil trail behind me.
You can see in the previous series of pics (the radiator scoops) how vulnerable the oil filter housing and clutch cover were!

P1000149.jpg


P1000147.jpg


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I purchased a pair of pelican 1550 bags, any advice on mounting is welcome:
I have some ideas for the racks - its the connecting the boxes to the racks that has me stuck still on the drawing board. As of right now I wanted to build some sort of quick release system with the racks (kinda like the new BMW bages use) as opposed to just bolting them to frames.


Mena bound in the morning - :rider:
Will post some more pictures after, probably of dents in the skid pan - :lol2:
.
 
First time to see this thread - that bike is SWEET. I'd love a project like that.
 
My first time also seeing this, looks a great project, but I suspect you have a heavy old girl to man handle on those trails!! Will keep you fit.. Great idea to use a bike with a shaft drive..

Gary
 
So, I had the opportunity to ride with contraption yesterday. When he told me he was going to take his CX500 down K Trail and up Blue Hole, I had my doubts.

I've seen lots of projects. Lots of frankensteining, done a bit myself. It usually ends up in an impractical machine that really doesn't do anything well.

That is definitely NOT the case with this bike. He rode the crap out of this bike, it never complained, not through the watercrossings, not through all the baby head rocks, not up to the tip top of Blue Hole.

It worked great, and really impressed me. Some of it was surely the rider, but Mike took this thing over and through terrain I've seen guys on XRR's and DRZ's not make.
 
EnduroRdr said:
As of right now I wanted to build some sort of quick release system with the racks (kinda like the new BMW bages use) as opposed to just bolting them to frames.
Click to expand...

Take a look at what I did (scroll to the bottom):
http://dr650.clfrycreative.com/dradv.html
To remove them, I just push the spring-tensioned "button" (drilled hitch pins) and pull the "hair pins" from the inside; I can mount/unmount them in a few seconds, and when mounted with the boxes locked, they can't be removed since the pins are inside. Been using them for about 5 years now, system still works great.

I used this type of hitch pin:
hitch%20pin.jpg

with some stiff springs so they won't move when loaded. Got everything at Lowes.
 
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