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Today's Honda CX500 build comes from North Carolina and was done by Murray Feldman - the man behind Murray's Carbs.
As you might expect given the builder there are a ton of modifications. Starting from the front, the stock CX500 setup has been ditched in favour of a 1982 Honda CB650 front end - including the wheel. This comes with a dual piston caliper and in addition to drilling the rotor Murray moved the master cylinder to a 17mm bore model with a matching clutch perch. The brake lines are now stainless items, and fork gaiters protect the chrome stanchions.
The front fender is from a 1983 CX650C (eBay), the headlight bucket is the CB650 SOHC item with modified fork ears. All Balls tapered steering stem bearings were used. The handlebars are from Renthal (eBay, many variants) and they are furnished with Oury handgrips (eBay) - and the handlebar clamp had to be customised to fit the ignition switch angle. The fuse holder is the stock CX500 item with a custom-made billet lid. The gauges are the stock CX500 items in a modified laydown CB650 gauge bracket. The radiator overflow tank and oil catch can have also been relocated to the front of the bike on either side.
What's this on the rocker cover? Murray is working on a coil-over-plug arrangement for the Honda CX500 range - take this as a sneak peek of the upcoming product. Beneath the rocker cover you'll find a Honda CX650 rocker arrangement (better oiling, bushings and a stronger cross-shaft), and the rocker cover itself - along with the clutch cover - have been powder coated.
Unsurprisingly, the fuel delivery is via a set of Murray's Carbs Mikuni VM34s. That's not the full extent of the performance upgrades, though - the heads have been mildly ported, the flywheel has had 650gm shaved from it's bulk and the cam timing has been altered 3.76 degrees via a customised cam chain sprocket.
The ignition system has been changed across to a Rae-San Hall Effect unit (site) and the stator changed to a G8 model (charging only - eBay, and see here). The cam chain and oil pump chain were also replaced and the oil filter is now the spin-on type thanks to an adapter. The clutch basket has been replaced with the newer GL500 unit and the springs have been replaced by new EBC clutch springs (eBay), as have the clutch plates (eBay).
The swingarm is from a CX650 Custom (eBay), as is the final drive unit (eBay) and driveshaft (eBay). The engine's output shaft has also been changed to a CX650 Custom unit to match. The swingarm change necessitated custom bushings and a swingarm pin to mount correctly. The rear shocks are also CX650 Custom units (eBay) with shim spacers to make them fit correctly. The rear wheel is from a VT800, as is the rear brake drum, and precision machined spacers were used to fit the wheels and drum.
The tyres are Shinko 230s (eBay) with tubes and have been balanced with Dyna beads (eBay). The engine has been finished off with an alloy bolt kit, and the seat is originally from a 1971 Honda CB350 - the seat pan had to have some scallops cut into it to allow for the shocks and it has been recovered. It's a hinged seat, for those not familiar with the CB350, which allows easy access to the wiring/main fuse/etc. in the seat tray. Finally, the exhaust silencers are Supertrapp units (eBay).
This bike will be on display at the 2016 Barber's Vintage Festival for anyone who wants to see it in the flesh!
Looking for more inspiration? Check out the rest of the Honda CX500 build list.
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