78s were a manual tensioner but there was an issue with some of the earliest bikes tensioners. Check your engine number for 3 punch marks which denote that the upgraded parts were refitted at recall.



If the punch marks aren't present you don't neccessarily have a problem.



Somebody here might know up to what engine number were affected by this.



Things to be wary of with the CX are as outlined above.



Camchain at the end of it's life requiring replacement.



Stator tests, I'll find you the link in a minute.



And a weeping mechanical seal.

http://globalcxglvtwins.hostingdelivered.com/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=521





http://globalcxglvtwins.hostingdelivered.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=516&p=2585#p2585



With less than 11 grand on the clock I wouldn't be too concerned as these things are capable of clocking up almost ridiculous milages for a 500 cc bike.

 

Welcome to the forum!



ALL CX are bad! Send them all my way and I'll keep the trouble for you! J/K! They're tough bikes and if maintenance is kept up they'll run a long time! Liquid cooled, and shaft drive was the reason why I bough mine around 15 years ago. I also know the original owner. I believe I’m the 4[sup]th[/sup] owner. The second owner really beat on it bad! But it still runs great!

 

As stated, the first CX's had a manual tensioner on the cam chain. Owners "forgot" to regularly adjust them, ( a 30 second job ), so, later models had the auto tensioner, from the factory. The 3 prick punch marks, next to the engine number on the casing, denotes the engine was retro fitted with the newer tensioner. The stator shouldn't be troublesome, at 11,000 miles, but that depends on storage conditions etc. There is a check that you can do, if you search the forum, and have a small amount of knowledge of electrics. Other than that, maybe a weeping mechanical seal, (water pump, behind the fan), and you will have years and years of reliable trouble free motoring. Just do your regular servicing, and thats it !!!

 

As stated, the first CX's had a manual tensioner on the cam chain. Owners "forgot" to regularly adjust them, ( a 30 second job ), so, later models had the auto tensioner, from the factory. The 3 prick punch marks, next to the engine number on the casing, denotes the engine was retro fitted with the newer tensioner.

Not quite accurate. In North America, the only models with the auto-tensioner are the 650s, I believe. The early '78s were prone to tensioner breakage. In the recall, Honda retro-fitted a stronger tensioner blade and a redesigned retainer plate with an additional mounting point. The later '78s and all subsequent 500s were produced with the improved system.



The 500s were never retro-fitted with the auto-tensioner, as your post suggests.





R

 

Hey everyone, thanks very much for the replies - much appreciated!! I'll be looking at this bike over the weekend and hope to have a new project by the end of the month. BTW, if anyone thinks of anything else, please don't hesitate to post.

 

Welcome aboard, Allan! What part of Oregon are you located? We have quite a few members here from the PDX metro area, as well as the valley. I'll see what I can dig up on the bikes affected in that recall.



Joel in the Couve

 

From the CX/GL Wiki

The early model (shown at the top of the page) was known as either the CX500 or CX500Z (Zero) , and models with the frame numbers in the range 2000001-2034366 suffered a shortcoming in the design of the cam chain tensioner. The spring loaded adjusting blade, released manually by a locknut to take up slack and wear in the cam chain, vibrated excessively and in many cases, broke. This left the rider with, at best, a noisy engine and at worst, a wrecked one. This sad deficiency marred the early days of the CX500 but Honda quickly produced a free fix, consisting of a longer supporting plate and a few modifications to the internal mountings. This did involve removing the engine, but dealers carried out this work for free and nowadays seeing one of the old adjusting mechanisms is very rare indeed.



Having said that, some CX500Zs do still crop up with unmodified parts. Dealers stamped three dots in the crankcase, close to the engine serial number, to indicate that these modifications had been carried out. Any surviving engine of this vintage is unlikely to be still unmodified.

 

Joel - thanks very much for the quote with pic. CXPHREAK, thanks, as well!



I'm currently in the Tualatin area, so basically Portland Metro.



Good to know there are a fair number of CXers in town.

 

That's an Oz thing Randall.



The standard 500 bikes came here until 82 [if not even 83] and were upgraded from the factory with both TI ignition and the auto tensioner in 82.



The same would hold true for a custom I would think.



And Ramp, thanks for supplying the engine numbers.

 

That's an Oz thing Randall.

And the OP is in Oregon. Info exclusive to non-US markets would only mislead him.





R

 

And definitely not fitted as the recall 'fix'.

 

Was not my intention to confuse, I forget you guys are overseas. The whole explanation seemed unwarranted to a newbie, just what to look out for. Here's one of the original adverts.

 

Welcome aboard,Are you looking at the CX in Stayton?

 

Does anyone else find it unusual that we all know which CXs are for sale in our area at any given time? Is it obsession, or keeping our options open...

 

For me, it is curiosity, want to see what else is available,at what price and I like to see what others have in the way of Fairings, saddlebags,luggage racks,etc. Sometimes I find a bargin this way,sometimes I just get a good idea.I find it interesting that if you watch long enough you will see the same bikes come up for sale every few months, I wonder if they are not selling or why,or why the new owner didn't like it.

 

If you look at this pic the section #10 is what was added to reinforce the system, as well as the new, stronger blades #4 and #12 and that cover plate #11. The section #10 actually sits to the left side of the chain when looking at the unit from the rear towards the front. This pic is looking from the top left front towards the right rear. Any bike that has had the recall done by Honda (whether a dealership or other shop authorized by Honda) will have the punch marks. The recall has NO EXPIRATION, so if you find a bike without the punches and it falls within the serial number range listed, contact Honda and they will arrange for the work to be done at their dime. There have been a couple folks on here who have done this. Honda has to honor this, and it may be hard to locate the parts, but they do exist. You may have to assist in that search with them, as I recollect.



I have to say I have never dealt with this, so my statement is purely from what I've gleaned from this forum, and the web. I could be wrong, but I don't think so. *edit* to add that you are likely best off sticking with the manual tensioner for this model year. Just make adjusting it part of your regular maintenance.

Joel in the Couve

 

Good info Joel, thanks!