Scary as hell but fun! First ride for me and the bike on the road!

Okay fair warning to any of you skimming my build, this is gonna be a long one full of grammar error etc (it's late ) so give me some leeway. First off this will be more of a story (adventure more like) then a photo filled build

but here is one to wet your appetite!

So starts off at 6pm, I finally get some time with the wife (the bike). The girlfriend was off to go play a sport and I had some time to start my evil plan of riding my bike tonight, I suck in some OD spray paint and sandpaper when I went shopping with her. But anyways I had till 9pm to get the bike running before the gf was done. So lucky me the mail man left a package which was the rocker arm I bought for the sole purpose of snagging that set screw I sheared off earlier in the week, so I hurried and put my engine on TDC and off I went to adjusting that last valve and buttoning up the bike for her first voyage! Break the champaign bottle on it! Lol so now it was down to sanding that crusty critter some may say is a gas carrying vessel that goes on my bike but nay I must say, I
Will be posting it as a buy able offering to the forum asap, but I digress, I sanded her down one last time and painted her at green along with her covers( mainly so it doesn't look like in riding a awesome scrap find of a bike down the road! And there she was almost ridable, she just needed some mirrors! So I grabbed my bent set of cafe mirrors, put them in the vice and straitened them out! Now it was time to discreetly put on my riding gear hide my car and and roll my bike out into the road so my folks would get wise to what I was doing! (Aye I don't think they would like me riding at night for my first time on a maybe working bike) but my blood was pumping and after 2+long months I was gonna ride this beast!

I get out to the road and hit the button to fire her up! BEEEEP!! Dang it my nerves got to me and here I am trying to wake up my folks and neighbors up! Okay calm down let's do this again...BEEP! $#*| again omg, now I really made sure they are up now! Let get moving before battery dies or I'm discovered! *hits starter* pop pop pop ...dies...oh gas is off then get it going fast!...Boom we have ignition and I'm off, cold night air blowing through the visor of my helmet. God this is relaxing I can see why people like this... It's peaceful.. (God I hope my brake doesn't lock up) hmm let's play with the lights, dang this head light puts out more then I would have thought! Turn signals are working okay I'm good..now I just have to not ride so hard since I didn't have much gas to put in the tank at the house. Oh dear heads a hill I hope I don't run out of gas... Okay made it over let's now test all the brakes. Seem to be working! That's good, passes friends house Merlin that restores WWII jeeps. Heads up to light and pop pop pop , what I'm losing power but still running, Ching..(engine cuts out) crap it's dark out iv gone and run out of gas and my cell is on 7% hmm let's coast to the side and investigate. No fuel In the line..damn I'm caught I gotta call I'm back up and get some gas run up to me by my folks. Shucks I thought I was such a smooth operator and go unnoticed. Now were Snafu! Ekk I later my back pack against my exhaust pipe! It's melted shoot...This stinks...Oh wait Merlin! Cell on4%(had to use flash light) hey buddy you home ? No I'm 30mins out, ahh I need gas seems that bike I was restoring has run out! "Hey I'll pick you up and we can run up to your place an pick up a can to fill up with gas ! "Okay hold that thought let me mess around here a bit and if I don't call you back and just text, I'm on my way again

God this is dangerous sitting on the side with no lights(don't wanna kill the battery since I had been running that starter a bit) let break out the iphone flash light..mmmm (shakes peacock violently) gas flows into carb...hmm this evil tank must have blocked my gas filter in the tank, but now I do have gas let's get to the gas station before it runs out again or blocks up, rides way to gas station, pulls in (pumps out of service) wow my luck tonight...wait premium is still available! I swear this must be a scam on their off hours. okay fill her up to the brim! That extra pressure of the gas should keep that nozzle clear now! Vrooom! Off again to gfs house! Nice riding, I wish I could have some one experienced with street riding could ride this right now and tell me if the bikes handling well...I guess it is but I'm used to dirt trails, hmm okay almost there, I like how the road is empty at night! Okay just this turn and up the hill and I'm ther....wait I'm losing power again!! What?!? Ah I must have cracked the casing on the engine or something come on get me there I don't wanna push this sucker (keeps dropping gears) trying to get a lil pep up the hill..Ching engine dies..coast to a stop, looks at gas line empty again..

Oh dear I just gave my gf ammo to use for why I shouldn't ride motorcycles. Shakes bike, gas flows threw petcock, ahh enough to get me there unnoticed, vroom! Parks on sidewalk....
Leaves at 11pm just incase I need a friend to trailer me home. gf still doesn't know I rode bike there let's keep it that way , gas line filled back up, okay let's see if I can make it, pulls up to stop sign, huh let's check the gas line,...empty again! I hate this tank! Let's shake the bike to try an free upp the dirt, little dribble... God now I have to wheel it back up to her house then explain my adventure to her...wait just a minute! I put that gas cap on pretty tight, just maybe it's like a air valve on a gas can. It's making a air lock preventing gas to flow unless I shake the bike! (Undoes gas cap ) fuel goes sputtering onto the road, eureka! Iv solved the problem now let's ride home with it off!(flips lock cover over) this will have to do, and off we go 65mph first time ever riding on the road and first for this bike in 8years!

I was thinking about changing the turn signals to small bullet ones but now I kinda like the big visible ones at night!
Coasts past house *kills engine* pushes it to it's parking place, put kick stand out. Home, never been more pumped or scared of riding before..I'm hooked... Now quick fixes before my "official first ride tomorrow"

Thanks for reading my rather long adventure of my first ride, I'll respond to earlier post tomorrow, just to tired right now to do so.

 

That's awesome LOL Glad you got home safe and sound. I know that feeling all too well; itching to go for a ride after working so hard. Glad you are enjoying the fruits of your labor. Good luck on your *cough cough* "first" ride tomorrow

 

Duanob, great looking paintjob on that bike! And I do concur that shaker can paint jobs can turn out really nice! I had a few nice ones on that tank of mine. But with the amount of problems with that tank I'm not going to invest any more money into it, I'll pass it to someone more motivated with messing with it an yes first official ride today was a lot smoother then last nights! I got a new clutch cable now to cut down to size and re solder! So will be postin photos of that side project soon enough!

 

I wish I was in the market for another tank but I only really need an old seat pan to try and modify.

As far as the tank goes you really need to put a bit of time and patience into it. I've rebuilt a couple of tanks and it really is no big deal you just have to have patience! Remember it's not the tanks fault.

Go down to Home Depot and buy:
1 mortar mix tub ~ $6
3 gallons of Prep-n-Etch $14 each
I can of Kleen Strip paint remover.


Empty the tank of gas completely. I use a saw horse and run the fuel line into a gas can.
Remove the petcock and plug that hole with something like a shaved down wine cork.
Put the tank into the mixing tub, try and level it with pieces of wood.
Pour all the Prep-n-Etch into the tank and top off with water. Put the cap back on and let it sit for a couple of days. Dispose of the acid mix properly. Flush really good with a garden hose. Pour some acetone or marvels mystery oil in the tank and splash around to cover bare metal to keep from flash rusting. You will stunned and amazed and how clean and rust free your tank will be.

Once it's clean on the inside then go to work on the outside. Use the paint remover and get down to bare metal. It only take a few minutes for the remover to start working. Scrape the old paint off and sand the rest.

Now you have a completely clean and bare metal tank inside and out, like a blank canvas.

Maybe rebuild the petcock before installing on a newly painted tank would be another suggestion. Your intank screen might be plugged with crap that's why your lines get plugged and then flow again.

Good Luck!

 

There's a vent hole in the gas cap. From what you describe, it sounds like that's partially blocked. A piece of thin wire, some carb cleaner, and compressed air may clear it out.


R

P.S. I love riding at night, though the risk does increase.

 

I did too until that deer got between my front tire and the path in front of me...

P.S. I love riding at night, though the risk does increase.

 

So I may be skimping on working on the bike because darn it I'm just having so much fun riding around on the dang think! Well tonight was no different I decided to take the bike instead of the car and sure enough when it rains it pours in Maryland but that still didn't change the fact i still had to get home! It was all good fun except after I let the cx warm up I hopped on to be on my merry way except I ended up only riding on one cylinder all the way home ! All the while thanking god there was a pair and I could get by with one. Odd it was running well earlier in the day, maybe the weather temp effected a poorly adjusted carb? Or rain cause a sort, either way I'll be investigating why my left cylinder is on the fritz

 

It was all good fun except after I let the cx warm up I hopped on to be on my merry way except I ended up only riding on one cylinder all the way home ! All the while thanking god there was a pair and I could get by with one. Odd it was running well earlier in the day, maybe the weather temp effected a poorly adjusted carb? Or rain cause a sort, either way I'll be investigating why my left cylinder is on the fritz

Nowhere in your thread does it mention that you've checked your plug caps or done the brass rod mod to get rid of the resistors. This could explain your left cylinder pooping out on you. It's an easy thing to check and easy and cheap to fix. Check the Wiki for "brass rod mod" for details.

 

If you haven't checked your coils for cracks and/or damage you might want to do that too. They tend to act up when they're hot or it's humid out. Check the resistance between the primary and secondary coils as well.

 

Also, check that the drains from your plug wells are clear. If you accumulate enough water there, it can short out the spark.


R

 

Standard vs. deluxe gas tank

Okay so my left cylinder is magically working again after I adjusted the mix screw on the carb and tapped on the bowl, this I believe it was just a stuck float preventing fuel flow, the left side was giving spark. In other news the leaky standard tank of mine has finally been replaced by a very similar deluxe tank whose only difference is the locking mech. So now it doesn't have vacuum problem or leak from pin holes! It's nice to finally have a solid tank!

 

In other news the leaky standard tank of mine has finally been replaced by a very similar deluxe tank whose only difference is the locking mech.

For the record, that's a Standard tank, too (earlier than your original). The Deluxe has different graphics and a locking cover.


R

P.S. It was great to meet you last weekend. I'll be sure to let you know when I'm there again next summer.

 

It was good to meet you to Randal! My carbs have settled down now and arnt giving me any problems (knock on wood!) and hmmm the green tank actually had a lock mech and the red one is just a slot that your key goes in and turns, and the underside where it latches to is different

 

At least some of the '79 Standards (maybe all) had the locking cover, in which case it's identical to a Deluxe tank (I think), except for the graphics.

I've seen a splash collar inside the fill neck of a Deluxe tank. Does yours have that?


R

 

Tranny gear lurching in 1st gear?NEED help!

So iv done a bit to the bike, nothing ofuch note though, just painted the side covers to match and enjoying the heck out of riding this 35yr old bike! She's done wonders, and iv added 500 some miles to the bike since I got her ergg road worthy..and I have almost done the ton on her also this week ! But besides that paint an all I have developed a fleeting problem where the bike lurches while aggressively in 1st gear it lurches but not like a slipping clutch when it tacs out but like if you miss shift and it slips out of gear but the in that same second it's back in the gear, 1st is the only gear it shows symptoms of the problem but till it bothers me enough not to want to drive the bike above 45mph now. I believe this is the same problem but has no solution yet?(http://cx500forum.com/forum/technical-help-forum/2121-new-problem-first.html) so if anyone can tell me how to readily fix this, it would be appreciated ! I want to get her back to 100% before the season ends!

 

Greasemonkey,

I have a problem sort of like that, and I also thought it related to the thread you posted. You can read about it here, and there's a video of a clattering noise when I let the clutch out in 1st. In the end MurrayF said it sounded like a broken engagement dog in the transmission, so I'm looking at replacing the transmission, and doing whatever else it needs while the engine is out.

 

I had a problem like this with one of my turbos under hard acceleration.

'Twas a bent shift fork.

 

So ideas what I should do? Should I just buy a new tranny?

 

Transmission Fix

I watched a guy regrind the dogs it worked well just some careful grinding maybe there a demo on YouTube.

This problem is common on 3 cyl. Yamaha and some v-4 Hondas. I believe Chopper Charles referred to this on his V65 .

The forks are cheap on feebay.

Bike looks good.......... good story too.

 

Okay so its been a while since I'v posted! (I've been working on my new car [audi TT] i bought from the same guy i got the cx500 from )

Just to busy riding all the time! all the way up to december 25th 2014 last year and then quite a bit this spring whenever its warm! But iv been ignoring a problem that i'm just now getting around to My lack of 1st gear (a broken engagement dog) and have been dreading dropping the engine to fix it since well..doing new things is scary and usually a PITA! (which never bothered me much since i can slip it in 2nd.. but now some female friends have express interest in taking a ride. And well i just dont think my little cheat method will work with the extra weight ) . So today i spent 3 hours unhooking things etc following my manual which is kind vague haha to drop this lil turd. I managed to drop the engine mostly without any hitches other the the seized bolts and screws which made the afternoon project take longer. Now since I have it tomorrow ill be cracking into the engine to replace whatever is causing all this mischief in my tranny. I know in the back of my mind i should do a triple bypass on the engine while i have it out...But being a college student and trying to be lean on my hobby budge, I will forgo the bypass since i'm not experiencing any issues yet (knock on wood) $300 to do it if i replace all the seals to! I still plan on making the engine look fresh with a new paint job and also flush the cooling system with vinegar since i feel like there is clogging in the radiator vain causing a overheating issues while at traffic lights.

 

Glad to see you back! First time taking the engine out is scary, but you'll learn so much you'll be glad you did. If you run into any problems just post them up on here and we will all try and help you out.
I did the whole triple bypass on my new engine too, and you're right, it costs a fair amount. I had the new stator from before, but the gaskets and other stuff added up fast.

Painting the engine is fun though, let me know if you need any tips or info as I've done it a couple times now. VHT is the brand I would go with, but duplicolor may work fine too. Just make sure the engine is as clean as possible!!!

 

thanks Motomicah for the support!
Unfortunately i drop off the grid during winter when everyone is doing winter maintenance since my shop isnt heated an cant fit my bike so im stuck working in tolerable weather (maryland is 9 months of winter i swear).

So heres an update: got the covers off and i was wondering if the oil pump chain is suppose to be that slack? and if my clutch basket looks good still? i rather not have to buy new disc but if they look near the end of their life, i rather do that then have a slipping clutch.

now im off into the shop to mill or grind some poor socket into this sacrificial tool to get this nut off!

Ahh and you have no idea how much i strive for a low budget (; i have a roll of gasket material so I'm hoping that will cover all my gaskets other then the head gasket (copper plates look like a good alternative) and the bigger gaskets that are larger then my roll

ill check this while working if there's any input! cheers!

(oh thats the donor tranny thanks to larrydreed !who's sons? one cylinder detonated but managed to drive home on the other?) i Love the help that comes from the forum!

 

ok so i just finished making my custom tool with the mill and grinder. I found an old williams 15/16 socket which was a tad to tight to i had to angle the "teeth" a bit but it seems to work now

 

Replace the oil pump chain. It's cheap, and has very little adjustment range.

You'll need to put a caliper to the plates to see if they still meet spec. Unless they're very worn, you can get some improvement just replacing the clutch springs. A set of heavy-duty EBC springs is about 10 or 12 dollars, if I remember right. And because they come in a six pack, after the next time, the third set is free!


R

 

i cant find any new oild chains just alot of used ones on ebay? any links would be helpful, along with any cheap links to a water seal, stator, cam chain to would be much appreciated!

 

EBC clutch springs from eBay or Amazon.


R

 

I would send stator to custom rewind,use the Yamaha mech. seal
got a lot of my parts from David Slivers:
cam chain https://www.davidsilverspares.com/CX500-DELUXE-1979-USA/part_214937/
chain guide https://www.davidsilverspares.com/CX500-DELUXE-1979-USA/part_228803/
tensioner https://www.davidsilverspares.com/CX500-DELUXE-1979-USA/part_228817/
oil chain https://www.davidsilverspares.com/CX500-DELUXE-1979-USA/part_223302/

 

i hate to ask but where is this yamaha seal sold? im new to the triple bypass :/

other new, finally made it to my original objective an have the old tranny out an now trying to figure out how to make a good one out of the pair, the engagment dogs look fine but a little silver pin thing fell out which might be the culprit but am doubting since its aluminum and if not i need to find out where it belongs !!!

also i might not need a new chain? i think the slotting on the bolt because no previous owners before me adjusted the tension-er but like i said im new to this so maybe it should be replaced.

 

That is the oil orifice it belongs in a hole just above the (and to the right I think) of the clutch basket.. Don't lose it!!! look at the parts diag. for exact placement

 

Install it small end forward.

And replace that cam chain. You don't have a lot of adjustment range remaining.


R