[Randalap713]

Hello everyone, I’m new to the forums but not new to motorcycles or even Honda motorcycles. Well I recently picked up a 1982 Honda CX500 Custom that’s in pretty decent shape. It does have a few issues such as a whirring tach, front brake pads always lightly against the rotor, and some carburetor issues. Any general help or recommendations will be greatly appreciated.

Not sure if I’m going to keep this bike or not because I have my first kid on the way and might need to sell it later on but I think it would be a great bike to have as another riding option.

 

[reclinedrelic]

welcome to the forum. Visit the wiki (link in my signature) and download a copy of the factory service manual (FSM) for your bike. Motofaction (The Honda CX and GL 500 and 650 family of motorcycles) has lots of useful information.

 

[richnct]

If the noise emanates from the tach itself, removing it and the cable entering it and with it upside down put several drops of light oil into the cable entry port (where the cable was removed). That may well quiet it down effectively. Easy on the oil or it could find its way to the dial face 🤭

 

[richnct]

Dragging brakes are not good and are unlikely to get better on their own. It could be sticking pistons or stiff caliper slide pins, or both. Disassemble and clean/service the unit is called for. New piston seals may be the only parts needed. It can also be caused by the master cylinder return port (hole) being clogged, usually with hard deposits making it difficult to even find the tiny little hole in the bottom of the reservoir. It is the smaller of two holes there. This problem is made obvious when the brakes get tighter as you squeeze the lever and only release when you loosen a brake line banjo fitting to relieve the built up pressure. Welcome aboard and congratulations on the coming child!

 

[nolimitz]

Welcome
Also, Larrys carb book is a great resource for these bikes. see my sig line for a link

 

[Randalap713]

Dragging brakes are not good and are unlikely to get better on their own. It could be sticking pistons or stiff caliper slide pins, or both. Disassemble and clean/service the unit is called for. New piston seals may be the only parts needed. It can also be caused by the master cylinder return port (hole) being clogged, usually with hard deposits making it difficult to even find the tiny little hole in the bottom of the reservoir. It is the smaller of two holes there. This problem is made obvious when the brakes get tighter as you squeeze the lever and only release when you loosen a brake line banjo fitting to relieve the built up pressure. Welcome aboard and congratulations on the coming child!

I think it’s the return port, gonna try to take a look at it this weekend hopefully when I have a bit of time.
I will also see about adding a tad bit of oil to the tach as well and hopefully that helps with the noise. Thank you for your suggestions.

 

[Randalap713]

Just in case you guys wanted to see her here’s a pic after I gave her a bath (and almost died on some leftover ice).

 

[Sidecar Bob]

Welcome to the forum and welcome to the world of antique vehicle ownership (they own us, not the other way around).
Your bike is about 4 decades old and no matter how nice it looks it may or may not have had all of the maintenance necessary to keep it safe & reliable so it is highly recommended to download the Factory Shop Manual for your model (available through the CX Wiki - link in my signature too) and go through all of the service procedures, regardless of whether your bike has reached the specified mileage.
I also recommend looking on all rubber parts with suspicion because rubber does not age gracefully. You probably already know to check the date codes on your tires and replace them if they are over 5 years old no matter how good they look & feel (old rubber simply cannot flow around the irregularities in the asphalt well enough to grip, especially if it is cool or wet). It looks like your bike still has the original rubber brake line, which should have been replaced every 2 or 3 fluid changes (= 5 or 6 years) so I recommend shopping for modern stainless braided ones (they last practically forever and double the life of the fluid). And don't forget things like the rad hoses and the boot between the engine and swingarm (they can crack on the bottom where you don't see it).

 

[Randalap713]

Welcome to the forum and welcome to the world of antique vehicle ownership (they own us, not the other way around).
Your bike is about 4 decades old and no matter how nice it looks it may or may not have had all of the maintenance necessary to keep it safe & reliable so it is highly recommended to download the Factory Shop Manual for your model (available through the CX Wiki - link in my signature too) and go through all of the service procedures, regardless of whether your bike has reached the specified mileage.
I also recommend looking on all rubber parts with suspicion because rubber does not age gracefully. You probably already know to check the date codes on your tires and replace them if they are over 5 years old no matter how good they look & feel (old rubber simply cannot flow around the irregularities in the asphalt well enough to grip, especially if it is cool or wet). It looks like your bike still has the original rubber brake line, which should have been replaced every 2 or 3 fluid changes (= 5 or 6 years) so I recommend shopping for modern stainless braided ones (they last practically forever and double the life of the fluid). And don't forget things like the rad hoses and the boot between the engine and swingarm (they can crack on the bottom where you don't see it).

I downloaded the manual, it’s been a great resource so far. I haven’t completely checked over the bike yet because it had been in storage before I bought it and had quite a bit of dirt everywhere so I couldn’t see much through all that. Now that it’s clean though I intend on looking over everything and making a list of things to be repaired or replaced and order some stuff to service it.

Thank you for the tips and the welcome.