[shain]

Hey all. I just bought my first motorcycle. I decided since I have a daily driver (jalopy truck), it can be a project bike. I ended up getting a 1981 Honda CX 500 Deluxe, complete with hideous saddle bags and fairing (which I am removing tonight). You guys have a lot of good information and I figured I should introduce myself because I have been reading about a bunch of the stuff you have done with your bikes for inspiration.



I will post before pics and after of the bike customization. I may even go all out and make a stop motion animation of the transformation (I love the idea of it, but that is serious dedication and I am lazy). I have a bunch of goals for it and I really can't wait to get them going. I need to lower it a couple inches (probably just putting 11" shocks on it) and I thought deeply about getting a seat with memory foam in it, that can be about an inch or so less thick. Unfortunately, I need it to still be a two-seater, so I can't go all out with the seat, iron butt short single person saddle. I also want straight pipes, let's face it, I am new to bikes and I need all the cars on the road to hear me coming. (sorry neighbors!) After I get all that done, I will be doing custom paint and maybe fabricating some custom stuff to make it a bit my style.



Very excited guys! And thank you for existing cx500forum.com.

 

[black81silverwing]

Welcome from Georgia!

 

[Blindstitch]

Welcome to the group.



When you get the saddlebags and brackets off you might consider selling them here because they are hard to find for those looking for an easy bolt on.

 

[shain]

I will consider it. Either way, I can sell the saddle bags. I may keep the fairing for winter days. Bolt it on in the winter, take it off and bolt in the summer.



And thanks for the warm welcomes guys!

 

[Johnny Canuck]

Welcome. Good luck on your mods!

 

[raulbajamx]

welcome..... where do you live ?,,,,well i'm down south....hola saludos

 

[ScrapMetal]

Welcome. This place is a vault of info, poorly protected. This entire forum community is always willing to help. Looking forward to the stop motion!

 

[shain]

For sure! I will document the whole thing and share it with you guys.



I live in the Dallas area. I guess I should update my profile a bit to give you guys some more information.

 

[marcktomas]

For sure! I will document the whole thing and share it with you guys.



I live in the Dallas area. I guess I should update my profile a bit to give you guys some more information.

Hello from Fort Worth!!

 

[Bama Jama]

Welcome from Alabama!

 

[jjwelderman]

Hello and welcome from The San Antonio area!

 

[ramprat06]

Greetings from Vancouver Wa, welcome aboard.



Joel in the Couve

 

[NateDawg]

Greetings from Wisconsin!

 

[fibonacci]

Fairly new myself and just as grateful to all here...



Florida chimes in "Howdy"

 

[shain]

Wow guys, thanks for the very warm welcome. And to you Texas riders, we will have to do something in the future.



Can I get some advice? I read threads about changing out the springs and changing the seats/whatnot. If I wanted to take an inch or two off the front, how would you guys suggest I go about that? The reason is, I am super short. 5' 6". And I am long waisted not long legged. I am on my tippy toes just to touch the ground and I cannot move the bike unless it is in gear, lol. God help me when it is time to back up. Any tips? If you had to lower a bike a lot (goal is 4 inches in the back 2 in the front) What would be the least expensive way to go about it. I do not want to do it in a way that wont look right or wont run right, but I am on a budget for now and it has to happen before I start riding it a whole whole lot.

 

[DakotaMK]

Greetings from IL! It's nice to see you put your location in- but could you also take a moment and put your bike in the signature line so it's easier to see what you're riding?



After doing a quick search on lowering I came up with



this http://cx500forum.com/index.php?/to...76108__hl__lowering__fromsearch__1#entry76108



and this http://cx500forum.com/index.php?/to...45268__hl__lowering__fromsearch__1#entry45268



annnnnnnd this http://cx500forum.com/index.php?/to...44133__hl__lowering__fromsearch__1#entry44133



just for starters



HTH



~MK

 

[DanCX500]

Hello and welcome from MN.



A couple of thoughts....the first one trying to be funny.. http://www.google.com/search?q=plat...group&ct=image&resnum=3&sqi=2&ved=0CFUQzAMwAg



The second thought is that they do make bikes that are lower... In the past I know of people riding Honda Shadows because they're lower.....

 

[shain]

lol. Nice. I will have to get a pair of those. While you are joking, I actually thought about wearing slightly thicker boots, just not to that extent. I made some progress on the bike:

Here it is before I did anything to it, with the fairings/whatnot

This is what it looks like without it.

:/ I need to figure out what I am going to do with this wiring and mount a headlight of some kind. (I will check the forum to see if someone else has done this.)

 

[raulbajamx]

when i had the seat upholstery done i did trim the seat foam , did the boots with a heal, the air in the shock at a lower pressure ( careful here )