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Just finished my 1st chop

5K views 42 replies 11 participants last post by  versicolor 
#1 ·
1980 cx500D. This is just a test post to see if the pic works. if it does i'll post all that i've done to it.
 
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#3 ·
It shows or looks like what you did was try to link a image from your computer.



You need to upload your photos to a sharing host like photobucket.
 
#18 ·
I only have the running tail light and brake light. It's just above the license plate mounted on the bracket. no blinkers at this time. Don't need blinkers in Michigan, just hand signals but I have to admit i'm a little uncomfortable without them. I will more than likely add blinkers a little later.
 
#17 ·
Okay. I guess thats enough pics for now. Hopefully the angles are good enough to see everything. I guess i'll go through my story. I've never owned or ridden a motorcycle before. always wanted one though. Just so happens a guy I work with had a CX that he was tired of working on and wanted to get rid of. Believe it or not he simply gave it to me for free. Wouldn't take a dime. I don't have a garage so it went down into my basement and I immediately began tearing it apart. I took everything off that I could until it was down to the frame and motor. I had a design idea and thats it and so I took it from there. Heres all that i've done:

-made the seat

-made the handlebars

-removed H-pipe and stock exhaust and put together my own straight pipes

-wrapped and silicone sprayed pipes

-designed foot pegs and my buddy machined them from the design I drew

-rewired from scratch with another buddy

-made license plate bracket

-installed 90/125 jets and retuned

-synced carbs

-designed and installed hard tail struts

-painted frame and wheels in semi gloss black

-painted tank with black metallic and clear coat

-bought and installed headlight, tail light, grips

-designed an enclosed removable cover under seat to house and conceal any extra wires

-installed rivets into rear curved section of frame

-relocated battery and all that stuff with it to clean up center area

-removed radiator and flushed it out

-replaced thermostat

-changed oil

-installed red covers over plug wires

-installed XS pod filters

-wrapped all exposed cables on front of bike with that plastic coil stuff and added stainless steel zip ties



I also took the front fender off and modified and shaped it with my cutting wheel and grinder, painted it black metallic and clear coat, and also installed rivets. unfortunately the clear was not dry when I took these pictures so I could not get a pic with it installed yet. i'll get more up when I can mount the fender.



Some things i'm still not satisfied with: that big ugly square brake fluid reservoir, all the cables snaked around the handlebars, battery location.



I guess thats it. Thats all I can think of right now if I forgot something i'll post it up here.



Thanks for checking out my very first chop. hope you guys like it.
 
#22 ·
I wanted to add that I got a ton of help and advice from you guys on this forum. I haven't posted on here much but when I had things that stumped me or just needed to know how something worked or whatever it might have been, this is where I could go and count on finding an answer. so thanks to all of you guys for helping me build my first bike.
 
#24 ·
#27 ·
thank you very much. I don't remember off the top of my head the length of those struts. I will measure them today and let you know.



As for advice i'll just rattle off a few things that come to mind.



When it came to designing the things I wanted to make myself, cardboard templates were my best friend. anything like that I made a template first.



When you remove the shocks and lower the bike it renders the kick stand temporarily useless. So make sure you have some kind of support ready for the other side of the bike.



The first mistake I made was miscalculating how much pipe wrap I would need. I threw away $50 on that mistake.



If you rewire the bike, have a clear plan of action and stick to it. Begin in one area and methodically work your way through it following the schematic. Know ahead of time what you want and don't want, and make sure you take into consideration that even though you might not want those blinkers right now, you may change your mind later and decide you want them. So make it so it will be easy to add something in the future.



I also always had an agenda and would write a list of what needed to be done. I set deadlines for myself on when I wanted to have specific things complete. Some things I had less control over because if I needed to rely on some help from a buddy, obviously it was at their convenience. But anything I did myself I would have mini goals to reach the ultimate goal.



And finally, if you think you are going to spend say $100, chances are you will spend $200. All together I have around $500 into my bike. I set out to spend $0. Pretty good I think considering how the bike turned out but its still $500. Thats all I can think of right now. If I remember anything else I will post it here.
 
#33 ·
Hey thanks man. I just got back from a scoot around town and it turns heads thats for sure. Theres just nothing else like it around here. It's funny to me because it's so stripped down and I think the simplicity is actually what gets the attention.



I used the original battery mount and there was a small hole in the frame (big down tube section) and so I just tapped it out and screwed the mount to it. I think I had to drill a small hole in the center of the mount too. It worked out perfectly. Eventually I would like to get one of those tiny batteries and mount it out of sight so that entire middle section is bare and clean. But for now this works pretty good.
 
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