Melchiro's GL/CX 650 Project

28071 Views 52 Replies 13 Participants Last post by melchiro, Oct 13, 2012

melchiro

Discussion Starter · Oct 24, 2010

Well, I have finally rolled the 650 into the garage.. ... This is what it looked like 3 years ago when I brought it home...

Friday, Stripped it down to the frame to cut, weld, modify and clean up ... I have lots of plans and will share them as I go..

So far...

LOTS of rust to clean up...

.

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I've taken both my front and rear wheels apart and made up my own wheels from Honda parts. 18" at both ends. I used Aircraft nuts, washers, and bolts 5/16" at the rim and 8mm at the hub. I set all the nuts with a torque wrench. I also used the original Comstars which are steel spokes not aluminum just my personal preference. I used blue Loctite and the Aircraft nuts are "limited space metallic lockers". Fairly specialized but that what I liked. I then checked my run-out and I'm well within spec. I had them spin balanced after tire mounting and I have full confidence in the wheel build.

Cheers, 50gary

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Tron Ruiz

· #42 · Mar 29, 2011

melchiro said:
This is how I had to modify the CX500 rear-end... There are differences that had to be addressed, first being the axle size.. CX500 has 15mm axle , GL650 has 17mm . .. I bored out the receiving end of the differential just enough to fit the 17mm axle through.. The differential spacer/collar I had to make.. GL650 (left), will NOT fit.. CX500 (right) ... I cut a piece of 7/8" handlebar to the right length, (center), ground down one end and bored it out enough to slide over the axle...

I am doing all this work in order to mount an 18" Comstar wheel with disc brake .. .. How is this possible??

First, I obtained a GL1100 rear wheel... The size is 17" x 2.5"..

In order to fit this wheel, I had to "relieve-grind" down an inner step inside the CX500 hub....

Then I obtained a CB900F rear wheel and took both apart...

Using the GL1100 hub, the CB900F spokes and rim, bolted everything back together ... Presto, 18" x 2.5" Comstar..

.

that's interesting. I just won an 18" cb750 rear wheel on ebay for $10 hoping that this was possible and here is my answer, it is.

What bolts did you use to bolt the spokes back to the rim?

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Tron Ruiz

· #43 · Mar 29, 2011

that goes for you too 50gary, where did you get this aircraft hardware? I'm assuming you didn't jack it from an actual plane.

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50gary

· #44 · Mar 29, 2011

Aircraft hardware comes from Aircraft supply houses. I ordered from J&D Aircraft or you can try Aircraft Spruce. There are a lot of them. Aircraft hardware is different for several reasons, like no thread on the reach part of the shank, you should have two threads showing after the nut but not more than three. At first I tried buying wheel hardware from specialty automotive wheel manufacturers but none would sell to me becasuse of liability issues. Aftermarket compaines like OZ Racing make modular bolt together wheels all the time so I figured if it's good enough for a Porsche or Ferrari then it'll work on a 100 MPH CX 500? One must exercise due diligence.

Cheers, 50gary

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Tron Ruiz

· #45 · Mar 30, 2011

50gary said:
Aircraft hardware comes from Aircraft supply houses. I ordered from J&D Aircraft or you can try Aircraft Spruce. There are a lot of them. Aircraft hardware is different for several reasons, like no thread on the reach part of the shank, you should have two threads showing after the nut but not more than three. At first I tried buying wheel hardware from specialty automotive wheel manufacturers but none would sell to me becasuse of liability issues. Aftermarket compaines like OZ Racing make modular bolt together wheels all the time so I figured if it's good enough for a Porsche or Ferrari then it'll work on a 100 MPH CX 500? One must exercise due diligence.

Cheers, 50gary

hey man sorry to keep bugging you but do you happen to remember what size the bolts were? I know you said the diameter was 5/16 but do you happen to remember the length or possibly a part number?

Thanks a lot,

J

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50gary

· #46 · Mar 30, 2011

5/16" x .870" length, this will give you about two threads beyond the nut. The bolts have to be shortened to this .870 length from the original 1", I did it with a milling machine. If you use original Comstars they are quite a bit different than the reverse Comstars. I also milled the washers both with a flat and a 45 degree edge. This done to accommodate the radius of the rim and the radius of the flange meeting the rim. The rim radius is also why I used the close spaced nuts, otherwise you can't get a wrench in between the nut and the rim. This is my 2.15" x 18" This is the same hub Melchiro uses on the front of his race bikes only this one is highly modified to accept a modern 20mm axle and bearings, in this case GSX-R '07

Cheers, 50gary

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melchiro

Discussion Starter · #47 · Mar 30, 2011

Hey Gary, 20mm axle and bearings to fit inside the hub, THAT is a lot of work.... Very nice work..

Tron, I went down to my local ACE Hardware store & matched up the bolts... Nothing fancy.. The rivet ends, you'll know what size bolt is needed when you see how big the hole is..

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Scudman

· #48 · Mar 30, 2011

melchiro said:
Hey Gary, 20mm axle and bearings to fit inside the hub, THAT is a lot of work.... Very nice work..

Tron, I went down to my local ACE Hardware store & matched up the bolts... Nothing fancy.. The rivet ends, you'll know what size bolt is needed when you see how big the hole is..

There are 20mm id bearings that mathch the same OD of the original bearings. New spacers have to be made but that is not that hard if you have a lathe. The bearings are 10 for $20

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50gary

· #49 · Mar 30, 2011

Scudman said:
There are 20mm id bearings that mathch the same OD of the original bearings. New spacers have to be made but that is not that hard if you have a lathe. The bearings are 10 for $20

The bearing seats had to be machined quite a bit. If you check the Honda OEM axle against the Suzuki the hub must be machined. My bearings where about $30.00 per pair. The inside of the hub also has to have clearance to fit the new larger internal spacer. It was a great project with a good outcome. The fit is factory or better, my friend Greg T. did the machine work to my design I cannot claim his level of proficiency on a mill or a lathe. We even cleaned up some of the factory numbers sort of "blueprinting the hub" making sure each surface was perpendicular and parallel. I did the job the way I thought best and it worked out well.

Cheers, 50gary

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melchiro

Discussion Starter · #50 · Jan 3, 2012

9 months later, I finally did something to my project.... I spray painted my engine... Sheeezzz.. It's about time !

Maybe I'll install the motor next, then make my mounts for my rearsets, then the rear brake assembly... Who knows.. I need to open up a BIG can of "Motivation" take a couple swigs..

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50gary

· #51 · Jan 3, 2012

Good to see you back on the board, engine look's good. Give some thought to a spin on oil filter adapter? I like mine.

The valve covers look nice too. I had a pair Vapor blasted and they have that soft glow look.

Cheers, 50gary

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SloMo228

· #52 · Oct 12, 2012

Very nice work on this bike so far! I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

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melchiro

Discussion Starter · #53 · Oct 13, 2012

SloMo228 said:
Very nice work on this bike so far! I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

Yeah, me too... Maybe this winter, I can start back up on this project.. I wonder if I have Fabrication Burnout? With other planned modifications to my CBX & CB750/1100, I'm struggling to find time to work on my CX Project.

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