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New Member from CO, 1980 CX500D

1373 Views 13 Replies 11 Participants Last post by  pbussey
Hey there everyone! Hopefully, this is the right spot to post this, literally have never made a forum account before up till now haha. I got my '80 Cx500d last October with a whopping 7300 miles on it for $700, wasn't running and the speedo is a bit jank and sticky so who knows if that mileage is accurate, but I am sure it will last me a while anyways. Not sure what I am going to do with it, maybe cafe racer, maybe leave a bit more stock, either way, I just saw the engine configuration and the shaft drive and had to have it!
Fuel tank Tire Wheel Automotive fuel system Automotive lighting
Tire Wheel Land vehicle Fuel tank Automotive fuel system
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Great find! When I got back in to bikes I wanted one that was water cooled, shaft drive and twin cylinder. The cx fit the bill. Being a Honda with alot of parts available was icing on the cake.
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Welcome...
Ride it, maybe change the bars?seat?..then think if you really wanna chop/modify it or its "quirkyness" totally fits the individualistic bill and leave "the old girl" as is..

BTW...Not anti cafe...was going to cafe my CB.😄.then realised they pretty rare in oz (not in US)..left it alone bar suspension and electrics upgrade
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My speedo is a bit jank and sticky too - takes forever to get up to speed and forever to go back down...!
My speedo is a bit jank and sticky too - takes forever to get up to speed and forever to go back down...!
Sounds like lack of lubrication.....first step lube the cable...

Fwiw...i had a Bmw motometer do that after a instrument rebuild by the local VDO technician.. lubed the cable refitted it and the gauge died...lol .😄 . (Haha)

Could be lack of gease at the wheel end but sounds more like the gauge internals..

Leave alone unless confident in the job..
Sounds like lack of lubrication.....first step lube the cable...

Fwiw...i had a Bmw motometer do that after a instrument rebuild by the local VDO technician.. lubed the cable refitted it and the gauge died...lol .😄 . (Haha)

Could be lack of gease at the wheel end but sounds more like the gauge internals..

Leave alone unless confident in the job..
Thanks, bahn - I'll lube the cable, that's all... I'm pretty confident that I know how fast I'm going since everyone else is usually going slightly faster !
The speedos a basic clock mechanism....
If you feel confident by all means tackle it...if not just leave it to later...
The passing cars are just "raining on your parade"!
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Welcome to the forum. Please add your location and your bike's model and model year to your profile so that you don't have to remember to tell us every time and we don't have to keep asking when you forget (see Forum Settings link in my signature).

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 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) 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. 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).

The best advice anyone can give you about customizing any vehicle is to get it safe & reliable in more or less original condition and use it for a while before you start making any changes so it can tell you what changes it needs to make it do what you want/need better. That approach almost always results in something you actually want to keep and use but making changes based on style or on what someone else (who may or may not really understand how the changes affect the way it works) has done often results in a piece of expensive yard art that you can't stand sitting on for more than a few minutes and might even be dangerous.
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Nice score for that money!
Hey there everyone! Hopefully, this is the right spot to post this, literally have never made a forum account before up till now haha. I got my '80 Cx500d last October with a whopping 7300 miles on it for $700, wasn't running and the speedo is a bit jank and sticky so who knows if that mileage is accurate, but I am sure it will last me a while anyways. Not sure what I am going to do with it, maybe cafe racer, maybe leave a bit more stock, either way, I just saw the engine configuration and the shaft drive and had to have it! View attachment 213626 View attachment 213627
Welcome! My bike is the exact duplicate of that with only 12,000 miles . I'm the original owner.It still looks and drives like new. They are great bikes
Awesome, I picked up the same bike last year for $400, however mine was wrecked with a badly damaged tank, missing side cover and and looked horrible....but it ran. I ride bikes 3-4 times a week for the past 30+ years from cruisers to sport bikes that are old and new. I am impressed with the "heart" of this cx500 engine, it just runs, and keeps running. I do have a low idle issue I'm trying to work thru now, but otherwise it's a great bike and reminds of of what motorcycles used to be w/o all the technology. Good luck...i got some parts i no longer need from mine, some i'm selling, some you can just have. I listed a few ignition parts on this forum, but have a lot more i'll never need again.
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