[terrible cx]

I recently have purchased a cx500 shitter. Although it looks horrible, The motor should run once I get everything squared away. upon buying the bike, I said fuc it I'm gonna figure out a different way to wire the bike. Then realizing oem wiring would be the easiest way... or at least I think so. Thing is in horrible condition, throttle, choke, brake lines all corroded out. fuel lines as well and the coolant bottles cracked. master cylinders locked up. I pretty much stripped this bike to its bare ass and now I'm fiending to give this thing a rip. I've thrown the carbs in the ultrasonic cleaner and cleaned it very well although the outside of them still look like shit. except the butterfly on one side gets stuck. And I'm almost certain it will leak fuel somewhere. Idk just throw me in a general direction so I don't have to look at this shitta like this for that long. here are the photos and i hope this forum will get somebody to reach out.

 

[reclinedrelic]

This may help.

 

[richnct]

Well, I don’t know your abilities or determination, and taking a lot of parts off the bike isn’t evidence of any one way or the other. It looks to be a ‘78, a “Standard” although that name wasn’t used officially in 1978 as there wasn’t any other models yet.
Under the radiator is a 17mm cap hiding a 17mm bolt attached the crankshaft, try turning it clockwise to determine if the engine will rotate. If you drain the oil save it for close inspection. Don’t throw away the spring and washer with the oil filter, save the filter and oil for closer inspection too. Look to buy a used wire harness, someone else may be able to tell you if other years and models are the same. You’re in for a big and likely costly project, only you can decide if that’s what you want. Folks here can be a great help if you take our individual idiosyncrasies with a grain of salt. Your coarse language won’t earn you any extra points here, just say’in. Good luck!

 

[CXPHREAK]

Match your wire colours to the components here.

 

[terrible cx]

Well, I don’t know your abilities or determination, and taking a lot of parts off the bike isn’t evidence of any one way or the other. It looks to be a ‘78, a “Standard” although that name wasn’t used officially in 1978 as there wasn’t any other models yet.
Under the radiator is a 17mm cap hiding a 17mm bolt attached the crankshaft, try turning it clockwise to determine if the engine will rotate. If you drain the oil save it for close inspection. Don’t throw away the spring and washer with the oil filter, save the filter and oil for closer inspection too. Look to buy a used wire harness, someone else may be able to tell you if other years and models are the same. You’re in for a big and likely costly project, only you can decide if that’s what you want. Folks here can be a great help if you take our individual idiosyncrasies with a grain of salt. Your coarse language won’t earn you any extra points here, just say’in. Good luck!

Thank you for the response. This was actually one I was looking for, although all the wiring helps too. I know I'm in for a costly project but these bikes always caught my eye and for 100$ I figured I would give it a shot. I'm in a powersports class so this will give me something to work on. I'll give the 17mm a go and inspect the oil and filter tomorrow. I almost thought about parting it out considering the gas tank it came with alone is worth more than what I paid for it, and putting that money towards something with less work, but I figured I was gonna do a custom to begin with so who knows. if the motor seems to be good then I'll get to wrenching and ordering parts.

 

[nolimitz]

IT May be my eyes, but the screws on the butterfly look wrong to me

 

[terrible cx]

I'm thinking its the throttle connecter piece, along with the seals in the carb throwing it off.

 

[Blindstitch]

Wow. Seems like you should be able to find an intact wiring harness for that thing. I sent all mine away to other people but they shouldn't be to hard to find. They are slightly different between model but not that much.

 

[Sidecar Bob]

This is a family friendly forum. Please change your forum name and edit the language.

I don't know what your level of mechanical/electrical skill is but if you aren't very experienced I'd recommend looking for one in better shape and keeping that one for parts.

If you do decide to put that one back into running order the first thing I'd do would be look for a complete and unmolested wiring harness. Make sure you get on for the correct model and year because there may be differences (the model and model year (as well as the date of manufacture and the VIN) should be on a plate attached to the frame's steering head.

BTW: 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 even before someone started hacking away at things 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 - links in the signature of several of us) 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). 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).