[Grom]

Hey friends,



I am new to the CX500 world and new to the forum. You guys all rule. I picked up a '80 CX500D from a buddy and am having the time of my life taking things off, cleaning, buying cool parts, etc... but I have run into a problem.



Because the bike had all sorts of touring gear on it, the front forks have some strange pressure gauge on one side, a line that goes in between the two fork caps, and a schrader valve on the other side. I want to remove these if possible, as I do not plan on carrying cargo or a passenger. Is there a way to remove these and set the pressure?



The biggest problem is that I installed drag bars, and because they are smaller and lower, the clutch mount will not fit because of the pressure gauge. Help please!



Thanks,

Grom

 

[Blindstitch]

Take a picture of the gauge. Your forks shouldn't have gauges so you either have an aftermarket gauge or different forks. Are they really think air lines or thick?

 

[thackney]

You have an aftermarket air fork conversion. If you want to keep the air forks but not the gauge, simply remove it and put a suitable plug in its place. You can always add air with a bicycle pump that has a built in gauge, but will have no constant monitor if the pressure should drop. You could always remove the air conversion and install stock caps, but I find the air over oil is a plus.

 

[NateDawg]

I had the same thing. Drilled out my caps and taped and put little bolts in there. Not perfect but it works. Also put some washers in to tighten up the springs.

 

[Randall-in-Mpls]

You have an aftermarket air fork conversion. If you want to keep the air forks but not the gauge, simply remove it and put a suitable plug in its place. You can always add air with a bicycle pump that has a built in gauge, but will have no constant monitor if the pressure should drop. You could always remove the air conversion and install stock caps, but I find the air over oil is a plus.

That's exactly what I did. The gauge on my (possibly identical?) aftermarket air kit was shot, so I removed and plugged it. It will just unscrew.

The plug should be easy to obtain. It's just a 1/4" pipe fitting. Or is it 1/8"? Take the gauge along to match the thread.





R

 

[Ross]

I concur. Unscrew the gauge, hopefully the threaded hole is a common size (try screwing into a nut that fits some screws/bolts you have) and put a screw into it, maybe use some plumbers teflon tape for a good seal. I'm not sure but some air line gauges/fittings may use a tapered thread so you may have problems getting a fit.

 

[Randall-in-Mpls]

I concur. Unscrew the gauge, hopefully the threaded hole is a common size (try screwing into a nut that fits some screws/bolts you have) and put a screw into it, maybe use some plumbers teflon tape for a good seal. I'm not sure but some air line gauges/fittings may use a tapered thread so you may have problems getting a fit.

Mine are a tapered pipe thread. Standard brass fittings.



+1 on the teflon tape. It's hard to get the taper to seat well without it.





R