Well, it took a little bit of fudging about etc, but the old bird is now running and idles well, all the white smoke has gone, no smoke at all, a real bonus. I will probably have a go at adjusting the cam chain, but without a kick start its a pain in the arse, oh well, at least she runs now,
Busy day and trying to beat the rain storm that keeps on coming in then out etc, but I was prepared for it and got a lot done today, considering this is my first GL500, no books, service tips or much info about on these 22 degree road machines, but the CX is similar so at least a fighting chance at getting the carbs off and new ones put in place.
With the old manifolds removed, I cleaned the intake face area up with Carb cleaner, I made sure also that I dabbed a little grease on the O Ring that seats into the new Aluminum intake and then hand tightened the bolts to see how the angle was for the carb kit to fit to.
I am sure glad that I did take the extra time to clean up all the area that had grease and grime and these intakes fitted like a glove, but now the fun begins as there is not a lot of space inside the frame rails to work with and the carbs plus air filters are going to make it tight to do anything but here goes.
I got the intake manifolds all sorted out, apparently the CX500 is even tighter in the frame and apparently I was lucky I had some maneuvering room to get these carbs to fit.
The trick for me was to put a little grease onto the rubber manifold, to allow the carb to slide in easier and this sure did help as I did try it dry and I struggled, so I was stoked when these plopped into the manifolds.
The same with the Air Filters, pretty tight inside the chassis but with a few curse words, a dab of grease and they fitted up no problem and look pretty cool.
Both these girls are in and I will hook up the new battery, add fuel lines and connect to an auxiliary gas tank that I have on a stand, as the old tank has bad gas in it from sitting for years, but I have not hooked up the throttle cable because I want to try and run this as the carbs are pre set, so they will idle high for a bit until I take both chokes off, so will leave one choke on and see if she runs. I am sure there will be a ton of white smoke coming out of the exhausts as I poured some Marvel Mystery Oil down the bores to lube everything. Sometimes Piston rings will stick and marvel is great for bores, but it will have white smoke as I also put some WD40 in the bores to and left it for a few days. I do this with all motors, it cant hurt it and eventually will burn clear.
Hey Guys n Gals
Well, I picked up locally a 1981GL500 Silverwing the other day, Non running, purchased on a whim, not run for many years, Only just got it home last night as we had bad weather here, but it seems all there, the main reason is I think I may make some 2 into 1 exhausts for it and I think the CX500 is pretty much the same too? I have had a few enquiries so hope to make a start soon, let me know if you would like a set?
But this week I will tinker with this old girl to see what state the motor is in, if the carbs are goosed, I will invest in a New set that a buddy makes for these and see how that goes but, I will fit a new battery, New plugs etc, change Oil and filter and then see what we have as she rolls along fine, brakes work etc so may be lucky and get her to fire up if I run a seperate fuel cell to the carbs, if I have a spark, I am halfway there.
It is a liquid-cooled, 80-degree pushrod V-twin, with four valves per cylinder, displacing 497cc. Unlike some liquid cooled engines that are disguised to appear to be air cooled with bolt-on cooling fins, the GL 500 engine made no such pretense. The engine’s skin is the smooth exterior of its water jacket, with only a few minor ribs cast in on the rocker covers and lower crankcase.
The engine’s transverse orientation in the frame placed the cylinders protruding from the sides of the bike. This arrangement has obvious advantages for an air-cooled Moto Guzzi engine; it places the cylinders and heads out into the air stream for maximum cooling effect. For a liquid cooled engine where that air flow doesn’t matter, it creates a rather odd, lumpy appearance.
Adding to the oddness of the engine’s appearance, the cylinder heads were rotated 22 degrees from the axis of the crankshaft. This was done to create a straighter tract between the intake valves and the 34 mm Keihin constant velocity carburetors.
While this improved engine aspiration and performance, Honda made no attempt to conceal the design and as a result, it creates the appearance that the rocker covers were put on the engine askew.
For those of us brought up on vertical twins with nice, symmetrical barrels wrapped in cooling fins, all these angles, rotations and finless surfaces are a little radical. This set-up took some getting used to, but once done, it was easy to not only tolerate it, but to appreciate its surprising power and efficiency.
It’s even possible to get used to the torque reaction pulling the bike ever so slightly to the right when cracking the throttle at a stop sign.
The GL-500 has an exceptionally light clutch that’s a joy to use on day-long rides. Power reaches the rear tire via a low maintenance drive shaft. The five-speed transmission is an easy-to-use, positive shifting thing that in my mind could have been improved in only one way—the addition of a sixth speed.
The engine’s excellent torque and willingness to rev has the rider constantly reaching for the clutch for one more upshift after fifth gear. The engine spins at about 5500 RPM at 60 MPH in fifth gear, making it seem to work harder than it should have to.
A six-speed overdrive arrangement would have given the Silver Wing a much more relaxed tone on the open road, and perhaps less vibration in the mirrors. This design might have caused an occasional downshift on long or steeper inclines, but for most flat highway work, it would have been an improvement. A sixth ratio may also have increased the bike’s already impressive fuel economy—routinely 55 MPG on the highway.
The GL 500’s instruments and rider controls are all first rate. Large dial faces on the tachometer and speedometer are easy to read. An engine coolant temperature gauge is built into the lower edge of the tachometer and a trip mileage meter is included in the speedo.
Large, easy-to-see indicator lights are carried in a separate panel between the gauges. The ignition switch, choke and front fork air valve are all up there in the cluster, as well. Even the fuses are up on the steering head beneath a flat black cover panel over the handle bar.
The double-piston disc brake up front generates just about as much braking force as you need on demand. Squeezing the lever gradually brings on gradual deceleration; pull hard, stop hard. The rear drum brake has a similar responsive feel to it, making it possible to stop the S-wing very hard in a straight line.
The interchangeable pillion seat and travel trunk make the bike more versatile in a way, as long as one has the option to pick between the added carry-along capacity of the trunk or taking a passenger; but you can’t do both.
The GL-500 wasn’t much of a pavement projectile when it was introduced and its position in the performance hierarchy of 30 cubic inch displacement bikes didn’t improve over the years. But, Honda didn’t design the bike for pulse-pounding, wheelie-pulling acceleration and top-end speed.
Over the years, the machines have proven themselves capable of accomplishing what Honda did intend them to: reliable, practical, long-term service in the mid-range touring and leisure riding class. In the U.K., many of these bikes are still in service as courier bikes and have astronomical mileage totals on them.
Its engine and drive-train combined some radical elements in terms of the transverse, finless, four valves-per-cylinder, V-twin engine with practical, proven elements like the age-old pushrod valve train.
Air-adjustable front and rear monoshock suspension was rather radical at the time for a 500 cc machine but the bike’s rake, trail and wide bars gave it a practical, well-mannered feel out on the road. Shaft drive added practicality for long, long highway miles with minimal maintenance.
1981 Honda GL-500 Silver Wing Specs:
Here we are 2022 at last, man – What a crappy 2020 and glad to see the back of it and start a fresh and hope that we all have some good health and enjoy life as much as we can.
I somehow caught the Flu over Christmas and it Royaly buggered me up, Only about 80% right now but at least I am up on my feet, and I wanted to make sure that I did a bit of work at the house and get a few things ready for when My Barn arrives for assembly on Wednesday.
I have a few Projects I would like to finish this season and I hope my health gets a lot stronger as I took quite a whooping last year with Covid and the Flu, so lets all keep our pinkies crossed that we are all fine and can go and wrench on our machines to our hearts content.
There are many things that I hope to make and offer on my website for all the avid Motorcycle builders out there, I receive so many emails and texts about what you lot are up to, it drives me to help get your machine completed, and sure hope that you can complete yours this year to get on the tarmac for the new season when it eventually arrives where ever you are located.
Just wanted to wish you all a Very Happy New year and thank you for all of your orders, emails, phone calls and texts, I love chatting to you all and look forward to continuing great communication with you in this New year we have all started.
Look Forward to seeing what you are all creating and maybe see you on the road one of these days?
Here is something to have a laugh at at days gone by back home 1965.
Well today’s blog is cool as I consider this builder as a friend of mine, DownShift Studio is run by Jeremy Lacy, an industrial designer based in Denver who specializes in illustrations and sketches of custom bikes, often helping fabricators and builders from around the world visualize their ideas and projects before the metal is cut and the tools come out.
Jeremy had done some prototype sketches for me before and even did the memorial Bike Sketch I am creating in memory of my Mum that passed away and will be raffling the bike off and donating to the Hospice when completed.
The Honda CX500 you see here is his first hands-on project, it’s the result of a collaboration between Jeremy and Joel Fitzgerald, and the bike shows far more technical skill than we’re used to seeing in a first custom. I knew that Jeremy would do well as he has the foresight in his sketches to see how something will look when it goes under the knife, and under the knife this old CX500 Maggot went, Jeremy had been learning how to weld and fabricate recently, and this would be an exceptional Sketch pad for his platform bike to transform Honda’s number 1 chosen Dispatch Rider bike, into a head turning Brat/Tracker.
Jeremy’s JD2 Tube bender got a pretty good thrashing, as he designed and hand fabricated the rear tubular swing arm for this CX500 and in its construction Jeremy wanted to make sure that the swing arm had its strong Rigidity and didn’t want any compromise on safety that would cause any sort of issue or integrity of the geometry, with the addition of three safety reinforced mounts to the swing arm, gave this set up a very robust structure to handle any road condition that was thrown at it. Have a look and see the work involved, as this is a great looking machine and now a Mono shock, getting the Geomatary is key here and you will soon see if you got it wrong as the bike will bounce like a kangaroo if the angle of the shock is off.
The Sub frame was hand made using 065 wall Cold rolled steel and shaped at the shop to have that sleek look and a minamalistic feature, then they hand pounded, bent and curved a steel sheet to fit over that frame and sent it off to Master Upholsterer Ian Halcott who did his magic using Low profile high density Foam, then lavished with leather Hyde and stitched to perfection.
The front end of the CX sat too high, giving this Project an ugly stance, so a quick strip down and New Race-Tech Springs were added and then the fork tubes were slide through the upper trees to give that lowered stance that they were seeking. Then the front wheel was painted black to stealth up the 19 inch front and the rear had a new 18 inch Comstar rim also painted Black and then had some Blackwall Shinko 705 Rubber shoehorned on, giving the Honda a better profile and ride now, nice stance and a more comfortable posture for the rider now.
The Bent Four Mill was in pretty good shape, so to save time and money, they just serviced the old girl, removed the stock Carbs and fitted new intake Manifolds of which then got a Brand spanking new set of 34mm Mikunis Gas drinkers attached to make sure this Japanese Iconic 4 Valves per cylinder gets enough Motion Lotion, these are a fun bike, not an arm ripper but the 497-674cc water cooled Longitudinal OHV 80 degree V- Twin gives smooth transitional linear power that just goes on and on and on, how do I know? I have owned many of them in the UK as I was a Dispatch rider and just having a smooth running motor that handles traffic and of course has great engine breaking, this was a Work Horse machine that I did Hundreds of thousands of miles on over the years.
Plenty of Modern technology sprinkled onto this machine and Jeremy used Motgadget for the two button controls, then they were mounted on a brand new set of Renthal handlebars, the rear of the bike got new LED combination brake light and turn signals to make sure traffic behind him knew he was there. The handlebars received Bran new comfortable grips, New levers and a new throttle assembly set up for a smooth action. The Motor got some detailing too, and the headers were wrapped with some Titanium heat wrap by DEI, on the ends of the headers were fitted some Cone Engineering megaphones that give this V-Twin some Growl.
Jeremy managed to bag, Fettle, smooth and clean up the machine just in time for the 2017 Handbuilt Motorcycle Show of which is one of the best shows in the USA for Hand Fabricated machines that are unique to everyone, this is over in Texas but well worth the trip to show their hard-work off. The Gas tank looks great as all the paint was removed and a Classic brushed finish was completed in time for the show.
Both these guys did a great job and the HONDA CX500 was well received at the show, put on by the super talented Revival Cycles. Lots of cool work, hiddent electrical harness and of course battery just add to the many hours of time that was eaten up bringing this machine to life, Great Job Guys.
If you like the look of this minimalist CX500 street scrambler I have good news for you, DownShift Studio currently have it up for sale to help fund their next projects. If you’d like to read more or enquire after the bike you can click here to visit DownShift Studio.
Thanks for reading my Blog and good Luck to jeremy, he is a great designer and now a builder.
Here is some footage of the Handbuilt show for you.
A Few other Videos for you to have a look at.