The International CBX Owners Association

I picked up a 1979 CBX three years ago from the first owner (even kept a copy of the original and falling apart California title) serial number CB12000124.

It was in a sad state when I got it and would need a complete front and rear suspension rebuild and carbs redone to ride it. On the upside, I got a spare engine and a set of sport kit side plates and handlebars with the deal.

After much research and contemplation I made the decision to upgrade the front and rear suspensions to that of a CB1100f, allowing me to keep a period look while vastly improving the handling. After gathering up multiple pieces including 3 sets of CB1100F front ends (including one Canadian front clip with the Canadian clip ons), 1 set of US allow wheels, 1 set of Canadian gold wheels, 1 complete CBX prolink swingarm, a complete CB1100F swingarm, 2 cb1100f gauge clusters, and 1 CB1100F fairing I had enough to do my suspension upgrade.

My only rule with my upgrades has been not to cut or weld on any of the original cbx components.

After a super quick carb clean it was apparent a rebuild was in order

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4O-yysVAAU

more posts to follow...........

After alot of parts swapping I finally settled on using the Canadian CB1100F parts all around for my build.

The Swap of the front was fairly straight forward as the only thing I really had to do was press out the stem from an 82 CBX triple tree I acquired and swap it into the CB1100F triple. Had I decided to do a naked bike, that would have been the end of it, but I decided to do the CB1100F quarter fairing as well, and with a height difference between the two steering stems this would come later.

For the rear end I machined up two bushing from some mechanical tubing and used a piece of copper tubing to keep them spaced properly. This was due to the swingarm bolt size difference of 14mm for my 79 CBX versus the 16mm bolt diameter of the CB1100F swingarm bolt.

I also added a BUBS exhasut system, this was driven entirely by the fact that the original exhaust I got with the bike had one baffle cut out, and this was the cheapest exhaust I could find at the time.

Nice workmanship and I love the 1100F fairing.
Phil

So after finally having saved up the money and purchasing a randakk rebuild kit, new carb boots, and a bunch of other carb bits it was time to take on my rebuild project.

On the very first carb I managed to strip the slot on the jet, I was even using my hollow ground gunsmith screwdrivers to prevent camming....

Ok, noooo need to panic I have a screw extractor set I'll just use that to coax out that bad boy and I'll buy a new replacement, no big deal...... I start applying pressure and hear snap! Awesome it broke free I thought! Until I pulled it out and realized the screw extractor snapped off deep down inside the carb body.

One a set of m5x0.8 taps later and a new jet to finish the repair.

My cleaning process was very thorough.

I broke the carbs down to their individual units and performed the following on each carb.

1) Break everything down, including removing the pressed in jets, all the metal parts went in one container, and all the rubber and plastic in a separate container. Mechanically clean as much gunk as possible.

2) Drop on the metal parts in my 1 gallon pail of Gunk carb cleaner for a day or two,

3) Rinse all the metal parts, then run all the metal and plastic bits through my ultrasonic cleaner.

4) blow every part dry with 100 psi compressed air

5) Reassemble with all new rubber parts.

A big shout out to Louis Mintrone for handing me replacement slid lift spring to replace the two lost by my little shop helper!

Success!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahLbymriIUU

After much struggling to get the electrical system sorted and a few special adapter splices made up I got both the euro CB750F throttle switch and the CB1100F gauge cluster wired into my bike. One set of aftermarket indicators later and I was street legal and immediately started shaking things down and trying to root out all the little gremlins that had nested in my bike.

After much reflection I opted to install a set of Randakk's awesome grips, and I am quite pleased with that decision. I did have to cut out the end to miss the handlebar ends that come on my Canadian CB1100F clip ons, but it turned out well.

On a side note, installing grips using compressed air and a ball inflation tip was the easiest time I have ever had, and they are on the handles rock solid......

Shakedown riding showed a number of issues that I have slowly been resolving but the alternator was definitely the worst. I couldn't go anywhere without leaving a great big puddle from the leak I had and it was constantly dripping onto the exhaust and smoking me out. I yanked that sucker off and was somewhat shocked ant the scoring on the plates on top of the need for new gaskets, seals and bearings........

Finally got around to mounting my quarter fairing. In this case I had to raise the bottom fairing mount 0.9" to account for the steering stem differences. A bunch of fitting and welding later and viola!! Incidentally the fairing for the CB1100F and the CX650e (eurosport) are the same and the CX650e fairing is way cheaper to obtain.

Seems to be coming together for you. You do know that the Canadian 1100F came with CBX-style gauges and headlight - no fairing. The gauge bezel is slightly different as is the headlight bracket, but approximately the same look as the CBX. I think the top triple clamp from a Pro-Link will allow the CBX gauges to bolt right on. As I recall, the Canadian 1100F front end does not have the air assist set-up that bolts to the underside of the triple clamp as the US version does, so it should be a straight swap. Just FYI if you ever wanted to have the original CBX look.

Dave

What a fun project! Especially when it now runs and rides, and you have a little helper to move things along. Nice work, enjoy!

Steve

Very nice work!

SteveG wrote:What a fun project! Especially when it now runs and rides, and you have a little helper to move things along. Nice work, enjoy!

Steve

The next generation CBX'er, I had one of those, he's 25 now.

Good luck going forward with your projects, the one in the sandals looks like a good start.

Great work! I could name probably a dozen different wheels I want to put on my bike, but I don't want any of 'em more than the gold boomies that are on there. I commend you for your excellent taste.

The 1100F forks are 39mm, right? FYI you can get AK-20 cartridge internals for those forks and they make a world of difference while keeping the factory look (other than fork caps).

did you use the euro bars and parts, or might you be persuaded to part with them??

That is a good looking ride, congratulations on a job well done.