New Member in Springfield Ohio

[merc144]

Hello CBX enthusiasts!!
I am in the process of putting parts together to build a CBX resto-mod. I have searched for quite a while for a CBX donor that was ratty enough to use. I would have hated to take a bike that is restorable and cut it up to do this project, but prices on these bikes have skyrocketed over the last few years and options are scarce. I have pieced together engine/ frame/ rear suspension/ tank/ carbs, but still looking for other bits to get the bike rolling.

My past it littered with many motorcycles. I used to hang out on the South side (Southwest Military Drive) of San Antonio, Texas on Friday nights to race up and down the streets. This was around the mid 80's. I was into Kawasaki's, and had a 1985 900 Ninja. One of my friends had a 1979 CBX with a D&D header on it. It was painted green with a ghost flame job. Was a sweet ride. Tray Stewart use to wheelie that bike and it was impressive to see the wide ass engine in the air. Its all you saw, that magnificent silver engine!! One of the other memories was the sweet sound of that bike revving to 9K rpm with that D&D 6 into 1 pipe, was like I was at an F1 race in Europe!! Anyway, I have been wanting to build one of these and figured I better start now before parts get unaffordable.

This is not my first rodeo, I have many resto-mod builds under my belt. My first experiment in suspension conversions was in the mid 90's when I was going to college at Southwest Texas State University (Engineering Major) I adapted a 900 Ninja front end to a 1983 GS1100. I didn't have access to a mill or lathe other than school lab. So I was unable to do the rear suspension like I wanted. On the bench right now is a 1989 Honda NX 650 with a 2001 Triumph 955 Dayton front and rear suspension. I have 1982 Honda CB450T bodywork (Looks like 750F / 900F bodywork). should be a great handling and wheelie machine when it is finished.

[NobleHops]

Welcome!

Post up what you need and be surprised at what gets offered. Looking forward to following your project, and helping where I can!

N.

[steve murdoch icoa #5322]

Welcome to the site, Merc.
With that background it doesn't sound like you will be needing much help.
Are you on the GSResources site?

[merc144]

Steve,
I am not on the GS resource site. Finding parts for the GS has not been an issue, as they are not worth as much as the CBX's I found my GS 1000 (I was actually looking for a CBX at the time) west of Celina Ohio. It was sitting in a barn covered in you know what. It's only redeeming value was that it is bone stock and the exhaust was in near perfect order. Gas tank and plastics still need paint work, I replaced the seat cover with a replica, rebuilt the carbs, polished all the aluminum engine bits. Its a runner, I run it around the neighborhood every once and a while.

My favorite bike of recent past is my Avatar, It was a 1981 GPZ1100 resto-mod with the fuel injection system still working. Of course it was modified with an automotive fuel pump and adjustable fuel pressure regulator, it was a reliable runner. Suspension bits were GSXr 750 Rear swingarm and linkage, ZX12R front suspension, and 1993 ZX11 17" wheels. That bike was a great handling motorcycle after the conversion.

[merc144]

Guys,
Here is a pic of my friends 79 CBX. This picture was taken in San Antonio, Texas about 1985. His name was Tray Stewart. Sadly, it is the only pic I have of this bike.. I took the pic cause I was always impressed with the stature of the huge engine. Bike had the custom paint (Pearl Green) and a D&D Header.

We all used to compete on wheelies. I started in high school with a 1978 XT 500, most of use had XT's or XL's We would see who could do the longest. I was OK, but one friend, Will Ekle could go miles on one wheel. Anyway, Tray would wheelie this CBX almost straight up and down, it was a sight to see. I heard years later he went a little to far and the bike ended up bouncing over him from crankcase to crankcase on rotation. He threw another engine in it and I think he sold it soon after that.

The black bike was my 84 900 Ninja.

Shaun

[Syscrush]

Welcome to the site!

I'm looking forward to seeing your build.

Are you planning to go to 17" wheels and modern USD forks, or are you open to other options?

[merc144]

Sys,
I was looking at doing a Cognitomoto stem on a pair of Hayabusa front forks. 17" wheels with a 200mm rear tire is a must. I am building this bike from nothing, I am piecing it together, where ever I can. I have a 81 engine complete, low mileage. I got a frame with title from a gentleman. Still looking for a 81/82 tank and a set of carbs. So to the purists, This was not a complete motorcycle, it was pieced together from scraps

A delkelvic exhaust over the cheaper Patriot exhaust. I like the look of the patriot, but it sure is close to the ground. I will for sure bottom that exhaust out.
https://delkevic.com/full-system-to-fit ... 1-headers/

https://patriotracingindustries.com/hon ... s-exhaust/

JB Keihin FCR carbs would be nice but at $2K for the initial build. I'm going to have to wait.

End results will be close to this.. I saw this build a while back and fell in love with the look!!! It is a sexy beast!!
https://www.inazumacafe.com/2019/01/blog-post.html?m=1

Shaun

[NobleHops]

I think you’ll be stuffed with the 200 rear tire, the frame is just too close to the front sprocket. For sure, everyting that can be done has been done, search the site for plenty on the subject,

[Syscrush]

I was looking at doing a Cognitomoto stem on a pair of Hayabusa front forks. 17" wheels with a 200mm rear tire is a must. I am building this bike from nothing, I am piecing it together, where ever I can. I have a 81 engine complete, low mileage. I got a frame with title from a gentleman. Still looking for a 81/82 tank and a set of carbs. So to the purists, This was not a complete motorcycle, it was pieced together from scraps

Sounds cool!

FYI there are some purists here, but I'm not one of them. I love wild customs - my initial plan was to go that way, but I ended up taking a more sneaky approach of trying to retain period-correct-ish looks while drastically upgrading brakes and suspension. There are some who hate seeing a clean/complete bike cut up, but IMO it's just metal and there are good reasons for starting with the best bike you can manage.

If you haven't seen them already, you should check out these three builds:

Mike's

Ashish's

WTF

That last one has the frame chopped to change the head angle to something more modern. The original plan was to also fit the Ducati bodywork but I don't think that happened.

Going with custom triples is a very good idea, IMO. We see a lot of modern front ends just slapped on the CBX frame with OEM triples from the donor bike, and that just can't be good for the front end geometry - which is why I asked about your plans. I have Pro-Link 39mm forks with AK-20 cartridge internals but still went with custom triples to add some offset and decrease trail. The changes I made to reduce rake and trail really helped the bike a lot.

There are a long list of theoretical reasons why the lowering that comes from 17" wheels and modern suspension, and the geometry changes of wider modern rubber aren't good for a CBX - but then you have Mike who puts a ridiculous amount of miles on his bike, including lots of mountain twisties and he's happy with it. You'll figure out what's the best compromise for you.

Best of luck with all of it!

[merc144]

Syscrush,
I like you Black 1979 CBX. I see the instruments are Speedhut units. Is the speedo GPS driven?? How much time does it take to boot and start registering?

I have not been working on the build as I have two projects before it..

Shaun

[Syscrush]

I like you Black 1979 CBX. I see the instruments are Speedhut units. Is the speedo GPS driven?? How much time does it take to boot and start registering?

Thanks!

Yes, they are from Speedhut. GPS is nice because it's guaranteed to be accurate and it only requires power and ground. But I went with a traditional electronic speedo because GPS can also be flaky, and I wanted perfect reliability - so I have the electronic type, and I use a MotoGadget sensor activated by a magnet on the rear brake rotor. The sensor is really discreet and it's on the caliper mount where it's hidden very well.

I know that GPS works great almost all of the time, but I have had issues with GPS in the big skyscraper corridors of downtown Toronto, and that's where I do a nontrivial amount of my riding. It wouldn't make a big practical difference, but it would just f'n piss me off, and I want this to be the bike that doesn't piss me off.