CX500 / GL500 CX650 / GL650

"I used to have one of those!"

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TURBO BREAKING - parts available

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Rob Davis, Telford, Shropshire UK

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Servicing and help pages, by topic

The CDI-ignition CX400 / GL400 is serviced as per the CX500 Z, A, B, C or GL500. Versions with transistorised ignition are serviced as per the Eurosport CX500EC.

FAQ / Frequently Asked Questions

OWERS and USERS Advanced Riding : save your life Buying Guide Contact me CX/GL In The Movies Disaster Zone : things that went wrong Good and bad points History of the CX If you like these pages Models and Frame Numbers MoT Test Criteria (UK only) Parts Interchangeability Chart Polishing the aluminium Quick Reference Settings Tips'n'Tricks / Fountain of Wisdom Toolkit Torque wrench Wikipedia article on CXs ENGINE, CLUTCH, GEARBOX Adjust tappets and cam chain Cam chain change; show components Change oil and filter Clutch : remove, renovate Compression test Decoking / decarbonising Piston, conrod etc : exploded photos Remove from frame Swapping Engines Tachometer / rev counter cable change Won't run, or runs badly FUEL & LUBRICATION Carburettors : Remove Carburettors : Balance, cure popping & backfiring Oil pump : Remove, change

COOLING SYSTEM Mechanical seal : change Radiator : remove; diagram of cooling system ELECTRICAL Bike won't start, or runs poorly Spark Plug Classification Stator health check, white wire fix, rewind Z/A/B/ Headlight cowl wiring FRAME & FORKS Centre Stand : remove a stuck one Frame : Compare ZABC to Eurosport Front forks : change oil etc Rear wheel : remove Rethreading a stripped hole

WHEELS BRAKES & TYRES Front forks : change oil etc Rear wheel : remove Differential : check / change oil

My Motorcycle History

Yours truly (left) with LUD297W after its rebuild, April 2006. In this photo the tank decals have yet to be added. My wife has just had her conservatory (= winter bike rebuild area) back!

First Tour - May 1973

I came into motorcycling by mistake, because when I started a new job in May 1973, suddenly I needed transport.  As I hadn't passed my car driving test, and couldn't afford a car anyway, the only alternative was a motorcycle. I didn't know anything about them - they were just the only alternative.

My nearest dealer in Leicester (UK) was Newton's, a small cycle / commuter bike shop on the Uppingham Road not far from where Haramead Business Park is now. I explained my requirement and was sold a blue Honda CB125s (KAY216L), which, with soft panniers, cost me £214. I knew that I wanted one of the then "newfangled" full face helmets, and was sold one as well.

Newtons did not sell boots or gauntlets, and directed me to Motor Cycle Accessories, in Belgrave Gate, Leicester. The bloke there realised immediately that I was a newbie, and advised me to change the helmet, as the one I had been sold was really an open face helmet with a chin guard riveted on. This good advice did not go down well with the original dealer, but I ended up with an Owens helmet and traditional style high calf boots and gloves.

I began motorcycling a few months before helmets were made compulsory in August 1973. But there was no compulsory training in those days. I had the controls explained to me, and I was off. I crashed it about a week later, going too fast into a bend up near Houghton-on-the-Hill, and luckily did no damage to myself and only bent an indicator and very slightly twisted the forks on the bike. Lucky me.

I don't have any pictures of my own bike; the one opposite was from an Ebay sale, but looking at it brings back many memories. This was my "first tour of duty" on a motorcycle and I quickly found that I loved every minute of it.

Even today I can look at people with obviously new bikes who are just starting out, and from the grin on their faces, I know exactly how they feel. I soon added a rack, top box, front crash bars and a pillion backrest, and removed the awful canvas panniers which came with the bike from new.

How I passed my L Test I don't know, but I went all over the country on the CB125s, including a 400 mile, two-up trip from Leicester to Bognor Regis in August 1973, with camping gear. Needless to say, this trip took a long time and wasn't very comfortable, especially for Steve Thorne, the passenger. The bike clocked up 15,000 miles before the piston seized and I part-exchanged it for a CD175, RJF944M; I just missed the last CB175. I bought it from Derek Hulbert's, a motorcycle dealer on Green Lane Road, Evington, Leicester.

This ugly duckling of a bike served me rather well. I clocked up 24,000 miles on it between early 1974 and mid 1976, including a trip to Paris. It rumbled along at 60 mph, drank petrol at about 70 mpg and I learned all about engines by working on it, first simple stuff like tappets and cam chain adjustment, then complete engine work. It always went back together and it ran without complaint even after my early inexpert spannering.

It had only four gears and no electric start, the 6 volt lights were atrocious, and it vibrated. However, the enclosed chain was a godsend in disguise as I only had to change it once it in all the miles it did. Notice the front number plate - this was a legal requirement in those days. I removed it when front number plates for motorcycles were abolished.

The bike eventually acquired the name "Lord of the Dance" I think just because I liked the tune. I forget how many times I crashed it, must have been at least half a dozen times, again without any major injury or damage. At this time I was doing a lot of ice skating and seemed to be burbling happily up the Six Hills Road between Leicester and Nottingham Ice Stadium at least twice a week.

I sold the CD175 in summer 1976 because I left home and couldn't afford to keep it on. There was then a painful no-bike period until summer 1979. Anyone who's experienced the dreadful craving to get back on a motorcycle will know exactly how I felt, and how pleased I was to be able to afford another one again. I still had all my riding kit, fortunately.

Second Tour - Summer 1979

This picture dates from summer 1980 and shows my third bike, the Honda CB400T "Dream" TRY407S that I bought from Ken Ives Honda on Loughborough Road, Leicester. I paid £750 for it, and it represents (along with a second 400T) my "second tour of duty". Here it has the extras I added; rack, top box, nose fairing.

The 400T acquired the name "Creaking Door" and it was an easy bike to ride - electric start, decent lights, and I gradually added bits to it as you see in the photo. Performance was good for a 4 stroke 400 - it would cruise comfortably at 70 and returned 50-55 mpg. Handling was a little adventurous but improved markedly once I'd added harder rear shocks.

In those days, the original Japanese Bridgestone tyres were notoriously slippery in the rain, and it was common on a new bike for the original tyres to be ridden nothing more than a few miles from the dealer to your house before being replaced by Avon Roadrunners or Dunlop TT100s.

I eventually changed the 16 tooth front sprocket to the 17 tooth one from a CB400/4 as this gave better economy and cruising, dropping the revs by about 1,000 at 70 mph, at the expense of acceleration. Eventually I owned two 400Ts. Having only a single front disc, it was noticeably underbraked, especially when carrying a passenger.

Servicing was a doddle, and this is the engine I came to know well, as I acquired a spare engine and gave demonstrations to friends on how to dismantle it, showing how easy it was to work on.

This is an engine closeup of the 2nd CB400T I owned, UUT235S, after I'd resprayed the side panels and tank. The 400 Dream / Superdream engine was a real good one. It was a 360 degree crank, saving on coil and ignition costs, but the motor had chain driven bobweights to rotate in the opposite direction, and the vibration was very low.

My first wife Fiona had a CB125s TWS555T when we first went out. Later she had a CB250N Superdream GJF939V and after passing her test, a CB400NA Superdream ONR394W which was a much better bike all round. After that she had a VT500 A858FFP and she still had that when we separated in September 1986. Her second husband, Paul, also had several bikes, a CB400N, a CB650, and later an XJ650. I hope they're both still into bikes, and enjoying their motorcycling in Market Harborough.

The 400T was a pleasant if unexciting bike and I wanted something more powerful and requiring less maintenance. This meant a watercooled shaft drive bike and the only feasible and affordable option was Honda's CX500. During a visit to what was then my local dealer (D C Cook Motorcycles on Belgrave Road, Leicester) in April 1981, a chap rode up on an immaculate red CX500 and said to Martin the salesman that although he had bought it from them only 10 months ago, he didn't like it and wanted to change. "Don't go away," I said instantly, "I'll buy it." It cost me £1,050.

Here it is parked in the garage area at the rear of the house at Broughton Astley, Leicestershire, and pretty much as I used it throughout its time with me. Later I changed the top box and the extension to the windscreen Its official name was "Desdichado", but was usually known as "Henry".

This bike completely fitted me, not just physically, but sort of mentally as well, because it matched my riding style. I had fourteen years of pure motorcycling joy out of it, and developed a lifelong love affair with the CX500. FET800V and I went all over England, including Jersey, and I had not one iota of trouble with it in 34,000 miles. It had a very pleasing life, as it was only used in dry summer weather; I kept the 400T for instructing (I was a Star Rider Gold / Advanced instructor {AMI 2983}, later a Part One Test Examiner {AME2983}, for seven years) and it hibernated in the winter.

It started completely standard and I added various extras over the years I had it. This picture shows the crash bars, spotlights and handlebar fairing in a more close-up view.

I changed the cam chain and decoked it at about 30,000 miles but this was purely preventative maintenance and apart from regular oil and filter changes I never really lifted a spanner in anger in 14 years. The most serious problem I ever had with it was a blown main fuse - mind you this was on a dark moonless summer night, whizzing down some country roads near Hastings!

I once had to bale out at 70mph on the M1 due to a burst front tyre, but as luck would have it, I'd been shown how to do this only a day or so before, and was lucky enough to survive practically unscathed. The bike was laid down on its crash bars which were of course wrecked, and I lost a spotlight, a mirror and an indicator. I repaired the puncture and rode the bike home and simply replaced the crash bars and broken bits.

(In April 2006 I was given back the rear crash bars!)

The snap, taken in summer 1982, shows the Honda CBX550F1 which I bought from new. I don't quite know what made me buy it, as I found that I didn't like it at all. When we unexpectedly had the chance to buy our first car (a Ford Fiesta) a few months later, I was pleased to sell it. The bike's only saving grace was a terrifically punchy engine and equally astonishing brakes. But it just didn't fit my riding style, and I didn't miss it afterwards. YFP939Y or something like that, I don't exactly remember.

Here it is shown immediately after Roy Woods Motorcycles of Hinckley built it. Although I'd sold the 400 Dream by then, afterwards I kept the CX500 in storage at a friend's house throughout two house moves whilst I was married again and settled at Anstey in Leicestershire. Then it came home, but financial restraints kept it of the road, I just cranked up the engine from time to time.

I took a year out in 1994/5 to do a full time Master's Degree and we simply ran short of money in spring 1995. Selling the CX500 broke my heart. It went to a chap in Rugby.  I owned it for exactly fourteen years. I think I sold it for about £500 and if I divided 14 years by the difference between what I paid for it plus the running costs, I can't think of anything that ever gave me more value for money in terms of pleasure and enjoyment.

Update on FET800V - August 2003

David Kerr, a forner CX owner from nearby Whitchurch, had seen a CX500 near Oswestry whilst looking for a project machine. After his visit, he found these web pages and recognised FET800V as the bike he had seen. On August 6th 2003, 8½ years after I sold it, I saw the bike again.

It was perfectly recognisable as mine. It still had the mirrors, rack, crash bars, front mudguard, handlebar grips I fitted to it in the 1980s, and there were even traces of the red engine paint! It didn't have the flyscreen - that has been fitted to both of the subsequent CXs I own, and removed again when they had windscreens fitted!. But I still have the flyscreen.

Clearly it was well looked after whilst in other hands. We didn't start the engine, as there was no coolant in the radiator, but it looked almost exactly as it did when I sold it, apart from having another 30,000 miles on the clock and a few minor additional blemishes. I was really pleased to see it again and in such good health. It served me so well that I'd hate to think of it in bad hands. How curious that having sold it in Leicester, it turned up only 30 miles from where we now live in Telford.

FURTHER UPDATE April 2006

David unthinkingly sold this bike about 18 months ago to Steven Bayes, of my area of Telford and about 1/4 of a mile from where I live! Can you believe that kind of coincidence?

I tried to contact Steven, but he moved away "up north" in 2005. The bike is presently SORNed, but if Steven or a subsequent owner reads this, please get in touch. David kindly returned to me the rear crash bars, which he hadn't passed on with the bike, so these have now gone full circle of ownership. Where are you now, FET800V?

Then followed another "lean and hungry bike wilderness" and every year it was dreadful to watch the riders coming out in April & May to enjoy the summers on two wheels. Every year it was "this year I'm going to do it..." but that was a dream until 2002.

Third Tour - Easter 2002

Spring 2002 was the worst bike-fever time I ever had and I was absolutely determined to get back on a motorcycle again ... and if I could find another CX500, so much the better. I started looking and after one disappointment, found LUD297W in Bridgnorth. (I'd moved to Telford by this time.) The owner, Dave Jenning, was selling several bikes and I bought it on the spot, simply because it was exactly what I wanted.

This bike came bare except for the engine bars. I've added the flyscreen from my first CX, (later swapped for a windscreen) plus a new rear carrier and top box. The bike was registered on January 1st 1981, which as at January 2008 makes it 27 years old.

Mileage at purchase 30th March 2002 was 37,500. I paid £550 for it. I call it "Valiant". Not knowing the service history and wanting to start with a clean slate, I took out the engine immediately, changing the cam chain and tensioning apparatus, oil and filters etc and fitting new tyres (I use Continental Tours on all the CXs except the Turbo, which has Pirellis).

I found that the cam chain tensioner locking bolt had been overtightened at some stage, resulting in the thread being stripped inside the rear crankcase. I had this repaired professionally, and I've since learned to do this job myself.

LUD297W runs extremely well indeed, returns an average of 55 mpg and cruises effortlessly at whatever speed you like between 60 and 80 mph, the sturdy engine prepared to run up "combat power" of 100 mph if necessary. I tend to cruise at a steady 70 and overtake up to 90 and the engine feels just as reliable and unburstable as the first CX I had.

Distinctive front view shows the cylinder heads, exhaust downpipes and crash protectors. Spares and replacements come from David Silver. Tyres, consumables and riding kit from Wylie & Holland Motor Cycles, Wellington, Shropshire 01952 248868. Thanks to W&H for ever-friendly advice on equipment and to both suppliers for prompt service on delivery for ordered items.

In June 2006 I identified all the previous owners and wrote to four of them, but had no response.

Photo after fitting the Givi detachable top box. As the side stand was causing the bike to lean too far over, I removed it and had an extra 1" section welded in, between the spring lug and the footplate. This brings the bike to a safer, more vertical angle when I use the propstand. I have stuffed white towelling between the mudguard and the frame, to stop muck and dust getting in.

Although I used 'soft' throwover panniers for the 2007 'Adventure' bike holiday and was happy with the way they worked, in early 2008 I changed the chrome rack for a combined rack and 'hard' side pannier set, ready for the 2008 'Adventure'.

Rebuild - Spring 2006

Valiant was stripped and rebuilt in March 2006, with the frame and metals shot blasted and powder coated, tank and plastics resprayed, new rear light unit and steel braided brake pipes fitted.

Thanks again to cheerful Cledwyn of MCRP (Midland Coating Removal Process) Unit 38, Hadley Park Industrial Estate, Hadley, Telford TF1 6PY (01952 240849) who did the shot blasting; Kyops Manufacturing, Unit A8, Halesfield 9, Telford TF7 4QW. 01952 583988 who did the powder coating; also JB Autos of Ironbridge, who did the respraying.

A rebuild was the least I can do for a faithful, reliable friend who in September 2005 carried me faultlessly almost 900 miles in three days, on a trip between Telford and Salen, Ardnamurchan in the Scottish Highlands, resulting in a three month IT contract in Salen. I stayed at Glenborrodale Castle gatehouse for 3 weeks and the remaining 10 weeks in the Willow Lodge at Resipole Farm caravan site, both of which I recommend.

In May 2007 Valiant took me on a 2,500 mile 10 day tour from Telford to Prague (scene of the Heydrich assassination in June 1942), Zagan or Sagan in Poland (scene of the Great Escape at Stalag Luft III; Colditz Castle (the famous prisoner of war camp), the Eder Dam (second target of the Dam Busters raid) and finally Waterloo (where Napoleon met his defeat at the hands of Wellington and Blucher). The only technical failure was a broken throttle cable - this was a roadside fix, as I carried spares. Average fuel consumption was 52 mpg, fully loaded and with some 80-85 mph autobahn cruising.

Here we are at the exit to the tunnel 'Harry' through which 76 men escaped.

In May 2008 the same bike took me down France, over the Millau Viaduct, into Spain and Andorra, over the Pyrenees and back up the Bay of Biscay on a 2,700 mile 8 day tour. Did a motorcycle heart ever beat more Valiantly?

There is some Youtube footage of me negotiating the Pyrenean hairpin bends.

Copyright on the above and below photos is waived - please feel free to print off either of them for your office / den / workshop, by way of motivation!

WORK - THIS IS WHY YOU DO IT

For bike-to-bike communications we use Cobra MT525 personal mobile radio (PMR) handsets with the heavy duty "Professional" headsets and harness, these are available from Intaride and we have found them to be of excellent quality and very durable. Don't buy the cheaper Maplins headsets as these are not robust enough for bike use.

I had to sell the 8'x6' wooden shed and erect a much larger 10'x9' metal shed to accommodate the three CX500s. Be careful if you buy a CX of any sort. They grow on you. Turn your back and you suddenly find you have acquired another one. To illustrate the point, in 2004 I rebuilt from scratch, a CX500 imported from Germany:-

The "Hannover Express" (DUJ63T) was in almost showroom condition after its rebuild. Here we are in its maiden voyage.

This bike was sold in June 2008 to a fellow Owners' Club member.

In 2005 I bought a CX500 Turbo (B748MRK) but although this bike was a blast to ride, it was a nightmare to own. Spares are impossible, and after spending time and money rebuilding in in April 2008, it developed an untraceable and apparently uncurable fault. Totally fed up with it after so much work and effort to rebuild it and get it running properly - and as it was worth far more as spares than as a going bike - I dismantled it and sold it as spare parts, here is a list of what is still available.

Fourth Tour - 16th August 2008

Having sold the Hannover Express and a lot of the Turbo spares, I now own a lovely red NT650 Deauville, collected today from Brighton. I am the second owner and the bike is immaculate condtion, just 6,500 miles after 5 years in the hands of the original owner. Many thanks to Rick Thompson for selling what must have been a dear possession. I am already very impressed with it!

Here is "the Red Fox" my NT650 the day after I brought it home and spent two hours cleaning it, after a very wet ride back from Brighton.