Propav8r's Dream Bike Resurrection
Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2018 4:31 pm
Hi everybody, I've made a quick introduction, but since I now actually have possession of the bike, it's time to start the project thread in earnest.
I have wanted a CBX for a LONG time, but I really had a hard time justifying spending 8-10k on a fair condition runner. I had other priorities and other projects, and currently own my '78 GL1000 "Buffet Racer" and a restored 1985 BMW K100RS (that I unfortunately laid down recently, and haven't had time to fix the way I want)
Anyhow, I also had a 1972 H2 750 project that I bought for pennies awhile back. After some soul searching, I decided to sell that bike, and try and track down a CBX. I made out pretty good with the H2 even selling it in pieces, and the search for a CBX began.
I knew I wanted an '81 or '82, with a pretty strong preference for a pearl white '82. After lurking on a few CBX facebook pages, I found a vague post by a gentleman down in South Carolina who was kicking around the idea of selling his '82. He was the original owner, and purchased the bike brand new in 1985 as part of the group of NOS located by Honda. At the time, he worked at Manassas Honda just outside of DC. He's owned the bike ever since, and rode it about 32,000 miles.
In the late 90s and early 00s, his career as a pilot began taking off (rimshot!). As such, he was away from home and away from his bike quite a bit, and it was stored permanently sometime around '03.
The real motivation behind the sale was spousal happiness...apparently he purchased a Goldwing without consulting the Accountant, and decided to preemptively sell the CBX to make amends. I think it worked, as he showed up with all his digits to the sale.
Anyhow, I bought the bike and dragged it home, but not before taking some photos of it against the Charlotte skyline. It certainly doesn't look too bad for it's age, and it is 100% complete. The mirrors were removed to prevent them from getting damaged in storage.
I also have a replacement fuel tank in very good condiditon (the one on the bike currently is rusty inside and has an epoxy patch over a pinhole) as well as a replacement right pannier (the DG exhaust melted the bottom of the current bag a bit). He also included a dealer service manual, the orignal paperwork for the bike, and a few other odds and ends.
After getting it home, I decided to try and start it. After changing the oil, I hooked up gas to the carbs, which resulted in a large puddle of fuel at my feet, but that's no surprise. I was planning on a carb rebuild anyway. I removed the seat and the air cleaner, and hit the intake with some brake cleaner. It fired right up! It runs beautifully smooth and hits on all 6.
So all the electrics work, the motor sounds healthy, the clutch works, and the bike shifts through the gears. Really, all I need to do to get it on the road is to replace the seized, corroded, and just plain nasty front master cylinder, hope the calipers aren't too badly seized, replace any rubber fuel lines, control cables, etc., and just generally give it a good once-over.
The general plan is to get the bike mechanically roadworthy one small item at a time, and after a season of riding, I'll tear into it and do it up the way I want to. We'll see how that plan holds up. Anyhow, since this thread is worthless without pics...
I have wanted a CBX for a LONG time, but I really had a hard time justifying spending 8-10k on a fair condition runner. I had other priorities and other projects, and currently own my '78 GL1000 "Buffet Racer" and a restored 1985 BMW K100RS (that I unfortunately laid down recently, and haven't had time to fix the way I want)
Anyhow, I also had a 1972 H2 750 project that I bought for pennies awhile back. After some soul searching, I decided to sell that bike, and try and track down a CBX. I made out pretty good with the H2 even selling it in pieces, and the search for a CBX began.
I knew I wanted an '81 or '82, with a pretty strong preference for a pearl white '82. After lurking on a few CBX facebook pages, I found a vague post by a gentleman down in South Carolina who was kicking around the idea of selling his '82. He was the original owner, and purchased the bike brand new in 1985 as part of the group of NOS located by Honda. At the time, he worked at Manassas Honda just outside of DC. He's owned the bike ever since, and rode it about 32,000 miles.
In the late 90s and early 00s, his career as a pilot began taking off (rimshot!). As such, he was away from home and away from his bike quite a bit, and it was stored permanently sometime around '03.
The real motivation behind the sale was spousal happiness...apparently he purchased a Goldwing without consulting the Accountant, and decided to preemptively sell the CBX to make amends. I think it worked, as he showed up with all his digits to the sale.
Anyhow, I bought the bike and dragged it home, but not before taking some photos of it against the Charlotte skyline. It certainly doesn't look too bad for it's age, and it is 100% complete. The mirrors were removed to prevent them from getting damaged in storage.
I also have a replacement fuel tank in very good condiditon (the one on the bike currently is rusty inside and has an epoxy patch over a pinhole) as well as a replacement right pannier (the DG exhaust melted the bottom of the current bag a bit). He also included a dealer service manual, the orignal paperwork for the bike, and a few other odds and ends.
After getting it home, I decided to try and start it. After changing the oil, I hooked up gas to the carbs, which resulted in a large puddle of fuel at my feet, but that's no surprise. I was planning on a carb rebuild anyway. I removed the seat and the air cleaner, and hit the intake with some brake cleaner. It fired right up! It runs beautifully smooth and hits on all 6.
So all the electrics work, the motor sounds healthy, the clutch works, and the bike shifts through the gears. Really, all I need to do to get it on the road is to replace the seized, corroded, and just plain nasty front master cylinder, hope the calipers aren't too badly seized, replace any rubber fuel lines, control cables, etc., and just generally give it a good once-over.
The general plan is to get the bike mechanically roadworthy one small item at a time, and after a season of riding, I'll tear into it and do it up the way I want to. We'll see how that plan holds up. Anyhow, since this thread is worthless without pics...
