First Action Shot

No big changes here. I just wanted to post pics of the bike in action. The rider is my good bud Benj Vanhorn. He looks better suited to the bike than I do, and he'll probably end up buying it off me for a good price come next year. Once I'm finished with the chop, of course.

I installed the gas caps, a new set of Z-bars, and I painted the radiator cowling wrinkle-black. I had fittings silver-soldered into place and I connected the tanks with fuel line. Bending one of the top brackets over resulted in a pinhole fuel leak when the tank was completely full, so I used some JB Weld to plug the hole. I also installed the other guage into the center cowl.

Bad-assery. With dorky shoes.

Built a Fatbob tank!

Finally I got the funds, the time, and the motivation to mount the fatbob tank! It's truly a thing of beauty sitting there on the CX500 frame, and it really wasn't that difficult. Building the mounts was quick and easy. A vice and a big hammer to bend the THICK steel stock, and a drill to make the holes. The bottom front tank mounts were sawed off, and the top mounts were bent down so they were horizontal.

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The covering for the center part, on the other hand, was very time consuming, and quite painful. I cut the flashing with a pair of metal shears, but the flashing was very thick, and the shears left sharp edges. So my hands are all cut up. Once that was done, I cut two holes for gauges with my dremel. Then I used contact cement to attach leather to the panel. Finally, I measured and drilled holes for the studs, and then screwed them in place. Since the flashing isn't all that thick, it was easy to bend and form to fit the contours of the gas tank. The bottom part of the tank panel attaches with the stock tank mounting bolt, and it covers that ugly area of the frame. The top mounts haven't been installed yet in these pictures. There's a cross member that goes across the top of the two front brackets, and the panel bolts to that. Next up were the headlights. I've been sitting on a dual headlight mount for almost a year now, and just recently I purchased the headlights to go with it. The whole thing mounted up in 5 minutes... but wiring was another matter entirely. Since the stock headlight was gone, all the wiring was sitting exposed behind the new dual lights. It looked like hell. So I unwrapped the wiring harness and started cutting and splicing longer wires in. I was able to move the bulk of the wiring harness to the area between the new Fatbob gas tanks. I need to re-wrap the harness with electrical tape, as it looks like a rat's nest at the moment. But everything works! Check below for a parts/cost list! Part or modification: Price: Got From: •  Dual headlight mount $25 eBay •  Two 5 1/4" dual-filament headlights $50/pr eBay •  Fatbob gas tank $100 eBay •  Steel flat stock to make brackets $5 Home Despot •  Steel flashing $8 True Value (hardware store) •  Leather $25 eBay •  Spike studs $15 eBay •  Voltmeter gauge $10 Advance Auto Cost of August modifications: $238 Parts Removed from bike to accomodate new changes: •  Stock headlight $25 •  Aftermarket headlight ears $8 •  Stock gas tank $0 Cost of parts removed: $33 Total cost of modifications: $828

Spoked Front Rim and Floorboards

I haven't done a whole lot of modifications since November 2002, but I've been busy fixing my V65 Sabre to get it ready to sell in the spring, tearing apart a V65 Magna parts bike in my garage, and working on a number of other things. Plus, much of my money has gone to Christmas, a ski trip, and paying off my credit card bill. I still worked some chopper parts into the budget, though. I picked up the Markland floorboards on eBay for a Buy It Now of $100. I was in the right place at the right time. Unfortunately, I don't really like them as much as I had hoped. Because that banana seat is so low, and the bike is canted back quite a ways due to the 7" over front end, the floorboards are cramped and uncomfortable. Also, since the floorboards were made for a GL500 brake system, I had to fabricate a connection to the rear brake. I couldn't just cut the end of the brake pedal off, drill a hole in it, and connect it to the brake pedal with an extended arm like I wanted to. The angle was wrong and the bracket was in the way. So I used a brake cable from a VT700, some shifter linkages from the Harley dealership, a piece of threaded rod, and two brackets bent out of flat steel stock. Unfortunately, I couldn't come up with a way to attach the brake light switch or the return spring. So, the brakes tend to stick after you press the pedal, and because of the cramped seating position (due to the seat and the rake), it's rather difficult to use the rear brakes anyhow. So, expect to see the floorboards taken off and replaced with a set of home-made forward controls at the next update. I'll save these suckers for a GL650 Interstate, if/when I ever get one. One nice thing about these floorboards, the boards themselves can be replaced with any Harley board out there. Which is good, since mine are scratched and a little rusty. The wire wheel was an easy fit to the '78 front end. I don't know how it would fit with the '82 forks and axle, though. Basically, it bolts right on, but the spacing is different. The speedo drive is on the right side instead of the left, so the stock axle (with its built-in spacer) cannot be used. Likewise, the CL360/CB400 axle cannot be used, since it is way too short. Fortunately, I had a V65 Magna axle sitting around from a parts bike. It was a perfect fit. It goes right into the left fork leg with enough threads showing to easily fit on a nut, and it clamped down securely in the right leg. The nut size is different, so I raided my hardware bins for the right size. I then went to the hardware store and got a bunch of washers to make a short spacer (about 1/2") between the wheel and the left fork leg. I used a CL360/CB400 front wheel because it is an 18-incher, as opposed to the CX's stock 19" front wheel. I wanted to lower the bike a bit, since the extended forks make it sit a little too high for my taste. If you want a wire wheel, but wish to retain the stock wheel size, the CB450 uses a 19" wheel, as does the CB550 and CB750. I've taken a good look at the CB450 wheel, and I'm pretty sure it will fit in the same matter (it looks like the same hub), but I don't know about the 550 or 750 wheel. Do note that you will need the disc brake, speedo drive, and speedo cable for whatever front wheel you decide to use. The disc on the wheel I'm using is exactly the same diameter as the CX500 disc, but it is offset differently than the CX500 wheel because the speedo drive is on the other side. One great thing about Honda speedos is that they're all identical internally. It's the drive gear on the wheel that is different from model to model and wheel to wheel. Which means that my speedo reads correctly even with the 18" wheel and a CL360's speedo drive. Finally, I also removed the front fender. I like the looks of the bike much better without it... unfortunately, this chopper is often ridden in the rain, and I get a facefull of water without that fender on there. I have drilled it out so that it sits lower over the new 18" wheel, so I can put it back on if I want to. However, I found a pretty slick fender on eBay that I'll probably put on once payday rolls around again. Part or modification: Price: Got From: •  Chrome license plate frame with integrated turn signals $35 eBay •  Heavy duty load-balancing flasher relay. Stock relay couldn't handle the weird bulbs in the frame. $3 WalMart •  6" dogbone risers. 4" was too short, and I didn't like hunching over $20 eBay •  Markland floorboards for a GL500. $100 eBay •  Modified brake system with harley parts, threaded rod, and a brake cable from an 80-something VT700 parts bike. < $20 Dealership, parts bike •  Wire front wheel from a CL360 / CB400 (18") $40 eBay •  Axle from V65 Magna (parts bike), and some washers from the hardware store $0 Parts bike •  Extended speedometer cable for a CB400 $20 eBay •  Tire, tube, and rim strip for new front wheel (18 x 3.00 or 90/90/18) $50 JC Whitney •  Accel wires (Leftovers pieces from when I put Accel coils and wires on my Magna) $0 Advance Auto •  Flashing red spark plug caps. (Yea, I know. But they were cheaper than NGK caps!) $5 JC Whitney Cost February modifications: $285 Parts Removed from bike to accomodate new changes: •  Rear turn signals $20 •  4" Dogbone risers $15 •  Home-made highway bar stuff $40 •  Bullet license plate bolts $0 •  Stock Spark plug caps and wires $0 •  Front Fender $0 Cost of parts removed: -$75 Total cost of modifications so far: $623

For the love of God, WHY?!?!

Yeah. I know. A CX500 chopper. I must be nuts, right? Well, I figured nobody had done it before, and I had the time and the money... and I wanted to make the bike more enjoyable to me. So the CX500 Chopper project was born, and inadvertently I became known as "Chopper Charles". Here's the story of my modifications!

I started with a pair of 7" over fork tubes I purchased on eBay a year or two ago. I got them for a paltry $15 plus $10 shipping. They were for a CB400, and nobody else bid. I don't really know why I picked them up, I didn't have a CB bike and really had no plans to buy one. Fortunately, I found that a CB400 and a CX500 (78-81) use 35mm fork tubes. And I just happened to acquire a CX500 from my old man (Dick In Raleigh), to do with as I pleased. The CX500 I had was an '82, though, and had 36mm air forks instead of the 35mm forks used on all other years.

So, the first order of business was to replace the front end with one off a '78. Fortunately, my father has a TON of parts bikes behind the barn. I used the fork lowers, brake caliper, and triple-tree from a '78 CX500. I stipped the paint off the upper triple tree, and then polished the lowers and replaced the fork seals. I put all the internal components from the CX500 tubes into the 7" over tubes, along with some 7 1/2" spacers. I topped the forks off with some 20wt fork oil and was nearly finished, except for the brakes. I'd really have liked to have used the 2-pot '82 brake caliper, but the mounting holes were wrong so I settled for the '78 single-pot caliper. It still stops okay.... not stellar, but okay.

At the same time, I lowered the bike with some 11" chrome shocks from Cycle Recycle Part II. Stock shocks are 13.5", but even after losing 2 1/2" the tire never rubs the fender. Handling was drastically improved. No more bouncing or wallowing! The front end sits altogether too high, though. I'm going to try a smaller (18") wheel on the front, and if that doesn't bring it down enough I'll have the steering neck raked.

All other modifications are mostly cosmetic and self-explanatory. I really like the exhaust, though. They fit nicely and are just loud enough to be pleasing, but not loud enough to be annoying. I'll probably be selling these in the future, though, as I want to go with a custom 2-into-2 system with fishtails, kind of like the Captain America bike, but different.

I made over the space of 3 months. It helped to spread out the cost and kept me happily busy in the garage. Note that the prices below include shipping, where applicable. Here's the cost breakdown so far:

		Part or modification:	Price:	Got From:
	•	Sissy bar Dick In Raleigh acquired in ebay deal	$0	Dick In Raleigh
	•	Banana seat for Triumph	$40	eBay
	•	Tombstone taillight	$30	eBay
	•	Headlight ears	$8	JC Whitney
	•	Chrome radiator grille	$25	eBay
	•	NOS Alphabet mufflers for Kawasaki 1000	$25	eBay
	•	Mirrors salvaged off of CB350 parts bike	$0
	•	Drag bars	$15	751 Motorsports
	•	4" Dogbone risers	$15	eBay
	•	Harley-davidson grips	$0	buddy gave them to me
	•	2 pairs of aluminum mini turn signals	$40	Cycle Recycle Pt. II
	•	Forkbag, mounted below radiator.	$25	dbgear
	•	7" over fork tubes, originally made for CB400.	$25	eBay
	•	'78 CX500 triple tree, fork sliders, caliper, and fender. The '82 uses 36mm air forks, so I needed to use a 78-81 CX500 front end.	$0	Dick In Raleigh.
	•	1/8" flat steel stock, various nuts and bolts, and hollow rod to make highway bar. Price includes a bunch of money wasted on research and bad designs.	< $40	Home Depot
	•	11" Chrome short shocks	$80	Cycle Recycle Pt. II
	•	FIAMM horn, because the stocker didn't work - NOTE: Needs relay.	$15	Auto Zone
	•	Fork brace	$30	eBay
	•	Bullet license plate bolts	$0	had lying around garage
	•	Chrome HTTA fuse cover.	$0	Dick In Raleigh
Total cost of modifications: $413

Parts removed:

Stock '82 forks, triple tree, caliper, headlight ears, turnsignals, rear grab bar, taillight, seat, plastic radiator grille, stock mufflers, speedo cable, handlebars, mirrors, crash bars, kickstand, and shocks.

Introduction (Pre-modifications)

This is the bike before I started chopping

My father has always had garbage motorcycles. They were always breaking, and he was really tired of owning junk. Every time he'd get something halfway nice, he'd turn around and sell it in a few months to pay for my or my brother's college tuition. So he ended up buying non-runners and fixing them, and they were *always* breaking.

So in 2002, after saving money for a year, I bought my Dad a new motorcycle. This was the bike he was working on trying to fix at the time, which he eventually gave to me when my Magna was down for engine repairs.

I rode this bike for a while, and eventually fixed my Magna. Instead of selling it, I kept it around and used it when the weather was bad or when I needed to ride into less than savory areas. It started as a 1982 Honda CX500 Custom. Note the air-assisted 36mm front forks, the nice 2-pot caliper, the rusty headlight ears, the crash bars, the beautiful seat, the fugly turn signals, the pullback bars, and the giant luggage rack. Yeah, ugly didn't even begin to describe it.

Of course, I couldn't live with that, so I started chopping it. Check out these pages for the progress I've made and pictures I've taken every step of the way. This is truly a "cheaper chopper". I've set out to prove that anyone with a little ingenuity can build their own custom chopper for very, very little money.