Ofapars V-Twins Home.
I bought my first CX500 in 1986.I now have three of the things and a project on the go,too!
I`ve done more than 140,000 miles in the saddle of a CX and in that time have done a lot of repairs,servicing and modifications...
My original purchase of a CX was made on a pragmatic level more than me coveting one - i decided to be a motorcycle courrier.This was the mid eighties and the stigma CX500`s had from their early years from the camchain/big-end probs and slating from the biking media because of their quirky looks was still firmly attatched.Once you make the decision to go despatch riding in the 1980`s though a CX was the default bike for the job.They`re not the most exiting bike to come out of Japan,but i suppose nothing stands out as being particularly bad(ok,the brakes are bad!),but given their longlevity and easy day-to-day V-twin characteristics it`s probably the reason i`ve stuck with them for so long,and for me it`s not so much about the bike,but motorbiking - it just so happens that i`ve ended up with CX`s and a garage full of spares to keep me going for years to come,so that`s what i`ll do my motorbiking on.There`s also some satisfaction to be found from having the confidence in these venerable old machines to take them virtually anywhere with the knowlege that it`ll get me back - in all 140K miles of being on the road with a CX i`ve never had a breakdown that prevented me from getting back home - exept punctures.....and that pillock in a car who T-boned me on the A406....
Anyway,here`s the three that are in my gargage at the moment;The `Euratsport`,`Ratwing` and`World Explorer`. These are all the later Eurosport or Prolink equipped CX`s with the transistorized ignition - i have never owned one of the original twin-shock `Plastic Maggots`. You might notice they`re not all shiney,chromed-up as-they-came-from-the-factory pristine examples.I don`t `do` standard; chop `em about a bit,add bits from other sources,bolt on incongruous objects,make parts yourself and have a bit of fun with them.I like to ride `em,rather than clean `em!A rat-biker at heart,i try to keep my bikes going or modify them by using whatever materials are in the shed/garage/i can scrounge/find or make - i`ve got 500`s with 650 engines,650`s with 500 engines,500 cams in 650 engines,650 carbs on 500 engines and all sorts of other combinations.In fact only one of my four CX`s has the right engine for the chassis;the Ratwing is/was a GL500 but now has a 650 Euro engine in it,the Euratsport was originally a 650 Euro but has a 500 engine,the CX-periment was a 650 Euro and is fitted with the 500 engine that came out of the Ratwing.Only the 650 Euro that is the WE has it`s original engine.No wonder i sometimes have difficulty in remembering what`s what,what i did to what,when,and how! Although they may look unconventional on the outside i keep them tuned up as well as possible and maintained to a good standard using 20+ years of CX experience.All the bikes have been made from basket-cases,abandoned and neglected `spares or repairs jobs`,breakers leftovers or from a pile of bits that `looked like there was enough to build another bike from`!
For me it`s about making parts fit from anything i find,repairing as much as you can yourself and improvise/engineer stuff to suit.It`s not quite engineering.It`s not fully-fledged bodging,it`s bodgineering.Have a look at the projects i`ve done from the links here and see the alternative alterations,mechanical detours,intuative installations and other stuff.Some of it`s quite sensible!
Timeline of a CX.
Listen to the Euratsport: 
He who says "It will not work" actually tells you "I cannot imagine it".
