Ofapars` V twins.

 

Woah,what happened?One minute i was holding a hacksaw and the next thing i knew this bit had fallen off!

 

 

 

It fell off from here;

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Here`s the plan;

I want a bike with a seating position similar to the comfy easy-chair and footstool combo i have at home (a chair on wheels) ,but also a bike with a `WTF is that` reaction when folk first set eyes on it.Something like this;

 

I was going to attempt a steering system with two handlebars each pivoted independantly from a mounting point just to the rear of the tank and operating the std yokes via two drag-links,but in an effort to keep it simple and to fit in with my limited engineering facilities i`m going to use a normal pair of raked-back `bars albeit one-off bespoke ones designed to fit the unique characteristics of this bike and made by a local tube-bending company.Bladdy £££ though...

And no,it isn`t going to stay red,i think i`ll go for black frame with black bodywork on this one..

 

It`s gonna` be a long`n`low,motorway mile munchin` easy ridin` laid-back cruisin` stealth missile.Well,that`s the plan..

The 500 engine with the 650 gearbox fitted will be installed in the CX-periment which should work well in this Euro chassis.

 

 

 

 

*update*  Its on hold until paperwork `irregularities` are sorted out.........

 

Oct `08:will hopefully be resuming the project soon...

 

Nov:it`s back on track------>

Have fitted a footrest.

It`s surprising how long things take to do on a project like this,it probably took about 4/5 hours just to make the bracketry and relocate the rear brake master cylinder and resevoir.

I always say,`a lot of effort goes into making a bike look this bad!`.

Both footrests have now been done,here`s the right fully fitted.

 

 

Wahey!,i`ve got the one-off handlebars and tried `em out.

Don`t know whether to go for the low-level mode or easy-ridin` apehanger style.

 

 

I`ve had the drive shaft modified to go with the extended swingarm.

It was cut in half with an interference-fit spigoted-and-welded section fitted.This may be the achilles heel of this bike;will the welded driveshaft be up to withstanding the awesome grunt (probably about 35bhp!) of the 500 motor? 

Talking of the drive shaft,there are two types;the 650 type and 500,and the CX-periment is a mongrel of 500 engine and 650 swingarm/final drive etc

The 500 has the UJ integral to the shaft and uses a through-bolt to secure it to the final output shaft,the 650 has the UJ separate and simply slots onto the final output shaft and drive shaft,it being held in place by the pressure applied by a spring at the opposite end of the shaft (at the final drive end).There is a snap-ring on the engine output shaft of the 650`s which positions the UJ in the same axis as the swingarm pivot and may also provide a `stop` to prevent chatter of the ends of the splines.

When you put a 650 engine in a 500 you have to swap the engine final output shaft so it is compatible with the driveshaft/swingarm/final drive on the 500 chassis.

Looking at the way the 650 UJ fitted to the 500 engine final output shaft i decided to leave it in place.didn`t fancy stripping the engine back cover off to replace this shaft if it wasn`t necessary - the UJ position looks spot-on with it butted right up onto the engine shaft and theres planty (at least as much as STD) of the splines making contact.The only possible issue is the snap-ring which isn`t present;the ends of the splines are butted up to each other.Probably not mechanically correct but i blathered loads of moly paste in there so would be surprised if any problems occur.

 

Dec `08:

A couple more bits have been done to the CX-periment,the gearchange linkage has been made,and the battery holder relocated to behind/under where the seat will be and between the swingarm.It`s the only place with enough space and fits in there nicely.You should see where the airbox is going!

 

Note the lower engine mount in the r/h pic - yet another Prolink frame with corroded engine mounts.I managed to fix up the other side but this one was just too rotted  to bother about,so i cut the fecker off and fabricated a replacement out of some steel plate.These engine mount repairs are really tedious and awkward to do,and after having had to do all the others on `The Ratrinity` i`d just about had enough with this one.It was especially rusted-out,too...

 

Don`t worry about it looking a bit scabby - a coupla` coats of Hammerite `ll have it looking pristine!

 

 It won`t be too long before i can get the engine running,and maybe give it a tentative test ride........................

 

 

December 16 2008;

Got problems with leaky fuel tanks.

I`ve got another one here,but that too was perforated,but to a lesser degree and may be repairable.

I`m going to attempt a repair by soldering on a steel patch along the affected area - i`ve fixed pinholes in tanks successfully before so know that this works.

 

 

 

 Another project,another Prolink problem...

 

I have removed the linkage from the frame (all the bolts came out easily....) but the bearings were in a bit of a state and one was seized in place.No surpises there then.

The method i used to remove this seized bearing was to get the arc welder out.

I welded up the centre of the bearing tube - this did two things; it put some heat right at the point of the problem (applying heat is always one of the first things to try when removing stuborn fixings or parts) and provided a good solid point onto which i could use a parrellel punch to knock the bearing out.If force is applied to the end of the bearing directly it can deform/bend over making it even tighter in the linkage arm/bush and more likely to bind when driven outand damage the bushes.

Of course this renders the bearing scrap but if it has seized to this degree it is unlikely to be usuable anyway.

 

After the linkage had been cleaned up i pressed the bushes back into the arm in the vice - a Euro grab-rail bobbin made an ideal tool for this job;

 

 

 8th Feb `09.

 

 OK,so i`ve bodged the leaky tank with some solder blobbed onto the multitude of holes and it proved to be petrol-proof,which was good.

So the next stage of the CX-periments development could be completed - getting the engine running and seeing if the thing actually works....

 

It runs,it moves;

 

 

 

 

 

 The exhaust is only temporary at the moment for testing purposes.It`ll have to have a section made up to shift the silencer back a bit,it`s close to my ear `ole at the moment and quite loud! I`ve also got a silencer off a Triumph Speed Triple which i`ll try on and see how it sounds.Its a right big,heavy thing though,but it is BLACK!

I`ll do that this week and then walk it round the other side of town to a `private road` and give the bike a more thorough test to evaluate it`s dynamic and ergonomic properties! - even after all the work done to it so far it`s still an experiment at the moment......

I did give it a small ride at the back of our house and was able to get it up to about 15 mph and into second gear.

First impressions? A bit wobbly,and tight turns needed rather a lot of arm movement.It was a bit like steering a canal barge! `Three-point-turns` needed about an acre and a half of space to execute! This was with the handlebars in the `easy rider` position.Lowering them to the `cruising mode` made the bike much more stable,but they`re still too long and i`m going to reduce their reach/height by a few inches;the grips are too close to my body and elbows need to be straightened out a tad for more comfort (and hopefully controllability).

 

 

 

Some more;

 

I went to an exhaust supplier and got a link-pipe made up (in stainless!) to move the silencer back a tad.This was also needed to clear the frame;this `Predator` exhaust pipe is off a Z/A/B type CX and when fitted to this Euro chassis the pipe fouled the frame,so a couple of bends were needed in the extra link-pipe to provide clearance.It fits perfect,and i like the look of the `out there` pipe hanging off the side of the bike.Adds to the `WTF is that`quotient... also sounds quite fruity!

 

Another silencer of the same type on the other side would look awesome from the rear.

I`ll keep a look-out........

 

 When i first got the engine running a few days ago (after the fuel tank repair) it started up OK,about usual for a CX engine that hadn`t run for a while,but took a little coaxing to get running on both cylinders - again,quite usual when dealing with unknown sparks and carbs.

After fitting the exhaust i started it up again and it just would not idle on both pots.It would rev OK at higher speeds when blipping the throttle but was only firing on the left on tickover.Thinking it might of picked up some crud from the rusty tank i removed the carbs expecting to find a blocked pilot jet but while undoing the float bowl screws i espyed something amiss - i had forgotten to install the r/h carb air cut-off valve and cover plate! How it managed to run at all the first time with that massive air leak i don`t know.

So,with the carbs properly assembled i put them back on the bike (no trouble as no air box fitted yet and only one throttle cable) and prepared to balance the carbs agani,but this time petrol would not stop pouring out of the overflow pipe on the l/h carb! Again,this is not unknown on a rebuild but the usual remedy of tapping the float bowl to loosen any debris that may be caught in the needle did not work.Aarghh....

Again the carbs came off to inspect the internals.Could`nt find anything obvious so checked the operation of the floats etc. and bolted them back again.

This time all was good,no leaks,both pots firing and i could synch them with no issues.............until the engine warmed up and i noticed another vital engine fluid dripping from the radiator.. DANG!!! Had thoughts of holed radiators where the engine had been stood in a cold garage for nearly a year (possible frost damage) but after a bit of probing with a small torch the` leak` was found to be coming from the rad top tank overflow outlet and because no tube to the expansion tank is fitted yet was just dribbling out as the coolant heated up and expanded.

 

The handle bars have been shortened and i`m taking them to work to braze the slugs in place.

They`re three inches shorter now and much more comfortable.

 

 

 Initial testing completed.

 I took the CX-periment to a local vehicle proving gound (local industrial estate) and the results are promising.

My earlier impressions of dodgy handling (albiet on a muddy track at the back of my house...) were  completely discounted as the experiment displayed all the characteristics which these type of machines are reknown for - stable and sure-footed thanks to the long wheelbase and low C of G.

It took only a few minutes to get used to it and once i did it was a very pleasant experience! Gonna` have to get some seat padding though!

During the test i was aware of the rear brake binding and could smell something `hot`when stopped.I noticed it at first when pushing the bike around and it eventually got so bad it was slowing down when changing gear.Bloody hell i thought,this isn`t a good advert for my `twinpots` page,is it!

At the end of the test ride the brake pads were smoking and the disc was feckin` HOT.

There was a water tap on the wall of one of the units so i rode over there and sprayed it with water.I was enveloped in a cloud of steam....

That freed it off enough for me to get it home.When i got around to investigating it was obvious there was something wrong with the caliper - the pads would not retract easily to get the caliper off the disc and the pistons were imovable.It then occured to me about the linkage from the pedal to the master cylinder that i had adjusted previously;if the m/c piston seal did not retract far enough up the bore the `return port` that allows brake fluid back into the resevoir would not be uncovered and any pressure in the system would remain locking the brakes on.After adjusting the linkage i actualy saw fthe fluid rise slightly in the res. and the caliper freed off.Result.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I`m going to have to get a move on now if i`m to get it ready for an overseas trip this summer: i wonder what the Euro CXians think of it? The plan is to get it ready for a trip to France,Switzerland and possibly Italy in May/June

Still got a massive ammount to do on it though - rear end/luggage rack to design & make,rear lights and mudguard,front lights,loads of re-wiring,seat,air box and air ducts,tyres replaced,clocks and idiot lights,screen for fairing,painted,maybe some more swingarm/frame bracing etc,etc.After all the frame mods have been sorted its got to be stripped all the way down to a bare frame again to finalise the welding and then i can get the Hammerite out.Phew....

 

 

27-2-2009

I`ve got to the stage now where its nearly ready to be stripped back down,welded up,painted then rebuilt properly.

I`ve got the rear mudguard on,knocked up a small rack,and added some more swingarm bracing - although it probably didn`t need it...

 

A strange mix of CX,old Brit bike,chopper,cruiser and FFirst...

 

 

March `09.

Just spent all day in the garage.9 hours effort didn`t seem to make that  much difference to the appearance of the bike...

 After making the airbox (fabricated from a 6" diameter extractor fan cavity-wall duct,two plastic `reel hubs` from the cable manufacturing industry and the OEM inlet rubber,end cap and locating ring) i realised it would be quite difficult to connect to the carbs in the position that i was going to put it so thought about placing it in a more suitable position:under the seat.It`s also a much better use of the limited space available and will enable an easier route for the intake ducting.

 

Other jobs today included knocking up a battery box out of 1.6mm sheet steel and  re-locating the already re-located battery in it`s new location - on the `pannier frame`.I made a loop out of some 25mm tubing to enable a pannier to be hung off it on the nearside,i used this to mount the battery box (with reg/rec bolted to the side) and tool box;

 

 

 Another days work and i`ve made the locating brackets and stuff for luggage requirements.I`ve got three options:the small mudguard mounted rack for normal use,Ofapars` Luggage Retainment System™ for a weekends rallying and another larger rack that would be more suitable for extended expeditions and where i want to carry more stuff.The latter two racks will fit over the mudguard mounted one (without interfering through suspension travel,and it might still be able to hold a small bag) and can remain in place and are both easily `on-and-off-able`.

Also put on some bungee hooks on the back-rest frame,sorted a helmet lock bracket,and sculpted the previously cut out from sheet steel seat base to fit the frame and provided mounting brackets to bolt it on.Bloody hell,doesn`t sound a lot does it for 7/8 hours work does it?

 

 I think i`ve got about as far as i can now as far as welding/fitting/bolting stuff to the frame goes,so the next stage is to strip it right back down again and slap on some paint.That`ll be quite relaxing compared to the constant cutting/grinding/shaping/fitting/welding etc that i`ve had to do up until now.Virtually everything on this bike has to be custom made or modified,and thats not even taking too much concern over whether it looks `right` or not (as far as i`m concerned the weirder/uglier the better).Stripping a regular bike down,cleaning/painting/servicing and rebuilding would be a piece of cake compared to this.No wonder`proper` custom bikes sometimes take years and £££££ to build.Haven`t got the patience for that....

 It shouldn`t be too long before i can post up a pic of it in a nice coat of black paint.

 

 15th March

Just when it was looking like i was getting somewhere it was time to strip it all down again!

It was nice just dealing with nuts and bolts again though,and in less than an hour it was back down to a bare frame.

I then passed some cycle parts over to my molecular coatings specialist in the paint department for an application of a rust preventative film;

   

 

  

 

 

 Now that the frame swingarm etc has been painted i can start building it back up again.The drive shaft has been on my mind and i decided to strengthen the joins.The extension piece was previously just welded at the spigoted joins and that was OK for the test ride but it would not be happy with it like that once the bike is completed - it`d always be on my mind that a possible failure could occur,probably when i`m 100`s of miles from home...

 

 So what i did was to make  a steel sleeve and weld it over the original join;

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Assembly so far;

 

 

The clocks are now on;a GL tacho with the integral temp gauge and an old speedo from an obscure `70s Honda.

The differently-sized dials give the CX-periment a contemporary race-replica styling cue where the all-important larger tacho hints that engine speed and performance has priority over road speed. ;-/ Yeah right....

I was going to mount the clocks on the brace accross the top of the `bars but they got in the way of my view of the front in that position so i put them in the conventional place on top of the top yoke.Damn,i hate being conventional.

I found a tacho cable which reached up into the back of the unit OK but didn`t have a speedo cable long enough,i had expected to have to pay for some custom-made cables to be made up:the Euro speedo drive on the front wheel has a different fitting than the other models and the cable is particularly short because it fits into the low-placed instrument cluster....so....what i did was to replace the speedo drive with a ZAB type i found from my spares (same dimensions and ratios) which enabled the use of a longer ZAB type cable.That all fitted perfectly :-) Another good bit of bodgineering was the idiot light cluster;i had planned to knock something up from a container of some sort to house the various lights but on canabalising a ZAB clocks unit i found that the idiot lights,lenses and housing come away separately from the units fascia and i now have a natty lights console for nuetral,oil,high beam and indicators.Rear mudguard and rack have been bolted on.Handlebars reduced in length again,this time by 2.5" then painted.

 

 

 

 

 

 Spent some time today making a start on the wiring,including the tedious task of lengthening the  handlebar switch cables due to the higher/longer `bars.

 

 

 April 10.

The end is in sight!

After hours spent on the time-consuming wiring i`m getting near the end of the build....slowly....

I`ve hooked up the twin air horns,fixed the rear indicators and wired up all the rear lights,provided the wiring and `bar-mounted switch for the radiator fan (650 leccy fan fitted to this 500),fairing wiring loom unfathomed and all front lights tested and working (after a first test resulted in all manner of weird lighting problems which was traced to a high resistance/bad earth on one of the loom main beam headlight connectors),idiot-light console made from parts off a ZAB combined with a Euro clocks` wiring,additional illuminating lights for the clocks grafted in place(2 per clock as opposed to 1 for a Euro),hook up the voltage reg.and temp gauge and provide power to an accessory socket to be fitted later.

I also found time to matt-black the Vetter Quicksilver fairing and complete the rear brake system - but not bleed it yet.Started to strip down a front brake master cylinder;i`ve got an all-ally Eurosport one here ready exept it has a leaking sight glass,i`ve alo got a plastic resevoir type which`ll need a total strip down and clean up.I`ll use that one.

 

 

 

To finish off,all i can think of is to sort out the front brake system,probably replace fork seals (ones i bought off fleabay have good stanchions with no pitting but one side appears to be weeping),bleed rear brake,finish off the seat with more foam rubber and paint the underside,and give the rest of the bike a good going over to see if i`ve missed anything important out and to refine stuff i`ve already done but thought "feck it - i`ll do that later,i`ll do the interesting stuff first" *

The last obstacle to overcome is how to connect the carbs to the airbox.I`ve got some vacuum cleaner hose which is a perfect fit on the carbs but space looks too tight under the seat for two hoses.Might have to use the original carb siamese carb rubber and one larger duct to the airbox.

The next piccies might be the big `reveal`!

Then the MOT of course.

 

* One of these expected jobs was to fix a leaking fork seal.I hate doing fork seals...

So,i start to remove the damper rod bolt at the bottom of the fork leg and it undoes part way then just keeps spinning round,not loose but with some resistance still there.Great,a job i already loathe turns into one of those PITA jobs.

No major hassle though,just get the drill out and off with the cap-head on the bolt using a wooden broom handle down the stanchion to hold the damper rod still and prevent it spinning while the drill does its work.

Off pops the bolt head and i can withdraw the stanchion and inspect the remainder of the bolt stuck in the damper.There i find the remnants a tell-tale clue left on the threads:it looks like a previous owner used a thread locking compound on the bolt...

 Front brake system is on.

 One last scan over the frame and tune-up before (hopefully) the tank goes on for the last time;

 

 April 23

The induction system has been carefully designed for optimal engine performance,rideability and efficiency and has been installed in the CX-periment....!

A choice selection of carefully chosen quality materials has been painstakingly crafted into a bespoke engine sub-assembly.Parts including an extractor fan cavity wall duct, cable reel `hubs`,part of a vacuum cleaner wand and 55mm bore auto radiator hose have enabled the use of a STD CX intake trumpet,filter element and siamese carb rubber;

 

 I thought it might be a good idea to tidy up the seat and put some more padding on but i think i`ve made it even worse,probably as a result of the `enthusiasm is proportional to time theory`:at the start of the build i was eager to get stuck in,but now that its nearly finished the enthusiasm is waning a bit and i just want to get the bloody thing finished so i can ride it,and the seat was the last thing to get done and got a quick slap-dash job.I put some trim around the edge of the steel base but it went on wonky and i got glue all over the place,the extra foam bits are not symmetrical and the cover that goes over the intake hose is crap too.Sod it,it`ll do for now,it is a ratbike after all,and i can change it at a later date if necessary.

For the longer journeys i`ve invested in one of those  inflatable comfort seating systems - no,not an Airhawk costing £100+ but a self-inflating camping pillow at four quid!;

 

 One or two quick jobs to do,then MOT time-------->

 

 

 It`s finished!!!!

 

29th April `09

Took it for it`s MOT test today and came away a happy chappy!

It`s finished.Thank fook for that....

 Here`s some pics of the CX-periment basking in post-MOT glory on the village green;

 

 

 

 

Riding position:comfy!

 

 

 

In action;

 

 

 

 The shakedown run.

 OK,so it`s all finished and MOT`d and stuff,time to take it for a good long test and see what this thing i`ve built is like.

A 340 mile round trip to Devon was that test,and here are the results..

 Teething troubles!

 Everything was fine until i went on reserve at 200 miles (57mpg) - when i switched over the fuel tap i felt the engine get `woolly` and noticed some misfiring/fluffy running at low speeds.Thought at first it may have been something to do with the tap itself causing fuel starvation (maybe the reserve `straw` had come adrift?) but after nursing it a few miles decided to pull into a petrol station before it was too late and it was then that the fault became apparent - fuel was dribbling out of the r/h carb overflow pipe....

It had done the same thing on that side a couple of times previously during the build-up (as well as the l/h side which i fixed,see text above) and tapping the float bowl a few times sorted it out,but this time after prolonged tapping,hitting and switching from res. to main tank,running the carbs dry,more tapping etc etc and generally trying everything i could with limited tools,in the dark and 130 miles from home had a decision to make:return to my folks house 20 miles away and fix it the next day or press on and hope the overflowing carb didn`t bung too much neat petrol into the cylinder whilst doing so.I decided to carry on;high`ish cruising speeds would,i hope,keep any excess fuel to a minimum through the engines demand for fuel when on the move.

The bike seemed to run fine for the fast cruising speed roads that mostly made up my route,but on the occasions i had to stop fuel was still seen to be dribbling from the overflow....

Anyway,i made it home OK and the next day took the carbs off and found a huge piece of crud stuck in the float valve needle seat,which was too large to be displaced and find it`s way past the fluted sides of the needle.It`s now fixed.

 

Lights.

The quick-release wiring harness plug to the fairing came apart a couple of times rendering headlights and indicators inoperable.

The indicators staying on and not flashing would normally be a sign that something was amiss but on this bike i seem to have one of those relays that flash even though one winker is completely out of circuit... I thought something was odd when i saw one of the pics the kids took when following the Ofapars` family`s car and noticed that my headlight wasn`t on - i usually have lights on,and another time when i couldn`t see the headlight in the relfection of the car in front.

I fixed it up with some wire for the night-time journey home and made a permanent repair by making a swivelling clip that prevents the plug from falling out of position.Another prob sorted.

Oh,and that poxy seat trim started to peel off so i ripped it completly off,which made the seat look worse still so i have replaced the whole seat covering with some 16mm thick foam rubber sheet with NO trim this time (serves me right for fussing over petty details!) Add fifteen quid to the budget.....

 

 Dynamics!

Handling is fine - very stable in a straight line as you would expect from a bike with a 6 metre wheelbase!

Even negotiating the single-track rediculously-narrow Devonian roads-to-nowhere that were narrower than the CX-P was long and seemed to be tunnels rather than roads at times the hedges were so high it held its own;it can switch direction quick enough to dodge oncoming cars,potholes,cyclists and dead animals,even the occasional dead cyclist! It`s no RC30 though.Long sweeping bends negotiated without any wallowing or other nasty traits,and feels very secure.

Only mini-roundabouts or u-turns make the CX-P seem a tad ungainly,mucho arm articulation required to operate the swept-back handlebars and feet-scuttling to make rearwards movement when pushing the bike backwards for a 3-point turn..

Pulling away from standstill is best made in a positive manner to avoid a little bit of initial direction-wander,but once under way and rolling it`s stable enough,and pulling up to a stop can be made feet-up with a modicum of concentration but sometimes feels rather abrupt if braking sharpish requiring feet to be planted quickly,but avoid putting feet down at speeds over 10mph to avoid your big toe trying to exit the front of your boots .....

Engine runs fine,pulled well up the looong,steep inclines of the test route with just the normal small adjustment of throttle required to maintain steady momentum.Exhaust sounds good too when engine working hard,and cruises effortlessly at an indicated 80+.

 Comfort!

 Overall i love the riding position,which is good,because the whole bike was built because of it!

 

 I set off on the journey with the seat in it`s `normal` mode,but after 100 miles was aware of `numb bum symdrome` setting in,which is better than the 40 miles that the WE and RatWing manages but not so good for a machine designed to travel hundreds of miles a day,so i stopped off and fitted the `pnuematic comfort seating system` (OK-camping pillow) and that was much better,even after the non-stop 130 mile return journey i had none of the base-of-the -spine discomfort that i get with the other bikes from sitting in an upright position.I find my Silverwing isn`t that comfy,despite looking like it should be.

Handlebars were perfect - just the right reach and height.

What wasn`t so good though was the handlebar grips;horrible smooth,shiney,slippery,small-diameter Honda originals that had me holding on in a white-knuckle death-grip giving me numbness and the `tingles`.The crappy Aldi gloves i bought as a spare pair and decided to try this weekend didn`t offer any help comfort-wise either,and it was bloody cold at 11:30pm on a clear,moonlit,early May night which made for frigid digits and made things seem even worse.. I would also benefit from a throttle-lock/cruise controll.Oh,and heated grips too,but that can wait until later in the year.

So,i`ve wrapped some twine around the Honda grips and then stretched three layers of bicycle inner tube over that to improve the hand/handlebar interface and make for a larger,more comfortable diameter grip to hold onto.I`ve also transfered a Vista throttle lock from the RatWing onto the CX-P to give my hand a rest from time to time. Digital distress eliminated.

The back-rest seems to amplify the worst in our potholed and repair-strewn highways,and i found myself looking out for poorly-maintained or damaged roads a little more than usual to brace myself for the kick in the back and grimace/profanity combo that accompanied a particularly torturous example of terrible tarmac. Another quirk of the back-rest was the ability of it of transmitting the 5000rpm `vibe zone` of the CX to my internal organs.Hit 70`ish mph (650 gearbox - higher gearing!) and you can feel/lhear the harmonic vibration,a couple of hundred rpm either side and it goes away,and lifting my back off the seat made it disappear,it`s not in any way uncomfortable or irritating,it`s just something that i eventually became aware of,just a characteristic of these bikes which is slightly more noticeable of the CX-P,and the new thicker foam rubber seating material may well suppress some/all of it.

On the road;

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Specifications!

• Frame:500 Euro with gas-pipe and sundry steel tubing rear section
• Suspension:650ed forks,650ed swingarm and driveline with 250mm stretch
• Tank:Silverwing GL
• Engine:GL500 fitted with 650 gearbox and electric fan conversion,bespoke induction system
• Bodywork:Vetter Quicksilver fairing,trailer rear mudguard with rack (12kg max.load)
• Seat:recycled-from fume-cupboard 1.6mm steel sheet base with kids camping roll-mat cover.Optional Air-filled `comfort`touring seat
• Controlls:bespoke 18" rise parrellel-tube handlebars,Euro-based forward controls
• Exhaust:`Pedator`,UK
• Lighting:front;Euro,rear;CX Custom/GL
• Brakes:Yep..
• Paint:Matt and satin rattle-can black,Smoothrite.RBZ approved

 

 

 Expenditure!

• Frame £25
• Handlebars £60 (ouch!) 
• S/H forks and Fork seals £40
• Tyre £55
• Clocks £10
• Rear light £10
• Cavity wall duct £10
• Radiator hose £20
• Exhaust extension £15
• Cables £10
• Number plate £12

Everything else already had/free.

----------------------------------

Total £267

So,250 quid overbudget,then..

 

 

 

Plagiarism? Well,those Honda folk seem to have seen the award-winning CX-periment and rushed out a production model closely based on it!!

While i was sampling the roads of Switzerland on a Euro-tour look what i happened upon up in the mountains during a visit to St Gothards pass.

 

 

Here we see two similar motorcycles;one a finely crafted premium quality product built and manufactured using only the best modern materials available,constructed with flair,attention to detail and utilising innovative state of the art technical specifications, the other a Honda DN-01!

 

 

 

Feet forward - it`s the way forward! 

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The CX-periment:longer than some cars!:

 

 

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Update,October `09 - 5,000 miles later.

 

 The CX-P is going well,and i am really enjoying riding it,and the strange looks seems to amuse other road users,too (thats the bike,not me!). Since first getting it on the road/MOT`d there`s been a few additions and refinements:i replaced the fairing screen with one a few inches higher so that the air blast was directed further up and over my head so i was completely out of the `buffet zone`,and i installed two 55W driving/spot lights at the front in an effort to make the bike more easily seen by other road users due to the small frontal area/dull matt paintwork and stealth profile! Although,saying that,i have not noticed any more incidents of me not being seen when on the road than when riding any of my other bikes,and the seating position is still slightly higher than that of your average car driver,so eye-contact can still readily be made when needed.

 

I`ve had an auto ammeter hanging around the garage for years so when i found a pod to install it in i knew exactly where it was going.Also on the electrical side of things i have wired in an additional indicator pilot lighti n a more direct line of sight (the ones mounted near the handlebar clamps are obscured by other `stuff` and i was prone to leaving the indicators on),and an electric radiator fan `on` warning light - the CX-P running a manual only circuit,both mounted on top of the ammeter pod.The items mounted on the `bars cross-brace are a digital oil temp gauge and a RatNav mount - i bought one specially for a TomTom but it was crap and broke the first time i used it,so made my own. Also new and mounted on the handlebars is a digital air pressure gauge hooked up to the forks.See here for details.

 View from riding position of the gadgets;

  

 On the `to-do list`for the CX-periment is the fitting of Ofapars`Suplimentary Suspension System™.

This will (hopefully) provide more spring preload to the rear suspension for when i am carrying lots of camping gear on the rear rack and prevent the suspension from bottoming out on the worst of the bumps.Even with the original shock pumped up to the max of 70psi the extended swingarm with the extra leverage is able to overcome the standard spring.The SSS is a spring taken from a twin-shock type shock absorber with a machined spring seat at each end.The bottom seat is threaded and runs on a matching threaded bar,and is adjustable to get the ammount of preload required.I`ll do this over the coming months,it`s not likely i`ll be carrying much kit over the winter,so i`ll get it ready for next years rallies;

             

 Oh,and i`ve glued a dead shrew to the fairing;

I`ve recently acquired another 650 motor.When i summon enough enthusiasm to start tinkerin` in the garage again it`ll be going in the CX-P - after it`s been given a once-over/mini-inspection and tested by running solo.A good big `un is always better than a good small `un.I`ve had an initial probe into the engine!See here.