CX500 build.

[Eddy Wane]

I now have assembled most of the parts to start my build. I have sourced a Honda CX500 in a very sorry state, an Aixam 500 diesel car for the engine and CVT and a Lombardini twin (the engine I originally got). I will post details of the build as it progresses.
There are no layouts in mind yet I may follow Heiko's design with the CVT behind the engine. The bike may only be suitable as a jig for the engine and drive so I will be looking out for a better bike later.
Eddy.

[Eddy Wane]

I bit the bullet and started the strip down of the CX. I underestimated "very sorry state" as you can see from the pictures. I new the bike was in a poor condition when I first saw it last year. As I trailered it home parts were falling off, at least they went into the trailer and not on the road.

Looks reasonable!!!

Spoke too soon.

What swinging arm?

As the teardown progresses the tank looks OK.

Ah well!

No wonder their was a leak.

The frame is nearly there now and I have removed the front mudguard and callipers as required for any build. Surprisingly most of the bolts came off without a problem considering the bike has been under a tree for 5 years hidden behind a pile of soil.

More to follow soon.

[boutje]

Soooo a little bit rusty.

[Eddy Wane]

A couple more pictures.

Frame now stripped to required level for mock up

And now for the Aixam strip.

Here we go.

Bit of a sod to remove but finally.

As if by magic.

It didn't look that big in the car.

It's as big as the CX engine. I hope it fits in the frame.

The next job is to remove the gearbox and reposition the secondary CVT pulley. After that make a replica of the engine dimensions and mount points in wood so I am not lifting the lump in and out of the frame (up there for thinking down there for dancing as my Dad used to say). I will also strip out the remaining parts from the car that are engine related.

[coachgeo]

so much rust thru and near thru on that frame. I wouldn't feel safe using it. But you may have mad resurection skills that I dont have.

[Eddy Wane]

Coach. The photos do not do the rust any justice but on closer inspection it is repairable. For the moment I am using the frame as a jig to get everything in line. Unfortunately I need 3" taking off the engine overall length which means that the Aixam CVT will have to be swapped out for a thinner unit. After watching Heiko's video of his build I know it can be done but I do not know what make of CVT he used.
There are other options available if I decide to use the current power unit. My brother has a Suzuki 550 frame and another one from a Honda. I even toyed with the idea of using a Jinlin 125 cruiser (Suzuki clone) as it seems to have a large engine aperture.
But as in most cases work comes first.

[coachgeo]

.... Unfortunately I need 3" taking off the engine overall length which means that the Aixam CVT will have to be swapped out for a thinner unit. After watching Heiko's video of his build I know it can be done but I do not know what make of CVT he used.....

Heicko said he also used the Axiam CVT for the Tiger's. I do not know about his other projects. Axiam's CVT is a CVTech product. Maybe different year Axiam's used different CVTech units? If I recall right the primary one you have is a powerbloc Alt.

http://www.cvtech-ibc.com/client/page1. ... =4&clef2=2

[Eddy Wane]

I do not know what a Ligier drive looks like but the CVtech unit that I have looks different. The pulleys on the video look a smaller diameter and the spacing between them is also less.
Heiko's bike uses the Lombardini engine but I have the same engine and it is bigger than the Kubota from the Aixam by an inch so I do not know how he shoehorned the unit into the bike frame. I did PM him a while ago asking for build details but as yet I have not had a reply. The engine and drive is 22" long even with the ancillaries removed and this would hit the front wheel and that is without a radiator mounted. At the moment I am waiting of more info before continuing.

[Eddy Wane]

Initial measurements show that the Aixam CVT is too big at 7" overall length and I have probably got a 4" gap to fit something in. I have contacted Chris at Gemini Karts and he suggested a Comet drive. The smallest of these is the 330 at 3.31" but they are a bit pricey at £173+VAT just for the driver. After looking over the site the 40 series may also be an option at 4".
My mission, if I choose to accept it, is to source a secondhand 40 series complete unit. But at the moment they are a bit thin on the ground i.e. none on eBay.

[coachgeo]

Everything is a trade off. The low and top ratio of the combined primary and secondary is very important too. Particularly the high ratio cause that will be a huge part of how usable your bike will be on "real" to your use road speeds. To slow acceleration and/or road speeds makes the bike just a noviltiy with not much use and your liable to tire of if quicker and not be as satisified with the results.

[Adam.Perrault]

This looks like a great one! I have a CX500 that I love but I have a parts bike that may end up diesel powered!

[Eddy Wane]

Hi Adam.
All is stagnated at chez Eddy's at the minute. Not much has happened with the build. The fuel tank has been gas welded but has a couple of pin hole leaks and still need to sort the fuel feed/return. I cannot do that until the engine is mounted to see what clearance I have. I have sourced another swinging arm from eBay to replace the single arm version that is currently on the bike (ha ha) but I am still looking for a compact CHEAP CVT unit. It may be possible to cut the rear engine mounts off the frame and reposition them to give me the necessary room to use the existing Aixam CVT.

[Eddy Wane]

All change!. I still haven't sourced a smaller CVT apart from going down the new route which is a no no. With that in mind I have had a rethink and decided to convert the CX into a trike, so today I cut the sub frame out of the car and will refit the engine and gearbox and glue the two together. Fingers crossed.

[coachgeo]

Reverse Trike or standard trike?

[Eddy Wane]

Standard configuration two at the back see picture.

[coachgeo]

Shoot was hoping you were going reverse Trike. Anything from a Morgan-sh thing to one of Mad Geordie's crazy early creations. In fact use the Axiam you got the engine out of to create something like his Mini Cooper-ized reverse Trike. It is in the video below along with his airplane pictured below
( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vW5uJt_IPfM )




here is another interesting one that would be sweet with a diesel

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZ69OHj8KSo

[Eddy Wane]

It's amazing what you can achieve in an hour. Plan B is underway. The engine cradle was chopped from the donor vehicle.

Cradle out

The engine was placed back in the cradle and the rear end of the bike was removed. Both units were then positioned to see what it would look like.

Mock up

It does appear to be well proportioned and once the front engine mount has been fabbed up to fit the swinging arm mounts and the rear brace picking up the rear suspension locations I will have a rolling chassis ready for the next stage.

I am hoping to link the brakes and use the CX's existing rear brake location for the footbrake and throttle pedal, this will free off the front brake lever for use as the parking brake similar to an ATV system. The original Aixam battery will just fit in the airbox space and will house most of the electrics and the gear lever should locate on the left hand side near the frame spine.

[Eddy Wane]

Build has stagnated. Work has got in the way and I have recently moved to Sunny Southport. The only thing accomplished is the machining of a spindle to fit where the swinging arm locates. This will be the front support for the engine framework, two pieces of box section to be welded onto the spindle and the frame with the top support picking up at or near the rear spring top mounts. I have also decided to use the pedal box from the Axiam and hopefully link all the brakes.

I also contacted Dougie, who built "Freya" the Harley Davidson, he now only lives a quarter of a mile away. He has offered to help with getting the bike through the MSVA test.

[cheesy]

Interesting to see a CX as a project. I always thought my CX was handful with the stock engine but I like it too much change it.

[Eddy Wane]

Hi Mike.
Welcome to the forum. My CX build (if it ever gets finished) is not the only one that appears on this site. The other build is a two wheeler but I did not source a small enough CVT to carry on down that route and I have not been able to contact the builder.
I was given the bike, as you can see in my posts, in a very sorry state and sourced an Aixam car! off eBay. The car was a runner when I got it but with the rear slightly bent. If all goes to plan the trike should do 55/60 mph as the original vehicle did as for fuel consumption I do not know how much better it will be.
Good luck with your build.
Eddy.

[cheesy]

Hi Eddy-I thought my CX was in sad shape when I brought it home with the usual CX maladies; loose timing chain, dying stator, leaking carbs and a PO hack job attempt at a cafe racer. But, other than the fuel tank, no rust. I guess it was mint compared to what you were given. With a few modern touches, it's proved to be a very reliable rig these past few years. So, I'm keeping the plasma cutter away from it. Anything else is fair game, though.

Liking the idea of trike by using the running gear from the car. You'll have a reverse gear as a bonus. I will admit, though, of not knowing about the Aixam as it's not available on this side of the pond.

I'll be keeping an eye on this.

[Eddy Wane]

Hi Mike.
The Aixam is classed as a quadricycle in France where it is made. The body chassis is an aluminium roll cage with an engine and rear sub frame added. The body panels are plastic and not fibreglass the interior dashboard is even thinner plastic. The brakes are slighty better than mountain bike with discs at the front and drums at the rear. All this driven by the 500cc Kubota twin.
On the plus side it came with remote central locking, electric front windows, heater and a stereo just like e regular car.

The CX here in the UK was used as a courier bike but as you said suffered from rust. There is a guy local to me who rides one the same colour as yours and it looks in mint condition.

[cheesy]

Thanks for the info. I looked up Aixam and recalled a news story about it afterwards, either on BBC or NPR. More of an opinion piece. I don't think they'd do too well here. Too much wide open space.

The kid that turned me on to the CX lives in Manchester. He gave me tons of pointers on what to look for and was adamant that I check the swing arm. I ended up with a 20,000 mile bike that was stored indoors but lacked a bunch of maintenance. I've dropped that god awful heavy lump twice so far. Now, 80mph all day long if I feel like it. If I keep my wrist out of it and avoid 0-60 in 5 seconds, I can squeeze out 53/55 mpg(US). Best has been 65 on a long slow day. Worst has been about 42. That was one of those 80mph days.

[Eddy Wane]

Finally back on the site after a few months of being unable to log on.
Latest info is that I finally have a rolling chassis after a bit more welding. Engine still turns after all this time but still a long way to go.

[Eddy Wane]

Hello everyone.

Well doesn't time fly. Still no further with the trike build, trying to work on it BUT it is being pushed down the list. It's been that long the original bike is now tax exempt, '79 V reg, but it would be nice if the plate from the Honda is able to be transferred onto the conversion. Info on that would be most helpful

Anyway time to get back to "work" during this lockdown, plastering, wiring, painting and papering.