Some of you may remember my 1980 Honda CX500 that was stolen early last December from my apartment parking lot. Last night at 11pm I received a call from the adjacent county’s police department saying it had been found.
Side covers are missing, right-side control wiring is hacked off, key cylinder has been snapped off obviously, tank is all dented to hell and the lock broken, the starter solenoid wiring is a disaster, the back tire is practically bald, the front tire has been replaced (!!!???), the speedometer cable looks like an animal ate it, the tach is totally broken and falling off the bike, mounting hardware for the seat is missing, mounting hardware for the tank is missing, the throttle cables feel super frayed
uuuuhhhhh
my bar-end mirrors have been snapped off inside the bars, a small bag has been added, and the starter has gone out which is, I believe, why it was abandoned.
Gross. There is a toggle switch wired to where the ignition was and a button down here kicks the starter over.
Totally trashed. Will likely need replacing.
This tape is interesting. I believe it is only used in aerospace. Peep that dope upside-down tachometer.
This back tire looks like someone has been doing burnouts. On the plus side my Ignitech is still there.
This front tire was the same type as the rear when I had the bike. Someone actually put a new tire on this.
For context, here’s my fiancee on the bike back in November
And here’s what I currently ride every day: a 1996 Kawasaki Vulcan 500LTD. After cleaning the carbs and replacing the engine on it I find myself not liking it that much, though the low seat height is nice.
So, the plan: See if I can coax the starter into working long enough to get the engine started (or try vigorous bump-starting) and figure out if the running gear is still solid. If so, order a starter rebuild kit. Rip out the wiring for the starter and re-wire the ignition in some manner that makes sense. Get hardware to mount the seat. Figure out how to retain the battery and stuff without side covers. Eventually order clipons and new handlebar controls as well as a digital speedometer for a minimal dashboard, and try to fix my utterly trashed gas tank. Going for a slightly sportier look with it, maybe a cafe but I’m not sure yet. Going to be on a shoestring budget, for sure.
Anyways, hopefully tomorrow I’ll know if it still runs or not. Should be a good time.