We’ve already published two of Josh Mott’s JMR Customs intriguing builds on autoevolution, and it’s really glorious seeing that his third presence here is even more spectacular than the previous ones. I’m not sure whether the end of the summer is the custom Honda CX500 season, but we’re starting to see really amazing builds lately. Josh’s new CX500 packs the simplicity required by a racing bike’s looks, and strays from the low-swung exhaust recipe most builders use.
Josh wanted to make something really spectacular of the battered up CX500 he received from Boise Vintage Cycle in his town. Since the bike had both compression and spark, he knew he could bring back glory to it… and by all means, he did.
Of course, every good custom job starts with a strip-down, and this Honda made no exception. The frame was cleaned and repainted in a home-made booth he and his father built. The overhauled engine got a nice polish job and shiny rocker covers, with some black accents to match the rest of the bike. The airbox was ditched in favor of two conical filters, and the whole wiring and electronics relocated to keep the underseat an rear section free from clutter.
Since Josh wanted a racer CX500, he built a custom belly pan in which he placed all the electronics, rectifier and all, after extending the wiring. Needless to say, the pan looks awesome and few would guess the secret which lies in it.
The rear section free, Josh had plenty of room to follow his dream, and install a completely racey, upswept 2 into 2 custom exhaust system. New headers have been fabricated and have been joined under the rear fender into the reverse cone muffler. The rear fender is a custom job, too, and Josh started out with three pieces of sheet metal: bending and tinkering finally led to this fluid shape which integrates the seat perfectly.
Josh also debuted as a fiberglass worked with this bike, as this was the first time he used this material for the construction of the basepan… and was amazed how easy things are. He says he’s never going to use anything else for his seats from now on.
The rear was upgraded with dual longer Ohlins shocks, while the front end saw shortened forks accommodating an XS650 headlight and CL360 clamps to level things out. The front cowl is also Josh’s custom creation. Since the paint booth was still in place, his father too to painting the machine in a simple yet bold white-blue scheme. The rims were drilled and then powder coated, with Josh carefully accentuating the holes to blend in with his white wall tire choice.
He says the CX500 not only looks and sounds like a race bike, but also feels like one. Honestly, this is one of the coolest old Hondas we’ve see in a while! Via thebikeshed.
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