Arrived in April in multiple boxes. Lots of time spent fixing all the ham-fisted repairs including tearing the engine down twice and it's done!
That is a nice clean looking bike and the color is great.
Anyone know the difference between the silverwing and ex500? All I know is the engines look the same, cool inverted V twin.
Sweet bike!
I've had my eye on a long-distance cruiser for a while, and have been curious about these. Seems like all of the comfort of a Goldwing, with a lot less mass.
Thanks for the info Woody. I bet with that dual disc front end the bike stops pretty well. Good luck with it Transman!
The CX500 was punched out to the GL650, and the Silverwing was the touring version. Besides the bigger motor, they got dual front disks and air shocks up front and a single shock out back. The rear trunk can even slide back, converting it to a 2-seater. There was a sidecar option that is way cool and pretty rare.
The Silverwing was reborn as a scooter years later, but the original is still the best IMHO. Great job!
Thanks guys, I put 250km on it today without a hitch, I'm very pleased with it.
Yes, the 650 has more bore and stroke as well as higher compression and more ignition advance than the 500. IT has a much better ignition system as well.
I have a 1980 CX500 Deluxe, a 1983 CX650 Eurosport and a GL650 Silverwing Interstate now. I can honestly say, they're all totally different bikes.
The 500 is definately and "old fashioned" bike. The twin rear shocks beat you up a bit and the handling isn't so great, that being said, I do like the bike.
My 650 Eurosport is a bit of a hotrod. It has lower primary gears from a 500 installed and will keep up with larger bikes easily up until about 100mph, then it's topped out. The Eurosport was only a hair slower than the CX650 Turbo because of the lighter weight of the eurosport. It has the TRAC anti-dive system, twin disc up front and single in the rear, it's a quick, fun bike for sure.
The Interstate that I just finished feels great, it handles well and loves the highway. I can see myself putting a lot of miles on it. Plus, it's only got 17,000 km on it from new.
The power difference between a 650 and a 500 is night and day. The 500 is around 50hp and the 650 is nearly 70hp.
The '83 Silverwing was the only year they went with mag wheels instead of comstars. I've been told the tire sizes for the mags are a common Harley tire size so they're cheap to replace.
The taller gearing and increased power in the 650 series is really nice to have.
In reply to Joe Gearin:
They're a popular touring bike.
The improved ignition system in the Silverwing also gives you a better charging system so you can run heated gear and more accessories.
The fairing is the exact same one used on a GL1100 so all the accessory gak can be made to work with the Silverwing fairing.
The bags are similar to CBX bags if not the same.
The tail trunk I have is the small one, there is a larger one that incorporates a backrest.
There is also a trunk extender as someone mentioned that will move the trunk back (either trunk) and allow you to have the pillion seat and the trunk.
I imagine if you wanted to get silly, you could use a trunk extender and a second trunk to have two trunks but i would look bloody silly.
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