honda cx500 custom by jmr motorcycles

People send us emails about their motorcycles every week. It’s a thing. But every now and then a special one comes along that really tickles my interest. It’s often in getting to know the motorcycle builders through a few emails that I realize there are some really @#$%ing awesome people reading bikerMetric. Take Josh Mott. Josh’s family at JMR Motorcycles and Repair has been in three generations of mechanic experience, combining for over 60 years of know-how. When other ten year old kids had snot rolling out of their noses as they absentmindedly played with their GI Joe action figures, Josh was apprenticing with his father, Randy.

When I talk about bikes and builders who that really spark my interest in the custom motorcycle building scene, Josh and this build are a prime example. Check out his Honda CX500 custom motorbike, and don’t miss the video either!

I’m Josh owner of JMR Customs out of Boise, ID. This is my latest creation, a 1979 Honda CX 500 Custom.

I’ve always wanted the chance to put my own twist on a CX so I put the word out around the Boise area and a couple months later Boise Vintage Cycle had one that they donated to us. The bike was in very rough condition but like always I do my normal checks. If it has spark and compression than 9 times out of 10 I can clean the carbs and fire it up. The bike had both so I cleaned the carbs and it fired right up.

As soon as I knew I had something to work with I started coming up with ideas. First I had to strip everything off the bike I would not be using. Once that part was finished my dad and I started brainstorming. I had been noticing that most everyone building the CX model has done a low built exhaust. The idea was to do 2 into 1 up pipes and have it exit out the center of the rear fender right above the wheel. I was able to have them come straight back and connect right in the center of the rear wheel and rear section of the frame. The rear fender I made around the exhaust in 3 sections of 16 gauge steel. I believe the rear fender came out amazing. I made the seat out of fiberglass. This was my first time working with fiberglass and I have go to tell you I won’t make a seat any other way. The seat fits perfect.

By building the exhaust up the center of the bike meant I had to relocate the motorcycle battery, all the wiring, the CDI, and the regulator rectifier. The only place I had room was underneath the motor. I built a battery box that I could mount all of it cleanly on to the bike. The wiring now runs down the frame in between the carbs and into the battery box.

The Headlight assembly was all hand made. The headlight itself is off a xs650 yamaha. I wanted to make a cool looking dash and head light bucket all in one piece. The speedo/tach/temp gauge (Trail-tech), choke, and ignition switch are all mounted on the dash.

After most of the chassis was mocked up I noticed the stock suspension and triple clamps made the bike look slightly like a chopper with its’ up hill stance. The stock triple clamps raised the stance 1 inch. I found a set of CL 360 clamps that surprisingly fit the frame with no modifications and it dropped the stance of the bike 1 inch. It helped but it still was not where I wanted it. I began to shorten the forks 1 inch from the inside then installed 1 inch longer eye to eye shocks on the rear. By doing this it gave a bull dog look so to speak and made it look level.

The wheels were something that I took a chance on. I thought it would be cool to pre-drill holes 2 inches apart all the way around the wheel, powder coat them black, then drill them again to give it a high lighted look. With the white wall Shinko 777s I think they came out pretty nice.

Everything was done in house except the powder coat and upholstery. Paint credit goes to my dad Randy Mott, Photo credit goes to my girlfriend Kate Robbins. If you have any questions or would like to follow older or newer builds check out on facebook.com/joshmottracing and www.jmrcustoms.com or jmrcustoms on Instagram.

Thanks for looking!

– Josh Mott
JMR Customs

PS: You have to check the video:

We’re hoping to see more from Josh soon. Stay tuned and check out the home page for the latest builds, and don’t forget to send in your own custom metric motorcycle builds!

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