Wendell Jones of Oakland, California sent us an email saying he built a motorcycle, nothing out of the ordinary there, but then he said it was powered by a Honda CX500 engine turned sideways and converted to chain drive plus the wheels were mounted single sided both front and rear. OK, that got my attention, so I thought a few photos might be in order.
The bike Wendell put together has no frame, the tank is the upper frame and headstock and the rear swingarm is connected to the engine. The front end has twin fork tubes but they are both mounted on the same side. The whole bike was designed by Wendell and he put it all together in about a month of spare time work. He used as many off the shelf parts as possible to keep cost down and speed things up.
He says it rides and handles pretty much like any other bike and now that he has a feel for how everything fits he plans to build a couple more but this time he will be using wheels of his own design with a live axle and bearings mounted in the fork and swingarm. He is also looking for a CX500 Turbo engine for those.
Obviously, this bike is a bit unfinished but it proves the concept and it has that one feature I really like, it’s a real bike, in metal and it runs. Wendell had an idea and he built a bike. Very cool. Wendell has built a few other things in the past and one of his scooters made the cover of Scoot magazine, too. We’ll keep an eye on things to see what those next two bikes look like. Nice work, Wendell.
More photos below:
Steve says
Wow, this man’s thinking outside the box! New take on some concepts there, for sure. The twin fork legs on one side makes novel use of existing parts.
That rotated CX mill was a variation Honda tried back in the day to build a flat tracker as I recall.
Mayakovski says
Two Thumbs Up.
Erik says
Very interesting project, I like his thinking and am really impressed with his follow through. Is there a functional reason (aside from ease of tire changing) to put both shocks on the single side?
Chris says
functionally funky….send us a picture of the finished product!
“ride it or be ridden”
-chris
Matt says
I’ll bet this guy soon disappears like the guys who invented the 150MPG carbs!
Actually I love this, and every time I see some project like this it gets me super envious of the skills these guys have, as well as the access to shop/tools to do them. It’s all I can do to get my wife to leave enough room in the garage for my table saw. One of these days I’m going to have another garage or one of those steel buildings put up out back that will only have one set of keys, mine!
coho says
Very, very cool.
Wendell, quick, build more before the thought police make you disappear!
Wendell Jones says
The reason for both fork legs on one side is pure esthetics, and the fact that I had never seen it done before…. Yes Honda turned the cx motor 90 degrees, but they made new cases and heads for that motor. The next two that I’m building are for my wife Robin and myself to putt around on.
Allen says
Beautiful bike, the only thing I’d do is flip the front around so that both wheels are open on the same side.
Blaine Newell says
Hi there. Good work. If Wendell can’t find a turbo CX500, how about one of the later CX650 motors. Same general motor, with a lot more low end. How much does it weigh? Thanks for the new ideas.
todd says
Great job Wendell. Do you think I can come by and learn a few things from you?
-todd (in nearby hayward)
Bryce says
Very cool project. I love anything with thinking this radical.
I’ve got a couple of queries. I’ve seen several single sided forks, and ridden enough Vespas to know it’s a sound enough concept. However, I’ve never seen a single sided telescopic fork with more than one tube. I look at them and for some reason I can’t help but think they would bind up for some reason. How well do they really work on the road?
Second, I once thought it would be cool on a single sided fork to have the brake hardware mounted like you do. I then figured it might be harmed in a crash on that side. Is there something I missed, or is that just a fact of life for that method of brake mounting?
wendell says
Bryce, do not fear what you have’nt seen before. The forks work perfectly. As long as the two tubes are parallel, (they don’t know where they are in space), they move freely up and down. Think of the concept behind any of the compound miter saws on the market with twin beams. As far as the brake goes…the next generation may or may not have the brake between the fork and the wheel. I like it out in the breeze just because. I made the wheels on opposite sides because the old Elf bikes wheels were on the same side, and I did’nt want to give up all the answers from just one side. Makes you walk around the bike. wj
Shawn says
Wendell, what parts did you have to machine? and do you have a website of other things you built? Oh yeah, I love it! These type of homebuilt machines fire me up more than a 150k chopper any day!
Erik says
Thanks for your thoughts and explanations, Wendell. I am very much looking forward to the next update and your next project.
Bryce says
I have no fear of the fork, I’d actually be interested in building something with a fork like that someday. After thinking about it for a while, I realized that it’s not really much different than having the tubes parallel but side by side. Are there any differences in the response and handling of that configuration compared to the traditional fork?
I love the look of the brake rotor where it’s at, there’s something cool about having it hang out there like that.
guitargeek says
Industrial… I dig.
Wendell Jones says
Basically I made everything except for the fork tubes, the engine, the wheels, rear shock, and the brakes. If I can I will post some detail shots of this bike and other ones I’ve built.thanks for the interest, WJ
bob says
i’d say that bikes done. no need to paint it. ride it. it looks good like it is. its different. you won’t see one like it at the bike shop or the stop light or anywhere else.
nice job.
Andy says
first off Wendell fantastic bike! can’t wait to see your next creation. did you use the standard CX geometry? or design it yourself?
Dane McCray says
Any chance can I get a detail how-to on who you did the front end of the bike. Would love to try that on some of my design concepts.
andy the pugh says
Interestingly, the single-sided front suspension production bike I know of was a CX too. In this case the Gilera CX 125
http://www.bikepics.com/gilera/cx125/93/pics.asp
I _think_ that used a linear roller bearing, though.
Perhaps a panel-wheeling machine would be a worthwhile investment when you make your wife’s one. (Just suggesting an excuse to buy more tools)
wendell says
The geometry is the same as my old honda 929, wheel base and steering geometry. As far as any details on how I did it goes… You show me what you got going on first Dane. And what the heck is a panel wheeling machine? I’ll send the boss some more photos and we’ll see if he posts them. over and out. WJ
Tom says
I’d be very interested to know the “width ” of the CX engine.After drooling over the Aprillia SXV&RXV pics I wonder if the Honda engine would be a good posibility for homebuilt supermotard.
Dane McCray says
Wendell whats your email address I will send you some of my bike designs?
Martin says
Great job, Wendell.
I like things like yours.
wendell says
Thanks alot, my email is fhacko@gmail.com Wendelll
Zip says
That is definately neat… feet forward controls are an interesting choice on what appears to sport bike oriented in the rest of the build.
Steve says
My biggest concern would be the stress on the axles. Could be very dangerous. Especially in the front.
Jason says
Nice to see new approaches to design.
ps new hub steering Bimota is being produced
http://www.gizmag.com/go/6645/
wendell says
Steve, just so you can sleep at night, the axels are one and a half inch diameter and the bearings are four inches outside diameter. wj
Skippy says
Intresting bike, as a fan of all things CX I think this is great! Wendell is very creative and while the style isn’t my thing I can really appreciate the work that has gone into this. I will be watching with close intrest from now on.
Ride Safe. Skippy. QRT.
Henrique Teixeira says
Great job, Wendell.
Did you think about having two wheels mounted in the front, like the Piaggio MP3 or the Gilera Fuoco 500? Your system would be ideal for that, giving a lot of security to the motorcycle, specialy very powerful ones. Happy New Year. Henrique
Dane McCray says
now thats a good idea. But I would use the front end tire and brake setup on the new buell that have the brake rotor mounted on the rim of the bike to give it that really kick ass look to each tire, plus it would save on space.
Rikki says
Good stuff Wendell, Love your work. Would it be possible for you to send me some specs + close ups of how you fitted the sprocket on to your CX motor.
I would really like to do the same thing.
Regards Rikki