CX500 / Trident Police Trike Rebuild

for those of you that have M.B.S. (multiple bike syndrome) and have the "silver wing" models.
as our sponsors also have supplies for those bikes and they are popular with the "wing" crowd.

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motormike
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Re: CX500 / Trident Police Trike Rebuild

#46

Post by motormike »

Good Day .... saw your project and thought I'd touch base. I have a 82' ex Chicago PD unit. Once I figure out how to post photos I'll share.
My research has found that they had two styles of final drive... yours has the full auto axle cut down with large automotive brakes. I believe the ring gear on the front of the axle was the reverse driven by a OMC electric motor.
I know they used these in San Francisco, Phoenix, Chicago and Northfield MN.
In the stable.. 1929 Motobecane (under restoration), 1950 & 1952 Terrot (Paris police) 1952 Peugeot (French M/Police, Algeria veteran), 1952 Alcyon (Airport Fire-rescue), 1965 Triumph 650 Tiger, 1966 "TRITON", featherbed framed, w/73' 750 Triumph engine, 1968 Honda Cb450 Police, 1970 Ducati 450 Jupiter, 1970 Ducati 350 (street racer), 1971 M/Guzzi Ambassador, 1970 Yamaha 650 Xs1, 1982 Yamaha 650, 1982 Cx500P, trike (Ex Chicago PD), 1997 Honda Helix, 2010 Royal Enfield w/sidecar...1962 Cushman Eagle, 65' Mustang, base coupe, 04' Mustang convertible ..one understanding wife. :)
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Re: CX500 / Trident Police Trike Rebuild

#47

Post by scootsx2 »

There apparently was a reverse on this trike at some time in the past because there is a decal on the fairing that mentions operating the trike in reverse. I may kludge a reverse mechanism at some time in the future.

Current status:
- Just received a rebuildable front caliper from a salvage yard
- New front brake line on order from Speigler
- Front rotor at TrueDisk for grinding and drilling
- Removed the old front wheel bearings
- Radiator is back from the shop with a new core
- Just received silicone hoses to replace dry rotted rubber radiator hoses
- Forks at a reliable, local old-school shop for rebuilding including new inner fork tubes from Franks

I won't have much time to work on the bike during the next 2 - 3 weeks but the next steps are:
- Reinstall the radiator and refill the cooling system
- Reinstall rebuilt forks
- Install new front wheel bearings
- Install reground front rotor
- Rebuild the front caliper
- New front tire
- Install new front master cylinder and bleed

Then on to the rear brakes, new rear tires, finish cleaning up the wiring. The wiring inside the fairing is a rats nest.
1975 GL1000 Sidecar Outfit
1982 CX500-based Trident ex-Police Trike
2001 GL1800 MotorTrike
2006 Vespa LX150
1956 Francis-Barnett Falcon 74
195x Solex 1700
196x Solex 2200

St. Louis, MO

The dude abides.

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Re: CX500 / Trident Police Trike Rebuild

#48

Post by scootsx2 »

I was finally back in town for a few days and got some more work done. Picked up the rebuilt front forks from Donelson Cycles (St. Louis) with new tubes from Forking by Frank (Chicago), seals, etc. Expensive but they are like new. I'll reinstall them next week. Also got the front brake rotor back from TrueDisk, They did a beautiful job resurfacing and drilling it. Photos to follow next week.

I replaced the 7-volt regulator that drives the temp gauge. The original was shot. While I was at it I spent some time looking over the wiring harness that was used for the police conversion. It was a real horror show so I stripped it out and will wire up the flashing red lights and siren separately. What's left now is a very manageable OEM wiring harness.

On the road again this week so next week I plan to reinstall the recored radiator. I sourced some really nice silicone coolant hoses to replace the old crumbly rubber hoses (7/8"[22-mm] 45-degree Elbow Silicone Intercooler Hose from "jsbestracingllc" on eBay for $6.00 ea) and found a great low priced source for new wire hose clamps that look just like the originals. Check out Stainless Wire Grip Hose Clamps from "tibwholesales" on eBay. They sell them in sets of four-pieces for about $5.00. I also plan to reinstall the rebuilt front forks, install the new wheel bearings and get a new front tire. That will be followed by rebuilding the front caliper and installing the new front master cylinder to finish off the front end. Then on to the rear brake and tires.
1975 GL1000 Sidecar Outfit
1982 CX500-based Trident ex-Police Trike
2001 GL1800 MotorTrike
2006 Vespa LX150
1956 Francis-Barnett Falcon 74
195x Solex 1700
196x Solex 2200

St. Louis, MO

The dude abides.

Brothers of the Third Wheel - Gateway Chapter http://www.btw-trikers.org
Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club http://www.vjmc.org
Francis-Barnett Owners Club http://www.francis-barnett.co.uk/
Antique Motorcycle Club of America http://www.antiquemotorcycle.org/
Vintage Motor Cycle Club http://www.vmcc.net
British Motorcycle Charitable Trust http://www.bmct.org/
VeloSolex Club UK http://www.velosolexclubuk.com/
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Photos of the Radiator Reinstall

#49

Post by scootsx2 »

Replacement hoses were fabricated from 7/8" silicone intercooler hoses that had a 45-degree bend molded in. The raw hoses were eBay finds.

Image
Image
Image


The recored radiator

Image


I had a brain fart and forgot to reinstall the cylinder drain plugs so I lost most of the first quart of coolant on the floor. :oops: :oops:
Cleaned up the mess, pulled the radiator, installed the drain plugs and reinstalled the radiator again.


Installed hoses
Image
Image
Image


Working temperature gauge

Image
1975 GL1000 Sidecar Outfit
1982 CX500-based Trident ex-Police Trike
2001 GL1800 MotorTrike
2006 Vespa LX150
1956 Francis-Barnett Falcon 74
195x Solex 1700
196x Solex 2200

St. Louis, MO

The dude abides.

Brothers of the Third Wheel - Gateway Chapter http://www.btw-trikers.org
Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club http://www.vjmc.org
Francis-Barnett Owners Club http://www.francis-barnett.co.uk/
Antique Motorcycle Club of America http://www.antiquemotorcycle.org/
Vintage Motor Cycle Club http://www.vmcc.net
British Motorcycle Charitable Trust http://www.bmct.org/
VeloSolex Club UK http://www.velosolexclubuk.com/
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Re: CX500 / Trident Police Trike Rebuild

#50

Post by Toehead »

Looks excellent!

Did you happen to check the fan for cracks in the hub when you had it apart? They have a bad habit of turning into shrapnel ad taking out the radiator.
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Re: CX500 / Trident Police Trike Rebuild

#51

Post by motormike »

Whoever it was, looks like they did a great job on the radiator. Reference the fan crack... many years ago a friend had a Cx500... and with a throttle twist the engine would.. " clack ".... several visits to dealerships didn't help... one shop said it was piston slap and would require a compete engine rebuild.
Eventually he found someone with grey matter... " bad fan .."... the fan develops a crack at the hub.. with a throttle twist the crack would open then snap... " clack " ..back. He replaced the fan and no more.. " clack ".
In the stable.. 1929 Motobecane (under restoration), 1950 & 1952 Terrot (Paris police) 1952 Peugeot (French M/Police, Algeria veteran), 1952 Alcyon (Airport Fire-rescue), 1965 Triumph 650 Tiger, 1966 "TRITON", featherbed framed, w/73' 750 Triumph engine, 1968 Honda Cb450 Police, 1970 Ducati 450 Jupiter, 1970 Ducati 350 (street racer), 1971 M/Guzzi Ambassador, 1970 Yamaha 650 Xs1, 1982 Yamaha 650, 1982 Cx500P, trike (Ex Chicago PD), 1997 Honda Helix, 2010 Royal Enfield w/sidecar...1962 Cushman Eagle, 65' Mustang, base coupe, 04' Mustang convertible ..one understanding wife. :)
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Re: CX500 / Trident Police Trike Rebuild

#52

Post by scootsx2 »

I checked the fan hub and blades a couple of weeks ago after I pulled the radiator and cleaned off years of crud. I didn't see any cracks or deformities.

The radiator was recored by Affton Radiator in Fenton, MO. http://www.afftonradiator.com/ They also did the fuel tank.
1975 GL1000 Sidecar Outfit
1982 CX500-based Trident ex-Police Trike
2001 GL1800 MotorTrike
2006 Vespa LX150
1956 Francis-Barnett Falcon 74
195x Solex 1700
196x Solex 2200

St. Louis, MO

The dude abides.

Brothers of the Third Wheel - Gateway Chapter http://www.btw-trikers.org
Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club http://www.vjmc.org
Francis-Barnett Owners Club http://www.francis-barnett.co.uk/
Antique Motorcycle Club of America http://www.antiquemotorcycle.org/
Vintage Motor Cycle Club http://www.vmcc.net
British Motorcycle Charitable Trust http://www.bmct.org/
VeloSolex Club UK http://www.velosolexclubuk.com/
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Re: CX500 / Trident Police Trike Rebuild

#53

Post by scootsx2 »

Today I replaced the front wheel bearings and seals, installed the reground & drilled rotor (TrueDisk http://www.truedisk.net/) and installed the rebuilt forks. Also ordered a new steering damper. The old damper on the trike only seems to dampen on it's highest setting and its rubber bushings are rotted.

Tomorrow I go off in search of a new 3.50-19 front tire.


Bearings
Image

Image


Reground & Drilled Rotor
Image


Rebuilt Forks with New Tubes
Image


Old Steering Damper
Image
1975 GL1000 Sidecar Outfit
1982 CX500-based Trident ex-Police Trike
2001 GL1800 MotorTrike
2006 Vespa LX150
1956 Francis-Barnett Falcon 74
195x Solex 1700
196x Solex 2200

St. Louis, MO

The dude abides.

Brothers of the Third Wheel - Gateway Chapter http://www.btw-trikers.org
Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club http://www.vjmc.org
Francis-Barnett Owners Club http://www.francis-barnett.co.uk/
Antique Motorcycle Club of America http://www.antiquemotorcycle.org/
Vintage Motor Cycle Club http://www.vmcc.net
British Motorcycle Charitable Trust http://www.bmct.org/
VeloSolex Club UK http://www.velosolexclubuk.com/
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Re: CX500 / Trident Police Trike Rebuild

#54

Post by scootsx2 »

A new Dunlop D404 tire is on the front rim and the new steering damper arrived from Fast From the Past https://www.fastfromthepast.com/. Last night I installed the steering damper, front fender and front wheel.


STEERING DAMPER

Image
Image


FRONT WHEEL & FENDER

Image
Image
Image


Next on the agenda is finish off the front brake. The caliper will be rebuilt and I have a new front master cylinder and Spiegler SS brake line.
1975 GL1000 Sidecar Outfit
1982 CX500-based Trident ex-Police Trike
2001 GL1800 MotorTrike
2006 Vespa LX150
1956 Francis-Barnett Falcon 74
195x Solex 1700
196x Solex 2200

St. Louis, MO

The dude abides.

Brothers of the Third Wheel - Gateway Chapter http://www.btw-trikers.org
Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club http://www.vjmc.org
Francis-Barnett Owners Club http://www.francis-barnett.co.uk/
Antique Motorcycle Club of America http://www.antiquemotorcycle.org/
Vintage Motor Cycle Club http://www.vmcc.net
British Motorcycle Charitable Trust http://www.bmct.org/
VeloSolex Club UK http://www.velosolexclubuk.com/
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Re: CX500 / Trident Police Trike Rebuild

#55

Post by scootsx2 »

I was planning to install the new front master cylinder and bleed the front brake today but Murphy had his way with me. The Spiegler brake line that was fabricated as a replacement was more that 12 inches too short. Not happy. I had provided the original brake line as a template when I placed the order. Either Spiegler fabricated the brake line incorrectly else I received the wrong brake line (eg: someone else's brake line). It will be Tuesday before I can do anything about this.

Moving on, I started on the rear brakes. The rear wheels and drums came off easily and the underlying brakes mechanism is intact but cruddy. I stripped everything off the backing plates and removed the original rear master cylinder. You wouldn't believe the sludge that came out masquerading as brake fluid. Whoever fabricated the linkage from the brake pedal to the rear master cylinder did a nice job. I was impressed by the workmanship.

Sometime this week I will head off to a local auto parts place to order replacement parts. it is my intention to have all new rear brakes on this beast.


LEFT REAR

Image



RIGHT REAR

Image



REAR MASTER CYLINDER

Image
1975 GL1000 Sidecar Outfit
1982 CX500-based Trident ex-Police Trike
2001 GL1800 MotorTrike
2006 Vespa LX150
1956 Francis-Barnett Falcon 74
195x Solex 1700
196x Solex 2200

St. Louis, MO

The dude abides.

Brothers of the Third Wheel - Gateway Chapter http://www.btw-trikers.org
Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club http://www.vjmc.org
Francis-Barnett Owners Club http://www.francis-barnett.co.uk/
Antique Motorcycle Club of America http://www.antiquemotorcycle.org/
Vintage Motor Cycle Club http://www.vmcc.net
British Motorcycle Charitable Trust http://www.bmct.org/
VeloSolex Club UK http://www.velosolexclubuk.com/
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Re: CX500 / Trident Police Trike Rebuild

#56

Post by Whiskerfish »

jeez for all the years that does not look bad at all.
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Re: CX500 / Trident Police Trike Rebuild

#57

Post by Track T 2411 »

I agree with WF, they don't look too bad. I've seen lots worse on some of the used cars I've bought! The master cylinder reminds me of the one on my '54 Ford F100. First vehicle I ever bought, and first complete brake job. The master was under the floorboards, and you had to pull out a six inch rubber plug to get to it...
Anyway, you're making good progress!
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Re: CX500 / Trident Police Trike Rebuild

#58

Post by scootsx2 »

I replaced the clutch cable with a new one on general principles and sourced a replacement clutch lever because the old lever's bushing was seriously worn from wear & tear and probably lack of lubrication. While I was at it, I removed the Moose Easy-Pull Clutch gadget. It was used to reduce the effort to operate the clutch. The stock clutch cable works just fine for me.


Moose Easy Pull Clutch Gadget

Image

I have located parts for the rear brakes. Information I previously received indicated that these police trikes had Bendix brakes on a Jeep CJ3 rear end. In the course of sourcing brake parts, it appears that this trike uses a later model Jeep rear end, possibly from an early CJ5. This trike has 11" rear drums. Info from the parts suppliers indicates that 11" drums were used from 1972 - 1978, which is outside the range of CJ3 production dates. CJ3s appear to have used 9" drums.

Nevertheless, parts are readily available at reasonable prices.

I sourced a new rear master cylinder from Kaiser WIllys Auto Supply https://www.kaiserwillys.com/ for US$ 50.

The remainder of the parts (drums, shoes, wheel cylinders, springs, clips, misc hardware) has been sourced from The Jeep Guy http://www.the-jeep-guy.com/index.htm

I received the master cylinder today and the remaining parts are in transit and expected sometime next week. Th ephoto below shows the old and new master cylinders. Note that the old master cylinder is missing the rubber dust boot and the new master cylinder doesn't yet have the brake line fitting and stop light switch installed.


Rear Master Cylinders

Image
1975 GL1000 Sidecar Outfit
1982 CX500-based Trident ex-Police Trike
2001 GL1800 MotorTrike
2006 Vespa LX150
1956 Francis-Barnett Falcon 74
195x Solex 1700
196x Solex 2200

St. Louis, MO

The dude abides.

Brothers of the Third Wheel - Gateway Chapter http://www.btw-trikers.org
Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club http://www.vjmc.org
Francis-Barnett Owners Club http://www.francis-barnett.co.uk/
Antique Motorcycle Club of America http://www.antiquemotorcycle.org/
Vintage Motor Cycle Club http://www.vmcc.net
British Motorcycle Charitable Trust http://www.bmct.org/
VeloSolex Club UK http://www.velosolexclubuk.com/
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Re: CX500 / Trident Police Trike Rebuild

#59

Post by motormike »

.. On my 82' trike the m/cylinder looks the same.. mounted right side of the engine next to the floorboard. Common unit still produced today..mostly found in forklifts.. or so I'm told.
I have the Cj Dana 44 rear end on a tubular frame with " spider " wheel cylinders, plastic backing plate. This style was used golf carts and airport package trams to haul your luggage to the plane.
Attachments
Trike drum 4.jpg
Trike drum 4.jpg (88.38 KiB) Viewed 255 times
Trike drum 3.jpg
Trike drum 3.jpg (99 KiB) Viewed 255 times
Trike drums 2.jpg
Trike drums 2.jpg (76.88 KiB) Viewed 255 times
In the stable.. 1929 Motobecane (under restoration), 1950 & 1952 Terrot (Paris police) 1952 Peugeot (French M/Police, Algeria veteran), 1952 Alcyon (Airport Fire-rescue), 1965 Triumph 650 Tiger, 1966 "TRITON", featherbed framed, w/73' 750 Triumph engine, 1968 Honda Cb450 Police, 1970 Ducati 450 Jupiter, 1970 Ducati 350 (street racer), 1971 M/Guzzi Ambassador, 1970 Yamaha 650 Xs1, 1982 Yamaha 650, 1982 Cx500P, trike (Ex Chicago PD), 1997 Honda Helix, 2010 Royal Enfield w/sidecar...1962 Cushman Eagle, 65' Mustang, base coupe, 04' Mustang convertible ..one understanding wife. :)
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Re: CX500 / Trident Police Trike Rebuild

#60

Post by scootsx2 »

There appear to be wide variations in the rear brakes. My rear master cylinder is bolted to the left side of the frame behind the engine.
  • - Production runs could have been customized to buyer's (PD's) preferences/specs.
    - PD motor pools may have kludged the changes
    - Manufacturer may have used whatever was on hand or easiest/cheapest to source
1975 GL1000 Sidecar Outfit
1982 CX500-based Trident ex-Police Trike
2001 GL1800 MotorTrike
2006 Vespa LX150
1956 Francis-Barnett Falcon 74
195x Solex 1700
196x Solex 2200

St. Louis, MO

The dude abides.

Brothers of the Third Wheel - Gateway Chapter http://www.btw-trikers.org
Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club http://www.vjmc.org
Francis-Barnett Owners Club http://www.francis-barnett.co.uk/
Antique Motorcycle Club of America http://www.antiquemotorcycle.org/
Vintage Motor Cycle Club http://www.vmcc.net
British Motorcycle Charitable Trust http://www.bmct.org/
VeloSolex Club UK http://www.velosolexclubuk.com/
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