I purchased my first CX500 (a '79) at 6300 miles. With '79 being second year of production, it had the factory COMSTAR wheels, and the mechanically-driven (camshaft mounted) cooling fan. it DID already have the cam-timing chain slack adjuster correction. It also had a plexi-fairing, and after having used it well, and having it crack in several places for several unrelated incidences, I came upon a Pacifico Aero fairing with no brackets, for a pretty darned 'low' price. I fabricated brackets, added a Blaupunkt stereo and a pair of 5" speakers, and headed down the road. A month later, I found a pair of very volumnous black ABS saddlebags with brackets to fit who-knows-what, and again, I fabricated brackets to fit. Then I found a very similar trunk (in a totally different state), with SAME KEY... bought it for $20, and made a new rear rack (the factory rack was not gonna work). I stuffed some Conti Blitzes on the wheels and promptly rotated them 'till they were worn out... and repeated twice more. I found some floorboards, nix'd the heel-toe, and re-shaped the shifter to work as-is.
I rode it to about 32,000 miles without any issues, but started hearing rattling coming from down below, and after investigating, found that the composite cooling fan was cracking and delaminating from the aluminum hub. After wandering through my local motorcycle boneyard, and finding CX engines with fans half-gone, and radiators and shrouds all messed up, and no GOOD fans to be found, I decided there must be a good reason...
So I hacksaw'd the camshaft off, polished it smooth, and stuffed an FJ-1200 cooling fan under the shroud. I made a simple electronic circuit that used the temp sensor circuit voltage to trigger a relay that controlled the electric fan.
At the same time, I had the fairing off, I had a fork seal leaking. Rather than rebuilding the forks, I found a front-end all the way to steerer tube, for a '78 GL1000, and a master cylinder from a CB-1000.
I trimmed the steering tube, and mated the GL frontend to my CX, used about four inches of the CX spring with a pair of plugs to 'mate up' with the factory GL springs after shortening them by 2"... settled on 7-wt fork oil, and have been running that ever since. Stiffer tubes, double disk brakes, and oh... an adjustment to the rear shocks, I've got a whole lot more available ground clearance, excellent handling, and stop-on-front-wheel braking.
Somewhere around 78k, I had to replace the shift-shaft seal... it was drippin' on my garage floor. At same time, I replaced the rotten factory exhaust with a pair of Jardine turn-downs intended for a GL500. I replaced a fair amount of brake pads during my work-commuting days just out of college. Mostly, I wore out FIVE speedometers and two tachometers. I then gave up, tired of listening to goblin-howling speed indicators and writing down mileage to keep accurate track... I just count 12 fuel tank fills per oil change, and check the valve clearance and wipe off the spark plugs each change.
At about 112,000, I had the cooling pump seal started weeping. I removed the seal IN the bike... made a special tool to whack the new one in place, put it back together, and it's been fine ever since. I think it currently has 260,000 miles logged... still with original clutch... original stator... NEVER had the engine open. sorry to report that it needs tires, and I've been enjoying the GL 1200...
But my son got a Motorcycle Learner's Permit, so I think he'll be learning to appreciate Shiochiro Irimajari's work... that odd-firing 500CC V-twin lunkin' underneath his butt while sitting at a stoplight.