1883 Terra Ambulator

Mark II (North American version minus the armaments) ... under restoration

I see a CX under there. Looks interesting. More pics?

A steampunk ADV bike?

finally..... somebody that knows what steampunk is... ya that was the idea. it started life as a GL650 & it's the most orphan bike I have ever worked on (made only 1 year) but it has the right oddness for the project. It was in a garage fire... then sat outside for 10 years. Last winter was consumed by a frame restoration & engine overhaul. this winter I've been building parts... cowl, fenders, etc. the rivets are real BTW. it will run and I intend to drive it a lot more than just the occasional parade

I like it. I'm building a CX650 right now and I know what you mean about orphan bike - there are quite a few pieces on the bike that are NLA, so you just have to adapt something else. Are you planning on keeping the stock wheels?

the wheels are an issue yet to solve... there are apparently some other Comtec wheels that might fit, or fit with mods. I'm kinda looking, but the clock is running too. I might rivet covers on these & make 'em discs, but probably they will get modified slightly, painted, and pin striped.

the other Comtec wheels have a better look but I'm not sure they fit... you have any input??

The problem is, if you want dual-sport tires, there just aren't any that will fit a 15" wheel as far as I know... If you're sticking with street tires, the 15" is OK, but they might not fit in with the style of your build. I tried a few wheels on my CX, and I think the GL650 has the same issue - the final drive on the 650 is unique among all right-hand shaft drive Hondas - the wheels from the CX/GL500s and Goldwings won't fit at all. There are several wheels from left-hand shaft bikes that physically fit the CX/GL650 final drive, but the offset is wrong and the rim ends up about 3/4" off center to the left.

There are two solutions that I could find: you can use a spoked wheel from an '88 (i think?) Honda VT800, and have a custom rim made in a different diameter (17" or 18" for good selection in DS tires), or you can use the wheels from a CX650 Turbo, which gives you an 18" rear, and actually I think the look of the Turbo wheels might go well with your bike's steampunk style:



They're both kind of a PITA - the spoked wheel is easy but $$$$, and the Turbo wheel requires fabbing up a rear disc setup. And, unfortunately, the rear discs are NLA from Honda and spares might as well be made of gold, if you can find one. Both of these wheels are also relatively rare since they were on one-year bikes. Hopefully if you go with the Turbo wheel you can find one with a disc still attached, that would make it cheaper.

It might be possible with some machining to make other wheels work, and you can also do some engine/frame work to graft a CX500 final drive on - not 100% of what all needs to be done for that. I know it involves taking the rear cover off the engine and swapping output shafts. Or maybe you could have a custom driveshaft made to adapt the CX500 final drive to the 650 swingarm. Either way you'd have to do some cutting and welding since the 650 final drive bolts on with 4 studs and the 500 final drive has 3. If you did that, you could use the CX500 rear wheels which are available in 16" and 18".

I'm in love with steampunk. I'm sub'd on this.

aaaaahhhhhhhh...... my rear wheel is a 16. I have a Bridgestone TW40 on the way. I think the front swap goes on pretty easy, but as you noted, the rear takes some mods. I read a post on how to do it on one of the Honda boards but dam if I can find it again. I like the look of the other Comtec's better, but the hassel is not worth it to me. at least not right now.

Interesting. The CX650 has identical-looking wheels but my rear is 15". Yeah, it's probably not really worth swapping if you have a 16" rear, since there is at least some selection of DS tires in that size.

Edit: Apparently the CX650 has a different final drive than the GL650. Seems like maybe you can use the Comstars from the 500s? The drive splines appear to be the same, but the bearings are different. You'd have to find bearings that have the same OD as the 500 bearings but the same ID (17mm i believe) as the 650 bearings.

That is looking cool Beezer! I am curious to see all your additions to the gas tank. Have you considered adding a sight gauge to the tank somewhere? I think that would be a pretty nifty addition.

BTW, I read my kids a steampunk novel titled "Boneshaker" a couple of months ago and we all liked it, if you are ever looking for a steampunk book to read.

trying to finish painting the tank & fenders... stay tuned

I'll post pix of other stuff too.. copper exhaust is mostly done ... turn signals, tail light mostly done.... still have to build side covers & a seat

I have ideas about the mirrors but can't find the right stuff

ps... wish I would have thought of sight gage... too far along now

Looks like something Jules Verne might have dreamed up. Love it; especially the divers bell type headlamp housing.

That Jules Verne style is kind of a root for SteamPunk stuff.
I really like steampunk when it is done well, done right. Some comes off just cheesey and trying to hard.
Yours looks good so far, keep it up.
I agree BTW that the CX, GL style horizontal V-twin is a good match for steam punk styling.
Very cool.

ps: I have 4 words for you....copper plated valve covers....
Any chromer does a copper layer before chrome so it would be pretty cheap to do and match the theme...change the look a bit for little investment.... or better yet brass plate all of the aluminum, not sure where you would get that done though or the cost......just my $0.02 though

it is/was part of the plan, but there are no platers left in AK. I have bronze, copper, and nickle plating materials, but they don't work that well on large areas.

Oh yeah, Alaska may be a problem with that. Bummer. Aluminum just does not scream steampunk to me where as copper and brass does. Maybe paint them then. Still a cool project Beez.

it's coming along....

Tail light & license plate holder:



turn signals.... (2 done, have parts for the other 2)



front fender (pretty much done, rear is same(ish)... need to be compounded)



gas tank, ready for clear coat:



front cowl.... needs detailing and then clear..




I hope to be done with the paint this weekend. the next big projects are the side panels and the instrument panel... or mebby the wheels... we'll see what falls in my lap first.

wayfingcool, beezer.

Hellya! In. Nice work so far!

LOVE that fade detail on the striping where it overlaps. Gives a great depth of detail. VERY nice. I like the tie wire lens attachments as well. cool alternative thinking.

Good stuff.

Keep up the pics.