My '84 500AE MX Project

love that open shocker look.

Absolutely, Love the black and silver and yes the rims too. Don't think twice about it that is a awesome looking bike ! Good Job.

Bike looks sharp!

Thanks all for your nice comments....it has been a fun journey which is almost over, and as soon as I get her running, I'll post a report, pics and video asap. So to answer your questions Michel & ruwfo, I don't know how it runs yet

To get it finished and running, I need some help - I am basically looking for someone to finish the build as I've got to a point where the last couple of jobs are beyond me.

I live in Wokingham (basically Reading), UK and will take it to anyone who can help - naturally I will pay for the work so I'm not expecting any charity work

Effectively the work it needs is as follows:

• proper mounting of the tank & expansion chamber
• installation of a new ignition
• and just general checking of the work I've done to ensure it's all good & safe to ride

Not sure if I mentioned it before but the last time I properly worked on my bikes, apart from routine maintenance, was in the 1970s, so to get it so far and at such a high standard is something that I feel good about.

If you or someone you know can help, please PM me !

Looks really good,I do all my own work (and it shows), I would suggest Andy at HVA, its the era he specializes in and he produces some lovely bikes.

Ahh yes, that's Australia, every man with beer in hand!

What ignition are you going to run?

OK so it's almost 2 years now since I last posted but I'm pleased to say that I've now got my bike back from Rod Spry, and when I picked it up 2 weeks ago I heard it start for the first time since I imported it from Abilene, TX

It took about 5 kicks to fire up and man it sounds so nice, I'll take it out of my quiet suburbia this weekend and make a vid of it running to post for you guys. Rod had to use a bike stand to help him get high enough to get a decent kick (anyone who knows Rod will know his skill, his dedication and also that he is slightly vertically handicapped hence the need for the bike stand )

I handed the bike to him, not running and with all of the new bits attached/installed (overbore, V-Force reed, Lectron carb and CDI ignition) and essentially in that state he had no hope. So in the style that has made him so popular for the work he does, he decided he needed to go back to a baseline that he could work with and then add new piece by new piece and tweak it along the way.

He put a standard ignition and carb on it and got it firing, albeit for not very long. But it did start, so he progressed in his very methodic way, until he got all the good bits on there and now it fires up after not too much legwork.

In the meantime, as I think I mentioned in an earlier post, my wife bought me a KTM 250 EXC for my birthday (oh yeah, she's a keeper for sure ) so I have been riding that and having lots of fun. Now she has just been offered a temporary posting of 2 years to New York, so we are headed stateside for a bit

The sad news (for me, but hopefully it's good news for someone out there), I think I need to hand over the last 2% of work required to get my 500 to a point where it can be enjoyed to someone else.

I will make the vid of it started and also take lots of pics along with the comprehensive list of work I've had done to it and then list it for sssale here......and probably on Andys HVA Factory site as well.......I really don't want to sell it to someone who doesn't have a clue, and ultimately if it doesn't sell I will just put it in storage till we come back and maybe I'll race it somewhere......

Man...after all that work I don't think I could bring myself to part with it...!

Mate it wasn't an easy decision but I really enjoyed the process - right from the adventure (maybe crazy I know) of buying a bike, unseen, from a complete stranger on Craigslist, importing it from Abilene, TX to the UK and then the rebuild, I am so happy with the result

But I now realise that I have to pass it on as I'm not someone who can maintain this myself, in which case it's not really a bike that I can keep to ride......

I have met (in the cyber sense) some really lovely, helpful and so knowledgeable Husky lovers ( Michel Dufayard, Grouty, Andy HVA and stormer254 among others) and only the assistance of the Cafe Husky community have I been able to achieve it....(haha, this is sounding like an Oscars award acceptance speach )

So I'm going to do the photography tomorrow and have it posted on Saturday morning and post it here on the Classifieds as well as HVA Factory

If you don't NEED to sell it .... don't ! Keep it tucked away, or better still in the front room. Maintaining it is easier than a manual boxed bike and a pleasure to work on. I reckon my 14 year old daughter could pull the box to bits with a bit of instruction.

Why not ask Andy to store it for you for 24 months ? It's not a long time in the general scheme of life. When it's gone, it's gone .... forever

man you got who's knows how much money and all this time waiting finish it and ride it at least a time or two

Agreed, don't sell the bike as long as your coming back so you can enjoy it then. Store it with the ktm.

I understand you guys completely, 100%, but in all honesty, we are planning to do what we can to remain in the US.....and as the KTM is more reliable and easy to get parts for, I will be taking that with me

Had I researched it better, and realised how fragile the auto gearboxes were on the 500s I most likely would have bought a non-auto Husky to restore, in which case it would have been something I could have ridden every weekend

I know you think I should keep it, and yeah I have put so much time & money (more money than time to be honest) which I realise I am not going to get back but I now need to recoup as much as I can as this is now going towards the purchase of a truck in the US

It hasn't quite worked out the way I envisaged it to, I was really hanging out to see what it rides like, but given that we're outta here in a couple of months, there's no way I'm going to risk busting a clutch spring and having a broken bike again........ now that it's finished and running, I'm going to sell it that way

so anyway, here it is.....