Topic: Let's talk about CBXs for a second...

[GroovieGhoulie]

I am REALLY starting to get a boner for a CBX (one of the only non SOHC/4 bikes I want).  I've read some period reviews and such and they all generally say wonderful things, but what's the straight skinny?

I know the machine is huge and powerful and looks AMAZING, especially with a 6-into-6 exhaust, but how are they to ride and live with?

I also take that they weren't big sellers.  Why?  If they were so great, what happened?

I've also heard that the first model year, (1979, IIRC), is the most desirable and hence, the one to get.  Why is that?

Any general tips or advice on the CBX as a potential purchase and perhaps then regarding ownership?

[upperlake04]

Ghoulie - I'm reading (looking at pictures) from a book from the public library - "Pictorial History of Japanese Motorcycles" by Cornelis Vanderheuvel. A  quote about the CBX..

  "The (1979) front fork, for instance, was somewhat undersized. If the brakes were made to work hard, the forks bent.  Literally. And those brakes were not all that powerful... The rear suspension was by twin dampers. They were the first generation of really good shock absorbers to come from Japan. The fact that there were two of them made the rear suspension conventional. Fast riding through long open turns was thrilling-but not in the way the makers, presumably, planned. All this should not suggest that a fast ride along country lanes on a CBX was not, in the main, a joy. A later version of the original six, the CBX B Pro-Link, is not much appreciated nowadays. but it had really all the answers to the objections raised against the early CBX. The 1983 Pro-Link had a sophisticated rear suspension with one damper operated by a link system that provided progressive operation. The much thicker fork legs carried double-piston brake calipers biting on ventilated discs. Handling was very good. The fairing that came with the Pro-Link was well designed, allowing a rider ccomfortable 100mph cruising. Truth is, a Pro-Link is anonymous, whereas a flambouyant old model X attracts the eye."          There's more....
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[ieism]

The good news is: It's a Honda, so you can't break it.     

It's also rather heavy and will feel big even compared to a cb750. The brakes are crap like all old bikes, and the front fork wasn't too good either. This was fixed in '81 like Upperlake said, but it was too late for Honda and they never sold that many. By that time there were a lot off faster/lighter/cheaper bikes around, and Honda tried to push it as a sport/tourer adding a fairing.
Most owners rave about the engine,  prices are getting very high for 78/79 bikes here.
And make sure you get one with good six into six pipes if you want these, because they cost a fortune to replace and a lot off them are rusted at the bottom (kinda like 550 4into4's)

[nickjtc]

The good news is: It's a Honda, so you can't break it.

In general, yes. But in the hands of an uncaring, owner, it can soon become a nightmare.

From the stuff I have read (and heard about from a friend who is in the process of restoring one) it is advisable to find the very best one you can afford. Said friend was given his so the costs incurred to date are still reasonable, but if you add restoration to the inital purchase price.....well you'd better have a big credit limit on your card. As ieism says, get a bike with a complete, stock, 6 into six exhaust. We think sohc exhausts are expensive......!!

The CBX was a classic case of Honda showing off. They showed that they could make jewel-like multi-cylinder race bikes (Jim Redmans 1964 250 [I think] is being auctioned this month with a reserve of 375,000 POUNDS) and this was their road going engineering result. Unfortunately the concept was doomed from the start because North American riders didn't want them, and everywhere people were put off by the complexity... 24 valves!!....six carbs!!!....OMG!! And there were nagging doubts, as mentioned by others, about the running gear technology (plastic swing arm bushes!!) not being able to match the output of the motor.

Then along came the XS1100 and GS1100, which were 'simpler' bikes with the same power, and the writing was on the wall.

Fast forward to now, and you have a cult bike. Put that motor into a decent frame (Egli, for example) and you have a bike which is not out of place today.

I rode one of the later single shock, touring, models and was impressed by the sophistication. Once you got used to it the ride was very nice. Oh, and it had plenty of power.

[ElCheapo]

These are beyond tough, I saw four of them at Leland during the Slimey Crud Run. Sure has me thinking too. Took pics of all of them.  Was like bike porn for me 

What has me worried is just what nick said..... They can so easily go neglected. But they can too be brought back form the dead.

[GroovieGhoulie]

The mechanical complexity is what is attracting me to them!  Six cylinders, four cams, six carbs, 24 valves, well add it up and I am in love!!!

Weak forks or not and #$%*ty brakes or not, I want one.  Badly.

Oh and the original exhausts were 6-into-2s with an Italian company making the 6-into-6s.  The 6-into-6s can still be had but they cost $1800.

[ieism]

What we call the "z-type" here in Europe was sold in 1978 and 1979. It is known in the US simply as the '79-type.
There was an A-type in 1980 that was also sold in the US. It was black, had reversed Comstars with a black inside and a "glove compartment" in the rear behind the seat..It also had Air assisted frontfork, 5 row oilcooler and a bigger dynamo. I think it also had  "apehanger" bars. More importantly, this had improved rollerbearings in the rear swingarm, better carbs, and more "open" pipes that sounded better.
Here in Europe the Z-type had a bit more horsepower than the A-type, because off californian emission laws or some other #$%*. About 6 hp I think.

Like Nick said the Egli framed version is very cool, but it's not the only framebuilder who tried improving it. Here are some other good ones:
Moto Martin (France)
Bakker (Netherlands)
Spondon (UK)
Schurgers (Netherlands)
Motoplast (Italy)

Egli started out with the famous Vincent Black Shadow, tuning and modifying it for local mountainraces in Switzerland. He build his first frame to improve on the Vincent, the bike was unbeatable and that started his career as a framebuilder.
Egli frames had a thick 10 cm toptube, that was kind off a trademark for him along with the colour red he painted his frames. In 1981 he made a frame for the cbx, and together with Target design for the bodywork they tried to sell an improved version of the cbx. It wasn't very succesfull.
A year later came the "red baron" on of Egli's favorite bikes. This was also available as an overbored  1200cc version. It was fast and steered good, but wasn't much lighter as a normal cbx. The frame was not all that different from original either.
The price off a new "Red Baron" was double that of a normal cbx, so you can imagine that then didn't sell that many. Today they are almost impossible to find and very expensive.
Here's a pic off a nice Egli:


There's some nice video's here too (they take ages to download):
http://www.xs4all.nl/~fritshe/euro-movies/

[siter81]

The sound of those cbx's is just so cool. OR SHOULD I SAY THAT EXCELLENT SOUDING RUMBLE?







Siter81         

[putnaja1]

I read somewhere that a lot of people were scared off by the perceived maintenance costs- that and as someone else already said- more powerful bikes were out with more conventional motors- Honda themselves was about to unleash the V4's, and so the CBX's took a back seat saleswise.

Are you sure about the 4 cams?  I was thinking it looked very very much like a DOHC 4, with an extra cylinder on each side.  I could be wrong though.  I think the CBX's look just like slightly wider DOHC 4 "F" CBs, and since I was used to those bikes, I always thought the CBX looked a little too wide.  BUT, they are certainly awesome technical wonders- and although I've never heard one, I can only imagine they sound freakin awesome!!!

[GroovieGhoulie]

I read somewhere that a lot of people were scared off by the perceived maintenance costs- that and as someone else already said- more powerful bikes were out with more conventional motors- Honda themselves was about to unleash the V4's, and so the CBX's took a back seat saleswise.

Are you sure about the 4 cams?  I was thinking it looked very very much like a DOHC 4, with an extra cylinder on each side.  I could be wrong though.  I think the CBX's look just like slightly wider DOHC 4 "F" CBs, and since I was used to those bikes, I always thought the CBX looked a little too wide.  BUT, they are certainly awesome technical wonders- and although I've never heard one, I can only imagine they sound freakin awesome!!!

Technically yes, they were Four Cam machines.  The bank of cylinders was rather long and machining each cam as a one-piece unit would have run a larger risk of "bendy" or "noodle-like" cams.  Valvetrain lightness, strength and precision were EXTREMELY important, so each valve bank actually has TWO cams (one per side per each bank of three cylinders) that are connected via an Oldham Coupler at the cam sprocket.  This made it easier to machine each cam since they were shorter, stiffer and lighter than one long cam.

So, yeah, it's "DOHC", but TECHNICALLY "QOHC". 

[Dave K]

My brother had a '79 and I had an '81. Both were very good bikes! They were NOT hard to maintain at all. You had the usual events like fork seals, brakes sticking(from sitting and the need to be bled). The big bug-a-boo on them to me is the alternator. It has a clutch on it to keep it from over running when you chop the throttle. This alternator clutch can be a real maintenace thing! If you have any issues with this clutch, do yourself a favor and replace EVERY PART in it. If you don't, you will anyhow but you will have spent more money because you did everything twice, at least! As far as the forks being too thin, I am an aggressive rider, but I am not a road racer. They were both very capable, reliable road bikes in my hands.

[8 Track]

There was (until recently) a CBX shop one mile away from my house.  The only problem he was concerned with was the alternater (had a slip clutch in it) but was easy to remedy.  '79's had a 150 speedo, but the later ones had a mono shock.  All in all, he swears by them.  He moved to a location with no store front exposure.  It was had to get work done with everybody coming in and admiring!


Have fun pulling the carbs!!!

[upperlake04]

a link to a CBX sound clip - http://www.totalmotorcycle.com/school-SectionSix.htm#ILSCME

[Bob Wessner]

I would dread working on six carbs  , but must admit every time I see one I have to go take a closer look. Just something about those six cylinders. 

[bill440cars]

                  I've always thought the CBXs were incredible looking bikes with that wall-to-wall motor!
         I've seen a few pictures of them with a massive looking 6 into 1 exhaust system and I can only
         imagine what That would sound like! Got a buddy that had a CBX and he wishes that he still had
         it.
                                                             Later on, Bill

[aptech77]

My friend has an '82 CBX SS. I have been on it many times. It is a #$%*ING STUFFED PIG. Cool, but not worth its weight. IMO 

[nickjtc]

And talking of sixes let's not forget that absolute jewel the Benelli 750 Sei, it's big sister the 900 and, of course the mighty Kawasaki 1300.

The old BIKE mag I just got off eBay (the one with the 400/4 article) features a write-up on Doug Domokos (rip) one of the first wheelie kings....on a 1300-6! Remember when anyone who could pull wheelies was the dogs danglies?

[oconnor]

A friend and his brother each had a '79. We were in Brainerd Minn. in the mid '90s for the AMA races. To make a long story short one turned in front of the other and swiped valve-covers! One went down, the other kept it up. Neither badly hurt but two iice origional CBXs ended up being made into one good one + parts.

[Trevor from Warragul]

I have a 1978 twin-shock CBX (I can say 1978 because that's when they were released in Australia).  Great bike.  Very reliable.  Pisses off the people in the bike clubs I ride with because EVERYONE admires it.  Buy one & it will be a decision you'll never regret.

[nickjtc]

I have a 1978 twin-shock CBX (I can say 1978 because that's when they were released in Australia).  Great bike.  Very reliable.  Pisses off the people in the bike clubs I ride with because EVERYONE admires it.  Buy one & it will be a decision you'll never regret.

There's absolutely no question that ownership includes a lot of bragging rights. Even the 'faithful' walk over to my friends bike, if only because they've never seen anything like it!

[crazypj]

Couple of things no one mentioned.
 They are SMOOTH, really, really smooth, you don't realise how fast your going until theres a problem
The early forks were dangerous on the 750, you could get the  750 F2 to flex back far enough to touch exhaust pipes, the CBX was even worse.
Carbs are easy as long as you don't have to remove them, (drop engine forward) they are set up as 3 twins so you only really need 3 gauges.
 Later models got heavier.
There is a possiblility of bent frame if has fallen over wrong.
They wheelie real easy, even with skinny tyres ( gets 'interesting' real fast )
I dont remember them ever coming with 6x6 exhaust, was a 6x2, although I fitted a couple of aftermarket systems which look amazing (the six into one saves weight and is loud but doesnt have the cool factor)
PJ

[keiths]

Check out Knightriders.

[Jonesy]

I would dread working on six carbs , but must admit every time I see one I have to go take a closer look. Just something about those six cylinders.

And don't forget you have to remove a bunch of stuff and tip the motor forward to get at the carbs!

Some pics from Holly- I think the last one is a view of what heaven must be like....

[aptech77]

That white and blue is JUST like my buds.

[Bob Wessner]

Sort of mesmerizing for sure.. found this one at the Gilmore earlier this year.