The Signature CBX
Posted: Fri Jul 26, 2019 7:47 pm
The undeniably unique Honda CBX1000 was introduced and in production while I was well started on the path of the career mechanic. Thus I was at the forefront of the dealer activity with this new Honda model, working on it steadily from its beginning in late 1978 until it faded from view in the mid 1980s. And I enjoy servicing them now as vintage bikes, particularly carburetor and engine rebuilds. I did a lot of wreck repairs and several crankcase replacements in the earliest years. 1
One day in 1979 I was a service manager at a tiny Honda shop in L.A. when a fella rode up on a CBX. We started talking and it developed that he had just bought the bike and wanted us to check it out. Among other things he wanted to confirm that the bike was in good condition, and to vet the bike in general as the seller had told him it had a new engine.
Many folks are unaware that in the early years Honda actually shipped new engine cases and frames without serial numbers and had their dealers stamp the new parts with an official Honda-supplied stamp set. Before the VIN system was introduced, obviously. However, in all of the Honda shops I worked in, though we had the official Honda stamps, we never used them. We always left everything blank on frame and case replacements. Well, almost always.
So I happened to be eyeballing this customer's bike over closely, and aha! There it was. Blank engine cases alright, with one small difference. That difference was my name engraved on the engine's serial number pad, which I had done to a couple bikes I did crankcase replacements on while I was a mechanic at a shop not very far from this one. So I was able to tell the customer about the bike's recent history. He was thrilled.
1. Due to the bike's propensity for bending its number one connecting rod and holing the cases.
One day in 1979 I was a service manager at a tiny Honda shop in L.A. when a fella rode up on a CBX. We started talking and it developed that he had just bought the bike and wanted us to check it out. Among other things he wanted to confirm that the bike was in good condition, and to vet the bike in general as the seller had told him it had a new engine.
Many folks are unaware that in the early years Honda actually shipped new engine cases and frames without serial numbers and had their dealers stamp the new parts with an official Honda-supplied stamp set. Before the VIN system was introduced, obviously. However, in all of the Honda shops I worked in, though we had the official Honda stamps, we never used them. We always left everything blank on frame and case replacements. Well, almost always.
So I happened to be eyeballing this customer's bike over closely, and aha! There it was. Blank engine cases alright, with one small difference. That difference was my name engraved on the engine's serial number pad, which I had done to a couple bikes I did crankcase replacements on while I was a mechanic at a shop not very far from this one. So I was able to tell the customer about the bike's recent history. He was thrilled.
1. Due to the bike's propensity for bending its number one connecting rod and holing the cases.
Interesting.