You think you have it difficult...

[mikenixon]

One of my Gold Wing carburetor customers called a few months ago. I was honored to get his call asking for advice on a new bike purchase. New to him, I mean. It was a Honda CBX he was thinking about. Now, this is a guy who clearly had both mechanical and financial limits, judging from past dealings. So what did I tell him? "Stay far away from the CBX!"

You think you guys have it difficult? I mean, you think the vintage Wing is demanding to own and maintain? Well, let me tell you. Consider the Honda CBX1000. Those of us smitten with it love the thing, but man is it a quirky and demanding!

First off is the bike's heat. This accounts for half of the problems of its ownership. Did you know the carburetors' float bowls evaporate to just half their quantity in a couple hours' time? Yup. They do. *That's* engine heat. And they're completely empty -- bone dry -- in just one to two days -- all 300 milliliters!-- adding to the bike's poor fuel economy and making each starting of the parked engine a thing only members of the fraternity do confidently. Didn't know that, did you? The CBX engine's 375 degree F. head temp and nearly 300 degree oil temp just ravage this bike. From dramatic loss of engine power when warm, to piston rings softening in stop-and-go traffic, to the trashing of all the bike's rubber parts, including its cam chain tensioners, oil seals and even its manifolds. To this add unusually high heat-induced crankcase oil foaming, and every single one of these bikes is an average of two quarts low at any given time.

And complex? While nothing like a modern bike that takes close to an hour to get enough bodywork off just to inspect the air filter and has to be drained of coolant and the cams removed to do a maintenance service-- and don't forget to roll the $4000 laptop beside it so the throttle bodies can be synced-- the cbx is its own brand of complex and surprisingly so for its era. Four cams, 24 valves, six carburetors, two cam chains, valves requiring special tools to adjust, carbs even more so, and not many bikes in the 70s took the almost *six quarts* of oil the cbx does. Nor has any streetbike since the pushrod Triumph Bonneville needed an out-and-out racing engine building type degree wheel to set its ignition timing. That's not just any degree wheel but one a lot like the Triumph's having cutouts for accessing the ignition with a screwdriver. Gold Wing owners do best-practice cam belt tensioning by rotating the engine until the belt you're doing on its untensioned run is its loosest, then deploy the spring-loaded skateboard wheel. Nothing like that on the CBX. The same job on the big six takes two special tools and more than a little highly specialized technique involving valve cover removal and pushing and pulling and feeling and scrutinizing. Artful, this. Not at all intuitive and not officially documented. And syncing those six carburetors? Very few have the patience, with the result that very very few CBXs out there are running their best.

And with two dozen valves the CBX is *the* poster boy for Honda's cylinder 1970s cylinder compression debacle. Like all Hondas designed in the 70s the CBX's valves are extremely short-lived, resulting in all of these bikes having less than 80 percent of their as-manufactured cylinder compression and thus performing far below their potential. Until rebuilt that is, with a professionally-conducted valve job coming in at a cool $2500, not including reassembly of the engine, and not including the two cam chain tensioners destroyed by the engine's heat and fetching a princely $1200 *apiece* at current rates. And yes, there are two of them, plus two more similarly rubber-coated complementary chain guides.

Talk about expensive! Even regular maintenance is painful. A valve cover gasket and the related bolt seals will set you back almost $150, intake rubbers (manifolds) about $300, expert carburetor rebuilding between $1000 and $1500 not including install and adjust. And since this extremely hot-running engine uses its fuel as part of its cooling, you'll be happy to get an average best of 35mpg, while many owners see less. Worst of all, while the typical CBX needs a lot of attention due to mere designed-in self-destruction, even more involved rehabilitation is needed than usual on most CBXs simply because this bike draws people to it who should not -- should NOT -- own tools. Seriously. Hammer-heads, individuals patently and completely incompetent mechanically, who as we speak are fast contributing to the attrition rate of this iconic vehicle. No joke. Spark plugs are the only cheap maintenance item on a cbx!

And engine work...you really don't want to know. But I'll tell you anyway! A top end on a CBX costs between $6000 and $7000. Remember the head work and the as-gold cam chain tensioners? How about a single gasket that demands more than $200. A good *used* clutch basket is more than $1000. If needed the high-wear alternator drive coupling, if you can find it, used but near new is $600 minimum. And as with most 40+ year old bikes, NOS factory control cables are long gone and precious enough to demand $100 or more when you can find them. Each.

Truly, the CBX1000 has moved into the neighborhood of, if not the 70s Lamborghinis and Ferraris, then perhaps suddenly very sought-after vintage Alfa Romeos. It is almost all that those vehicles are: brawny, beautiful, unusual, quirky in design, painfully costly to repair, moderately so to maintain, and rather overtly subject to its own issues let alone those foisted upon it. Yet for many of us, to whom the machine has permanently endeared itself, the CBX is truly special, eminently appealing -- plainly quite visceral, and a thing woven into our motoring psyche. Granted, it can be challenging to own. But as with any 40+ year old bike, most of that pain occurs at the purchase point of an inevitably much-neglected machine. Because if you can bear the freight, once all the maintenance demons are exorcized, the bike can be relatively troublefree for many years. And very few bikes combine the visual, aural, and seductively physical allure of the Honda CBX.

[CYBORG]

I had one..... for a while. And they are a thing of beauty..... and a head turner. But I was not impressed with the handling, especially in the curves. Would I have another? In a heart beat. Would I ride it much? No, not so much as my 1000 or 1200

[Bugdaddy66]

My first new bike was a CB750F (a great bike) in 81, lusted after the 81 CBX SuperSport in pearl white that was on the showroom floor. Still haven't shaken that infatuation,so I will have to have one someday. It will probably turn out as disappointing as dating a high school crush 40 years late, but the heart wants what the heart wants!

[CYBORG]

As I recall, I traded a john deere riding mower for mine, Discovered that you have to be careful what you wish for, and sold it for $1000. No regrets. But every now and then........ well... I miss it like the goodnight kiss at the prom. Once in a life time.......but a moment in life that will linger in my mind forever. After all it WAS a CBX

[delling3]

Reminds me of an old pilot friend of mine. He managed to scrape together the dough to by a retired T-38 Talon. This plane was a high-performance jet trainer which was flown by the Thunderbirds in the 70's, before they went to the F-16. My friend was thinking he was in heaven, until he found out that he spent more time idling on the tarmac burning JP-5 at an alarming rate, waiting for ATC to fit give him clearance to take-off. Seems that the plane had such high take-off/landing speeds that they had trouble fitting them into the traffic pattern.

Add in the cost for all of maintenance that the thing required, and he was quickly going broke trying to fly it. Sold it after about a year at a considerable loss, just to be rid of it.

[desertrefugee]

Dang Mike. You had to go down that list, huh? You’re making me afraid to ride mine.

[mikenixon]

[Lucien Harpress]

Yeah, I've only got a KZ1300 but I'm feeling particularly called out....

[77Gowing]

Im up to my hammer head, in trouble with what Ive got. I know Im not particularly skilled with these old wings, but steady as she goes, even if I do dumb things, I'm learning. In fact, learning is how Im spending my retirement time. 1st lesson...burning up all my retirement money fixing old hondas.
My kids are going to be disappointed when I go home to Jesus. The residue of bikes & parts wont fetch much after Im gone.
In the mean time, Im attracted like a moth to a flame.

[CYBORG]

I had one.... for a while. And they are a thing of beauty, no doubt. And a head turner for sure. But I was not impressed with the handing. Something you did not mention.

[desertrefugee]

I had one.... for a while. And they are a thing of beauty, no doubt. And a head turner for sure. But I was not impressed with the handing. Something you did not mention.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=n5wihr9za4k

Jan and his son, blue-collar members of the CVS community, don’t seem to have a lot of trouble. His machines are not too far from stock. Yeah, he gets passed a few times, but remember he’s humping around a 600 pound machine.

[desertrefugee]

Oh, that would be CBX community. No editing on Mike’s thread as you know.

[mikenixon]

Well, my article was intended to compare with other bikes the investment one must make to own a CBX and along with that the large number of CBX owners who don't realize it, at least initially. I really wasn't trying to bash the bike. I still own one, and the first 18 months I had it rode over 25,000 miles. It's a great bike. As for handling, I have always felt it was pretty neutral handling, not bad, and not exceptional. For a 70s model Honda and not a sport bike quite good in my view. It's really a wonder it handles at all given its weight and architecture.

[CYBORG]

I agree with your handling comment. I guess, at the time, I was more sport bike minded.

[Sidecar Bob]

The next time someone shows up on cx500forum who bought a $400 non-runner and complains when they are told they will need to either replace the stator or replace the CDI with something modern, do the camchain & guides, clean the carbs and install new tires and brake line, doubling their investment before it is safe to use I think I'll point them to this thread...