Honda CBX - Six Cylinder Symphony

We can't talk about the cbx without first mentioning that engine. And what an engine it is: 1047 CC, 24 valves, dual overhead camshafts and six cylinders with six carburetors. The CBX, it made an impact. To be honest though it had to. The late 70s were a golden age for Japanese motorcycles but Honda was lagging behind. They tried to catch up with the GL thousand but it didn't really excite as much as the Suzuki GS thousand or the king, the kawasaki Zed one. Honda may have kick-started the Superbike era with the cb750 but they were lacking another bike that captured hearts as much as that one did. The CBX was developed to make bikers pay attention to Honda again. And it worked. Not just because of that engine but also because of that 6-cylinder symphony coming out of the tailpipes. With the CBX Honda was back. I was offered a go on one of these when I was 17 years old I was riding a Honda 404 and that felt like a big bike to me because I hadn't long got off of a 250. Throwing my leg across one of these with this enormously wide tank and even wider engine a massively wide 6-cylinder engine it felt like something from a different planet. Even having ridden lots of modern bikes it still actually feels really really quick. There's torque and power from nothing and it just keeps pulling and pulling and it just doesn't stop. Handling wise it doesn't in any way feel like a small bike but it's surprising just how quickly you can hustle it down the lanes. If there's two things which show its age on this bike it is those skinny forks and that narrow tire. But something that really does help is just these light controls - super light clutch - two finger brakes. To be able to pull up really quick with two fingers is quite a revelation really. The CBX wasn't Honda's first six-cylinder bike. In the late 60s Honda were racing against Yamaha and Suzuki's four-cylinder four-strokes. According to designer Shoichiro Irimajiri, cylinder multiplication was the only way Honda could be competitive in the GPs. That same philosophy guided CBX development and its engine is a direct descendant of the racing machines. That pedigree is part of what makes it so appealing. Especially after Mike Hailwood won every single race of the 1966 250 cc World Championship on an RC 166. The look of the CBX was equally iconic. That petrol tank has to be one of the most dramatic ever to be seen on a motorcycle the CBX was as alluring and beautiful as it was powerful. Even though they didn't sell that many the momentum that came from the CBX project helped pull Honda out of a difficult period and arguably led to other innovative bikes like the CB 900 F. Even so the original CBX was the last and arguably most bombastic poster boy for the 70s Superbike era. It put Honda back on the map by getting an exhilarating bike on the roads. Which is exactly where they needed to be.

Channel: Brightside Media

Views: 1,874,605

Rating: 4.8147783 out of 5

Keywords: Honda, Honda CBX, CBX, CBX1000, Honda CBX1000, Honda motorcyles, Classic Bikes, Superbikes, Seventies Superbikes, Classic motorcycles, Classic motorbikes, Motorcycles, Motorbikes, Vintage Motorcycles, Vintage Motorbikes, Six Cylinders, Six Cylinder Motorcycle, Motorcycle Sound, Honda CBX Sound, CBX Sound, Motorcycle sound, Retro bike, Classic bike for sale, Motorcycle insurance, Motorcycle for sale, Used motorcycle for sale, Classic Superbike, Suzuki GS1000, Kawasaki Z1, Suzuki

Id: xVmo1XaAUj8

Length: 6min 7sec (367 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 17 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/FuzGoesRiding]

Here's an insane flyby.

[u/Ozdriver]

One of my brothers bought one new in 1979, he’s still got it. It’s in pieces at the moment because he’s going to restore it, but its six cylinders redlining sounded amazing, though not as amazing as Honda’s 297cc 6 cylinder race bike.

[u/jaakzi]

I was going to post this myself as I made the film. Thanks for sharing :-)

[u/quetepasa666]

Family friend has one in his barn. Brand new. He got it back when he was sponsored by Honda, along with a bunch of other cool bikes that all sit in his loft with next to 0 miles.