Honda CBX

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Honda (motorcycle)
CBX 1000 arg.jpg
CBX 1978
CBX (CBX Pro-Link)
Manufacturer Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
Production period 1978 to 1982
class motorcycle
design type Sports Tourer
Motor data
Four-stroke engine , air-cooled 6-cylinder with 6 Keihin equal pressure carburetors Ø 28 mm
Displacement  (cm³) 1047
Power  (kW / PS ) 77.2 / 105 at 9,000 min -1 (Pro-Link: 73.5 / 100 at 9,000 min -1 )
Torque  ( N m ) 84.4 at 8,000 min -1
Top speed (  km / h) 220 (brochure information)
transmission 5-speed
drive O-ring chain
Brakes front double disc Ø 272 mm (Pro-Link: internally ventilated)

/ rear disc Ø 300 mm

Wheelbase  (mm) 1545
Dimensions (L × W × H, mm): 2240 × 740 × 1150 (Pro-Link: 2325 × 780 × 1375)
Seat height (cm) 81
Empty weight  (kg) 274 (Pro-Link: 280)
Previous model -
successor CBX Pro-Link

The Honda CBX is a sporty motorcycle with a transversely installed six-cylinder in - line engine from the Japanese manufacturer Honda .

development

After the presentation of the Benelli 750 Sei in October 1972 (production from 1974), Honda was forced to offer a model with six cylinders as well. Project manager Shōichirō Irimajiri , who already in the 60s at the age of 25 made several successful Honda racing motorcycles, such as B. had designed the RC149 with 125 cc, the 250 RC166 and the 300 RC174 , constructed with eight employees an air-cooled four-valve DOHC in-line six- cylinder of 1047 cc and 105 hp. The chief designer responsible for the entire machine was Norimoto Otsuka .

idea

Engine of the CBX

The machine came on the market in 1978 and polarized motorcyclists. Chassis and tire weaknesses caused criticism. The driving performance was very good (0-100 km / h in approx. 4 seconds). The introduction of the CBX as well as the appearance of the even more powerful Kawasaki Z1300 led to the decision of the motorcycle industry at the time to voluntarily limit the power of machines sold in Germany to 100 hp.

Further data CBX (CBX Pro-Link)

  • Power-to-weight ratio : 2.6 kg / hp / (3 kg / hp)
  • Motorcycle weight: 272.13 kg / 599.95 pounds
  • Top speed: 220 km / h in the brochure / (207 km / h)
  • Acceleration: 0 - 100 km / h in approx. 4 s
  • Standing noise: 80 dB (A) / (90 dB (A))
  • Driving noise 82 dB (A) / (86 dB (A))
  • Colors: candy red or metallic silver, in USA 1980: black
  • Pro-Link colors: silver gray or white
  • Price 1978: 10,160 DM / (Pro-Link: 1982 11,998 DM / 1983 10,998 DM)

In 1979 the machine cost 10,963 DM in Germany including 11%  sales tax , which today corresponds to approx. 12,700 euros.

Model history

The first CBX from 1978/1979 (type CB1, CBX "Z" type code 422) was replaced in 1980 by the successor model (type SC03 CBX "A" type code 469), with a different carburetor set-up, 98 HP and a smaller facelift, and in 1981 by the so-called Prolink (type SC06 type code MA2) replaced. With the CBX Pro-Link, Honda responded to the criticism of the chassis weaknesses of the CBX. The CBX Pro-Link was also available in two slightly different versions (CBX "B") and 1982 (CBX "C"). With its fairing, it emphasized the touring motorcycle character. Ultimately, the CBX was not a success, as four-cylinder motorcycles soon showed a corresponding performance, but they were cheaper to produce. The maintenance costs for the 24-valve engine were very high, as was the fuel consumption. In the first test by MOTORRAD magazine, a test consumption of 12.3 liters was determined, and 9.2 liters when driving on a moderate country road. A total of around 36,000 CBX were produced, of which around 6,000 came to Germany. The Pro-Link only got 400 units. In addition to production in Japan, assembly began in Marysville (Ohio) / USA, where 93 machines were built in November 1979 and 190 in December. In Germany, at the beginning of January 2008, machines were still registered with the Federal Motor Transport Authority (Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt) in 1993, including temporarily decommissioned vehicles.

Other CBX models

Other Honda motorcycles also had the abbreviation CBX in their names. In the mid-1980s, for example, the 4-cylinder model CBX550 came on the market, which attracted attention due to some optical and technical detail solutions (for example internally ventilated, encased disc brakes). Other motorcycles, such as B. the Honda CBX 550 , CBX650E and CBX750F had little in common with the original CBX.

The following models were also available in Japan and other countries:

  • CBX125 (Brazil), CBX125F, CBX125 Custom
  • CBX150 Aero (Brazil)
  • CBX200 Strada (Brazil)
  • CBX250 S / RS / Twister
  • CBX400 F / F2 Integra / Custom
  • CBX650 P (Police)
  • CBX750 Horizon, CBX750 (Police), CBX750FII, CBX750F Bol d'Dor

The X in the name indicates a four-valve version.

Conversions

Some high-end motorcycle manufacturers used the engine, such as B. Fritz Egli for the Red Baron , and Motorrad spaett Munich for the Target EGLI Magnum or EGLI-CBX . The Target-EGLI Magnum was designed by target-Design. Both had a frame construction characteristic of EGLI , which was also created for sporty driving with a backbone tube approx. 12 cm in diameter and the exclusive use of straight tubes. Even Martin from France and Motoplas from Italy, as well as RAU from Germany used the 6-cylinder engine. The former racing driver Joseph Schurger also built a CBX engine with 120 or 180 hp bored out to 1276 cm³ in a Bakker aluminum frame.

Price Martin-CBX 1982:

  • Martin-CBX 1-seater type: 24,000 DM
  • Type Martin-CBX 1-seater special: 36,000 DM

Price Egli-CBX 1982:

  • Type EH-C Red Baron 1-seater: 32,400 DM

Prize Egli-CBX 1983:

  • Type EH-C Red Baron 1-seater: 22,500 SFr. / 29,900 DM
  • Type EH-C Red Baron 2-seater: 22,650 SFr.

Price Target-EGLI 1982:

  • Type Egli-Target-CBX Magnum 1-seater: 29,900 DM

Price target PERCH 1983:

  • Type Egli-Target-CBX Magnum 1-seater: 32,500 DM

literature

  • Joachim Kuch: Type compass Honda motorcycles since 1970 , 1st edition, Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2009, ISBN 978-3-613-02989-7
  • Martin Limpf: The motorcycle. Its technical and historical development . R. Oldenbourg Verlag, Munich 1983, ISBN 3-486-27571-2 , pp. 59-63
  • Motorrad-Classic issue 4/2007 p. 12-21 ISSN  0937-9495

Web links

Commons : Honda CBX  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ernst Leverkus: The motorcycles of the 50s, 60s and 70s , special edition 1st edition, Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-613-02366-0
  2. ↑ This figure was based on the template: Inflation determined, rounded to 100 EUR and applies to the previous January
  3. ↑ The Story of Soichiro Honda , 1992 by HIKINO Shinji & MOURI Jinpachi, 1st edition in English, page 487