Inline six, lots of power, iffy brakes, drinking straws for fork tubes, and a hidden hinge somewhere in the middle of the frame. These can scare you like nothing this side of a 750cc 2-stroke Kawa triple. - ThreadSky

tamslick.bsky.social • 46 days ago

Inline six, lots of power, iffy brakes, drinking straws for fork tubes, and a hidden hinge somewhere in the middle of the frame.

These can scare you like nothing this side of a 750cc 2-stroke Kawa triple.

Reposted from Bring a Trailer

1982 Honda CBX Super Sport at No Reserve

Comments

captainsidecar.bsky.social•46 days ago

It's the multiplicity of cam chains, from a manufacturer with a proven inability to design a durable one, which terrifies me the most.

brwtwit.bsky.social•46 days ago

Nah, the poor handling and brakes are overblown. They were good for the tires they had available. With modern tires and a smaller front master cylinder they are just fine. The 39mm forks and 2-piston calipers are essentially the same things the CBR600F2 used until the 90s

captainsidecar.bsky.social•46 days ago

The CBR weighed a good 50kg less than the CBX (probably quite a bit more than that for the faired CBX), so I'm not convinced that's evidence of anything much.

brwtwit.bsky.social•46 days ago

At the time they were state of the art. You can't expect 21st century performance from a bike made in the 70s. It was no worse than the competition. The Kawi 2-stoke triples were as bad as their reputation, and worse than the rest

tamslick.bsky.social•46 days ago

Thank you for 'splaining the bikes I've ridden to me! 😉

brwtwit.bsky.social•45 days ago

I'm not saying your opinion is invalid, I'm just trying to say I don't agree and why

tamslick.bsky.social•45 days ago

(The thing that made some of these late ‘70s-early ‘80s bikes scary was that they had had motors that could simply overpower the brakes, suspension, and frames of the era. Very similar to pushing a midsize Detroit muscle car of the late ‘60s hard on bias-ply rubber. It was normal at the time, tho’.)

brwtwit.bsky.social•45 days ago

Yes, but at least the CBX was smooth and predictable. The two strokes were completely different beasts on and off the pipe, and some of them would come on at different random RPM depending on what the rudimentary ignition modules decided to do.

tamslick.bsky.social•45 days ago

This is why people don’t have the same sort of memories about the, e.g., early twin-shock GPz550.

It’s underpinnings were equally archaic but it just didn’t have the motor to overtax them.

tamslick.bsky.social•46 days ago

Yeah, even the *good* bikes were pretty wobbly prior to the mid-'80s and perimeter frames...

brwtwit.bsky.social•45 days ago

I think everything can be divided into pre-GSXR and post-GSXR. Even my Honda VF1000R for all its trick parts and technology (and square tube steel perimeter frame)is over 100lbs heavier than the Suzuki of the same year.

tamslick.bsky.social•45 days ago

The early Ninjas and Interceptors were John the Baptist to the FZR/GSXR Sportbike Jesus.

weathersystems.bsky.social•45 days ago

The only bike I've ever owned is a '79 CM400T so I can't imagine what this must be like.

(mine is still broken for what it's worth lol)

petrospect.bsky.social•46 days ago

The Formula 1 music these can make makes them of Much Interest™️
https://youtu.be/MBbskqcgs_o?si=NYNrBA7EFVvKnev3

blacktopmagazine.bsky.social•46 days ago

What is it with Honda and batshit, small capacity sixes?

The CBX1000 sounded incredible; recently, I found out that the latest Goldwing uses a 1.8-litre flat-six. Someone in NZ stuffed one in a Hillman Imp. .

autoversed.bsky.social•46 days ago

The Imp in question. https://youtu.be/ebzPyQuZ4Lk?si=_JRinqfKq43Syo63

antonyingram.bsky.social•46 days ago

Honda RC166 goes on that list. 250cc six! Tend to think most bikes sound a bit crap but these are one of my exceptions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o57JwibqCb8

daysolo.bsky.social•46 days ago

Setright had a Dresda framed CBX, and the pangs of lustful want I had reading that piece were frightening.

daysolo.bsky.social•46 days ago

Still sexy after all these years, and wasn't every bike from the 80s (save the GPZ 550) an evil handling hinge monster?

tamslick.bsky.social•46 days ago

Look, if a bike isn’t scaring the shit out of you, is it really a cool late ‘70s/early ‘80s machine?

daysolo.bsky.social•46 days ago

Nope. My favorite of the era is the Jota. Riding it was akin to a very stable jackhammer.

tamslick.bsky.social•46 days ago

As someone who’s had not one but two ‘81 GPz550s, you have made me so nostalgic…

daysolo.bsky.social•46 days ago

I remember mine fondly as well. Just a nifty lil scoot!

tamslick.bsky.social•46 days ago

My very first bike.

Bear in mind that this was my AOL website from…1999?

https://web.archive.org/web/20050117233852/http://members.aol.com/tamslick/confessional.htm

daysolo.bsky.social•46 days ago

Love the full circle with the GPZ. Those were fun, fun days.

tamslick.bsky.social•46 days ago

After that came a TL1000S, 250 Ninja, Zephyr 550, and VF1000F Interceptor…

nessagray.bsky.social•46 days ago

One of my old driving coaches had a whole string of these. He was unreal fast on his, hinge and all.

captainsidecar.bsky.social•46 days ago

In my experience, people who are genuinely quick tend to be quick on *anything*.

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