Honda hit a home run with their new 6 cylinder CBX motorcycle in 1979. The goal was to create the fastest bike available for the time, and they succeeded. The 1,000cc engine develops some 109 horsepower , ironically eclipsing its look-alike, wannabe CB1100 sibling produced 30 years later (2013-14), which could only must 89 horsepower. And, the newer bike (of just 4 cylinders) hadn’t trimmed much weight, with its wet weight equivalent to the CBX dry weight.
I’ve never heard such a glorious sounding engine on any machine, car or bike. Those 6 individual carburetors sucking air, combined with the six individual exhaust pipes create beautiful music, somewhat akin to a Formula 1 race car. Of course, the 9,500 RPM red line serves to accentuate the auditory sensation, as the bike pulls solidly from as low as 1,500 RPM right up the maximum, as power just seems to grow and grow.
It is a relatively heavy bike, at almost 600 lbs wet, but once underway, there is no real sense of heaviness.. just a wild machine waiting to be unleashed.
My bike came from a collector/dealer in Montgomery, Alabama. My buddy Bill and I headed off in my pickup from Austin, made it to Montgomery in a single day, met the seller the following morning, sealed the deal, loaded up the bike, and made it back to Austin that same day!
It is a glorious bike, and one I’ll keep for some time!
You can view a video we produced about this bike. Just visit this link on my blog: Honda CBX
