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Six for the Road
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Honda CBX
Michael Schulte
04/01/2007
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Photography by Cordero Studios/corderostudios.com
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One afternoon, his dog chewed the lining out of his helmet,
necessitating a trip to the Honda dealership for a replacement. It would prove
to be a fortuitous snack. An over-enthusiastic salesman cajoled Barone to take a
black 1980 CBX out for a test ride. He was reluctant. “I’m not going to sit on
that thing, it’s ridiculous,” Barone remembers saying. Nevertheless, he
consented. Pulling away from the dealership, he was immediately spellbound.
“The first 10 feet I rode, I realized it was the most perfect machine I’d
ever been on,” Barone recalled fondly. Contempt became rapture as he wound the
CBX up onto the highway and fell in love with the big six engine, marveling at
the smooth acceleration and almost total lack of vibration. “This is the bike
I’ve waited for my entire life,” Barone thought to himself while passing
four-wheeled blurs on the highway. Circling back, he would eventually pass a
trio of arm-waving riders heading in the opposite direction. “Maybe somebody
does like this bike,” he thought as he tossed a friendly wave back.
 When he
returned to the shop, he learned that he had, in fact, passed a search party
assembled by the nervous salesman to track him down. The CBX epiphany had kicked
the cord out of Barone’s internal clock and he had no idea how long he’d been
out. Today, Barone speaks with equal passion about the black 1980 CBX on which
he has logged over 100,000 mostly watermelon-free miles. Barone’s enthusiasm for
the bike certainly isn’t isolated. Numerous CBX owners associations exist around
the globe, with the ICOA laying claim to being the oldest and largest. (Click image to enlarge)
The
big machines enjoyed a fleeting heyday in the early ’80s with a small breed of
riders who discovered the magic before the CBX faded out of style, but the
bike’s appeal was far from universal. The CBX provoked derisive snickers in some
quarters when it roared past, but it is a good bet that the roadside detractors
had never bothered to fire one up themselves. Because the bike was eschewed by
the mainstream, used CBXs were plentiful. In 1982, excellent condition CBXs
could be had for around $1,800 ($3,650 in today’s dollars). It was a niche bike
from the beginning, ignored by the many, prized by disciples. Perhaps that is
why today’s CBX owners have a propensity to be a zealous breed, with
unrestrained personalities well- matched to their machines.
The ICOA
presides over 15-plus boisterous rallies a year that serve as a gathering place
for riders to swap old stories and create new ones, and as a forum for
deconstructing popular lore that the machines are too difficult or expensive to
maintain. Because CBXs were produced in quantity and there are now at least
three major CBX parts distributors online, the myth that original and
aftermarket parts are difficult to find is easily exploded.
The CBX has also
found an enduring afterlife as a project bike. CBX engines are still used today
in more world-class non-cruiser “specials” than any other motor, resulting in
some truly spectacular show bikes, including a Giger-esque V-12 CBX currently
being finished by Andreas Georgeades.
The CBX had a brief,
incandescent lifespan, lasting only four years before succumbing in 1982. Midway
through the bike’s existence, Honda transformed the CBX into a sport-touring
bike, replete with a sleek fairing and saddlebags. That incarnation also failed
to rouse sales, despite boasting a detuned engine, improved brakes, and
suspension upgrades. Ultimately, the technical innovation and burnished brawn of
the magnificent six was unable to lift public perception of the CBX as a bulky,
overweight curiosity. It did, however, serve as an authoritative statement that
Honda engineering was as robust as it wanted to be, and that the company
possessed the technological vision to bring to the street a creation as singular
and imaginative as the CBX.
It is a testament to the 28-year-old creation of
Irimajiri’s project team that there is a worldwide tribe of dedicated CBX
adherents for whom the chrome mammoth is no archeological artifact of some
earlier cycling epoch, but a living, thundering herd that is still leaving
unambiguous six-cylinder footprints far and wide.
International CBX Owners Association: www.cbxclub.com
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