Honda CBX: The power of six cylinders
If two was enough, and four supreme, then Honda's industry-leading six-cylinder CBX was nothing short of sublime.
January/February 2006
By Ric Anderson
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Imposing: It's the only word that effectively sums up the visual impact of Honda's massive in-line six-cylinder engine used in the CBX.
Photo by Ric Anderson
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Years produced: 1979-82
Total production: 40,000
Claimed power: 103bhp @ 9,000rpm
Top speed: 140mph
Engine type: Four-stroke, in-line six-cylinder, four overhead cams
Weight (wet): 272kg (600lb)
Price then: $3,988
Price now: $3,900-$6,500
MPG: 25-40
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Call it six appeal, this enduring ability of the Honda CBX to draw a look of wonder, puzzlement, awe and amusement rolled into one. Dave Ditner has seen it countless times since he started riding the CBX, the six-cylinder package of engineering wizardry that Honda rolled out in the late 1970s. And while bike technology has blown by the CBX like a line drive by Charlie Brown over the last quarter century, the old flagship hasn’t lost a step when it comes to getting attention.
“You’ll go to a bike night or a ride somewhere and see some kids looking out the back of a truck,’’ says Ditner, a retired development engineer for Ford. “They’ll start counting exhaust pipes, and their eyes go wide. That’s still fun.’’
There had never been anything quite like the CBX when it was introduced in 1978. Six cylinders. Six carburetors. Four overhead camshafts. Twenty-four valves. Some bikes get good reviews; this one got praise somewhere north of heavenly.
Cycle called it “magic’’ and predicted it would be ranked with the “rare and precious motorcycles which will never, ever be forgotten.’’ Cycle Guide hailed it as “the Vincent Black Shadow of 1979.’’
Ditner is among those whose face broke into the you-gotta-be-kidding-me expression when he first saw the CBX. “I was at a Honda dealer getting parts for my kid’s dirt bike, and one of the owners took it out and went for a ride. I looked at the engine and went, ‘Holy …’’’
We’ll cut Ditner off there, but suffice it to say his exclamation didn’t end with the words moly or cow. Today, he owns nine CBXs and is as fascinated with the model as ever. “There is nothing as smooth as that engine. They’re one hell of a machine.’’
Making a statement
By the late Seventies, there was a growing sense among the motorcycle world that Honda had become conservative. The company’s marquee street bike, the four-cylinder CB750, had been hailed as a wonderbike during the late 1960s but was growing old. Honda’s other offerings were reliable, dependable and well-engineered, but then again, the thinking went, so are most doorknobs.
With the CBX, Honda set out to blitzkrieg the competition. It assigned the design work to a new, competition-trained generation of engineers headed by 37-year-old Shoichiro Irimajiri, whose resume included creation of Honda’s 250cc and 297cc six-cylinder GP race engines.
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