Classic Ride - page 5 (Vol. 95 - September 1995)

In fact, I found it wallows a lot less than I remembered. There is a simple reason for this - I've got fat. In '78 I weighed eleven and a half stone. Now, I'm five stone heavier. The effect is similar to adding pre-load shims to the forks and shocks.

The logic of this was pointed out to me by MCN's own heavyweight photographer John Noble - a guy who can still ride the pants off most of that paper's staff.

He was at that '78 test session at MIRA. I found the bike wallowed like crazy on the high-speed Daytona-like banked circuit. John, who weighed nearly 17 stone then, couldn't resist a lap or two and found the handling okay.

Moral: eat, drink and with this bike you can make more merry.

Bob's Six also grips the road better than that original test model thanks to the use of Metzeler Perfects in place of the OE Dunlops. However, a word of warning on that score. Improved roadholding will emphasis deficiencies in the frame and suspension if you allow the added security to sucker you into pushing things too hard.

Watch out for the brakes too if you are used to riding modern machinery. The Six carries two 11-inch front discs and a 12-inch rear. They were about as good as you could get in 1978 and still do the job. Just leave yourself a few extra yards if you are accustomed to the power of today's multi-pot calipers.

An amazing feature of the machine, considering its size, is just how easy it is to flick in and out of slow corners. No effort at all is needed on the bars due to its low centre of gravity and reasonably short 58.9 inch wheelbase.

Dry, the CBX weighs 548 lbs - 33 lbs more than a GS1000 and a whopping 141 lbs more than today's Fireblade. With petrol and oil the reading on the scales creeps close to 600 lbs. It sounds horrific. Fortunately it doesn't feel it. Put 5mph on the clock and all that weight vanishes.

Slanting the cylinders forward at an angle of 30 degrees has helped a little in keeping the weight low to the ground, while the absence of front frame tubes has permitted the forks to be tucked in more tightly to reduce the distance between front and rear wheel spindles.

Most worrying aspect of threading through narrow gaps in traffic is the irrational fear that you are going to knock off the two end cylinders. Actually, they do not protrude beyond the handlebars - they just feel as if they do.

The old, original shocks are too rusty and will be replaced.

That Honda exhaust system cost our Bob £600.

Across its widest point the 238 lb engine measures more than 23 inches. And it would be wider if Mr Tsuboi had not moved the generator and electronic ignition unit from the end of the crank to a chain driven shaft behind the cylinders.

It is one of those clever touches (for the time) I was talking about.

Another is the mounting of the six Keihin carbs in V-formation to reduce the bike's waistline so you can actually sit astride it without the end of the carbs hindering your knees.

The riding position is, in fact, very comfortable. The footpegs are just where a six-footer would want them to be and the bike's bars can be adjusted to suit your reach. The seat's good too - a real comfy perch with bags of pillion room for the likes of the luminous Tammy who regularly adorns it with Bob these days (picture soon lads, honest).

   

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