EMS wrote:The response of the engine to throttle twist, its smooth wind-up, the sound, the look over the tank to the instruments, the relative fit of seat, foot- and hand-controls and also because of some of the period-typical inadequacies (word?) which were part of the original concept and make the character of the bike
I agree with you, but I look at it a little differently
The excellent engine and transmission, the flowing lines on the early models are among the most beautiful creations of the era . . . . how in the world did thay get that enormously wide engine positioned into a bike frame without it looking like a sideways school bus coming at you down the road . . . . but somehow they not only did, but they made it absolutely beautiful to boot - They collect admirers like flies everytime you park one
I wanted one from the day they first came out. I spent '80 to '83 in Germany with them blasting by me at full song nearly everywhere I went. Finally my kids were grown and gone so I search high and low for the nicest example of a '79 that I could afford, finally find one and then get it out on the road and riding it was such a major . . . . disappointment. It never felt 'solid' under me like a 750 or the 500/4 I bought new and the brakes kinda reminded me of the old triples. I like to thrash my bikes around playing in the twisties and even after riding it for several thousand miles over a couple of years, I still felt like it was tiptoeing around on it everywhere I went - It was far from the funnest bike to ride I'd owned
I began to understand why you never saw them out on the road any longer and why so many of them were sitting at bike shows and in peoples living and dining rooms - Many owners obviously also owned other bikes which were better to ride. But . . . . I'd bought mine partly as an 'investment' hoping not to lose any money on it and one day sell it for what I had in it, or maybe even a little more, so it needed to remain basically stock - I was essentially stuck with a bike I loved to listen to, liked to look at but didn't find all that much fun to ride
Katrina solved all that for me - The bike was gone and I was too busy getting our lives back together to even think about it
Enter Dave McMunn - He offered to piece something together to restore/replace my bike and we got to talking. What sort of CBX did I like? Was I a stickler for a totally stock look . . . . or did I mind a few modifications to make it a better bike to ride? My eyes really lit up. I listed what *I* thought were most of the shortcomings of my old bike and he whipped out a photo of an '80 he had recently reworked and sold and we talked about the things he had done to remedy what I didn't care for - Brakes, swingarm, forks, shocks and the whole ball of wax
After what turned out to be a year of Daves donated labor, so many donated pieces and parts, this would never be a bike I could ever consider selling, so why even *think* about resale value? If we could make it really *fun* to ride, it could be/would be the best motorcycle I could ever dream of owning - I wouldn't *think* of trading it even up for a brand new example of the latest and greatest . . . . whatever you consider that to be these days
Dave worked his well proven magic and made some significant modifications while still keeping the flavor of the CBX era and delivered to me the best riding CBX I'd ever been on and I think at the time he said it was the best riding one he'd ever been on as well, and he's ridden quite a few. I put 5 or 6 thousand miles on it, really getting a feel for what I liked about it and what I thought still needed more improvement and started collecting more bits and pieces. Dave (being a glutton for punishment) offered to help me assemble some of the things I didn't feel comfortable tackling myself and now I/we have it very close to my perfect bike - True, it has lots of cast off bits and pieces from those who upgraded their bikes with better stuff and all the parts are nearly as old as my bike is, but those bits and pieces did what I hoped they would to the overall ride and feel of the bike while keeping most of the original 'flavor' of the stock bike that I always loved
I know lots of guys rework their bikes with much newer, better preforming parts than we used and they have bikes which ride and perform even better than this one does, but many of those efforts lose more of the originality than I would be happy with - Not to say what they do is anymore right or wrong than someone who leaves things 100% stock or someone like me who only goes half-way into making it a great(er) bike . . . . this one is just 100% my 'flavor' and I'm really super proud of it and terribly grateful for everyone who donated to it, helped with it, advised me on what to do with it or pointed me in the direction I was looking to go
You *can* take a 30 year old bike and make it a much better looking, riding, more reliable, better all around machine by mixing and matching from a big pile of 30 year old parts from other makes/models . . . . although I kept mine 100% Honda. It won't be completely stock, so some won't like it, it probably won't be nearly as good as it could be if your 30 year old pile of parts was a 10 year old pile of parts but if you're more into the vintage look and feel you can make something kinda unique, more fun to ride and still have it be basically a 30 year old classic
I agree you've butted heads with me over my way of thinking about 67 times . . . . but the bike is now pretty near to the exact point I was hoping to one day get it, so I wouldn't change a thing. You may not like it or care to own it, but for me, it's about
PERFECT - Hopefully one day we'll be at a riding rally somewhere and you can take it for a spin and then tell me what you *really* think of it
Don