3,066 mile 81 on eBay

[Dynamohum]

Comes from a collection in SoCal and the ads says it’s in “excellent running condition” and has just 3.066 miles on it. Anyone know the owner?

[Larry Zimmer]

Might you have a link to an ad? I wonder when it was last ridden? With only 3k miles, are the tires original? (I wouldn't call that excellent running condition!) Etc. Might be a good buy with better definition.

[steve murdoch icoa #5322]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/235366186543?h ... R46PkdGZYw

[CBX-tras]

Decals seem to be faded and the instruments too.

Battery acid etch on the left footplate.

I have doubts.

[Dynamohum]

Bidding went to $8,600 but didn’t hit the reserve. I asked for more info and pics but was ignored. Suppose the bidders went that high w/o more info and pics?

[Larry Zimmer]

The item description sounded like something written by a dealer. On the instrument panel -- are those scratches or cracks net to the oil light. Tank is scratched -- tank bag or ??? Etc. I think this seller has been watching too much Mecum.

[BillB]

I bought that bike. It's in my garage. It has a few minor flaws. The tank scratches are mostly minor spider webbing that buffed out and a couple of clear coat scratches that I filled and leveled. It has a garage storage ding on the right bag which is its most serious visual flaw and a few other dings in the paint and decals that can be remedied. The instruments are not faded. They are just very dusty. The bike was not clean. It has some minor chrome corrosion in a few places from weather/condensation over the years. The exhaust is not show chrome, but it is very nice and the exhausts look new even in bright light from more than a foot away. No dents or visible scratches in the exhaust and just water/rain spots that cleaned off easily, Really nice. Overall, it's in remarkably good shape and I believe the mileage. It's not museum quality, it's original and unrestored, but looks new to most people. The rear brake rotor looks worse than 3000 miles. I have almost every paper on the bike since new and I saw that the brakes were rebuilt several times. However, although they replaced the parts they missed the tiny orifice in the rear brake master cylinder. It was blocked, and so the rear was almost locked up and one of the pads had a metal flake that grooved the rotor. I fixed the master, but the rear rotor was harmed by the poor rebuilds. The paint an decals are not faded. There is some age corrosion in the clear coat over the aluminum side engine covers. I'm tempted to leave it essentially as it is, although things like refinishing the aluminum side covers is really easy. It arrived with a valve cover leak that I fixed with probably its first cover seal replacement. It started easily and idled better than my 2 other CBXs that I have had for more than 35 years. Cables needed lubing. The tach howled. I fixed that with lube as I have done on my other Xs. A just off-idle throttle bog cleared up after I did Mike's Spring Thaw procedure. It's a rocket now. I think it's a great bike. I'm happy with it. HOWEVER, it has what appears to be a bizarre VIN anomaly that maybe you guys can help me understand and possibly rectify, although I don't think it's fixable. I will cover that in another post. Hold on to your hats. It's complicated. It pissed me off initially when I discovered it, but I got the bike at a good price. I can live with it if I have to. Stay tuned.

[CBX-tras]

Contact Tom at Truedisk.net to resurface the rear brake rotor. He does wonderful work and quick turn-around.

[Everpix]

Good to read that the bike went to a serious fan, I wish you lots of fun with it!

[Larry Zimmer]

Bill, from your great description, it appears/sounds that you got a good one! Good on ya!!! Have fun. We'll watch for your VIN post.

[BillB]

Contact Tom at Truedisk.net to resurface the rear brake rotor. He does wonderful work and quick turn-around.

This is great information. Thanks!

[BillB]

The VIN situation: As I was finishing writing all the gory (unnecessary?) details below, it occurred to me that this could be, or, rather, is likely a school bike. Enjoy reading!

None of what follows was disclosed to me before the purchase, but the eBay seller included what appears to be everything they had on the bike, which includes 3 previous titles, the old ones being photocopies, original bills of sale since 1994 (not photocopies), repair receipts, and a log book, all of this going back to 1994 when the bike had only 79 miles on the odometer, according to title documents. The sellers I bought it from never registered the bike in CA but included the Massachusetts title from the immediately previous owner from whom they bought the bike in 2021. They included a bill of sale to me. All I need is for them to send me a notarized bill of sale for me to register the bike in AZ. They have agreed to do that.

Here's where it gets more interesting.

The bike has the original Honda VIN plate and the frame is stamped with the same VIN. The motor number is close enough to the VIN. The bike appears to be all original with no evidence of any serious damage or repairs anywhere. HOWEVER, I discovered it has CT state VIN tag that was assigned in 1994 when it had 79 miles on the odometer. WHY? [I figured it out later.] I have a photocopy of the application for the state VIN and the inspection paperwork. The reason indicated is "more than 10 years old". The other possible check box choices on the form were "out of state" or "salvage" and were unchecked. The original VIN was recorded in the application INCORRECTLY. They left off the initial JH2 which all CBXs have to indicate Honda motorcycle manufactured in Japan. It is very hard to see the JH2 obscured by cables (misrouted?) and the front fairing mounting bracket. [Late edit: I talked to the first owner who rescued the bike min 94. He said it does not have a 17-digit VIN, so JH2 may be missing. I will check this]. Also, they left out a 0 digit in the model designation part of the VIN. It should be SC060XBC . Instead, it was stated as SC60XBC. Argh! So subsequent titles, including the more recent one, show the VIN as a Connecticut state VIN CTXXXXX (X represents numerical digits). Argh!

I used BeenVerified to track down the owner on the current Massachusetts title. He died in 2022. BUT I found good contact information on the previous two owners back to 1994. The 1994 owner was involved in the CT state VIN application. They are in their late 60s and appear to be very much alive. I hope they will get back to me and clarify what happened.

Before buying this bike, I was unaware of state VINs. What little looking around I have done leads me to believe that they are usually assigned with salvage rebuilds, theft recoveries or something else that clouds the VIN and/or title history, and they are a red flag to buyers. ARGH! I'm wondering (hopeful) that mistakes in the VIN applications after something happened between 1981 and 1994 with the original owner and title can perhaps be corrected by a VIN inspection here in AZ. [I now believe that the title issued by CT in 94 was the original title, and it was a school bike before 94. The 94 title was bonded CT.] When I enter what I believe is the original Honda VIN into BeenVerified, it shows it as invalid. [That makes sense if it was a school bike.]

What do you think? Could it be a school bike? I'm not very familiar with them, other than they were not supposed to be able to be registered. If that is the case, then I will be happy with the CT state VIN and get it registered with that here in AZ so I can ride it with a big smile on my face. It's a great bike.

[BillB]

Subsequently, I found this from the 99 CBXPRESS. "the mythology of school bike registration"

https://www.cbxclub.com/protect/xcerpts ... kesaga.pdf

IT'S A SCHOOL BIKE!!!!

I can see from the repair records and log book that some parts were missing (typical of school bikes) and replaced with OEM parts (windshield, mirrors) once it was titled and registered in 94. Fortunately, it was not molested more than that. And it runs well! VIN mystery solved.

What is the speculation on how many street bikes Honda donated? A few hundred? How many of those were "rescued" and obtained titles and registrations? It must be very rare. I'm stoked to have one that has a title and will be registered here in AZ.

[daves79x]

The vast majority of ultra-low mile '81 CBXs are school bikes. You might be able to convince the DOT to correct the VIN number in AZ. No matter, you have what you have. Just enjoy it.

Dave

[BillB]

Thanks, Dave. It all makes sense now.