The International CBX Owners Association

While back I stumbled on my ole photo files and I must have a thousand or so pix of CBXs, CBXers and rides/rallies. I think they should be on the site forever....for them, for ICOA history and for everyone ....so over time, I will be posting them and everyone can guess who they are.



Chris from NJ. Last name awaiting input.

Mike:
The guys first name might be Chris from NJ or NY. The place looks like the parking lot of the overlook by the Fort, not sure exactly what you call it. Time was early '90s.

It is always fascinating - and puzzling - to me, to see people appearing in the CBX community and then disappearing again, like falling off the planet. For someone who bought a CBX new and owns more than one, it is probably difficult to understand that one can "go through" a CBX like any other motorcycle. Own one for a while, sell it again and move on. I wonder what chemical it is, that makes us stick with this bike

EMS wrote:It is always fascinating - and puzzling - to me, to see people appearing in the CBX community and then disappearing again, like falling off the planet. For someone who bought a CBX new and owns more than one, it is probably difficult to understand that one can "go through" a CBX like any other motorcycle. Own one for a while, sell it again and move on. I wonder what chemical it is, that makes us stick with this bike

Interesting that you say that Mike, I too have been struggling with these same questions....

PS. If you see my bike for sale, I'm dead...

Hummmmmmmmmmmmm.....interesting direction this is taking us....just what is it that makes a few stick with the CBX and so many stay with us for some time .......then leave forever?

I remember many articles written by Peter Egan where he is on a big hunt to find another sample of a bike he sold years ago......after selling the first one he owned years before that. This is one form of leaving...but returning time after time

Then we have people that buy many machines, garage them and open the garage door every so often........but seldom ride any of the bikes. This is another form of leaving......since in this case the owner never actually rode the X anyway and as was never with us.

Often there people that tire of any bike that they have owned for more than a few years.....on to the latest and greatest ......forever and beyond in the same hunt for that magic ride and leaving in the wake some of the greatest bikes of all time.

I guess it comes down to the simple ability top pick out the bike of your life and simply keep it and share the garage with daily riders over time/years.......knowing full well you will always return to it over and over.

In the end, you either love and respect the CBX and want it to be part of your life forever......or you dont....not much middle ground

A friend of mine way back used to study all the bikes available and finally buy the one he wanted......but it never stopped there. Due to all the research he did before buying he had a year to year improvement plan and over time upgraded the bikes handling and functionality far beyond what anyone including the manufacturers thought possible. He was happy ........and had an out on rides when he was passed since his bike was old...... and he gained alot in just keeping up and often passing many since hiw bike was old. He seldom got passed though and to this day people still talk about his old VFR or BMW Triple staying right up there on all the rides. Some wisdom there in this approach. I miss Mark alot......he died five years ago of ALS (Lou Gehrigs disease) ....gone from us but never forgotten.

When prices were low, guys bought and sold CBX's like mad. They also stored and collected them. With prices climbing, a good CBX becomes a valuable asset that can be turned into money to purchase the latest toy in the stable.

Me, I have one here in Hawaii, and one back on the mainland, in case I want to do a C2C ride or something.

Lot of the guys I rode with in Wisconsin still have theirs. They may have bought something else to ride. But the CBX is special and always has a space in the garage.

Roger

Got my first CBX in Germany in 83. Early 90's I was CBXless for less then one year while I had a bunch of Kawi Triples. Dumped the Kawi's and got more X's. Had them ever since. Some of the things that draw me to them:
1. Sound
2. Visual thrill-sitting in front of one and the way the engine bulges out on both sides.
3. The way the power just seems to keep coming on to a crescendo at 10,000rpm(all my X's see 10,000 occasionally).
4. The way they attract attention. Park it at a motorcycle gathering and people will gravitate to it.

Those 4 pretty much cover it . . . . but I'll add a 5th one - It's built like a Swiss watch. I'm always attracted to superb examples of engineering no matter what they are . . . . . but if you can actually ride them, so much the better

It's hard to believe that any major company would turn their best engineers loose with a 'cost no object' mandate - You seldom make any money that way. It sure doesn't happen very often. Ferrari does it fairly regularly, Ford did it with the GT-40 and the CBX surely belongs in that group . . . . and the good news is, you can afford to own one . . . . . and ride it

Don

Don #6141 wrote:Those 4 pretty much cover it . . . . but I'll add a 5th one - It's built like a Swiss watch. I'm always attracted to superb examples of engineering no matter what they are . . . . . but if you can actually ride them, so much the better

It's hard to believe that any major company would turn their best engineers loose with a 'cost no object' mandate - You seldom make any money that way. It sure doesn't happen very often. Ferrari does it fairly regularly, Ford did it with the GT-40 and the CBX surely belongs in that group . . . . and the good news is, you can afford to own one . . . . . and ride it

Don

That does not happen anymore. Times were diferent then. Consider when the CBX was conceived - the mid 70s! Superbikes had just begun to establish themselves and created a complete new market.
Ferrari is a completely different story. Most of their engineering is done for the race teams as they are really the only team with a complete car, chassis and motor. Ferrari doesn't engineer anything elaborate "from scratch" just for the street cars.

I am also not so sure that I would agree with the "Swiss watch" statement. I have two Swiss watches - one of them I wear daily - and I would argue that the CBX in detail compares.

My initial post also was intended more about what makes people "leave" the CBX behind, not so much what makes us hang on, although I may not have made that so clear.

Don #6141 wrote:Those 4 pretty much cover it . . . . but I'll add a 5th one - It's built like a Swiss watch. I'm always attracted to superb examples of engineering no matter what they are . . . . . but if you can actually ride them, so much the better

It's hard to believe that any major company would turn their best engineers loose with a 'cost no object' mandate - You seldom make any money that way. It sure doesn't happen very often. Ferrari does it fairly regularly, Ford did it with the GT-40 and the CBX surely belongs in that group . . . . and the good news is, you can afford to own one . . . . . and ride it

Don

Great observation Don. It was that exact first impression of quality and precision that won me over in 1980 and still does every mile I ride that same bike today.......and it took alot of effort by the sales guy to even get me on the CBX for test ride...since my ride back then was a 320lb, 29hp Yamaha SR 500 back road terror........yet the first ten feet on that CBX test ride won me over forever.

EMS,

Mike, do you think that when someone gets an X and has it for a number of years, they ride it and take care of it. But then they update to something newer, and begin to park the X, once that happens we all know what is going to happen the carbs and brakes. So they decide to pull it back out one day and it will not run right or fails to start or the cailpers begin to hang up.

So they push it back in the garage and decide to get the carbs done or do it themself, BANG here comes all the work and cost assoicated with the repair. But they go ahead and do it, again it fails to run correctly, because it's hard to find someone to do the carbs or the sync them correctly. So now the cost and fun factor begin to ware away, and besides, the other updated bike sitting there and they can jump on and ride away. So now they end up with that old dilemma of wanting to keep the bike, can't seem to bring themself to getting it repaired or to sell it.

Then someday they do sell it, once they miss that old feeling of the wind in there face and relize they are missing something, so they start to surf back to the site or they have found one that is running in top condition.

This would bring them back to the CBX.

So I believe most of all for the guys that move on is the cost associated with and or finding one that can work on the CBX this would seems to drive them away. Since they have updated to a newer bike and they just enjoy to go out, jump on and ride. Not having to do the maintenance on the bike themself. They rather go back to the dealers as they have the young mechanics that can maintain the newer bikes, they just sell and move on.

As you know, we the somewhat collectors, have been owners in the past or just have kept that first CBX, enjoy tinkering around on them, are a strange brew......

daves79x wrote:Mike:
The guys first name might be Chris from NJ or NY. The place looks like the parking lot of the overlook by the Fort, not sure exactly what you call it. Time was early '90s.

Winner Is......yupppp Dave ....except the year. Was Wellsboro Rally in 2004.

I am not so sure you were there.......no pix of you.

I must have 10,000 CBX/CBXer pix and I think for the sake of history it might be helpful to do a post this ever so often......no need to be forgetting all these CBXs, CBXers and great time at ICOA events, rides, eats and more.

Another reason is as always in the CBX community there are those that want to have CBX history in this country to change and relate just to them and a such try to change history by telling everyone these great CBX times, events, rides and support of this great motorcycle did not happen at all.....or in a few cases only started because of CBX businesses.

News here to those short timers......all of this has been happening with ICOA for nearly 30 years now without you .....you can not change history to insert yourself all this time as the primary source of all that is good for CBXs and CBXers..........these pix will document this and ofcourse be fun to see over time.

These photos are also good for those that have been here for a long time....to reflect back on the reality of owning a CBX and being in the club....

Bout it.........so unless someone has a reason not to post more ICOA CBX and CBXer pix ........I will move forward and do this for everyone.


Mike

Don't know if I'd classified as a short timer or not, since I only got my first CBX in '91.

But I can tell you, I enjoy looking at the pics and seeing old friends, and new friends too. Susan and I are hoping to attend a lot of rallies in the future.