I had about £1000 to spend and after much scouting through old motorbike magazines narrowed my choice down to either a GPz550 or CBX550. As luck would have it, a mechanic friend of mine had recently purchased a CBX550F and was restoring it before selling. Although it was four years old, it hadn’t been used for two years due to a drink-driving ban. I knew the bloke he’d bought it from and he insisted that it had never been thrashed or dropped, so I decided to make my friend an offer for the Honda. We eventually agreed that he would completely strip and rebuild the bike to put it into mint condition in return for £750.
When I eventually handed over the cash the bike looked stunning — brilliant paintwork and chrome, not a spot of rust to be seen. According to the terms of the sale, he’d had to shell out a fair bit of money to make it A1, including new exhaust, battery, fork seals, brake seals, pads and chain. In addition, the anodised castings had been treated to come up like new. The end result was a bike so beautiful it brought tears to my eyes.
Having got my hands on the bike I decided to go for a ride with my girlfriend to some country pubs. My first impression was the power of the machine, which was simply awesome in comparison to any of the cars l’d owned or my 125. Even two-up, it would pull with ferocity from anywhere in the rev range with a superbly smooth power delivery. Handling was impeccable also, the bike very flickable, yet steady as a rock around the tightest of corners. Even pothole strewn bends posed no problems for the excellent Pro-Link rear suspension. I couldn’t bear to stop riding the 550 that night and when I did I couldn’t sleep. I was in love.
The next day I arrived home from work, parked the bike outside while I went in for my tea. After an hour or so I remembered that I hadn’t put the padlock on and went out to do just that. No bike. I couldn’t believe it, I'd had it no more than 36 hours and it was gone. The bastard must have smashed off the steering lock and wheeled it away because I didn’t hear it start up. The police told me that most bikes turn up in a day or two and that I’d most likely get it back but I was inconsolable and close to tears - it felt like a loved one had died.
After a day had passed, I began to come out of mourning and went to the pub to cheer myself up. On returning I noticed a motorbike at the side of the house. I cautiously approached, not daring to believe that it was mine. Lo and behold, the CBX had returned to me. I later discovered that two friends had spotted it about half a mile down the road and had brought it back.
At first glance it appeared okay - all that seemed damaged was the ignition switch and the wiring loom. I could not believe my luck. My relief was short lived, however, because when my mechanic friend inspected the bike he diagnosed a seized engine and seized front brakes. It didn’t take Hercule Poirot to deduce that the front brakes had seized on when the thief was still too close to the scene and he’d red-lined it to get through the braking...
Since I was supposed to start a new job in London in three weeks, I couldn’t afford the time consuming business of an insurance claim and instructed the mechanic to fix it. The seized front brake was traced to a faulty master cylinder and cured for less than £10. The seized engine was traced to an exploded clutch bearing and this, along with replacing the stretched cam chain and final drive chain, amounted to a repair bill of £250.
With the CBX running again I left for London. Riding the bike was as good as I’d remembered and within hours the whole robbery episode was pushed from my mind. I’d been warned when I bought the bike to take it easy, since I wasn’t used to such a powerful machine, and under no circumstances to use it in the power band until I had ridden it for at least a week. Having tasted the ferocious mid-range power I felt the advice was warranted and waited a couple of weeks before seeing what mayhem lurked above the 6500rpm mark. If the power below this point was interesting, then the performance from 6500 revs up to the 10,500rpm redline can only be described as maniacal. I never once had the guts to powerband it in less than third gear for fear of my hands being ripped from the handlebars.
Despite the power, the CBX550 is physically very small. However, the combination of a relaxed riding position and a comfortable saddle means that only the tallest of riders would feel cramped. Suspension is state of the art 1982 stuff (air adjustable front and 4 position anti-dive) and can’t be faulted when new. In contrast, the three enclosed disc brakes are often cited as a reason for avoiding the Honda (quote enclosed discs are sick joke - UMG). While it can’t be denied that they make brake maintenance difficult, they do actually work in the wet, although I would have preferred normal discs. One feature that must be commended is the accurate fuel gauge why can’t all bikes have one?
At this stage I was convinced that my luck with the bike had improved. However, less than 2000 miles after the cam chain replacement, the engine began to rattle excessively from the top end. I decided to fit another cam chain and a new tensioner. Since this meant splitting the engine the bill was close on £200. However, with the engine in pieces, he diagnosed an enlarged con-rod, whatever that is (ahem - Ed) and reckoned the original robbery was the cause of both the con-rod problem and the quick wear cam chain, although I’ve since learned that cam chain tensioner problems are endemic to this model - he advised that I sell the engine while it was still sounding sweet.
By this time I’d concluded that the bike was an albatross around my neck and decided to cut my considerable losses by selling the bike. The engine sounded beautiful in Liverpool, but by the time I’d reached London it was rattling again. I decided to sell it as soon as possible and within a week had off-loaded it for £700. The bike looked so immaculate, that despite the rattle, the bloke probably thought he’d done me. I sincerely hope he’s had more luck with it than I did.
Having since ridden other, bigger, bikes, I can honestly say the CBX is a superb bike to ride and that few, if any, motorbikes can give the same enjoyment for such low used prices. However, I would not recommend buying a CBX to anyone except the bloke who nicked mine because all the CBX550 owners I’ve spoken to have complained of engine problems. Honda apparently cured the cam chain problem with the last model and if this is true it may well be worth purchasing a more modern CBX, but I can’t help thinking that a GPz550 is a much safer bet even if you have to pay lots more money.
After selling the 550 I went back to the Cortina for the winter but recently bought a 650 Katana on which I have so far done 6000 trouble free miles. After the experience with my CBX550 you may be forgiven for thinking I was insane to get another motorcycle, however the sheer exhilaration of riding the 550 made me realise that the cause of my initial decision to sell my car and get a bike was not temporary insanity - it was divine intervention.
Alan Morgan