CB1100 vs. CBX

[LongRanger_imp]

Ferret, you've ridden both. 30 years of advancements separate these bikes. Setting aside the spec sheet, which is the more satisfying bike to ride, and why?

 

[Desert viper_imp]

I had a Silver 79 with the sports kit! Wish I’d never sold it .....huge regret...but my deluxe is much more fun to ride, especially aggressively. I would never throw it into a turn the way I do the CB1100. But I love the way the CBX looks and sounds.

 

[peterbaron]

I would be very interested to hear experienced rider's opinion, as to CBX was my dream bike, I've never rode/owned, and sat on it only 2 times.

 

[SportsterDoc]

DV, that is/was a beautiful machine.

When I lived in Flagstaff, mid-nineties, a friend in Lake Havasu would invite me to ride his newest acquisitions.
One was a CBX. It was smooth, but not the acceleration that I anticipated...or maybe it was so smooth it accelerated better than I thought!

 

[Desert viper_imp]

In 1980 I was 28, just divorced with very little extra cash. I walked into Long Beach Honda and they had leftover 1979 CBXes still in the crate, red or silver, for $3600 plus tax.......I wanted a new red one so bad! Years later I found a silver one with a sports kit in Cycle Trader for $5500. I drove from San Pedro to Sacramento in my van, bought it, loaded it in the van, and drove back home. After owning it awhile I realized (or discovered) that the entire braking system needed to be overhauled and the engine leaked oil. With 9 other bike to maintain I sadly decided to just sell it. It sold in one week for my asking price of $7500, to a young Japanese man who shipped them back to Japan! Even with the stock 6 into 2 exhaust the sound was incredible on its way to redline! Aww hindsight.....
Thanks SportsterDoc, it was great looking from about 10 feet away!

 

[Houtman_imp]

I had 5 CBX's at one time from 1987 till 2013 , great bikes .
Road holding was not that bad ( had Ohlins piggy backs on them ) , brakes not great for the weight of the bike , 79 front forks were too small. A great bike with a beautiful sound and perfect roll on power.
However our CB 1100's are much easier to ride and live with and perfect brakes , fuel injection and very little maintenance.
Ride the CBX as a bike from the seventies/early eighties and you will love them.
NEVER lost money selling the 5 CBX's .
One of my red 79 had a Pipe Master six in to six : beautiful sound !!!

 

[the Ferret]

I think everyone has described it perfectly. In 1979 it was an earth shattering motorcycle. 6 head pipes in a row, count em 6! The sound was amazing. It was amazingly smooth. I nearly got into big trouble on an 81 or 82 "Claybrook" edition when I came up to a 90 degree turn, downshifted 3 times and the speedo still read 85 mph as it had when I started braking/downshifting. The folly of an 85 mph speedo. It was by the almighty's hand that I made that curve.

The engines were seemingly incredibly wide although the motor as a whole wasn't much wider than a 4 cyl motor. I don't remember the brakes being mediocre, and I remember the handling being pretty good considering.

I would still love to have one in the garage. Either red or black.

I love my 1100 and it's a great "rider's" bike imo. I rode it today in the worst imaginable conditions (27 degrees,slushy and snowing) and it just purred along, never missed a beat, handled great, braked great.

 

[SportsterDoc]

I think everyone has described it perfectly. In 1979 it was an earth shattering motorcycle. 6 head pipes in a row, count em 6! The sound was amazing. It was amazingly smooth. I nearly got into big trouble on an 81 or 82 "Claybrook" edition when I came up to a 90 degree turn, downshifted 3 times and the speedo still read 85 mph as it had when I started braking/downshifting. The folly of an 85 mph speedo. It was by the almighty's hand that I made that curve.

The engines were seemingly incredibly wide although the motor as a whole wasn't much wider than a 4 cyl motor. I don't remember the brakes being mediocre, and I remember the handling being pretty good considering.

I would still love to have one in the garage. Either red or black.

I love my 1100 and it's a great "rider's" bike imo. I rode it today in the worst imaginable conditions (27 degrees,slushy and snowing) and it just purred along, never missed a beat, handled great, braked great.

You're making me nostalgic, ferret.
My Lake Havasu friend lived on Vista Drive, in the Desert Hills section, above Lake Havasu. When I got on his CBX, I headed west on Vista Drive.
If you look at the Satellite view of this map
Google Maps
..there is a hill about 4 lots from the end of Vista Drive.
Fortunately big lots (horse property)
I do not know how fast I was going when I crested the hill, but I forgot that (a) it turned into dirt, (b) I was close to a 90 degree turn and © a barbed wire fence was along the left side of both west travel and north travel. I down-shifted a couple gears and I thought the brakes did quite well as I lost all the speed I could before that sharp right turn.

I sure did not want to walk back and tell my friend that I slid his bike into a barbed wire fence.

I was lidless and probably only a short sleeve shirt, no gloves, etc.

 

[Cormanus]

Crikey! That's harsh-looking country.

 

[SportsterDoc]

Crikey! That's harsh-looking country.

Typical SW USA desert.
Without the barb wire fence, I could have gone air-born into the Colorado River.

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

DViper: You tease us.





(keep it up)

 

[Desert viper_imp]

Ok I will
And one slightly modified

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

Cripes man - That is one sic ride!

 

[pekingduck]

I agree with DV, I loved the way the bike looked and sounded. Back then, I really wanted a '79 CBX, but coulldn't quite afford one. By 1980, there were faster bikes from Suzuki and Kawasaki, but no more '79s, so I bought an '80 model.
Over the course of a year, I bought new silver bodywork, the sport kits, the 150mph speedo, and a silver Comstar front wheel. I knew someone at Honda who "found" me a wider 2.50" rear Comstar that had been used on one of the magazine test bikes.

The sound it made was intoxicating, just loved to rip it through the gears. But it was 150 pounds heavier than my Norton and Ducati 750s, and the front end wallowed noticeably. I sold it after 10 years, missed it, and 10 or so years later, bought another one like it. Well it sure didn't stand the test of time. Everything had gotten so much better suspension and brake-wise.

I just wish I had taken a better quality picture of it. Unlike DV, I wouldn't want another one.

 

[peterbaron]

lovely pics & bikes

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

Is that an extra large riding light mounted on the crash bar?

Nice bike by the way.

 

[17-CB-002]

I have 2 CBX, one 79 Red and the other one 82 Pearl White with fairing & bags.
Loved both of them until the Red one had a hydraulic lock bending the connecting rod.
Now it is in pieces (basket case).
The 82 white, I removed the fairing and the bags, it looked nice naked & lighter.
I like to ride it on the 507 highway (Ontario's mini Dragon Tail?).
To replace the red CBX, I purchased a new 2017 CB1100 (serial # 000002).
Hey Gold Oxide, since I am also from Toronto (Richmondhill), may be next year, we can arrange for a test ride on the 82 CBX.

Don't know how to attach a picture.

 

[pekingduck]

Is that an extra large riding light mounted on the crash bar?

Nice bike by the way.

That is a pair of Cibie driving lamps I put on to justify the crash bars. Also a pair of loud as heck Hella horns, a clock and a voltmeter.
It was a very nice bike, but the CB1100 feels so much more compact, more solid and direct. Not quicker, and without that Ferrari V-12 sound, but I'll take the CB1100 any day.

I have 2 CBX, one 79 Red and the other one 82 Pearl White with fairing & bags.
Loved both of them until the Red one had a hydraulic lock bending the connecting rod.
Now it is in pieces (basket case).
The 82 white, I removed the fairing and the bags, it looked nice naked & lighter.
I like to ride it on the 507 highway (Ontario's mini Dragon Tail?).
To replace the red CBX, I purchased a new 2017 CB1100 (serial # 000002).
Hey Gold Oxide, since I am also from Toronto (Richmondhill), may be next year, we can arrange for a test ride on the 82 CBX.

Don't know how to attach a picture.

The hydraulic lock could occur on '79s when they were parked on the sidestand, and the petcock leaked or was not shut off, and the float needle in the carb did not seal. We did a lot of bent rod warranties (#1 cylinder) on them back then. For 1980 they introduced a vacuum petcock which cured the problem.

 

[Houtman_imp]

The vacuum operated petcock made it more difficult to start.
At first I put a boat "bulb" in the line to get the gas to the carbs, later I just bypassed the vacuum valve and made certain that I always closed the pet cock AND put the bikes on center stand. My bikes always started first time , living in Upstate NY I put a 1500 watts electric heater close to the engine in the winter months for about an hour and again no problem starting the CBX's

 

[pekingduck]

The vacuum operated petcock made it more difficult to start.
At first I put a boat "bulb" in the line to get the gas to the carbs, later I just bypassed the vacuum valve and made certain that I always closed the pet cock AND put the bikes on center stand. My bikes always started first time , living in Upstate NY I put a 1500 watts electric heater close to the engine in the winter months for about an hour and again no problem starting the CBX's

For me, it was never an easy starter, and the accellerator pump wasn't much help. I did pretty much what you did, mounted an external snowmobile plunger below the left sidecover and tapped into the accellerator pump circuit. One half squirt and it started as well as fuel injection.