Honda Cx500
HONDA CX500
CYCLE WORLD TEST
Honda's Sporting Middleweight Begins a 10,000 Mile Workout
Being innovative and being Number One usually don’t go hand-in-hand. We all know Hertz doesn't try harder and Chevy’s novelty turns to Corvairs and Vegas while Ford comes out with Mustangs. And then,
of course, there’s Honda. Even after coming out with the revolutionary 750 Four 10 years ago, Honda is accused of selling Universal Japanese Motorcycles, a term so passé it is spoken of as nostalgia. Whatever Honda produces will become ordinary simply because of its own success.
Except for the CX500.
It’s been called a lot of things, but it
hasn’t been called ordinary, which is exactly what Honda intended. When Honda introduced the 80° V-Twin, liquid-cooled, shaft drive, 500cc motorcycle, the engineers explained that Honda wanted to produce something different.
It certainly is different. The only other motorcycle resembling the CX500 is the Moto Guzzi and even that isn’t as different as the Honda. Stressed engine frame, heads canted 22° so the 35mm Keihin CV carbs can tuck in under the gas tank, counter-rotating clutch to balance engine torque, pushrod-operated four-valve heads, 10:1 compression ratio running on regular gas, a nacelle for gauges that looks 20 years after its time—the CX almost tries too hard to be different.
But it works.
The 80° V-Twhn is as smooth as any Twin going and more powerful than any other 500cc bike available. It gets excellent gas mileage, is tractable, and can probably fill in as an air compressor if looks count for anything. For being as complex a design as it is, it is amazingly easy to service. Two bolts hold the rocker arm covers onto the heads. The clutch is readily accessible at the front of the engine. A CDI ignition eliminates points maintenance. Changing spark plugs couldn’t be easier. And when major work is required, the whole engine/ transmission package can be removed from the motorcycle in half an hour.
Motorcycle engine designs are always compromises, trading off one feature for a more valued feature. For the impressive performance of the CX500, the penalty is weight and complexity. Weight with half a tank of fuel is 473 lb., a pound lighter than Honda’s own 650. 48 lb. heavier than a Triumph 750, 90 lb. heavier than a Yamaha SR500 and about 100 lb. heavier than a Moto Guzzi 500, another 500cc V-Twin with shaft drive. Complexity is more difficult to measure. There’s the radiator and water pump and thermostat and plumbing and fan mounted on the end of the camshaft. There’s shaft drive wfith attending complexities.
For the complexity and weight, though, the CX500 suffers little. Complexity means difficult to service and unreliable. Weight means slow and hard to handle. None of this bothers the CX. It’s not slow and it doesn’t feel heavy.
What about ease of service and dependability? Glad you asked. The CX500 you see here is our new long-term sport bike. We intend to keep it and ride it for 10.000 mi., an average year’s mileage, and see howr it works. That also gives us the opportunity to check out a variety of accessories for the CX.
One point worth noting here. The first CX500s w'ere subject to a recall from American Honda. Seems the cam chain tensioner is held in wfith a bolt which could come loose. The recalled motorcycles had a new bolt installed and a reinforcing bracket added to the slipper-like tensioner. Our bike, a 1979 model, came from the factory with a fix. We have received letters from a few' CX500 owners who have reported problems with the cam chain and difficulty in getting the problem fixed. Although running our bike for 10,000 mi. won’t prove all the new Hondas are cured of problems, it will prove w'hether our random sample is afflicted.
When the CX was first introduced, there weren’t any accessories available for it. Because there are no frame downtubes, frame-mount fairings couldn’t be readily adapted. The wide seat extended so far past the end of the frame, there wasn’t a place to mount a rack or saddlebags. The cowling around the instruments and signal lights interfered with mounting a conventional handlebar mount fairing. After a few months, the aftermarket industry figured out how to fasten a fairing to the frame under the gas tank and how to wrap saddlebag and rack mounts under the seat. The only problem we’ve experienced getting accessories for the new model is that the front signal lights were moved slightly for 1979, making some existing fairings incompatible.
One accessory already ordered is a set of air caps for the forks. The spring rate on the forks is so low that the forks bottom easily, particularly during braking. With the front forks completely collapsed, pavement irregularities come through the forks and make control during hard braking difficult.
The shocks are nearly as soft, but they work better. Honda calls the Showa model on the CX a FVQ shock, which, when translated means it’s a two-stage shock. For solo riding the springs and shocks provide a plush ride. With a passenger the shocks are short on damping and the springs just too soft. The combination of soft fork springs and shock springs makes for one of the best riding Japanese motorcycles available, certainly Honda’s best riding motorcycle. Usually the combination of soft suspension and relatively heavy weight make for a poor handling motorcycle. Not so for the Honda.
Once moving, the CX feels lithe and corners easily, with little effort and good precision. The gas tank, more than any other part of the motorcycle, gives the impression of bulk because of the bulbous shape. That big tank makes the Honda feel large, even though it doesn’t handle large.
A strange sensation. At low speeds, parking lot speeds, the CX doesn’t balance as well as some other motorcycles arid the relatively great weight is felt. But on the open road the handling and ride combination is impressive. Very impressive. It’s a mid-size bike that doesn’t ride like a puddle jumper and doesn’t handle like a pig. As nice a compromise as we’ve ever seen.
Riding the CX is different from riding any other motorcycle. Not necessarily better or worse, just different. Most of the difference is attributable to the engine, which is understandable as the motor is the essence of a motorcycle. The 500 makes a sound like a big-block V-8. Revving the motor, the same gurgle as a rat motor comes from the diminutive V-Twin. The sound doesn’t come across to specta-> tors, the Honda is too quiet for that. It's just there for the rider to listen to and enjoy during the stoplight Grand Prix.
Riders used to larger machines or similar sized cycles with lots of low-end grunt, like the Yamaha thumper or Triumph are at first put off by the lack of low-end power. The Honda runs well enough at low engine speeds, there just isn't much power below 3500 rpm. Keeping up with traffic means running the Honda in 2nd and 3rd, keeping the engine spinning. Above 6000 rpm the motor picks up a full head of steam and performance is impressive. Even our test rider who prefers to keep revs down on test bikes found himself regularly hitting the 10.000 rpm redline. The engine invites high revs and takes abuse in stride.
As pleasant as the suspension and engine are, the brakes seem particularly unpleasant. Like all of the 1979 Hondas tested this year, there has been a pulse during braking coming through the brake lever. The pulse isn't noticeable under allout braking, only under normal use. Stopping distances are good, particularly the 30 mph stop, but control proved difficult; the front wheel locking during several stops.
Other mechanical bits and pieces are uniformly excellent. The clutch is light, takes hold gradually—so gradually as to feel as though it's slipping—and has held up well during drag strip use so far. Shifting is pleasantly light. The lever, sticking sideways out from the engine case, moves wfith a short, gentle touch of the foot. Switches on the CX are convenient, easy to use. and well thought out. The interlock doesn't prevent the engine from being started with the clutch out when the transmission is in neutral, though if the transmission is in gear the clutch must be pulled. Throttle springs are light. The handlebars are normal enough but didn't draw any comment during testing, either good or bad. Same for the pegs.
A couple of inconveniences are the gas cap, which is held at the end of a short chain and messes up the gas tank during fillups, and a helmet lock which holds a link which holds the seat which seems overdone. The seat, by the way, isn’t particularly comfortable, though it is large. The shape just isn't right for anyone and the padding doesn't help.
Instruments and idiot lights are normal enough, but the nacelle which houses the instruments and lights strikes most of us as unnecessary on a motorcycle. Overall styling of the CX500 was considered ugly by most of the riders; however, a number of non-motorcyclists who saw the bike commented on how attractive it w'as. Interesting.
Honda’s most important, and ultimately most successful, motorcycles have always been different from the norm. The differences of the CX won't find favor wfith all motorcyclists, but because the performance by all standards is above reproach, the Honda CX500 will succeed. Despite the styling.
HONDA CX500
SPECIFICATIONS
$2398
ACCELERATION
PERFORMANCE
