CBX 550 value

[lb99]

I am going to look at one of these on saturday, the dude wants me to make an offer, but I dont want to offend him ( I dont want to pay too much either) so 18,000 kms, may be dereg, but definately no reg or wof, he says its an open one, and pretty origional so I assume its like this

so what do you guys think

[The Pastor]

picture is too small

[lb99]

oh, thats not the bike its just a picture of one off the 'net

[dickytoo]

The CBX550 came out around the same time as the GPz550. I think the early ones had cam chain tensioner problems (as did the GPz550s). The front disk brakes can be difficult to service being enclosed.

[JimO]

$500 10 charachters

[dangerous]

I think the early ones had cam chain tensioner problems

Just a mith. Diesel Pig beats the living shit out of on in post classic racing never seems to miss a beat.

However Having been brought up with these bikes they did have some rather bad handling issues, but these were mainly with the F2 feird bikes, tended to get rather bad slappers at high speeds.

There is on on trade me at the moment which is just around the corner should yu want me to check it out.

[scumdog]

tended to get rather bad slappers at high speeds.


Man, I wish I only got a bad slapper when I was at high speeds!!!!:dodge:

Even a good slapper would be nice.

[scumdog]

tended to get rather bad slappers at high speeds.


Man, I wish I only got a bad slapper when I was at high speeds!!!!:dodge:

Even a good slapper would be nice.

But sticking to the thread....is there something special about this model of Honda?

[Crazy Steve]

I am going to look at one of these on saturday, the dude wants me to make an offer, but I dont want to offend him ( I dont want to pay too much either) so 18,000 kms, may be dereg, but definately no reg or wof, he says its an open one, and pretty origional so I assume its like this

so what do you guys think


If Kms are Gen...

$500..

If Kms arn't $100..

Crazy Steve..

[dangerous]

Man, I wish I only got a bad slapper when I was at high speeds!!!!:dodge:

Even a good slapper would be nice.

But sticking to the thread....is there something special about this model of Honda?

heard ya the 1st time... and no just another great Honda. :dodge:

[Bonez]

Man, I wish I only got a bad slapper when I was at high speeds!!!!:dodge:

Even a good slapper would be nice.

But sticking to the thread....is there something special about this model of Honda?

Dementure seems to have set in ol chap.

[marty]

is that when your teeth are too old to remember how to chew?

[Titanium]

However Having been brought up with these bikes they did have some rather bad handling issues, but these were mainly with the F2 feird bikes, tended to get rather bad slappers at high speeds.

pfffft high speeds ..... yeah right.

I had one of these beauties back in the 80's ......

On the brakes ... the nice cast iron discs in the ventilated covers .... with the caliper grabbing through the inside ........ .

Bad handling .... sure did ... the front used to wobble like mad.

Never had cam cahin tensioner issues ... think that was more on the CB series not CBX.

just my 10c worth.

[lb99]

But sticking to the thread....is there something special about this model of Honda?

I dont think so, to me the attraction is price, low ks, and its a 4cyl middleweight, so it should be good fun

[dickytoo]

Bad handling .... sure did ... the front used to wobble like mad.




I used to have the 82 GPz550 during the 80s. I've owned 3 of them so far and still have one in the garage. The tests i read at the time indicated that the CBX was a faster steerer than the GPz550, maybe they meant that it wobbled more. my old GPz was as steady as a rock.

Servicing the enclosed front disks can be a nightmare for the less mechanically inclined I understand.

[lb99]

I used to have the 82 GPz550 during the 80s. I've owned 3 of them so far and still have one in the garage. The tests i read at the time indicated that the CBX was a faster steerer than the GPz550, maybe they meant that it wobbled more. my old GPz was as steady as a rock.

Servicing the enclosed front disks can be a nightmare for the less mechanically inclined I understand.

mechanical nightmare yep, sounds like a Honda alright:dodge:

[moko]

CBX is actually 572 cc,sneaky buggers trying to convince people they could compete with Kawasaki on equal terms.They can have major camchain tensioner problems but if it`s still going it`s probably been sorted by now,also starter`s seemed to fail on these for some reason.In the U.K. you couldn`t give it away as the tensioner and the inboard brakes were too much hassle for most.I dont see how making a low offer for an un-popular bike is insulting the seller,it`s called realism mate.I`d ask him if he`s ever had any problems with the camchain tensioner and also how easy it is to change the front pads,if he dosnt tell you the latter is a total pain in the arse walk because he`s not being honest with you.

[dickytoo]

I read about the cam chain tensioner problems. it's good to get confirmation and that I wasn't giving out false info or imagining it.

The kwaka's had a similar problem with sticky tensioners but if you tapped the tensioner with a piece of wood, you could free it up!

there were two wedge shaped pieces of metal that developed burrs and caused them to stick. I did a lot of work on the GPz550s for other people and there were a few with porous casting in the tensioner body. I still like them though and resurrected one from a pile of rust not too long ago.

[dangerous]

What is it and peoples "thing" about cam chain tensioners and Honda ???
Sure they had a few failers in the 80's due to the tensioners not using up all the free play they had, been there done that (CX500ec) But by now unless you find a 20+ yr old bike with less than 10,000km on it... its not a problem.
Same goes for the VTR1000 cam chains, a couple let go and Honda gets the dreaded cam chain abuse again.
All bike makes have built a balls up at some point, the odd cam chain and the VF750 cam thing was Honda's.
well maybe the MVX aswell but that was mostly lack of owner knolage at the time.

PS: the VTR problem was the crappy tension method they use which unlike other brands didnt have a ratchet type safty preventing the unwinding of the tensioner... since 1997 the local honda dealer in Chch has had ONE failer (so they say) yet Honda still get baged.

[dickytoo]

There is no conspiracy about hondas and cam chain tensioners. if you read the posts, i make mention of the kawasaki tensioners woes as well.

the reason we mention it in conjunction with this model is because it did have problems with it. he wanted information and we gave it in all honesty.

you're the one who brought the subject up with regards to the other honda models in this thread. (by the way, thanks for letting us know which other honda models to avoid!:D :bleh:

[dangerous]

There is no conspiracy about hondas and cam chain tensioners. if you read the posts, i make mention of the kawasaki tensioners woes as well.

the reason we mention it in conjunction with this model is because it did have problems with it. he wanted information and we gave it in all honesty.

you're the one who brought the subject up with regards to the other honda models in this thread. (by the way, thanks for letting us know which other honda models to avoid!:D :bleh:

LMAO... no worries, theres no difference between hondas cam chains and Kawa's 2 valve head burn outs in the same era.

[lb99]

LMAO... no worries, theres no difference between hondas cam chains and Kawa's 2 valve head burn outs in the same era.

Phewww I thought my thread was turning nasty.

so the general consensus is $500 is top dollar. I really feel sorry for this dude as his wife is making him sell off all his toys so she can put a DANCE FLOOR in the garage:gob: , so not only does he have to sell his bikes, ect, but he also loses the garage, and then he'll have me telling him his pride and joy( which I have pestered him for a price on for months) is a piece if shit and worth fuck all, this is really gonna fuck his weekend up.

I am kinda looking forward to having an adventure with the inboard brake setup, its supposed to work ok once you set it up correctly, are these really TWIN inboard disk?

[moko]

There is no conspiracy about hondas and cam chain tensioners.

CBR600`s have been plagued with camchain tensioner problems as well,and not just the old ones either,not too difficult to fix,often a stripdown and clean-up will fix it but still bloody annoying.VF500 was another great little bike ruined by the same thing.Stupid thing is that there was a guy in London called Tony Galea who ran a business fixing and replacing chains and tensioners who came up with fixes for a couple of Honda`s bikes.So how come a mobile mechanic from London working out of the back of his van can do it but Honda couldn`t? CB900s and the early dohc 750`s used to luch their tensioners as well,often with terminal results.It`s not "just Hondas" Fazer tensioners can stick as well and no doubt plenty of others,Honda are however to be congratulated for their consistency over the years.

[dickytoo]

LMAO... no worries, theres no difference between hondas cam chains and Kawa's 2 valve head burn outs in the same era.

I pulled a Z650 apart once and it had burnt 3 out of 4 exhaust valves. one had a chunk burnt off the edge, the second was badly out of round and the third had huge splits in it. the owner hadn't done any valve adjustments for a long time.

I've had my share of problems on Kwakas but I still love them. the only kwaka i hated with a passion were the old z400/z440s. I overhauled (or tried to) several with varying degress of success. the balance chain was a bastard and Duane Brown from Norjos told me to leave the balancer weights in place but to leave the chain off. When the bike was on the centre stand, the vibration would move the bike several inches everytime the engine was revved!

Good memories:yes:

[Sensei]

The only thing the CBX550 had wrong in the early models was they would run Number 3 Big end bearing when pushed hard this may have been sorted later on ? . This issue was due to small oil holes in the Crank .

[Beemer]

I have no idea what they are worth but my husband has a CBX550 in mint condition - he's only the second owner and he's had it for about 20 years!

He takes it up to Manfeild every year for his club's annual track day and has a ball on it. It's the only one of his bikes I can actually ride because I'm too short to ride the others!

There is a shot of it in the "your gargre line-up" thread - not sure if this will link to the photo or not but here goes: http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=17869&d=1129501066

[Kickaha]

Just a mith. Diesel Pig beats the living shit out of on in post classic racing never seems to miss a beat.


He has done two cranks

[Bonez]

I pulled a Z650 apart once and it had burnt 3 out of 4 exhaust valves. one had a chunk burnt off the edge, the second was badly out of round and the third had huge splits in it. Same thing's happened with my old GSX750EZ and Gerty the CB750FC2. Both at around 50,000kms. Clearances were checked frequently I may add. The hot gen for setting older DOHC Hondas is set them at 5 thou of an inch instead of the factory recommended 3 thou. Gerty's top cam chain is getting rattly now, but this is not unusual.

[dickytoo]

Same thing's happened with my old GSX750EZ and Gerty the CB750FC2. Both at around 50,000kms. Clearances were checked frequently I may add. The hot gen for setting older DOHC Hondas is set them at 5 thou of an inch instead of the factory recommended 3 thou. Gerty's top cam chain is getting rattly now, but this is not unusual.


While I am not a great fan of Suzukis, having owned a couple and worked on quite a few, the toughest engine I've ever worked on was the old 2 valve gs550.

i knew a guy who abused ond so badly, i was surprised it ever ran. he wore the brake pads down past the metal backing plate and starting using the caliper pistons for barking material.:gob: that was just the brakes. i can't remember the details about the other bits but it was a sad piece of machinery.

he ran his bike off the road into a ditch this one time and somehow the whole cylinder block was pushed back about 1 cm (the locating dowels got squashed). We took it apart and replaced the dowels and the bloody bike fired up like nothing had hapened!


the Z650 valves burning out was definitely neglect as I had to replace several shims. The Kwakas generally run quite large clearances, typically 7 to 8 thou which explained why their tappets were usally noiser.

funny thing about bikes, we can live with their quirks and still love them :yeah:

can say that i've ever felt that way about my many cars.

[Bonez]

While I am not a great fan of Suzukis, having owned a couple and worked on quite a few, the toughest engine I've ever worked on was the old 2 valve gs550.

i knew a guy who abused ond so badly, i was surprised it ever ran. he wore the brake pads down past the metal backing plate and starting using the caliper pistons for barking material.:gob: that was just the brakes. i can't remember the details about the other bits but it was a sad piece of machinery.

he ran his bike off the road into a ditch this one time and somehow the whole cylinder block was pushed back about 1 cm (the locating dowels got squashed). We took it apart and replaced the dowels and the bloody bike fired up like nothing had hapened!

I guess it shows how robust they are. Some owners just really don't give a toss about regular maintenance though. There's a Gs550 up for sale on Trademe at the moment in Woodville. Tempted to get it.

I guess we all have or preferences. For some reason I prefer Honda and underated ones at that. First bike I had was a CJ250 that I use to commute from Auckland to Havelock North every other weekend. Set the stage I guess.

[lb99]

enough speculation, here's the lowdown, I went out there this afternoon, He lives in Renwick, so I was able to do a couple of laps of the hawksbury circuit on the way there :niceone: Its a CBX400 supersport , and I reckon the Ks are genuine, the footpegs dont look like they have ever touched the deck, this bike is in good condition, it was under a pile of crap in his garage, we pulled it out and it started without too much hassle ( fresh gas and a Jump from my Z440), the tyres were a bit flat so I didn't ride it but I was happy with the sounds emitting from the engine, and the overall condition of the thing indicates that it has been extremly well looked after, so I offered 500 and left it in his hands.
when I got home ( via the hawksbury circuit again) the neighbours hit me up in the driveway with an offer too good to refuse for the old DT in the garage, Sweet, now I'm cashed up good n proper:yes: and to top it off I got offered an XS850G as a straight swap for my Z440, so Who knows about these?

[Bonez]

Sweet, now I'm cashed up good n proper:yes: and to top it off I got offered an XS850G so Who knows about these?Typical yamaha heavy weight pigs of the time. Built like brick out houses but coils are shite and should be replaced. Would make a great side car hauler.

[lb99]

He's spent megabux on the thing but is sick of the sight of it, it only idles on two but picks up the third when you rev it a bit, he reckons its the carb, but maybe it is a weak coil, I'll check it out tomorrow

[Bonez]

He's spent megabux on the thing but is sick of the sight of it, it only idles on two but picks up the third when you rev it a bit, he reckons its the carb, but maybe it is a weak coil, I'll check it out tomorrowIf you take it for a ride be aware that shafties have what's refered to as torque reaction which as rising and lower of the rear end on acceleration/deceleration.
Has been known to spit riders off.

[lb99]

I had an 82 XJ750 that was pretty good, you got used to the weird shaft drive effect, it was good for going uphill on slippery surfaces (even better with a trials tire on dirt)

[dangerous]

He has done two cranks

Yeah but look at the treatment it gets... and as Sensei says the cranks were a prob when treated like that.


Its a CBX400 supersport

If the price is right... and you lioke it, get it the orange SS400 was the best of them all
Check out the 550 on trade me at the mo and compare that to the one you are looking at.

[lb99]

but I suppose it could be orange, I should hear back on my offer tomorrow.
No go on the 850 though, when I got there this morning the guy had had all night to think about it, and changed his mind.

do you mean this one? http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Motorbikes/Motorbikes/Classic-vintage/auction-76150800.htm

if so then its similar, single inboard disk though, and all one colour

[merv]

They raced well, though 1984 is a long time ago, so definitely only worth a few hundred bucks, thta's the 550 but I see now it was a 400 after all.

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1775&d=1083049438

Any one recognise when and where?

These other fellahs was there too numbers 30 and 3 - RIP!

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=672&d=1071991614

[dangerous]

do you mean this one? http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motors/Motorbikes/Motorbikes/Classic-vintage/auction-76150800.htm


Yip thats the one, very tidy and Id say a decent price too.

[Dadpole]

http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1775&d=1083049438

Any one recognise when and where?[/url]

Was that the old Lyall Bay track?

[merv]

Was that the old Lyall Bay track?

That's the one, you'd recognise the beach in the background. Those were fun times, just a shame Robert Holden, Peter Blackwood and Dave Martin aren't with us any more. The CBX punters in those days were guys like Dave Martin, Paul Pavletich and Neil Harris. Holden was on the other brand.

[geoffc]

I am going to look at one of these on saturday, the dude wants me to make an offer, but I dont want to offend him ( I dont want to pay too much either) so 18,000 kms,

so what do you guys think

I know of an older guy in Picton with one. Very tidy, in fact spotless. I believe he bought it new as a shop demo bike and so he is only the second owner. The guy has M.E. and the bike has to go. Is this the same bike I wonder? It was all white from memory.
Cheers Geoff

[lb99]

the guy is still up in the air about it, so I don't own it yet.
tell me more about this one in picton, I'd probably be keen if I could afford it.

[lb99]

:scooter: :scooter: :scooter: :
:ride: :ride: :ride:
I got it, I pick it up tomorrow
:banana::banana::banana::banana:

[dangerous]

Good shit... post pics :scooter:

[lb99]

:done:

its got a cycleworks exhaust on it, boy is it loud :whocares: :Punk:

the frame # is NC07 2001505, can anyone tell me what year it is?, the rego says 1990, but I doubt it.

I have no time to play today, but I have tomorrow afternoon off, so I hope to go deafen a few sheep:yes:

[dangerous]

nice man, bit of a scrub up there and a polish there and it will look sweet.

[Dadpole]

Going by the frame number, it may be an '83.
Have a look at this site. It has some info on the 400 & 550

http://bakkers.gr.jp/~yasuda/CBX/index.html

[lb99]

Going by the frame number, it may be an '83.
Have a look at this site. It has some info on the 400 & 550

http://bakkers.gr.jp/~yasuda/CBX/index.html

cheers for that, I have already checked out tht site, very informative

Well, I booked the afternoon off today so I could play with my new toy, but then the kids broke a fuggen window, so I had to piss about with glass and putty for a couple of hours.

I finally got out for a ride at about 4 pm and only managed to do about 25ks, but I came back with a big grin on my face :yes:

this bike is LOUD, so much that I got all paranoid when I saw the HP while I was negotiating a roundabout:shit: :shit:

Its really smooth too, no bad vibes or buzzes ( apart from the eardrums), but at first it seemed really slow, until it started to miss and fuck about at 100kph in top gear, so I changed down and revved it a bit more, I kept doing this until I encountered 8500rpm in third... wahooo..... what a funny place to hide the power, is this normal?
This thing thrives on revs and it seems to get pretty hot too, so I can see that I will need some decent oil for it, can anyone tell me what grade and how much?
other than that I thought it handled fine, it inspires confidence.
the brakes have a good bite and slow you down well and the gearbox is superb.
It is a pig when it is cold though, I'll need to clean out the carbs and balance them, but the motor sounds ok and has no obvious leaks.
altogether I think this is a pretty good score, albeit not quite as powerful as I would have thought, the power is there but you have to wring its neck to get to it, (around 9000rpm), but it rides well and can pull itself around town in top, but you have to get good at changing gear to keep it on song.
Its good on the highway too, great for scaring the crap out of cagers Waaaoommmmmmm :Punk:

[Clivoris]

his wife is making him sell off all his toys so she can put a DANCE FLOOR in the garage:gob:
No chance she's getting a pole put in as well? :shifty:

[diesel pig]

Its really smooth too, no bad vibes or buzzes ( apart from the eardrums), but at first it seemed really slow, until it started to miss and fuck about at 100kph in top gear, so I changed down and revved it a bit more, I kept doing this until I encountered 8500rpm in third... wahooo..... what a funny place to hide the power, is this normal?
This thing thrives on revs and it seems to get pretty hot too, so I can see that I will need some decent oil for it, can anyone tell me what grade and how much?


I had a problem like that got the air cleaner cleaned and that sorted it. Just use good motorcycle 4-stroke oil 20w-50.

[zeRax]

a local :o

[zeRax]

hey, turns out u bought it off a guy i work with :D , good sort, gave him shit today about not selling it to me :\ !

[lb99]

hey, turns out u bought it off a guy i work with :D , good sort, gave him shit today about not selling it to me :\ !

had a quick look through the thread for any slander:dodge: I think I am ok, where do you work? are you on the vineyard?, do you not live in nelson anymore? keep your eyes peeled for me I am usually on board a Z200.

[zeRax]

ya, i work for winegrowers of ara, mainly in workshop welding and servicing and whatever atm, but sposed to be doing cell systems, irigation and data bullshit too,

he manages the nursary and other stuff ;0 cept he mainly just sits in the offices out there drinking coffee!


just moved back to blenheim recently :P best change my profile!