If you own one of these, then I hope it's nothing like mine was...

[scracha]

Cousin bought one as a nail for 300 UKP back in...cripes...1992. After couriering on it for a few months we went 2's up to the Netherlands on it (a fair jaunt from Scotland). No problems whatsoever, comfortable and sipped gogo juice. Belgium and the netherlands are fairly windy and it handled OK. Sure you just weren't being a tightarsed kiwi and using squared off tyres or something?

If you really want an under braked, evil handling weaving piece of $hite then buy a GPX750. I had the misfortune to own one of these after 3 very happy years on the GPX600.

[Kickaha]

Having owned two of them, and finding that the second one was, if anything, worse than the first, I can only conclude that this is the worst motorcycle that I've ever had the misfortune to ride.

Yet Diesel Pig races one on Pre82 down here with considerable success and quite regularly dispatches bikes with twice the capacity

Although I'd have to admit it's had the front end changed, but it's a bloody sweet bike to ride

[Cruisin' Craig]

Although I'd have to admit it's had the front end changed, but it's a bloody sweet bike to ride

I should also specify that both of mine were 1986 models.

However I personally suspect that most of the problems stemmed from the front end. I wonder if Diesel Pig changed the front end for a reason?

[MDR2]

My mum had a CBX400 in similar colours minus the fugly fairing. At the age of 12 I could hold it up with my feet flat on the floor.

Sadly it was sold before i was old enough to be allowed to ride it

I'd love to get one later perhaps just so I know what i was missing out on ....or not missing out on as the case may be.

I even prefered it to my dads vf400. (which i did ride and drop :S)

[scracha]

Lovely motor in them too. Afaik the first cbr 6's were just using a bored out cbx550 motor but I may be talking shite.

[homer]

i think it maybe a 550 thing
The 400 is sweet
just not enough grunt but handles fine

[Kickaha]

However I personally suspect that most of the problems stemmed from the front end. I wonder if Diesel Pig changed the front end for a reason?

He changed it to get rid of the wanky on board discs, he fitted a CB900 front end and two pot calipers, and changed the springs, he also fitted a Koni rear shock

[lb99]

i think it maybe a 550 thing
The 400 is sweet
just not enough grunt but handles fine

I think the front end on a 400 is closer to that of a VT250, but it still has the antidive and stuff., my CBX400 has plenty of grunt but only between 8-9.5k rpm, it gets a bit tedious, fine for cruising though

[Beemer]

My husband has one, he's had his for about 20 years and it is in mint condition. He only rides it in summer and uses it for track days and he has a ball on it. He says it isn't the fastest of bikes but he still gives other riders a run for their money on it! Here's a shot of him at one of our track days at Manfeild (don't forget - there's another one coming up on March 2!).

[homer]

I think the front end on a 400 is closer to that of a VT250, but it still has the antidive and stuff., my CBX400 has plenty of grunt but only between 8-9.5k rpm, it gets a bit tedious, fine for cruising though

yeah think your right they have the same wheels to

[gav]

Do you still have the CBX550? It would be an interesting exercise to take off that front fairing and see how it goes. They were a sweet little bike in there day, but possibly an XJ550 might have been slightly better.

[Kickaha]

Do you still have the CBX550? It would be an interesting exercise to take off that front fairing and see how it goes.

Diesel Pig was clocked at about 193kmh through a flying 1/4 mile on what is basically a stock motor

They were a sweet little bike in there day, but possibly an XJ550 might have been slightly better.

I reckon the CBX would take it, it's actually 572cc compared to the XJ at 528cc and the CBX is 4 valves per cylinder,stock the CBX is 10hp up on the XJ if you believe the manufacturers claims

[gav]

Diesel Pig was clocked at about 193kmh through a flying 1/4 mile on what is basically a stock motor

I was considering the wobble and braking rather than outright performance.

[gav]

Check out this old KB thread, it has a modernised CBX550 with what looks like a CBR600 engine and suspension!
Second post down.
http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=7455

[F5 Dave]

ok I'll bite (well not really). We'll start by saying I'm not a big Honda fan.

I bought a CBX550 in the very early 90s as I couldn't afford to run the Katana & X7 commuter any more. Several friend had them before so I knew what I was looking for. They were known for camchain tensioners failing early, but wasn't a major fix. The unfaired ones no doubt had less weight on the front but were all the better for it.

Thought it was a great bike & handled really well. But it didn't take much to turn it into a pig. Tyres were king. You had to have the correct sizes in a matched pair that suited the bike. I think I was running Bridgestones of some sort. Also the rear wheel axle position markers on the swingarm were miles out. I stringlined it & made some new marks. It would weave on the std positions.

Once you worked out how to change the front wheel it didn't take much longer than a conventional wheel, but it did dumbfound some mechanics when I was too lazy to take wheels off for new tyre & take the bus to the shop (no car). Brakes worked well if you kept the pistons free, which many didn't because they couldn't take the front wheel off.

The steering head bearings replace for tapered with the superseded mod rubber ring that went under them. The shock needed to be pumped out for oil & replaced & the forks reoiled also.

My test for bikes back then was an off road test track that looked almost exactly like the Nauranga Gorge being a long steep down hill off cambered curving road that goes on forever. Many old bikes wobbled down there at 100 kph (as was the speed limit back then). If a bike went down there composed at 100mph it was a goodun. When sorted the CBX passed with flying colours.

On this off road test track of course, this never happened on the road.

I put about 80,000 clicks on it & had to reoil the shock a few times & re do the linkage & fork bushes to get it back to fine, but strangely these parts were cheap, the fork bushes replaced for about $48 total I seem to remember.

When I rode a friends XZ400 (similar to the 550 mentioned above) there was no comparison. That truly was the most doggy bike I have been on.

And it was brand new.