1983 Honda CX500 Custom *Sold £1,000*

Description

• NO RESERVE
• Many new genuine parts
• Fabulous condition
• Once ubiquitous, now rather rare and sought after
• Loss of garage forces sale

The CX500 didn’t so much break new ground as rewrite how we perceived motorcycles. It was at the forefront of a whole genre of motorcycles, many of them are sought after classics today. For these reasons and many more, the Honda CX500 is unquestionably a classic, classic motorcycle.

Say what you like about Honda, and many do, but it does things its own way. Generally the end result is pretty close to perfect. Staying at the front of the curve was Honda’s mantra. The Honda CX500 did that in virtually every aspect.

The new model from Honda arrived in 1978. It came from the crazy mind of Shoichiro Irimajiri. He was the genius responsible for the Honda GL1000 Gold Wing and the jaw dropping six cylinder Honda CBX. Wow!

The engine

• The CX500 was a 497cc 80-degree V-twin
• Liquid cooled
• Producing 48hp @ 9,000rpm
• A top speed, flat on the tank, downhill of about 110mph
• Unlike other V-twins the engine was set across the frame
• This made the CX500 narrower and easier to handle
• The cylinders were further inverted to keep the carbs tucked under the tank

Honda kept the CX500 simple too, with single camshaft and double overhead valves acting on tiny pushrods. This bullet proof design provided legendary reliability.

Shoichiro Irimajiri wasn’t done there.

The transmission

• The longitudinally mounted V-twin’s transmission was a shaft drive
• To keep the whole package short and balanced the gearbox was mounted underneath the V-twin
• The clutch and whole transmission rotated in the opposite direction to the engine!
• This ironed out the rotational forces and made the CX a silky smooth unit
• The shaft drive was an enclosed splined unit connected to the rear wheel via a bevel gear enclosed in an oil bath

It worked beautifully and the public couldn’t get enough CXs. It was a top, top seller for Honda.

Frame and suspension

• The frame of the CX500 featured a robust central spine
• The engine/transmission unit acted as a stressed member
• Front forks were hydraulic
• Dual rear coil spring over telescopic shock absorbers at the rear
• The large 4.9 gallon fuel tank meant the CX became much loved as a tourer too

Flushed with success, Honda introduced the style packed CX Custom:

• The Custom had a smaller narrower fuel tank
• Upright, cowhorn style handlebars.
• The indicators were moved from the front fairing to lower down on the front forks.
• Uprated front forks were fitted
• Twin front brake discs were introduced on the Custom

And this very good Honda CX500 Custom is the easiest and often the most fun of all the CX’s. It rides relatively low, and its short, narrow wheel base make it easy to shift about. The smooth, peppy 500cc V-twin puts out plenty of power. The wet clutch allows for very easy gear shifts, unlike some classic cable operated bikes.

It will go two-up with ease, especially with that beautifully crafted cross-stitched seat. Around town is easy to manoeuvre, that is why it was such a favourite with despatch riders. It will cruise comfortably at 70mph as well. The touring screen on the CX500 makes a short hop to the coast very enjoyable.

Our vendor John has had this CX500 for a number of years. In that time he has fitted a number of new and genuine parts, including hard to find items like real chrome, not plastic chrome ones, from the States.

During John’s ownership it has always been garaged. The garage is sadly going and John has nowhere to store. So it has to go and go it will.

Our view

In the 70/80’s the CX500’s were everywhere. We all had one or wanted one. To see one now is a rare sight. Where have they all gone? Who knows.

Many were crashed, bashed and abused. In the late 80s and early 90’s it wasn’t uncommon to see CX’s turned into ‘Rat’ bikes. Honda’s engineering made them bomb proof but the biking world had moved on towards hyper-performance machine madness.

In recent years the CX500 has become hugely popular among bespoke custom builders. And they make some stunning designs.

Whatever the new owner does with this rare piece of motorcycling history they’ll be getting a truly lovely Honda CX500 legend at a bargain price.

 

Bike Location: Halifax HX1 – it’s the responsibility of the winning bidder to make collection / transportation arrangements directly with the vendor

Have a question about this bike? Please contact the Evoke team at auction@evoke-classics.com and we will speak to the vendor on your behalf.

Guide Prices?

We’re different. But you know that. And we’re always honest. In a sector where no two classics are same, how does anyone put a ‘guide’.

Well, everyone knows the broad value of classic, let’s all be honest. So we don’t need to tell you what you already know, do we.

The ‘market’ decides and the old cliché that ‘it’s are worth what someone wants to pay’ is no less true. So why kid everyone!

But, because we are different, if it really does matter to you, that’s fine, we want you to be happy. Just drop us a line at auction@evoke-classics.com and one of us will be delighted to ring you back and discuss, it’s what we do.

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