Honda CX500 V Twin

Author's product rating:   

Comfort	Excellent
Handling	Satisfactory
Looks	Poor
Features	Good
Fuel consumption	Excellent

Advantages:	Cheap, ultra reliable, comfortable, easy to maintain
Disadvantages:	bit slow, bit ugly, no good for posers

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Picture the scene.... you pull into the pub car park after a summer Sunday ride, the girls sitting at the tables outside look over at the sound of the deep rumble of your V-twin motorcycle, you think you look pretty good in your leathers... 'hello girls' thinking kicks in... and then... horror of horrors... you look down between your legs... and there it is.

Your CX machine.

Grasping at the last hope of attracting one of the girls you quickly glance over to check for guide dogs or white sticks. No. Damn. Oh well, you only wanted a quick pint anyway. The CX is to pulling power what Norah Batty is to the porn industry. Not so much irrelevant as just not at all connected, despite ostensibly having the same basic features as something that is.

Motorcycles exist at two opposing poles - Very functional transport, not very stylish (Honda CX500, C90, CG125, Kawasaki GT750, Yamaha XJ900 and Diversion) at one end, and at the other bikes that are very stylish but have no discernible use other than posing (Triumph T595, Yamaha R1, Honda Fireblade, everything by Harley, Big off roaders, all modern Sports bikes). A special few sit right in the middle (see my review of the VFR750) and satisfy both requirements...

Don't get me wrong here, I love the quirky 500 Hondas, in fact behind the VFR750 I think the CX is Honda's best road bike. But it is designed for a purpose, and that purpose is transport, not posing, pulling girls, or pretending to be Mike Hailwood/Freddy Spencer/Eddie Lawson/Valentino Rossi * (* - Delete as appropriate to age!) by wearing the same helmet and knee sliders. And it's no worse for that, despite often beig lambasted by those to whom style is not only paramount, it is the only consideration.

Ok, cards on the table. I was a courier for quite a while, and during that time I owned (among many other bikes I hasten to add) 13 different Honda CXs. One of them covered 325,000 miles...

Model history (skip this but unless you're actually interested!)

The straight model history is quite straightforward. The original CX was the CX500 (sometimes called the 'Z'), introduced to the UK in 1978, the first ones are 'S' registered.
It featured water cooling, four valve pushrod driven cylinder heads, shaft drive, twin front disc brakes, comstar wheels, and twin shocks. The rear brake was a drum. It's identifiable by the lack of a fly screen on the headlamp fairing.
This was followed by the CX500A in 1979, effectively identical but with some colour scheme changes, but with the addition of a pathetically small fly screen round the headlight.
The CX500B in came along in 1980. The B model featured a few minor engine changes, these made the bikes considerably more reliable as tolerances in the original engine were tightened up. They can be identified as the spokes on the comstar whels were reversed!
1982 ('X' registration) saw the introduction of the much revised CX500EC, the Eurosport model. This was a complete reworking of the bike, the twin shock rear end was replaced by an air assisted Prolink single shock, whilst the forks also gained air assistance and trendy anti dive. A fuel gauge was fitted for the first time, and the plastics and bodywork were redesigned. The front wheel was also shrunk from the previous models 19" diameter to 18", and the rear tyre went up one size to 120/90H18 as standard. The manual camchain tensioner adjustment was also revised, replaced by a more reliable automatic version. The frame was much updated and is significantly more rigid than the early models. The spine on the early bikes is a single tube wheras the Euro has 3!
This model ran for two years until it was replaced by the CX650ED, apparently based closely on the 500EC. Apart from the engine capacity other changes included the shaft drive output and differential, and the forks feature a cross brace.
By 1985 production had ended, there are later registered 650s ('D' is the latest registration I've seen) but these were dealers clearing out old stock rather than new production.
There are several other variants that are best avoided unless you really want trouble with parts access.
There was a custom version (CX500C) which was the same as the A model but with a ridiculously small back wheel which made it speed wobble above 75 mph. Some people that have tassles on their jackets think it looked better, but that was kind of missing the point of these bikes as stated earlier.
A similar variant was the Silverwing tourer, this is still effectively a CX with a frock on, and comes in both 500 and 650 guise. The frock makes it slower and owners are scoffed at by both CX-o-philes and Goldwing owners. Having said that they stay drier when it rains...
The last variant is the Turbo models, these are based on the CX500EC and CX650ED models, and quite frankly are terrifying to ride. They are actually quite fast if you're brave/foolish enough to push them hard. They still have the same brakes and very similar suspension to the standard bikes, but will pass 130mph! They also look like the mutant sons of a mating between a motorcycle and a Zoom lolly, with a bit of Dinky toy motorbike thrown in. Best avoided because if they haven't blown up expensively yet they are about to.
The Japanese home market was supplied with a 400cc model of both the standard CX and the Eurosport, a number of these have made their way to the UK as grey imports. They seem to be essentially the same as the equivalent UK model, but with the engine bore sleeved down to reduce the capacity.

So riding them. Hmm....

Like I said earlier they are transport. They can be ridden fast if you know how, you get used to their 'nature', and have little or no fear/sense (hello courier world).
The standard shocks on the twin shock versions will have departed long ago, better replacements were made by Koni and Sachs, although the most common (read cheap) option was Hagon shocks. All improve handling considerably. Putting heavier fork oil in, changing the steering head bearings for taper rollers, and cramming a spacer (valve spring) in above the fork springs all help too. Compared to a modern sports bike even after being modified they are still bendy, particularly in bends ironically. They are top heavy, in fact heavy in general, and need genuine insanity to go quick on.
The engines aren't exactly overwhelmingly powerful either, although the 50bhp output is not far down on the 27 years younger 500s out now. The 650 is a bit better at 65bhp, but this is still not a fast bike by any means.
Fuel consumption can range from 40 if absolutely caning them in town, to 70mpg tootling on the motorway. 55mpg is typical for the 500s, about 45 for the thirstier 650.
Comfort on all of them is pretty good, not in BMW/goldwng territory but better than any modern sports bike. You can sit on these all year if you have to.
Brakes are a bit glacial in action. ie they will eventually do something but can be hard to see what in real time. The later EC and 650 models are MUCH better in this respect, put still aren't up to outbraking R1s, intentionally at least.

Having been so negative so far, I must say they do have that one major quality that has eluded most Japanese bikes, character. The engines are torquey for a 500 yet can hussle along at modern motorway speeds all day, and when you (inevitably) get to where you're going you will probably still be able to feel your bum!

Potential Faults.

They're old, and even they do eventually wear out. I have heard an urban myth of a 1,000,000 mile CX in courier use in London, I've seen more than one do 300,000 miles plus.
Common faults include camchain wear and tear, alternator failure, fork rot, shock rot, prolink linkage wear, carburettor overrun vacuum diaphragm splitting, and water pump impeller failure. Cranks will blow if run low on oil, but they are not over sensitive to this. I had two seize at the crank and break con rods for no obvious reason, both after long lay ups.
The later models with rear disc brakes are prone to them sticking on, and warping the disc expensively.
The early ones have a metal seat base that rots, pattern seats are available but are nowhere near as good as the originals.
Frames and tanks can also be prone to rot, check the bottom corners of both. The swinging arm also rots on older models and can be dangerous, check underneath in front of the back wheel.
The 650 can have problems with its back wheel bearing mounts, no fix possible sadly, they just need the wheel replacing. Wheels for the back are a bit like mule feathers as a consequence!

Maintenance

Throw the air filter away, gain 5mpg. Oil filters can be bought in bulk for £2 each, they'll run on pretty much any modern oil.

In terms of tyres I always liked using Continental tyres on mine, TKV12 front with the ContiTour TK17 on the rear or an Avon. The best I got from a front was 28,000 miles, a rear can last 18,000. I've recently had Bridgestone BT45s on a Eurosport, these are better for grip but defnitely wear faster as a result.

EBC pads are fine, NGK DR8ES-L plugs are best.

Apart from that, there's not much else to do. Oil change every 3000 miles, filter every 6000, plugs every 18,000.

The only extra I'd mention is the use of Molyslip, this helps prevent engine damage in case of low oil levels, I'd put a can in every 12,000 with the oil.

One last thing to mention on maintenance is the valve clearances. These are set engine cold at varying gaps according to the age of engine. (0.12 and 0.10 versus .10 and 0.08 on later machines). The brass bushes in the end of the rocker arms wear slightly with mileage and can give a dodgy reading on clearances. When setting the valve clearances eliminate the slack by pulling up lightly with on the valve clearance adjuster screw with long nose pliers. This will make your engine much quieter, just don't pull up too hard or you'll burn valves.

Prices

£50 for a nail in the local paper free ads, right up to £2500 for something that could go into a museum.
A good runner in standardish nick with less than 50,000 miles on should be yours for £700, the same price they have been for the last 15 years! Now that's slow depreciation!

Condition is much more important than model / mileage, although the 500EC model is the best to go for if you can find a tidy one.

A potential go for ever bike. The engines have been used for kit cars, boats, trikes and so on they are that reliable. There is even one in a trike chassis in the Clint Eastwood film 'Sudden Impact', it looks like a police ice cream van.

Summary

They are cheap to run and constitute the ultimate in 'green' go for ever non-recycling vehicles. Riding one is a different discipline to riding a Ducati, but have a look how many 25 year old bikes there are still in constant use to see where the CX fits into the scheme of things. Fuel and maintenance are cheap as can be, and comfort is much better than average. Bring it back Mini / Beetle style Mr Honda!

The CX is a classic from a different mould, never stylish, but always a durable and fun to ride form of practical transport. They are fun to ride partly because of their anti style statement, that being functional beyond reproach is enough. They are the last of the large bikes made as useful items, style and vacuous image has won the day and today there are no equivalent models from any manufacturer.

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Post Script
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After writing this rose tinted review I managed to convince myself to buy another CX (number 14). It was on flea bay as a non-runner. It has been stood since 1988 and is in dirty condition but all original. It's a black 500 Eurosport. I'm very happy... it was a £255 christmas present to myself... sadster!

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Post Post Script
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Having bought the CX I managed to complete last year's ACU national rally on it, completing 780 miles in under 24 hours and gaining a Gold finishers award. I can confirm that CXs are still subject to snobbery from those who haven't owned one, even all these years later, particularly in the 'knowledgeable biker' class of goatee bearded ride to live morons. These people usually ride Harleys for god's sake. To those Harley riders that were passed by a loon on a CX during the 2006 national, HA HA ha, go and get a proper bike! Apologies to anyone else I cut up... :-)