I had a CX500 Custom when I lived in Japan during the eighties, the one with the stepped seat and high bars. It was indestructible and never put a foot wrong. I bought it for £200 with 600kms on the clock, what a bargain!
After some teething troubles were fixed by Honda, they were faultless. Hundreds of thousands of cheap miles over decade with London couriers on them proved that!
Hmmm. I got into scooters as a young mod in the early '80s (Vespa PX125 bored out to a 180), but found I liked riding and discovered the performance limits quickly enough! I started hankering after CX500s because they were shaft drive (wasn't used to chains 'cos of the Vespa), water-cooled (no worrying about overheating), tubeless tyres (no blow-outs), and 500cc was plenty quick back then. I even liked the look of the engine! The cops used them here in Ireland too (with panniers fitted) so they were reliable after the initial probs. Ended up going to London (because insurance costs were crazy here for young people) and buying a Kawasaki GT750 which I had an aftermarket fairing fitted to. The CX500 had been discontinued at that point, but I sometimes wonder should I have got the Turbo... fairing in place and all. The CX was certainly different, and in many ways innovative, but I don't know if I would describe it as weird and lump it in with some of the oddities above. Just my opinion.
Fair point, and I’ll admit the CX has grown on me over the years. I was more talking about how me and my mates reacted to it when it first came out in 1978. It was so radical, so unlike anything we’d ever seen before, and all we could do was scratch our heads and ask why! Then with the camchain issues I guess we felt vindicated! But like many things that were a shock almost 50 years ago, you get used to them. Plus Honda fixed the problems and it became a reliable machine that you saw everywhere, in London at least. 😊🏍️
I absolutely loved my CX500! I had it for 7 years and about 55000 miles before it got lifted from outside my flat. From the Pentland Firth to the English Channel, it never argued with me and did exactly what it was told to do. The only problem I ever had with it was the silencers, which would last about a year before rotting through. Once I had replaced them with a Motad 2-into-1 system, all was sweetness and light! If Honda revived it today, I'd buy it like a shot, even if just for nostalgia's sake.
Yes, it’s sort of grown on me over the years. It seemed much more weird at the time! They did have a reliability issue, I believe, in the first year or two. But Honda being Honda they put that right quickly. The London motorcycle couriers I know used to do hundreds of thousands of miles on them and they never missed a beat. You could treat them like dirt and they’d just go on and on.
I worked at a multi franchise dealer when the Aeriel three emerged and of all the ones we sold I recall only one customer actually riding his bike in all the others were either pushed or pedalled. Luckily they died out very quickly.
I dunno 1/3 Phil..... The CX-650 Turbo was very desirable in me little mind. a few of those 5 we never saw Stateside, thank God. But of course we all knew of the Munch btw, those jets at 4:33, I used to work on :-) (look up VMFA-333 F-4J) Keep pumping the video's out, they are most excellent Cheers, OKC Neal 🍺
Thanks Neal, glad you appreciate my meagre offerings. I included those jets with you in mind! I do wonder what the TurboMaggot was like in real life. Like you, I was tempted by it, especially because we were all turbo-crazy in the late 80s and early 90s. But I also wonder what the turbo lag on it was like. Hmm, I might go away and do some research, there must be contemporaneous reviews around somewhere. It’s funny, but the CX500/650 sort of grew on me and I was really just trying to capture what we all thought when it first hit the scene. Cheers, Wobbly. 🍺🏍️
@@3Phils I got curious and looked it up 12.1 at 111 mph in the quarter and top speed of 130 That aint nothin fer a little 650 twin 🙂 Sad that Honda has lost a few steps lately. They can't even top 10 in MotoDucati....errr...I mean MotoGP 🤨
@joeblow5037 Blimey, my Commando did the quarter in less! Yes, I agree that Honda seem to have lost their way. The last thing they made which excited me was my CB600RR, which got nicked from outside my flat in the middle of the night, it was THAT exciting! But that was 20 years ago now. Yes, I do have a CB1300 currently, but it’s sadly at the bottom of the pecking order when it comes to deciding what to go out on.
I still have a CX650 Turbo. Sadly not running now, but that's down to me parking it when responsibilities overtook me. The Turbo is a great bike. It was built by Honda Racing Corporation in limited numbers and has an RCxx number, I forget what. Below 3500rpm it's a slug but from there up it to 9000rpm goes like stink. As long as you kept it above 3500rpm there was no appreciable turbo lag. 3500 rpm is 70mph in top gear on the motorway. I would sit in the centre lane at 70mph waiting for some four wheeled jerk to come flying up behind me at over 100 and just as he disappeared from my mirror into my blindspot I would whack the throttle open and be travelling next to him as he pulled level! Took the Turbo stickers off and surprised other riders all the time who thought it was just a CX650. Mine would do 145mph indicated and handled solidly and reassuringly at that speed.
@geoffreypiltz271 Very interesting info and thanks for setting the record straight re the Turbo. I remember thinking when they came out that they’d be laggy and weird, but there you go, there’s nothing to beat a first hand account from an owner. 😊🏍️
I have to confess I had a CZ125 as my first bike. Odd machine, from the clutch being linked to the gear change ( which doubled as the kick start) to the nasty habit of blowing fuses as you went over bumbs (the voltage regulator shorted on the swinging arm). Bizarre but got me through the test! 😮😂😂😂
My current “winter bike” is a 78 CX500 with a GL500 engine transplant. It is an anti hipster bike equipped with a Vetter Windjammer fairing and bags. Makes for a great relatively light tourer.
They can cope with all kinds of weather, many survived London winters for decades. I’m definitely going to have a think about something similar as a ‘winter bike’, what a great idea! 😊🏍️
I had a GL 650 Silverwing interstate which was based on the same design and platform as a CX 500 it was actually my first bike. The ugliness was covered up by the faring, which made it look actually pretty good. The best thing about it was, I could adjust the valves without pulling the fuel tank. It was great from that perspective beyond that, not one of my better purchases.
Interesting, and yes, I agree they did look better fully covered at the time. But I kind of got used to the design over the years to the extent that, y’know, on a dark night, wearing sunglasses…
Thanks for the comment. 😊 I left the MZ off because I actually have quite an affection for them. They were certainly much more popular when I was growing up in the 1970s. I’m aware that the Münch Mammut began in 1966, but we only really heard about them here in the UK in the 1970s, so to me it’s more like a 70s bike. 👍🏍️
@@3Phils BTW and a propos of nothing (almost) the Hercules rotary produced 27hp. Reason being that was a legal cut off point for the first year you held your bike licence and it was a big step up in insurance premiums when you went above that. At the time (and if I remember correctly) insurance premiums were grouped in power output ie ≥27hp, 27-50hp and above. So unless the unrestricted engine was going to get close to 50hp there was not much point in selling it. A gentlemen's agreement among manufacturers limited max power to 100hp for bikes sold in West Germany. The Hercules was incredibly thirsty for a 27hp bike.
My best mate had a CX500 back in the early 80’s. We had loads of fun on it. In my 60’s now, and I have a mint one in my collection, and it is a thing of beauty now I reckon. Bit under powered, but a lovely ride. The innovations on that bike were ahead of its time. Love the channel, but gutted you put a CX on this list 😳🤪🤣🤣🤣
For context here, the CX500 is on the list because of the reaction my mates and I had to it at the time it was launched, in 1978. Maybe I didn’t make that clear enough in the commentary. It was truly revolutionary back then, but by the same token also came across as rather weird to our 1978 eyes. As I’ve said below a few times, it’s now been around for so long that it’s possible to view it with affection - heck, I even considered getting one myself! So forgive me for classifying it as ‘weird’, it was weird back then but became a solid, reliable, popular bike that stood out from the crowd - but not in London as every courier was riding one! 👍🏍️
@ It can’t have offended me that much mate, as I subscribed on the back of it 😉. Loved the two vids you made. Yeah, it really is a great memory lane when you look back. I remember the first time I saw a 400 Four as I waited for my school bus at the corner of our village, and a young lad came round the corner every morning on a red one. I was 14, and I was in love. He came into the corner, and whistled out of it down a long straight. Got one myself now, as I swore at 14 that I would have one, one day. Same with the original Goldwing….. Incidentally, back then, I absolutely detested the Honda CD175. Remember them? I hated them, AND their owners with a passion. Wind on 40 odd years and I saw a red one on eBay. Utterly gorgeous. Had to have it, and he is called “Old Seedy”, for reasons you will get straight away. In my bike room he stands opposite my Foggy replica 916SPS, the glamour puss if you like, just to remind me of how genuine hatred for that bike, turned into utter love, and honestly, I love it more than the Ducati, thereby confirming my status, as a silly old fart 😂😂
@paulsmyth497 Ha! Thanks for subscribing 😊 Yeah, I couldn’t stand those CD175s either. There was something about them, to me they just looked so old-fashioned. And what was with the CD? Why weren’t they a CB?! Anyhow, sounds like you’ve got a great collection in your shed! 👍🏍️
I made my living on the Cx500 as a London courier and it ran perfectly after I replaced the cam-chain + tensioner in my basement flat. Colleagues would help me lift and carry it downstairs and up again after the work was done the next morning.
Wow! Your mates were definitely real mates! I have a mate (called Phil, of course) who still works in London as a courier and he swears those CXs would have gone on for infinity if they hadn’t mostly succumbed to the attrition of living on London streets for decades.
Apparently the early models were prone to doing that, and they gained a bit of a reputation. But Honda fixed it and they went on to be pretty bulletproof, even though some folk (me included) remained suspicious of them.
Glad you didn't lump my beloved MZ TS250 in with the rest of the Eastern bloc bikes Phil 🙂 And here's a video idea for you. Best motorcycle movie... The Wild One, Mad Max, Easy Rider, On Any Sunday, Stone, World's Fastest Indian et al. And of course the ten worst.
There were quite a few CX650 Turbos on show at last weekend's Stafford Classic. In fact there was one in the Bonhams auction spread across 3 benches in bits for about £800.00 Thinking about it, there was a Munch there up for auction, the first time I've seen one up close.
@@3Phils The Munch and auction stuff is coming up next Saturday. I'm just gathering all the sold prices from Bonhams UA-cam live feed to add into the vid. The show walk around is live.
The Jawa 350 was quite popular in the 1970s in the UK as a sidecar combo. A friend had one and carried his wife and baby in the sidecar. It was crude and smoky but tough and reliable. The Ural was known in the UK as the Urinal and not surprisingly was not rated highly. It was nothing more than a recycled 1930s BMW without German build quality. The Honda CX500 had a bit of a story behind it. In an effort to move the Carburetors out of the way of the rider's legs they had to twist the cylinders. Meaning it couldn't be overhead cam and had to be overhead valve pushrod. It also moved the exhaust port out of the airflow which meant it had to be liquid cooled. Despite the vee-twin engine layout being otherwise ideal for air cooling. Where's part 2 by the way?
Thanks for the comment, all interesting stuff! For example, you’ve reminded me that we used to call the Ural the Urinal! I think each of those bikes could be a video in itself. Part Two is out next Friday - hit the notification button so you don’t miss it! And if you have any suggestions, feel free to put them in the comments. 🏍️😊
First time I saw the CX500 back then, I thought it was the strangest motorcycle ever. But there are still quite a few of them still going strong. I never saw an Ariel 3. They didn't sell them here in Denmark. Maybe only the crazy Vikings moved to England, and the sane ones stayed home :D
Well, the original cafe racers were awesome. I’m not so sure I’d pay top dollar for some of the retro recreations you see on Marketplace though. But in my book, anything on two wheels that floats folk’s boats is awesome, and I’m delighted to hear you are man bun-free and enjoying your bike!
@@3Phils I have a picture of me taken the moment my two wheel fascination began in 1948. My mother is holding an 11 month old me on the seat of a Harley knucklehead at Sturgis, August of 1948. Currently have five motorcycles: Honda trail 90, Hodaka Dirt Squirt, Bultaco 125 Pursang, Honda CRF250X, and the CX500.
Yeah, the CX500 was a bit... odd looking, but it doesn't strike be as belonging on a "weird bikes of the '70s" list simply because it was a success. It was mass produced, people bought the things, and they worked well. And the odd appearance actually made sense--every supposed oddity about the bike was, upon close look, the result of a sensible engineering decision. The heads were angled so that the rider's knees wouldn't bang into the carbs. The big, boxy radiator and smooth cylinders were there because Honda decided not to try and hide the fact the bike was liquid cooled. The ComStar wheels, strange though they were, actually worked pretty well--better than the cast wheels of the time, which couldn't yet work without tubes (I remember putting a set of Lester cast wheels on my Z1 in 1979; they still required tubes, as did the cast wheels on my 1983 Sportster). So, unlike the other bikes in this video, the CX500 was weird, but in the GOOD way--out-of-the-box thinking combined with solid engineering.
It’s on the list because when we first saw it in 1978, we definitely classified it as weird. It was radical compared to most bikes we’d seen before, and completely different to anything we’d seen before from Honda. So it’s there because of our reaction at the time. Of course, over four or more decades it’s come to be much more appreciated, and the sheer numbers that were sold meant we got used to it. For goodness sake, there was even a point a few years ago when I considered buying one!
Bike magazine of UK was rather pleased with them. Read a few tests, and they always came out with approval. I believe that one was made with a Z 1300 engine.
I think you’re right about the Z1300 engine. Wiki also lists them being built with engines from these bikes: Gold Wing, VT500, Moto Guzzi V50, Yamaha 350s. There was a lot of positive publicity around the Quasar, it’s just a shame that, in the UK of the era, nobody was prepared to put serious money behind them. But then BMW presumably put serious money behind the C1 and that flopped. I guess the world just wasn’t / isn’t ready for such a radical motorcycle design. 🤷♂️
I have seen a Munch Mammot in the tin and that was at tbe Bathurst Easter weekend motorcycle racers also a Honda CX500 Turbo as for the standard CX500 seen acouple still on the road a couple of years ago you can't beat Honda reliability actually a couple of weeks l saw a Kawasaki Z900 the brown and orange one in Australia they are called the Jaffa and this Kawasaki Z900 looked like it was tbe owners daily rider because the paint work was faded and in the 1970s l did ride motorcycles
I know, slightly beyond the timeframe but the 1978 CX500 and the subsequent Turbo are mentioned in the video. That said, for the sake of complete accuracy I’ve now changed the thumbnail. Thanks for pointing it out. 😊
I'm currently riding my 3rd cx500, the first 2 were back in the late 70's and early 80's, all I can say is I absolutely love it and it's actually a pretty good performer, even the decisive looks seem to some how of mellowed over the years, the ugly duckling hasn't quite become a swan but it does have loads of charm. Wherever I go someone will always come and talk to you about their old cx500, it's definitely a conversation starter. Certainly not an embarrassment to me.
CX500 the couriers friend. in 9 years of racing around London it never let me down.
Good to hear!
I had a CX500 Custom when I lived in Japan during the eighties, the one with the stepped seat and high bars. It was indestructible and never put a foot wrong. I bought it for £200 with 600kms on the clock, what a bargain!
After some teething troubles were fixed by Honda, they were faultless. Hundreds of thousands of cheap miles over decade with London couriers on them proved that!
Thanks!
Wow! Thank you! 😊🏍️
Hmmm. I got into scooters as a young mod in the early '80s (Vespa PX125 bored out to a 180), but found I liked riding and discovered the performance limits quickly enough! I started hankering after CX500s because they were shaft drive (wasn't used to chains 'cos of the Vespa), water-cooled (no worrying about overheating), tubeless tyres (no blow-outs), and 500cc was plenty quick back then.
I even liked the look of the engine! The cops used them here in Ireland too (with panniers fitted) so they were reliable after the initial probs. Ended up going to London (because insurance costs were crazy here for young people) and buying a Kawasaki GT750 which I had an aftermarket fairing fitted to. The CX500 had been discontinued at that point, but I sometimes wonder should I have got the Turbo... fairing in place and all. The CX was certainly different, and in many ways innovative, but I don't know if I would describe it as weird and lump it in with some of the oddities above. Just my opinion.
Fair point, and I’ll admit the CX has grown on me over the years. I was more talking about how me and my mates reacted to it when it first came out in 1978. It was so radical, so unlike anything we’d ever seen before, and all we could do was scratch our heads and ask why! Then with the camchain issues I guess we felt vindicated! But like many things that were a shock almost 50 years ago, you get used to them. Plus Honda fixed the problems and it became a reliable machine that you saw everywhere, in London at least. 😊🏍️
I absolutely loved my CX500! I had it for 7 years and about 55000 miles before it got lifted from outside my flat. From the Pentland Firth to the English Channel, it never argued with me and did exactly what it was told to do. The only problem I ever had with it was the silencers, which would last about a year before rotting through. Once I had replaced them with a Motad 2-into-1 system, all was sweetness and light! If Honda revived it today, I'd buy it like a shot, even if just for nostalgia's sake.
Yes, it’s sort of grown on me over the years. It seemed much more weird at the time! They did have a reliability issue, I believe, in the first year or two. But Honda being Honda they put that right quickly. The London motorcycle couriers I know used to do hundreds of thousands of miles on them and they never missed a beat. You could treat them like dirt and they’d just go on and on.
In Germany the CX 500 was called the "slurry pump".
lovit .
Excellent!
Güllepumpe!:)
@@anchinkan In Denmark same name: Gyllepumpen. It was rather popular.
@@frankandersen3195 cool 👍
I worked at a multi franchise dealer when the Aeriel three emerged and of all the ones we sold I recall only one customer actually riding his bike in all the others were either pushed or pedalled. Luckily they died out very quickly.
Interesting. Not even a heroic failure, just a failure!
I dunno 1/3 Phil..... The CX-650 Turbo was very desirable in me little mind.
a few of those 5 we never saw Stateside, thank God.
But of course we all knew of the Munch
btw, those jets at 4:33, I used to work on :-) (look up VMFA-333 F-4J)
Keep pumping the video's out, they are most excellent
Cheers, OKC Neal 🍺
Thanks Neal, glad you appreciate my meagre offerings. I included those jets with you in mind! I do wonder what the TurboMaggot was like in real life. Like you, I was tempted by it, especially because we were all turbo-crazy in the late 80s and early 90s. But I also wonder what the turbo lag on it was like. Hmm, I might go away and do some research, there must be contemporaneous reviews around somewhere. It’s funny, but the CX500/650 sort of grew on me and I was really just trying to capture what we all thought when it first hit the scene. Cheers, Wobbly. 🍺🏍️
@@3Phils I got curious and looked it up
12.1 at 111 mph in the quarter
and top speed of 130
That aint nothin fer a little 650 twin 🙂
Sad that Honda has lost a few steps lately.
They can't even top 10 in MotoDucati....errr...I mean MotoGP 🤨
@joeblow5037 Blimey, my Commando did the quarter in less! Yes, I agree that Honda seem to have lost their way. The last thing they made which excited me was my CB600RR, which got nicked from outside my flat in the middle of the night, it was THAT exciting! But that was 20 years ago now. Yes, I do have a CB1300 currently, but it’s sadly at the bottom of the pecking order when it comes to deciding what to go out on.
I still have a CX650 Turbo. Sadly not running now, but that's down to me parking it when responsibilities overtook me. The Turbo is a great bike. It was built by Honda Racing Corporation in limited numbers and has an RCxx number, I forget what. Below 3500rpm it's a slug but from there up it to 9000rpm goes like stink. As long as you kept it above 3500rpm there was no appreciable turbo lag. 3500 rpm is 70mph in top gear on the motorway. I would sit in the centre lane at 70mph waiting for some four wheeled jerk to come flying up behind me at over 100 and just as he disappeared from my mirror into my blindspot I would whack the throttle open and be travelling next to him as he pulled level! Took the Turbo stickers off and surprised other riders all the time who thought it was just a CX650. Mine would do 145mph indicated and handled solidly and reassuringly at that speed.
@geoffreypiltz271 Very interesting info and thanks for setting the record straight re the Turbo. I remember thinking when they came out that they’d be laggy and weird, but there you go, there’s nothing to beat a first hand account from an owner. 😊🏍️
The bike from this period that I thought was special was the Bridgestone twin - dual disk inlet that accelerates astonishingly with a howl
I have to confess I had a CZ125 as my first bike. Odd machine, from the clutch being linked to the gear change ( which doubled as the kick start) to the nasty habit of blowing fuses as you went over bumbs (the voltage regulator shorted on the swinging arm). Bizarre but got me through the test! 😮😂😂😂
I kind of remember folk saying they blew a fuse every time you went over a bump! Happy days! 😊🤣🏍️
My current “winter bike” is a 78 CX500 with a GL500 engine transplant. It is an anti hipster bike equipped with a Vetter Windjammer fairing and bags. Makes for a great relatively light tourer.
They can cope with all kinds of weather, many survived London winters for decades. I’m definitely going to have a think about something similar as a ‘winter bike’, what a great idea! 😊🏍️
I had a GL 650 Silverwing interstate which was based on the same design and platform as a CX 500 it was actually my first bike. The ugliness was covered up by the faring, which made it look actually pretty good. The best thing about it was, I could adjust the valves without pulling the fuel tank. It was great from that perspective beyond that, not one of my better purchases.
Interesting, and yes, I agree they did look better fully covered at the time. But I kind of got used to the design over the years to the extent that, y’know, on a dark night, wearing sunglasses…
5:11 The MZ is missing from the Eastern Bloc bikes.
Also the Münch is really a '60s bike having been released in 1966.
Thanks for the comment. 😊 I left the MZ off because I actually have quite an affection for them. They were certainly much more popular when I was growing up in the 1970s. I’m aware that the Münch Mammut began in 1966, but we only really heard about them here in the UK in the 1970s, so to me it’s more like a 70s bike. 👍🏍️
@@3Phils In West Germany MZs were a bit of a joke and only available through a mail order catalogue ie the German version of Argos.
@gustavmeyrink_2.0 Interesting, never knew that.
@@3Phils BTW and a propos of nothing (almost) the Hercules rotary produced 27hp. Reason being that was a legal cut off point for the first year you held your bike licence and it was a big step up in insurance premiums when you went above that. At the time (and if I remember correctly) insurance premiums were grouped in power output ie ≥27hp, 27-50hp and above. So unless the unrestricted engine was going to get close to 50hp there was not much point in selling it. A gentlemen's agreement among manufacturers limited max power to 100hp for bikes sold in West Germany. The Hercules was incredibly thirsty for a 27hp bike.
I also didn’t know that, so thank you for the extra info! 🏍️😊👍
My best mate had a CX500 back in the early 80’s. We had loads of fun on it. In my 60’s now, and I have a mint one in my collection, and it is a thing of beauty now I reckon. Bit under powered, but a lovely ride. The innovations on that bike were ahead of its time. Love the channel, but gutted you put a CX on this list 😳🤪🤣🤣🤣
For context here, the CX500 is on the list because of the reaction my mates and I had to it at the time it was launched, in 1978. Maybe I didn’t make that clear enough in the commentary. It was truly revolutionary back then, but by the same token also came across as rather weird to our 1978 eyes. As I’ve said below a few times, it’s now been around for so long that it’s possible to view it with affection - heck, I even considered getting one myself! So forgive me for classifying it as ‘weird’, it was weird back then but became a solid, reliable, popular bike that stood out from the crowd - but not in London as every courier was riding one! 👍🏍️
@ It can’t have offended me that much mate, as I subscribed on the back of it 😉. Loved the two vids you made. Yeah, it really is a great memory lane when you look back. I remember the first time I saw a 400 Four as I waited for my school bus at the corner of our village, and a young lad came round the corner every morning on a red one. I was 14, and I was in love. He came into the corner, and whistled out of it down a long straight. Got one myself now, as I swore at 14 that I would have one, one day. Same with the original Goldwing….. Incidentally, back then, I absolutely detested the Honda CD175. Remember them? I hated them, AND their owners with a passion. Wind on 40 odd years and I saw a red one on eBay. Utterly gorgeous. Had to have it, and he is called “Old Seedy”, for reasons you will get straight away. In my bike room he stands opposite my Foggy replica 916SPS, the glamour puss if you like, just to remind me of how genuine hatred for that bike, turned into utter love, and honestly, I love it more than the Ducati, thereby confirming my status, as a silly old fart 😂😂
@paulsmyth497 Ha! Thanks for subscribing 😊 Yeah, I couldn’t stand those CD175s either. There was something about them, to me they just looked so old-fashioned. And what was with the CD? Why weren’t they a CB?! Anyhow, sounds like you’ve got a great collection in your shed! 👍🏍️
@3Phils Ride safe brother. I'm sure we'll speak again 😉
I made my living on the Cx500 as a London courier and it ran perfectly after I replaced the cam-chain + tensioner in my basement flat. Colleagues would help me lift and carry it downstairs and up again after the work was done the next morning.
Wow! Your mates were definitely real mates! I have a mate (called Phil, of course) who still works in London as a courier and he swears those CXs would have gone on for infinity if they hadn’t mostly succumbed to the attrition of living on London streets for decades.
I had a CX in late 70s. It had issues with the crank. In the end it broke and that was the end of it.
Apparently the early models were prone to doing that, and they gained a bit of a reputation. But Honda fixed it and they went on to be pretty bulletproof, even though some folk (me included) remained suspicious of them.
Glad you didn't lump my beloved MZ TS250 in with the rest of the Eastern bloc bikes Phil 🙂 And here's a video idea for you. Best motorcycle movie... The Wild One, Mad Max, Easy Rider, On Any Sunday, Stone, World's Fastest Indian et al. And of course the ten worst.
Funnily enough, I’ve always had a soft spot for MZs! Thanks for the video idea, I’ll pop it on my list. 😊
There were quite a few CX650 Turbos on show at last weekend's Stafford Classic. In fact there was one in the Bonhams auction spread across 3 benches in bits for about £800.00
Thinking about it, there was a Munch there up for auction, the first time I've seen one up close.
Thanks for the info BMUK. I presume you’ve popped a video of the show on your channel, I’ll nip over there and take a look. 👍
@@3Phils The Munch and auction stuff is coming up next Saturday. I'm just gathering all the sold prices from Bonhams UA-cam live feed to add into the vid. The show walk around is live.
The Jawa 350 was quite popular in the 1970s in the UK as a sidecar combo. A friend had one and carried his wife and baby in the sidecar. It was crude and smoky but tough and reliable. The Ural was known in the UK as the Urinal and not surprisingly was not rated highly. It was nothing more than a recycled 1930s BMW without German build quality. The Honda CX500 had a bit of a story behind it. In an effort to move the Carburetors out of the way of the rider's legs they had to twist the cylinders. Meaning it couldn't be overhead cam and had to be overhead valve pushrod. It also moved the exhaust port out of the airflow which meant it had to be liquid cooled. Despite the vee-twin engine layout being otherwise ideal for air cooling. Where's part 2 by the way?
Thanks for the comment, all interesting stuff! For example, you’ve reminded me that we used to call the Ural the Urinal! I think each of those bikes could be a video in itself. Part Two is out next Friday - hit the notification button so you don’t miss it! And if you have any suggestions, feel free to put them in the comments. 🏍️😊
The exhaust ports of the CX was very much directly out in the airflow.
@kasperkjrsgaard1447 I think that’s why London motorcycle couriers loved the bike, it kept their legs warm!
First time I saw the CX500 back then, I thought it was the strangest motorcycle ever. But there are still quite a few of them still going strong.
I never saw an Ariel 3. They didn't sell them here in Denmark. Maybe only the crazy Vikings moved to England, and the sane ones stayed home :D
Hehe! To be honest I’ve never seen an Ariel 3 either, and I’ve lived in the UK all my life!
I saw one or two of them in the 1970s but they were never popular.
If my bike is a “ludicrous hipster bike”, does this make me a ludicrous hipster?
Ha! Potentially yes. Do you have a man bun?
@@3Phils lol no! I’m 77yo and love my cafe bike. Cafe racers are going out of fashion for the second time in my lifetime!
Well, the original cafe racers were awesome. I’m not so sure I’d pay top dollar for some of the retro recreations you see on Marketplace though. But in my book, anything on two wheels that floats folk’s boats is awesome, and I’m delighted to hear you are man bun-free and enjoying your bike!
@@3Phils I have a picture of me taken the moment my two wheel fascination began in 1948. My mother is holding an 11 month old me on the seat of a Harley knucklehead at Sturgis, August of 1948. Currently have five motorcycles: Honda trail 90, Hodaka Dirt Squirt, Bultaco 125 Pursang, Honda CRF250X, and the CX500.
Yeah, the CX500 was a bit... odd looking, but it doesn't strike be as belonging on a "weird bikes of the '70s" list simply because it was a success. It was mass produced, people bought the things, and they worked well. And the odd appearance actually made sense--every supposed oddity about the bike was, upon close look, the result of a sensible engineering decision. The heads were angled so that the rider's knees wouldn't bang into the carbs. The big, boxy radiator and smooth cylinders were there because Honda decided not to try and hide the fact the bike was liquid cooled. The ComStar wheels, strange though they were, actually worked pretty well--better than the cast wheels of the time, which couldn't yet work without tubes (I remember putting a set of Lester cast wheels on my Z1 in 1979; they still required tubes, as did the cast wheels on my 1983 Sportster). So, unlike the other bikes in this video, the CX500 was weird, but in the GOOD way--out-of-the-box thinking combined with solid engineering.
It’s on the list because when we first saw it in 1978, we definitely classified it as weird. It was radical compared to most bikes we’d seen before, and completely different to anything we’d seen before from Honda. So it’s there because of our reaction at the time. Of course, over four or more decades it’s come to be much more appreciated, and the sheer numbers that were sold meant we got used to it. For goodness sake, there was even a point a few years ago when I considered buying one!
The Japanese bought a lot of the Quasars - so all those feet forward scooters have the Quasar to thanks..apparently great handling..
They looked a bit precarious going round corners in the videos I watched, but if anyone out there has ridden one and cares to comment?
Bike magazine of UK was rather pleased with them. Read a few tests, and they always came out with approval. I believe that one was made with a Z 1300 engine.
I think you’re right about the Z1300 engine. Wiki also lists them being built with engines from these bikes: Gold Wing, VT500, Moto Guzzi V50, Yamaha 350s. There was a lot of positive publicity around the Quasar, it’s just a shame that, in the UK of the era, nobody was prepared to put serious money behind them. But then BMW presumably put serious money behind the C1 and that flopped. I guess the world just wasn’t / isn’t ready for such a radical motorcycle design. 🤷♂️
I have seen a Munch Mammot in the tin and that was at tbe Bathurst Easter weekend motorcycle racers also a Honda CX500 Turbo as for the standard CX500 seen acouple still on the road a couple of years ago you can't beat Honda reliability actually a couple of weeks l saw a Kawasaki Z900 the brown and orange one in Australia they are called the Jaffa and this Kawasaki Z900 looked like it was tbe owners daily rider because the paint work was faded and in the 1970s l did ride motorcycles
Strangest bikes of the 1970’s .. thumbnail photo of a 1982 CX500 Turbo. … ?
I know, slightly beyond the timeframe but the 1978 CX500 and the subsequent Turbo are mentioned in the video. That said, for the sake of complete accuracy I’ve now changed the thumbnail. Thanks for pointing it out. 😊
Turbo Maggot. 😂😂😂
It’s a Maggot, it’s got a turbo, therefore it’s a Turbo Maggot! 🤣
Munch is pronounced "Munk".
Thank you.
@@3Phils he is wrong, your prounication was not that bad ua-cam.com/video/vw-n_fINIeQ/v-deo.html
Yeah, but munch sounds better. Especially as it was a monster bike. Monster Munch.
Twas ever my intention! 😊
I nearly bought a CX500 many years ago. I ended up with an RD400.
Disaster (& social embarrassment) averted...
Ha! Close call!
I'm currently riding my 3rd cx500, the first 2 were back in the late 70's and early 80's, all I can say is I absolutely love it and it's actually a pretty good performer, even the decisive looks seem to some how of mellowed over the years, the ugly duckling hasn't quite become a swan but it does have loads of charm. Wherever I go someone will always come and talk to you about their old cx500, it's definitely a conversation starter. Certainly not an embarrassment to me.