Honda CX650.

[SpeedyCBR1100]

Does anyone have any experience of one of these? I've seen a mid 80's bike in remarkably good condition and, I must admit, I quite like the looks of it.

However I'd never heard of the model till I saw this one. At least I have no memory of it.

Were they crap? Were they reasonable bikes to ride?

[WD Forte]

Which one, the 650 Euro or 650 Custom?
( there was also a 650 turbo)
They had more power than the 500 of course and had many similarities to the 500s but with an actual sump and electric fan as standard

The starter motor and auto cam chain tensioner was the same as the 500
The auto cam chain tensioners were fine but suffered from owner neglect usually on the assumption they'd last for say 100K
Wrong.
When any CX cam chain wears it starts to trash and this eventually knocks the arse out of the tensioner while chewing lumps out of the casing in turn polluting the oil with an alloy slurry.
Change a CX cam chain in good time to avoid these problems
I'd assume any CX cam chain life cycle to be say 30K to be safe.

The starter gear is the same as the 500 yet has to do more work
and this added to a slightly more advanced low speed timing could
knock the arse out of the sprag clutch and at times kick back in a very alarming way.
I made delay box for my mates 650 which held the sparks back for
20mS to allow the lump to spin up briefly before 'lighting the fires'
No more big bangs.

I use 650 ignition components in my 500 and the Ti system is usually pretty robust and reliable

Plastics and cosmetic panels will be like rocking horse shit to find

The mono shock suspension can rot and sieze if neglected so best get under and examine closely

Frames 650 or 500 can rot around the rear engine hangers so another good place for a good look.

I bet the fuel gauge doesn't work, most senders rotted away in the tank years ago

Wiring is almost identical to the 500 Ti bikes

Brake discs used to be hard and expensive to find, so check em

In general The guys I knew with them liked them but they didn't make anywhere near as many 650s as they did the 500
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bikers smell of wee

[WD Forte]

While I'm rantin on...
the 650s actually have a 674cc engine
moar powah!
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bikers smell of wee

[yen_powell]

Wasn't there a 650 Silverwing as well around the same time.
____________________
Blackmail is a nasty word........but not as nasty as phlegm!
XT1200Z and a DR350 in bits

[WD Forte]

Oh yeah!
Course there was, I forgot that.
The Interstate was the fully dressed version as I recall.
kind of a lightweight Goldwing sorta thing

All the same engine more or less
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bikers smell of wee

[sickpup]

Bit of a bruiser of a bike, big heavy and stable with interesting torque reaction. Borrowed one for a while and quite liked it.
I know the manifolds are impossible to get or were 20 years ago.

[stinkwheel]

It's basically a 2-wheeled car.

Pretty sure I read that was the design brief. A bit like the PC800 which came along later (the design brief, not the bike).
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[yen_powell]

[sickpup]

[yen_powell]

[Polarbear]

Were they not the go to courier bikes of their time, along with the Kwack GT550. I seem to remember there being warnings of bikes for sale with mileages doctored by way of disconnected speedos.
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Triumph Trophy Launch Edition

[WD Forte]

Deffo some torque reaction revving at say lights despite the contra-rotating clutch
but dont recall any or much lift drop on acceleration.
I only ever had 500s though.

You can buy new aftermarket manifolds for the the early single spined frame ZABC 500s where the carbs straddled the spine.
Cheap too, I bought two sets.

Later bikes 500 and 650 alike had triple spined frames and monshock
where the carbs were mounted close together to fit between the outer frame and had manifolds to suit.

You'd probably have to resort to burglary, extortion or blackmail
to get a decent set of second hand manifolds for these nowadays
650 types would be even harder
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bikers smell of wee

[Shaft]

[blurredman]

[Shaft]

[MC Tunes]

[yen_powell]

My CX was a replacement (2nd hand, X reg) for an A reg XS250 that I had bought new and was an absolute horror to start, despite it having electric and kick start.

I worked for a short while for a despatch company in Romford and what should I see parked outside but my XS250. I asked the new owner what it was like for starting and he answered straight away with a shouted 'fine, fuck off' to me. He swapped it for a CB400 very shortly afterwards.
____________________
Blackmail is a nasty word........but not as nasty as phlegm!
XT1200Z and a DR350 in bits

[jeffyjeff]

[Easy-X]

[jeffyjeff]

It is an entertaining article, for sure. I've reposted it several times on various forums; always in response to someone asking, "how many miles is considered high mileage on a motorcycle?".
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History shows again and again how nature points out the folly of men - BOC