Honda CBX750

The CBX750 was Honda's last air cooled in line sportsbike. Roland Brown takes a trip back in time - to Africa.

THE CBX750F was in good company on Honda's 1984-model launch in South Africa, and it provided me with the most memorable ride of the trip. Darkness falls unexpectedly suddenly on a first visit to Africa. More than 20 years later I can still vividly recall the thrill of blasting for mile after mile through the warm night air, chasing a group of VF1000F and VF1000R V4s, with my way illuminated by the brilliant twin headlights of Honda's stylish new straight four.

If that was the highlight of the launch, the CBX also provided an even more spectacular low point, though thankfully I wasn't directly involved this time. Instead, I rode past with pulse racing just after another journalist had locked his front wheel when braking at the end of the Kyalami circuit's main straight, crashing at high speed and leaving a huge diagonal mark of red paint going up the trackside concrete wall. Fortunately, he walked away from the wreckage.
So one way or another the CBX (which had nothing to do with the six-cylinder CBX1000, by the way) certainly made an impact on its introduction. The transverse four had stood out in another way, too, because it was very much a loner in Honda's line-up. That 1984 South African launch also introduced the VF500F, which joined the two new VF1000 models plus the existing VF750F in the range. Amid all those V4s, the CBX was effectively Honda's final attempt at making a cutting-edge sports bike using the aircooled, transverse four-cylinder format that dated right back to the CB750 of 1969.
Japanese engine technology had advanced a long way in the 15 years between the two fours. Honda had already adopted a dohc, 16-valve layout, to which the CBX added a new twist with its maintenance-free hydraulic tappets. Its motor had been developed from the similar unit of the US market CBX650, bored and stroked to give capacity of 747cc from dimensions of 67 x 53mm. Peak output was a claimed 92bhp at 9500rpm, slightly up on Honda's own VF750F, and also on straight-four rivals such as Kawasaki's GPz750 and Suzuki's GSX750.

The CBX stood out from the crowd, thanks largely to sharp styling that blended its half-fairing neatly into the tank, which in turn joined the seat unit. There was a matching belly-pan below the engine, which was narrow because its alternator was situated above the gearbox. But Honda's stylists lost credibility with the bike's plastic fake velocity stacks, an even more feeble attempt at deception than the silver-painted steel frame tubes that were popular in the mid-'80s.
This model did not suffer that fate, as its steel frame (which had a large-diameter spine under the tank) was black, and notable mainly for holding oil in one of its downtubes. Other chassis parts were classical mid-'80s fare: a 16-inch front wheel, air-assistance for both the front forks and Pro-Link rear monoshock, and a trio of disc brakes with twin-piston calipers up front, and Honda's TRAC anti-dive system. Other features included a large instrument panel holding a speedo, rev-counter and, in a third round dial, gauges for fuel level and volts.