Honda CBX
Six cylinders, six carburetors and six shining exhaust headers made the first CBX an engineering spectacle built for excitement.
Honda CBX 1000.jpg · www.mgaylard.co.uk · CC BY 2.0
Research pending
A matching completed auction sale has not been verified for this exact year, body, trim, engine, transmission and market.
Joyride shows this gap instead of substituting an asking price, unsold bid or mismatched special vehicle.
More than a set of wheels.
Honda showed journalists the CBX in late 1977 and Cycle World tested a pre-production machine in April 1978. Customer production machines reached showrooms as 1979 models. Project leader Shoichiro Irimajiri drew on Honda's 1960s six-cylinder Grand Prix experience, but the street bike was its own carefully packaged design. Moving the alternator and ignition behind the cylinders kept the broad engine only slightly wider than a CB750. The naked 1979–1980 CBX emphasized performance; the 1981–1982 version became a faired Pro-Link sport-tourer, a separate configuration.
Look a little closer.
Honda moved the alternator and ignition off the ends of the crankshaft, so the six-cylinder engine was only about 40 mm wider than the older CB750 four in the production comparison.
Photos show an example of the model or generation. The pictured vehicle’s year, equipment, or modifications can differ from the specification described here.
The six was designed inward as well as outward
A transverse six naturally wants to be wide. Honda put the alternator, ignition and clutch drive on a countershaft behind the cylinders, narrowed the spacing between bores and trimmed the outer crank counterweights. The cylinders leaned forward and the frame used the engine as part of its structure. Packaging, not cylinder count alone, is what made the spectacular engine fit a motorcycle with a 58.9-inch wheelbase.
Source: Cycle World · Honda CBX, April 1978 ↗A 1978 introduction became a 1979 production identity
The CBX's calendar and model years overlap. Period magazines drove hand-built prototypes in 1978, and museum history says the bike was introduced late that year. Cycle World's production test arrived in January 1979, and Honda's later Japanese releases call it a 1979 export model. A cover, caption or specification should therefore say whether it depicts the 1978 launch story or a 1979 production motorcycle.
Source: Honda Newsroom · CB1100 launch and CBX history ↗Where these facts come from
- Honda factbook · VT250 historical chapter mentioning the 1978 CBX1000
- Honda Newsroom · CB1100 launch and CBX history
- Cycle World · Honda CBX, April 1978 pre-production test
- Cycle World · Honda CBX, January 1979 production test
- Audrain Automobile Museum · 1979 Honda CBX
- Motorcycle Classics · The Sound and the Feel: 1979 Honda CBX
Selected facts checked for this edition. Some source pages link to broader model families. Last reviewed October 2, 2026.