Another frame-off project, this is the rarest of the rare of all of the subspecies of CBX - it is a 1980 model twin-shock CBX, but this motorcycle was one of approximately 1,400 that were built by Honda in Japan (and not Marysville, Ohio), and it is #49, a relatively low serial number. The 1980 model had a number of improvements over the original 1979 bike, including different camshafts tuned for midrange torque, different carburetors, a slightly different exhaust and fork, and a much improved rear swingarm. The most obvious visual telltales are the small 'hatch' visible in the rear tailsection, and the black reversed Comstar wheels. The '80 was doomed in comparison to the '79 due to a rare Honda manufacturing defect that went undetected until some US magazines tested the bike and found it lacking about 20 HP from the '79. A faulty ignition advancer design was to blame, and Honda rapidly recalled and replaced all it could find, but the damage was done in the eyes of the horsepower-hungry motorcycling public of the day - the '80 was forever tarnished by that first impression, despite being the better motorcycle in many significant ways. This bike was one of the few that had the faulty "469" advancer that Honda did not catch, it was swapped for the replacement "469A" that Honda sent to dealers worldwide during the motorcycle's restoration.

This project was done with the intention of making the bike better in any way without altering the character or period appearance of the bike, and so there are many upgrades seen and unseen. These include a much improved swingarm donated by a 1983 Honda CB1100F, front fork with RaceTech internals, Ikon 7610 shock absorbers, Dyna electronic ignition and coils, and an alternator that once spent time on a modern Kawasaki ZX-7. All of these modifications are reversible and the stock parts were also restored and retained, so the next owner the option to return the bike to stock condition should that be desired.

#JapaneseMotorcycleRestoration #HondaCBX #FullRestoration