Bring a Trailer CBX Nightmare Will Make Us All Appreciate Our Simple KZs

I know it's not Kawasaki related but this might make you appreciate our simple to work on KZs even more:

There is currently a Honda CBX on Bringatrailer (of cash).

Look at the photos and the invoices for the work performed AFTER this bike was first purchased on BAT. Incredible! $15,000!

CBX and RZ500 are two of the worst bikes made in the 1980s to work on, and most expensive as well.

If a seller sold me a motorcycle that needed that much work I'm not sure how I would handle it.

 

Any bike that is approaching 50 years will need work. I have spent thousands bringing a simple  Z1 back from the brink. The CBX is another animal. Having rebuilt a set of CBX carbs for a friend who owns several of them its a bit more of a challenge. Not so much the technical part but replacement parts for that bike. Some of the critical engine parts are no longer available and good luck if you need anything on the body. I passed up a CBX a while back because of the fact you will need to spend some serious cash to get it running again. I did buy his 74 Z1 along with a KZ900 engine. Now these bikes you can get everything either used or aftermarket. Not so much with the CBX

 

Cra-z1 wrote:

... The CBX is another animal. ...
 

The Honda crowd is a whole nother animal too. ha ha.

From what I can tell from the story, the buyer didn't heed the best advice for buying old motorcycles, old cars, or old trucks:
"Ya gotta go look at it first!"
 

Sounds like the owner is a salesman. 

Sometimes you do come across a bike that looks interesting from a restoration aspect, however in the back of your mind your kinda thinking just walk away, but no you go ahead a pick it up. I have done that with several bikes knowing I will probably lose in the end. But the enjoyment I have gotten when the bike is finished kinda makes up for the loss of a bit of cash. case in point a 2002 GSXR1000 that had a spun rod bearing and other issues. Dealer took it apart for the kid and found the spun bearing and then called him several days later and said we are going out of business so you better come and get your bike. Oh ya it's in pieces in several tubs. Fun project. Everything sat for 10 years until a sucker came into the picture. Picked it up for $700 and spent another 3,000 or so. Sold it ($3,500) because I wanted to keep my license.

Honda makes great equipment but I don't think their design engineers ever speak to their maintenance mechanics.  I have a Goldwing and it usually takes me two days to replace the air filter.  

slmjim was a Field Tech on analog photocopiers a few decades ago.  There was  a particular machine from a manufacturer that will remain nameless, that was a Tech's nightmare.  The popular field lore wisdom was, a certain high-mortality part was somehow suspended in space at the factory, and the rest of the machine was then assembled around it.  Feedback from the Field Techs from that nightmare machine resulted in the creation of a Serviceability Task Force that had huge influence during the design & prototype processes of all subsequent machines.

slmjim tinkered with a Honda Valkyrie (horizontally-opposed flat six) not long ago.  Two banks of three CV carbs that need to be precisely sync'd in unison (six channels total) after fuel rail O-ring & float needle valve replacement are a sight to behold & a re-assembly challenge not to be undertaken lightly.

Good Ridin'
slmjim & Z1BEBE

Reminds me of the "joke" we used to tell each other at the shop - "Another case where an engineer found out his wife was sleeping with a mechanic"