1982 Honda CX500 Turbo

Production: 1982
Engine: 497cc four-stroke turbocharged transverse twin
BHP: 82
Price: I’m sure owners would pay you to take the bike off their hands

Why is it important?: I’m sure you could guess why it’s important. It was the first production turbocharged motorcycle. Everything in the 80’s was turbocharged: hair gel, shoes, laptops. But turbocharged bikes didn’t exist. Naturally, Honda was first to apply this turbocharged craze to their motorcycles. Of course, in typical Honda fashion, the motorcycle was complicated and didn’t really function any better than a standard motorcycle. What was odd about it was the fact that Honda choose their workhorse, the CX500, for the turbocharging upgrade. The horsepower gain was impressive, but it wasn’t much to sneeze at. 82hp on a performance bike in 1982 was pretty wimpy, and the fact that it had turbo lag didn’t help. Once again, Honda had failed. The bike was too complicated and too slow for the general riding public. Nice try, though.

The CX500-T also was started the trend of forced-induction sportbike that was popular by tuner for today,& inspired the others major player by suzuki,kawasaki & yamaha to make their own public,road legal turbo sportbike for sale(Suzuki XN85 Turbo,Yamaha Diversion SecaX,Kawasaki GP750R & GPZ900R)



1988 Honda RC30 and 1993 Honda RC45

Production: 1987-1999
Engine: 748cc four-stroke V-4
BHP: (RC30) 112
(RC45) 120
Price: Both are around $20,000 to $35,000

Why are they important?: Like the CB1100R before them, the RC30 and RC45 were created to dominate production class racing. The RC30 was designed to be a limited production road bike that was basically a race bike with headlamps. It cost twice as much as similarly powerful road going 750’s due to the fact that it had all the best components,such as CF bits all around,lightened exhaust system with titanium which is rare on its day & in house made,forged alloy wheel. The RC45 was the same deal. Both the RC30 and RC45 dominated production bike racing in the late 80’s and early 90’s. They’re also really freaking cool.




1992 Honda NR750

Production: 1992
Engine: 748cc four-stroke V-4
BHP: 125
Price: $60,000-$80,000

Why is it important?: This is the most outrageous and amazing road bike ever built.After the death of Soichiro Honda in the 1991,& a year after uber-cool looking exotic NSX was debut for public,how about a tribute for what Soichiro Honda love the most? The answer was NR750 ,& it was and still is unlike any road motorcycle, and the price then and now shows. The engine was a resurrection of the failed NR500 technology. The NR750 had four oval pistons with 32 valves producing about 125hp. Honda actually restricted the horsepower from 160 because they didn’t want it competing with the Fireblade. This was an amazing feat considering modern 1000cc sportbikes are barely edging 160hp. The bodywork is all carbon fiber and Kevlar, and even the key is made from a mixture of Kevlar, carbon fiber and titanium. The styling was way ahead of it’s time, and it’s been said that the famous 916’s styling was based off the NR750. In the end, the NR750 didn’t sell due to the extremely high price and complexity. However, Honda never intended the NR750 to be their big seller. They made it to prove to the world, once and for all, that Honda will forever be the king of road bike technology.
,
It features some of the technology that still considered to be exotic all-around although some of them are become a common thing for standard out of factory spec motorcycle,mainly magnesium subframes,titanium exhaust system with exhaust controlled valve,titanium conrod,cam,valve,valve springs & piston,billet titanium crankshaft,aluminium block with magnesium header & starter for such.(which can be find at all 2004-present sportsbike genre from big 4's of Japan)

But still some of the thing that make the bike was a legend was:

-Carbon fibre with aramid & kevlar moulded with light alumium for monocoque frame.
-Digital all around panel instrument.
-Dymag light alloy,forged performances wheel.
-Carbon kevlar+titanium bonded oval piston with molydenum coated sleeve.
-Honda PGM-FI with card reader(with each coloured card such as blue,yellow & green to get a specific power output & engine mapping,via slotted jack beneath the one piece CF moulded single piece bodywork)



This is sample from NSR250SE PGM,that using the same trick as the NR,which is using a power card to get even more power output(blue,yellow & green with HRC custom made,reprogrammed power card to get the most out of the 249cc Vtwin stroker)





---That is how the humble,less educated man with big dream has made the motorcycle as the better machine as we all see today.It changed the perception of biker,& creating many technological tour de force that made its way throughout his car voyager.
The soul & spirit of creating the best motorcycle to beat the rival out there is finally made its way to Honda finest,dubbed as first japanese supercar,the NSX.

It was a sad but true,after Mr Honda has passed away,the company motivation & passion for automation simply going too far away from what he first has thought & the new line up since 2001 is utterly disappointing.
So I hope Honda with the new management under Takeo Fukui is dare to follow the founder heritage & ambition to become a leader again in both car & motorcycle world with innovation & good overall design to match the criteria.

This post has been edited by Cyprid Dark ii: Mar 6 2011, 01:12 AM

so what other thing you have to offer? i can search in wikipedia for this info

bang by kancil, bersepai brain.

Not many people would have search it & I think some of the guys here should know this heritage,especially if you loved the Honda brand so much.

It also written in his autobiography from his closes friends,that in 1978 when the rule of FIM didnt change,Mr Honda was very dissapointed & boycott the motorcycle racing from company policy.

But soon after that the policy was removed,& Honda was secretly want to take the fight with new,never before proven technology so project NR was launched.
He was a strict old guy but somehow he cant let go the motorcycle international racing scene to take his out of the game.
So much live for the bike,he rather seeing the motorcycle division of Honda motor to still racing while promoted the goodness of 4 stroke engine than the Formula one or any other racing class.He simply want to see the motorcycle division keep on the international racing & it would become as company policy for today.
So much the support for 2 wheel racing & despite economic downturn,the F1 & Le Mans division would going down(but the LM effort was somehow got it second life under Acura division for 2008) & keep racing motorcycle.

Many thing that went through Honda automobile was based on the motorcycle itself.
For first the VTEC was evolution from REVV technology on CBR series back in the 80's & now there is new Unicam technology mated with Honda Sportshift dual clutch for the new VFR touring bike series.

---

Added on March 6, 2011, 1:50 amAlthough cars will always be my first love, I have recently become more and more infatuated with motorcycles. I’m finding out that they’re really much more exciting and passionate than cars, and I love just researching their vibrant, colorful history. Unfortunately, it seems as though the majority of the automotive enthusiasts on this wonderful forum have the same view of motorcycles as I did about few years ago. I’m sure most of you think that motorcycles are just toys, and you can only really get two kinds: Harleys or sport bikes. They really all sort of look the same, and they’re not as visually stunning as cars, so you don’t bother researching or riding motorcycles because they’re just not as vibrant as cars. Basically, motorcycles are simple, which makes them boring to the average automotive enthusiast. In the context of modern motorcycles, I’d actually agree with you. Today’s motorcycles are all the same. They all follow the same formula, and they’re all really good. Unlike the automotive world, there are no real bad apples. However, this was not always the case. Throughout the years, motorcycle manufacturers experimented with countless numbers of engines, suspensions and body work, all in the effort to make the perfect motorcycle. It’s been a long and thrilling process, and I feel as though I should share some of each manufacture’s success and failures. The theory is that if some of you know how and why the modern motorcycle looks the way it does, perhaps you’ll appreciate it a bit more.


1965 Honda RC148 and the 1966 RC166

Production: 1965-1967
Engine: (RC148) 125cc four stroke inline-5
(RC166) 250cc four stroke inline-6
BHP: (RC148) 34
(RC166) 60
Price today: Priceless, but a similar motorcycle recently sold for around $550,000

Why are they important?: They’re two technological powerhouses. During the 60’s Honda was famous for dominating almost all the world championship motorcycle classes. All of their bikes were light years ahead of the rest, but these two standout as the most outrageous. The RC148 isn’t the most popular, as it wasn’t all that successful, but it’s my personal favorite. The 125cc five cylinder is basically two and a half 50cc twins put together. The result is an engine that gets its 34hp (same horsepower as my 250cc twin made 25 years later) at an earth-shattering 20,000rpm! The power goes through an 8-speed transmission. The RC166 is much more of a legend. Not only was it way ahead of it’s time, it was also extremely fast in the capable hands of Mike “the Bike” Hailwood. The six cylinder engine produced an amazing 60hp, which was an outrageous number for a 250cc machine. Just for reference, the hottest road bike of the time barely pushed 45hp. Equipped with a seven speed gearbox and weighing in at less than 250 pounds, the RC166 was wicked fast. Plus, with its six huge megaphone exhausts, it sounded as good as it looked.



A connecting rod and piston from a RC166 engine.
How small it is to propel the bike for 260 km/h?seems impossible but that is what Honda known for.Doing some thing that so unexpected to obligated with the rules to win the race.



1978 Honda CBX1000

Production: 1978-1981
Engine: 1047cc four-stroke inline-6
BHP: 105
Price today: Less than a CB750

Why is it important?: This was Honda’s way of telling the world that they own the production motorcycle world. After Honda blew the doors off the motorcycle riding public in 1968, they gave the other manufacturers a chance to catch up for a decade. Kawasaki came up with the Z1, Yamaha XS1100 and Suzuki came up with the GS1000. After everyone put out their best and brightest, Honda dropped another bombshell: The CBX1000. While other companies were struggling to put out four cylinders with 85hp or so, Honda let’s loose a 105hp six! Amazing! The CBX1000 was brutally fast, smooth reliable and handsome, but it wasn’t as much of a success as Honda would’ve hoped. It didn’t have much ground clearance, and nobody wanted to tune six different carburetors and 32 valves. The CBX1000 turned into the CBX1000FII pro-link, which was aimed at the sport touring market. Sadly, the sales never picked up, and the CBX1000 was dropped from the Honda line-up.



1979 Honda NR500

Production: 1978-1981
Engine: 500cc four-stroke V4
BHP: 130
Price today: Don’t even bother



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

The famous "oval piston" coined by Honda for this technological ground up.
How to make a V8 in the skin of V4 while provided with much compactness & flow to make it as equivalent to the real V8?
This how Honda make it for the ante.Simply brilliant forward-thinking leap year ahead.

Why is it important?: It proves that going with the flow is sometimes better than changing it. In 1968, Honda dropped out of World Class motorcycle racing because 500cc bikes were limited to only four cylinders. This gave two-strokes a major advantage, and since the people at Honda scoffed at the simplicity of two-strokes, they didn’t even bother developing a bike, focusing on their formula 1 effort instead. In 1978, Honda decided to get back into GP racing, which was still dominated by two-strokes. However, instead of developing a two-stroke, they decided to make a four-stroke motorcycle that would compete with the two’s. This was a problem, because two-strokes have about twice the power of the same size four-strokes. An inline-4 two-stroke would decimate an inline-4 four-stroke. So what was Honda’s solution? An oval piston V-4 with 32-valves and eight connecting rods. You read that right: oval pistons. The NR500 was basically a 500cc V-8. But, the technological madness didn’t stop there. The body was a complete monocoque that covered the engine (scrapped after the first season), and the wheels were 16 inches instead of the usual 18 to cut down wind resistance (changed to 18 inches after the first season). The NR (NR stood for New Racer) debuted in the 1979 British Grand prix. Everyone expected a hands down win, but to everyone’s surprise, both the NR500’s failed to finish. The first crashed out, and the second’s ignition failed. Damn. Honda decided to hire the up and coming super star Freddie Spencer to try and tame the wild NR, but it wasn’t to be. Freddie got the NR up to 5th before crashing out in the 1981 British grand prix, and the best finish was 13th. In 1981, Honda gave in to the two-stroke mainstream with the NS500, which later evolved into the amazingly successful NSR500. Nevertheless, the NR500 was a glorious piece of engineering. The V-4 could be revved to an outstanding 23,000 rpm, which is right at the limit of valve-train technology. In the end, the NR500 was a terrific failure, but it was still an epic motorcycle.



This post has been edited by Cyprid Dark ii: Mar 6 2011, 01:50 AM

pfffftttt......the real 2 wheel legend is honda ex5..

Close...but no cigar...

The real legend is the honda cup/cub (not sure which one is it). The original kapcai...

A show called "the greatest ever" on discovery turbo counted down the greatest ever bikes.... n the honda cup came in first...even beating the legendary ducati 916 which came in 2nd

If u watched (and listened to) the show, ull most likely agree with the result.

Yup that is right,but this is all about technology & revolutionary made by Honda & how it change the world of motorcycle & establish the company as daring,innovative & known for their outrageous engineering feat to show off to the world that they are maestro when it all about pushing the envelope further as it get.

Trivia:

"DREAM" is iconic matra for Honda,mainly because he was known as a big dreamer by his relative,& close friend but he did somehow accomplish his dream to become a multinational company,a voyage known as Honda Motor corporation.

But how much the influences over DREAM word for Honda marketing?

-In 1958,the first Honda cub was release(CUB mean cheap urban bike) & it was named Dream.
The name & the signature badged still present in most of the new Honda cub gen(Wave series)

-In 1990,the New Sportscar Xperimental(NSX) was released for public with the commercial tagline :"Our Dream Come True".
This referred to long term history of Honda for the word dream & achieving a goal to become a first Japanese manufacturer to made into the niche market of supercar/exotic segment,but also to symbolize the arrival of revolutionary sportscar with extraordinary feats that was only dreamed by those big player in supercar segment mainly from Italy.

-The Power Of Dream become a main marketing in the late 90's to the 2000's.It incorporated in Honda marketing & branding,& use heavily for the advertisement such as "The Impossible Dream" award winning ad.

I always admire Honda Tech, be it car or bikes.

BELIEVE it or not, Soichiro Honda applied for a patent for ABS (Anti-lock Braking System) in 1959.

Yes, Honda bikes later gave the world a disc brake in 1969 and now they are changing the world again with the new Combined ABS.

-taken from cbt-

I was quite surprised that ABS originate from 1959 and it's from Honda. And even lambo and Ferrari had to copy the patented Disc brake design from Honda(japs) and now they are changing the world again with combined ABS. So whoever that said that Honda is left behind is totally wrong, cause Honda is actually inventing the Technology and others will follow it. So whoever that is bragging that Honda bikes or cars are not good, they better take the history lesson cause their conti/other japs/ american etc car has something linked with the so hated Honda.

so cute...

Really

dude, a very good share. nothing beats classics.

Thanks farique for that.

Still love the ol' cafe racer with dustbin fairing style of the 60's.
Simply looking as the best hippie & artsy movement combined together ,then make the bike looking awesomely cool as timeless design.

BTW,if you see how small the piston & the conrod,just imagine how small the camshaft,the valve stem & the spring!

The road legal inline 4,250cc DOHC like kawasaki ZXR250 had the valve that as small as 10 cent coin on the main surface,while the valve stem.....

The redline was set at 18k,& pulling the first 3 gear to redline too much can cause the valve to bend,or shattered to pieces ....but as I own the bike for almost 5 years now & used to make it as daily ride,touring & some track duty back in 2007-2008,I can say it was no probs for the steel valve to be revved at 14k for few time at first 3 gear for daily ride....just take care the engine oil & dont playing too much with the rev & it shoukd be fine.

& one more thing....it sound so dammn good like F1 but not really that fast as it sound,so it was good tempting ride if it just for sound listening.
I would make custom megaphone exhaust for it & it would sound so

New honda user
This is some great info.
Currently using Wave 125X (black/White)

Just a reminder to all those Japs/Honda hater. Honda invented the engine that complies with US Air act 1970, and were FORCED to SHARE their technology with everyone else in this known world as no one able to reach that new air act requirement. The Civic CVCC engine.

Production: 1958-present
Engine: 50cc four-stroke single
BHP: about 6
Price today: You could get a mint condition cub for under a grand

Why is it important?: How is it not important is a more appropriate question. You’re looking at the most popular and loved motorcycle ever made with over 50 million produced. It’s put everyone and their mother on two wheels. It even changed the motorcycling stereotype in America. The American public in the 60’s had a very bitter attitude towards motorcycles and their riders. Motorcycles were loud, dirty and dangerous, and the riders were generally outlaws and hooligans. No respectable human being would be caught dead riding one. The Cub was introduced to America in the 60’s with a break trough advertising campaign. Instead of evil, mean looking degenerates riding their bikes in their ads, there were politely clothed men and women smiling. The ads stated that “You meet the nicest people on a Honda”. Brilliant. It took off, and soon Honda dominated the American motorcycle market. I mean, how could you go wrong with a Cub? They’re impossibly easy to ride and take care of. You can run them into curbs, drop them off cliffs, put olive oil in the crankcase and drive around with as many people as you could possibly fit.

In turn of 2007-2008 economic crisis,Honda make the supercub a great comeback into US market with Kymco as the distributor(the bike company from Taiwan,that recently making some good small motorcycle & scooter on US market)

The new cub had updated material,molydenum coated piston,increased in displacement to 90-100cc as optional,& PGM-FI fuel injection system as found in the wave series.
Turn out it can never break a market on the econocycle like it use to,since the small scooter has taking it place,but nothing has stopped the production line of the new cub in place like African,Brazil,India & many other third world company because it still as cheap as it use to.

This post has been edited by Cyprid Dark ii: Mar 7 2011, 05:10 PM

Wow, is it so? SOS please, interested to read more

wow kapcai can smoke 135LC with carrying stock on it .....respect

Love the Cub. My dad still got one at home. Dunno what year. Maybe 70s. It has 86cc and still kicking.