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{{ | {{DISPLAYTITLE:{{PAGENAME}} Custom: history, specs, pictures}} | ||
{{Motorcycle | |||
|name = Honda CB900C | |name = Honda CB900C | ||
| | |photo = 1982-Honda-CB900C-Blue-4016-0.jpg | ||
|aka = | |aka = | ||
|manufacturer = | |manufacturer = Honda | ||
|parent_company = | |parent_company = | ||
|production = | |production = 1980 - 1982 | ||
|model_year = | |model_year = | ||
|predecessor = | |predecessor = | ||
|successor = | |successor = | ||
|class = | |class = Cruiser | ||
|engine = | |engine = 902cc air-cooled DOHC 16-valve inline four, 4 valves per cylinder | ||
|bore_stroke = | |bore_stroke = 63.5mm x 63.5mm | ||
|compression = | |compression = 8.8:1 | ||
|top_speed = | |top_speed = 135 mph | ||
|power = | |power = 94.94 HP (70.8 KW) @ 9,000 RPM | ||
|torque = | |torque = 56.8 ft/lbs (77.0 Nm) @ 8,000 RPM | ||
|ignition = | |ignition = | ||
|spark_plug = {{sparkplug|DR8ES}} '80-82 | |fuel_system = 4x32mm Keihin carburetors | ||
|battery = {{battery|YB14L-A2}} '80-82 | |spark_plug = {{sparkplug|NGK DR8ES}} '80-82 | ||
|transmission = | |battery = {{battery|YUASA YB14L-A2}} '80-82 | ||
|transmission = 5 Speed with additional hi/low for 10 speeds | |||
|final_drive= Shaft | |||
|frame = | |frame = | ||
|suspension = | |suspension =Front: 37mm Air assisted forks, <br> | ||
|brakes = | Rear: Dual air assisted shocks, | ||
|brakes =Front: 2x 280mm discs 2 [[piston]] [[calipers]] <br>Rear: Single 297mm disc 1 piston caliper | |||
|front_tire = {{tire|110/90-19}} '80-82 | |front_tire = {{tire|110/90-19}} '80-82 | ||
|rear_tire = {{tire|130/90-16}} '80-82 | |rear_tire = {{tire|130/90-16}} '80-82 | ||
Line 32: | Line 36: | ||
|seat_height = | |seat_height = | ||
|dry_weight = | |dry_weight = | ||
|wet_weight = | |wet_weight = 588lb | ||
|fuel_capacity = | |fuel_capacity = 16 Liters / 4.2 US gal | ||
|oil_capacity = | |oil_capacity = | ||
|oil_filter = {{oilfilter|K&N KN-401}} | |||
|recommended_oil = Honda GN4 10w40 | |||
|fuel_consumption = | |fuel_consumption = | ||
|turning_radius = | |turning_radius = | ||
|related = [[Honda CB1000C]] | |related = [[Honda CB900F]]<br />[[Honda CB1000C]] | ||
|competition = | |competition = [[Suzuki GS850]]<br /> [[Suzuki GS1100GL]]<br /> [[Yamaha XS1100]] | ||
}} | }} | ||
The '''Honda CB900C''' is a "custom"-styled [[standard]] [[motorcycle]] produced by [[Honda]] from 1980 to 1982. | The '''Honda CB900C''' is a "custom"-styled [[standard]] [[motorcycle]] produced by [[Honda]] from 1980 to 1982. It used the engine from the [[Honda CB900F]] and transplanted into a factory "custom" cruiser. | ||
Line 63: | Line 69: | ||
==1981== | ==1981== | ||
<gallery mode='packed-hover'> | |||
< | File:1981_honda_Cb900c.jpg|left|thumb|1981 Honda CB900C | ||
File:1981-Honda-CB900C-MaroonBrown-0.jpg|left|thumb|1981 Honda CB900 Custom in Candy Muse Red with Brown Metallic | |||
File:1981-Honda-CB900C-MaroonBrown-1.jpg|left|thumb|1981 Honda CB900 Custom in Candy Muse Red with Brown Metallic | |||
File:1981-Honda-CB900C-MaroonBrown-2.jpg|left|thumb|1981 Honda CB900 Custom in Candy Muse Red with Brown Metallic | |||
</gallery> | |||
The CB900C'81 900 Custom was sold in 1981 and was available in one of two color schemes: Candy Muse Red with Brown Metallic or Cosmo Black Metallic with Blue Metallic. The gas tank and side covers were 2-tone. The front forks were leading-axle and air adjustable. The exhaust was a 4-into-4. The transmission was a 5-speed with a dual range sub-transmission thus giving it 10 actual speeds. The engine was a 902cc [[DOHC]] 4- valve inline 4 cylinder with a shaft drive. The serial number began 1HFSC040*BA100004 | The CB900C'81 900 Custom was sold in 1981 and was available in one of two color schemes: Candy Muse Red with Brown Metallic or Cosmo Black Metallic with Blue Metallic. The gas tank and side covers were 2-tone. The front forks were leading-axle and air adjustable. The exhaust was a 4-into-4. The transmission was a 5-speed with a dual range sub-transmission thus giving it 10 actual speeds. The engine was a 902cc [[DOHC]] 4- valve inline 4 cylinder with a shaft drive. The serial number began 1HFSC040*BA100004 | ||
Line 71: | Line 81: | ||
==1982== | ==1982== | ||
<gallery mode='packed-hover'> | |||
File:1982_honda_Cb900c.jpg|left|thumb|1982 Honda CB900C | |||
File:1982-Honda-CB900C-Blue-4016-0.jpg|left|thumb|1982 Honda CB900C in Candy Empire Blue | |||
File:1982-Honda-CB900C-Blue-4016-1.jpg|left|thumb|1982 Honda CB900C in Candy Empire Blue | |||
File:1982-Honda-CB900C-Blue-4016-2.jpg|left|thumb|1982 Honda CB900C in Candy Empire Blue | |||
File:1982-Honda-CB900C-Blue-4016-3.jpg|left|thumb|1982 Honda CB900C in Candy Empire Blue | |||
File:1982-Honda-CB900C-Blue-4016-4.jpg|left|thumb|1982 Honda CB900C in Candy Empire Blue | |||
File:1982-Honda-CB900C-Blue-4016-5.jpg|left|thumb|1982 Honda CB900C in Candy Empire Blue | |||
File:1982-Honda-CB900C-Blue-4016-6.jpg|left|thumb|1982 Honda CB900C in Candy Empire Blue | |||
File:honda-cb-900-custom-1982-1982-2.jpg|600px|1982 Honda CB 900 Custom | |||
File:honda-cb-900-custom-1982-1982-1.jpg|600px|1982 Honda CB 900 Custom | |||
File:honda-cb-900-custom-1982-1982-0.jpg|600px|1982 Honda CB 900 Custom | |||
</gallery> | |||
The CB900C'82 900 Custom was sold in 1982 and was available in one of two color schemes: Candy Muse Red with Candy Antares Red or Candy Empire Blue with Candy Blue. The engine color was black. The front brake discs were slotted with dual piston [[caliper]]s. The gas tank and side covers were 2-tone. The front forks were leading-axle and air adjustable. The exhaust was a 4-into-4. The transmission was a 5-speed with a dual range sub-transmission thus giving it 10 actual speeds. The engine was a 902cc [[DOHC]] 4-valve inline 4 cylinder with a shaft drive. The serial number began 1HFSC040*CA200101. | |||
==Review== | |||
Road Test Cycle 1980 | |||
"Oh, do not ask, 'What is it?' Let us go and make our visit." T.S. Eliot | |||
Honda's cb900 custom is a bit of an enigma, to us and perhaps even to | |||
its creators. According to our sources at American Honda, the 900 wasn't | |||
intended for the touring rider, yet it definitely has some of a touring bike's | |||
attributes. Neither is it a road-sport model, though it was directly derived | |||
from one of the most sporting motorcycles Honda has ever made for sale to the | |||
public. And despite having officially been designated a "custom," the CB900 | |||
isn't quite that, either. The only thing it clearly is, is a marketplace | |||
competitor for the Suzuki GS850 and Yamaha XS850; on that basis shall it be | |||
judged, by us and everyone. | |||
The CB900 has an interesting lineage. It was initially a bored and stroked | |||
version of the 16-valve [[Honda CB750F|CB750F]], made for the European market and introduced | |||
there last year. Honda opened the 750's bores from 62 to 64.5 millimeters, | |||
stretched its stroke (also 62mm) to 69mm, and thus increased its displacement to | |||
902 cubic centimeters. They made the stroker crank's webs thicker, lengthened | |||
the block and rods, upped the intake and exhaust valve diameters by 1.0 and | |||
0.5mm, respectively, and added five degrees of duration at the cam lobes' | |||
opening sides. There were other performance-related changes as well, because | |||
what Honda wanted (and by all accounts succeeded in making) was a super-sport | |||
motorcycle capable of holding its own on Europe's no-speed-limit highways. To | |||
that end, they even gave the European CB900 an oil cooler as standard | |||
equipment'. . . an item not usually necessary in America, where the law's | |||
admonition to "cool it" tends also to keep oil temperatures low. We'll admit | |||
that we'd have been well pleased if Honda had decided to fit the European CB900 | |||
with DOT lighting, EPA carburetion, and sent it here without making another | |||
change. That was not to be. Europe's CB900s are chain driven, and Honda wanted a | |||
shaft-drive model to slip into the broad product gap between the GL1100 and | |||
CX500 shafties. The bike got its drive shaft, along with many added pounds and a | |||
greatly lengthened wheelbase. So, to borrow from the beer commercial, the | |||
Americanized CB900 gives you more, and less: more civility, less performance. | |||
Honda's American CB900 would not be so long of wheelbase, nor mechanically | |||
quite so interesting, if those who designed it had not chosen to use a maximum | |||
of existing hardware. Specifically, they opted to work with only lightly altered | |||
CB900 nee CB750F engine/transmission cases and the GL1100-CX500 | |||
final-drive assembly. This approach, like making the CB900 out of the CB750F, | |||
was shaped by manufacturing economics. They had to couple a left-side | |||
transmission output stub to a right-side final drive, and the twain could not be | |||
made to meet without taking complicated measures. | |||
What Honda's engineers did to resolve their right-to-left dilemma was to | |||
cobble together some transfer gears, a jack-shaft and right-angle bevel drive in | |||
a housing that wraps around the left side and rear of the main transmission case | |||
but is not inseparably a part of it. They also doubled-up the transfer gears, | |||
which occupy space originally taken by a sprocket, and added a shifting dog, | |||
etc., to give the CB900 a two-speed secondary transmission. And although the | |||
entire exercise was prompted by cost considerations they did not stint in | |||
building reliability into their cross-over drive unit. It is a very strongly | |||
constructed piece of equipment, with its own oil supply and a small trochoidal | |||
pump to keep its bevel gears lubricated; splash oiling takes care of the | |||
transfer gears. | |||
There certainly was some justification for the two-speed feature of the | |||
drive. Gold Wing owners never have been able to agree on the overall gearing | |||
their bikes should have: some want the ratio "tall," for low-stress cruising; | |||
others, habituated to hauling big loads and pushing bulky fairings, prefer the | |||
shorter gearing that lets them pull steep grades without downshifting. The | |||
CB900's Select Range feature provides two overall ratios. There's a 5.26:1 ratio | |||
(in fifth gear) for mountain or urban conditions, and a 4.50:1 ratio for | |||
economical cruising. | |||
You can get economy, both in fuel mileage and engine life, by using the | |||
Select Range's high gear for cruising. In fifth/low the CB900's engine spins | |||
4378 rpm at 60 mph; in fifth/high it turns only 3745 rpm, and feels like it's | |||
idling. There's a dramatic difference in fuel economy, too, which hints that the | |||
power engines need merely to overcome their own friction is significant. We rode | |||
the CB900 on a long loop around this area's freeways, first in fifth/low and | |||
then in fifth/high. Low-range riding returned 41.8 mpg; in high the mileage rose | |||
to 48.6 mpg. Using low-range for a period of maximum-effort performance and | |||
handling testing brought the CB900's mileage down to 28.5 mpg, and the overall | |||
average for the entire test was 37.2 mpg. That fuel consumption rate would give | |||
the Honda 164 miles before its 4.4-gallon tank empties, but running at a steady | |||
60 mph would stretch the range to 184 miles if you keep it in granny, or 214 | |||
miles if you use the overdrive. | |||
Whatever drive ratio you select, it's a long path for power to get from the | |||
CB900's crank to its rear wheel. A broad Hy-Vo chain links the crank with a | |||
jack-shaft, which has a vane-type rubber-loaded drive cushion at its center and | |||
spur gears at each of its ends. The leftside gear drives the engine's oil pump; | |||
the one on the right meshes with a pair of gears on the clutch basket. Only one | |||
of the clutch-basket gears actually participates in the drive; its mate, also | |||
straight-cut but much narrower, has one fewer teeth than the driven pinion and | |||
therefore rotates slightly faster. This causes a scrubbing drag between the two | |||
gears that takes up lash in their meshing with the jackshaft pinion, which keeps | |||
this part of the drive train from rattling. | |||
Interesting lineage: Honda's 16-valve CB750F, made for America, begat the | |||
European CB900, which begat the shaft-drive American CB900 Custom seen here. | |||
After passing through the clutch, the drive goes through a conventional | |||
constant-mesh five-speed transmission hopping across from input to output | |||
shafts, and then to the secondary transmission's gears, shafts and bevels before | |||
being sent back to yet another pair of gears at the rear axle. There are, in | |||
all, 20 gears, six shafts, a dozen bearings, three torque cushions, a U-joint | |||
and assorted couplings employed in making the crank/rear-wheel connection. | |||
Something in the above train puts too much lash in the CB900's drive. Our | |||
prime suspect is the cam-type drive cushion that's incorporated in the crossover | |||
unit's jackshaft. Whatever the source of the lash it's there and it's | |||
bothersome, especially in first and second gears. Going too quickly from closed | |||
to open throttle, or vice versa, gets you yanks and lurches the like of which | |||
you won't find in any other motorcycle presently in production. | |||
A portion of the on/off-throttle lurching may be contributed by the 32mm | |||
CV-type Keihin carburetors. These get off-idle help from an accelerator pump, | |||
which discharges into all four throats, but there still is a slight hestitation | |||
in the low-speed throttle response to aggravate the effects of drive-train lash. | |||
That's the only carburetion flaw. EPA-dictated jetting has made the mixture lean | |||
enough so that a bit of choking is needed for starting if the engine is just | |||
cool, not cold, but you won't have to use the choke for more than a minute even | |||
in the morning chill. The CB900 isn't as cold-blooded as many of the pre-EPA | |||
Hondas. | |||
In most ways the CB900's engine is a pure pleasure, whether it's touring, | |||
drive-in visiting or home/work commuting you've asked it to do. It has the | |||
general power-delivery characteristics of an electric motor, with its torque | |||
seemingly independent of tachometer readings. There isn't the top-end power | |||
you'd expect from an engine with so many valves and long-duration cams, and this | |||
makes the CB900's real-world performance better than its drag-strip numbers | |||
suggest. Our best quarter-mile run was in 12.76 seconds, at 104.89 mph, which is | |||
two-tenths of a second slower than the best time turned by Honda's spirited | |||
CB750F. But the CB900, running with its Select Range box in low, will fifth-gear | |||
accelerate very briskly and even at the drag strip where it isn't at its best | |||
it's both quicker and faster than the Suzuki GS850 or Yamaha XS850. The CB900 is | |||
0.21 second quicker than the GS850, with an essentially identical speed; it | |||
totally out-performs the 13.26-second, 101.46-mph Yamaha triple. | |||
Nothing else in the CB900's class, and few outside it, can equal its ride | |||
quality. The bike doesn't quite have enough rear-wheel travel to cope with its | |||
weight, and bottoming can occur under certain conditions, but the new | |||
leading-axle fork is wonderfully compliant and if you adjust the suspensions | |||
full-soft you'll feel like you're riding on airwhich is exactly the case. Honda | |||
has given the CB900 steel springs, but they're there just to keep its | |||
suspensions from collapsing completely against their stops in the event that air | |||
pressure should be lost. | |||
Honda's first version of the American CB900 had a center-axle front fork; | |||
this new one, a 1981 model, has similar 37mm fork tubes but leading-axle | |||
sliders. We don't know why the change was made. The new fork's tubes are angled | |||
back a little in their triple-clamps to place the axle right where it was | |||
before, so there's no appreciable alteration in steering geometry. And the | |||
below-axle portions of the new sliders are hollow, mere adornments promising but | |||
not delivering extra travel and/or slider overlap. In fact, the 6.1 inches of | |||
fork travel is just what it was before. Apparently, all the fork's changes are | |||
for styling. | |||
Although closely similar to the Gold Wings', the CB900's shocks are different | |||
parts. In design, these units are not unlike short, inverted fork legs. Each has | |||
two coil springs, but their resistance to compression is supplied mostly by air | |||
pumped into the shock's interiors. Air is added, or bled off, through a single | |||
fitting located behind the bike's left sidecover. Honda recommends pressurizing | |||
the shocks to between 28 and 64 pounds per square inch, and has provided a | |||
sensor that lights a warning lamp on the tachometer face if the pressure drops | |||
below 20 psi. The shocks' internal coil springs do keep them from telescoping | |||
completely down against their stops when pressurization is lost, but most of the | |||
3.8 inches of travel is gone when they're airless, and a decal by the warning | |||
lamp tells you to keep the CB900's speed below 50 mph when the lamp is glowing | |||
red. | |||
Honda's recommendation for fork pressure is 11 to 16 psi. You can get close | |||
to the ultimate in floaty rides by running minimum pressures, front and rear; | |||
that's not what we'd suggest. After some experimentation we settled on 45 psi as | |||
the best rear shock pressure for all-conditions solo riding, and we used 14 psi | |||
in the fork. At that pressure the CB900's stiction-free fork responds with | |||
near-total compliance to small ripples and highway expansion seams, yet it | |||
stiffens enough in the second half of its travel to keep braking nose-dive from | |||
upsetting stability. Higher pressures may be needed to adjust for "full-dress" | |||
loads, but when riding solo they make the ride slightly stiff without yielding | |||
any payoff in improved handling. | |||
Most riders will judge the CB900's steering and overall road manners | |||
satisfactory. It's straight-line stable at normal and reasonably fast cruising | |||
speeds, though traces of wobble begin to appear as the speedometer needle | |||
approaches the instrument's DOT-mandated, 85-mph limit peg. You will need to | |||
apply some muscle at the bike's handlebar to whip it through fast esses quickly, | |||
but the steering is nicely neutral so you don't have to fight to hold a line | |||
once you've stuffed the CB900 into a corner. Few people will want to do much | |||
corner-stuffing with this Honda: it weighs too much (610 pounds) and is too | |||
bulky for such games, and would be a handful even if it had firmer suspension | |||
damping and more cornering clearance. | |||
For sheer wheelbase, Honda's CB900 is one of the giants of our timebeing | |||
only 0.3 inch shorter than the Harley-Davidson-FXE "Fat Bob" Super Glide. Honda | |||
needed wheelbase to make room for an absolutely enormous engine bay; they | |||
devoted remarkably little of the space to the CB900's swing arm, which is too | |||
short to subdue the shaft drive's torque jacking effects. The Yamaha XS850 and | |||
Suzuki's GS850 are also shaft-driven motorcycles, and the latter is only five | |||
pounds lighter than the CB900. Both handle better and neither has the Honda's | |||
habit of lifting and falling when its throttle is opened and closed. | |||
What price reliability? Honda cobbled together eight gears, three shafts, a | |||
U-joint, an extra torque cushion and many seals and bearings just to replace a | |||
length of chain. | |||
One genuine improvement Honda made in the CB900 for 1981 was in its tires. | |||
These are the same sizes as beforea 110/90-19 up front and a 130/90-16 at the | |||
rear. Both tires are H-rated, as before, but they're now tube-less, which we | |||
consider a step forward. Two kinds of tires will be fitted on 1981 CB900s: | |||
Dunlop Qualifier, and Bridge-stone Mag Mopus. Our test bike had the Dunlops, which provided adequate dry-road traction and a smooth ride, along with a couple of minor problems. The rear tire has rather tall, straight sidewalls and these flex sideways enough to be felt as a squirming at the Honda's rear when it is worked hard in fast turns. | |||
Also, California's infamous freeway rain-grooves caused the semi-ribbed front | |||
tire to weave slightly, though not enough to be worrisome. | |||
Motorcycles with the Honda's weight and capacity for sprinting rapidly | |||
between corners give their brakes a serious workout. Not all of them have brakes | |||
that hold up as well under the strain as the CB900's. Its three disc rotors | |||
turned faintly straw-colored from the temperatures reached during one long | |||
session of mountaineering, and even that wasn't enough to destroy their | |||
effectiveness. Heat made the brake pads literally smoke; it didn't glaze them or | |||
warp the stainless steel rotors, and the brakes continued to do their job. The | |||
only ill-effects noted during this phase of our testing were an elevation of | |||
lever-pressure requirement with extremely high temperatures and a deterioration | |||
of brake feel. At normal working temperatures there's a linear relationship | |||
between squeezing and stopping; when the pads begin to smoke the lever feels | |||
spongy, the braking is weak at moderately hard lever pressures, and tends to | |||
shudder and grab if you attempt a maximum-effort stop. The rear brake neither | |||
fades nor loses its feel, but then it isn't worked nearly as hard as the | |||
dual-disc unit on the front wheel. | |||
The CB900's split-level seat has been upgraded for 1981 ... or so it is said. | |||
There's supposed to be thicker padding under the seat's forward half, and a | |||
reshaped step, but the differences are too slight to be noticeable. No matter: | |||
the Honda is perfectly comfortable to ride, for as long as you can stand being | |||
in the one position it allows you to assume. The seat is low (only 30.8 inches | |||
from the ground) and that makes the reach to the pegs a tad short for | |||
long-legged riders, but the handlebar-grip placement is exactly right and the | |||
tapered tank has been shaped by someone who paid attention to the inner contours | |||
of human knees and thighs. The only thing wrong with the CB900's seating | |||
position is that it's rigidly enforced; the seat locks you in place, and however | |||
well you like it for 15 minutes you'll wish you could move around some after an | |||
hour of riding. | |||
You won't have the effects of engine vibration to massage your numbed | |||
backside. Honda has inserted rubber bushings in the CB900's engine mounts, and | |||
achieved a remarkable degree of smoothness at all speeds from just past idle to | |||
6000 rpm. There isn't much engine vibration detectable at any speeds. You feel | |||
tremors at idle and a subdued buzz above 6000 rpm; that's all. | |||
Honda hung a big outside-flywheel alternator on the CB900, giving the | |||
crankshaft some added inertia and providing an adequate power source for the | |||
bike's superb Stanley headlight. This quartz-halogen lamp draws 55 watts on low | |||
beam, 60 watts on high beam, and puts out enough light on either beam to crinkle | |||
the paint on stop-signs. For 1981, the electrical system also includes dual | |||
horns, which may not be mellow but most certainly are loud. Also new is the | |||
'81's instrument lighting: Honda has gone to shine-through illumination, with | |||
bulbs behind the instruments' faces.The markings glow in a pale green, highly | |||
readable yet restful to the eyes. | |||
The CB900 comes about as near to being a service-free motorcycle as we are | |||
likely to see anytime soon. Its ignition system is pointless, its cam chain is | |||
automatically tensioned and its cooling system (plan fins) can never | |||
spring a leak. Keep an eye on the bike's three oil | |||
dipsticksengine/transmission, Select Range transfer case, and final drive | |||
and various air pressures, and you won't have much trouble. The infrequent | |||
post-warranty valve clearance adjustments should be made by an authorized Honda | |||
shop, which saves aggravation even if it costs money. You have to slide the | |||
battery sideways out of its mounting box to check electrolyte levels in the | |||
cells, but the retaining strap is held by a single cap-screw so this chore is | |||
easily managed. And removing two screws (on the leftside airbox cover) will give | |||
you access to the air filter element. There isn't much you'd want to do, | |||
including removing the CB900's wheels, that can't be done using just the tools | |||
provided with the standard tool-roll. You even get an air gauge for checking the | |||
tire and suspension inflation pressures. | |||
American Honda informs us that the 1981 CB900 Custom we tested will not be | |||
available at dealerships until early October, this year. They anticipate that | |||
the retail price of the "new" model will be approximately $150 to $200 more than | |||
the $3348 being asked for the 1980 Custom. That means it probably will be a | |||
price roughly $200 to $300 greater than you'd pay for a Suzuki GS850 or Yamaha | |||
XS850, which is a matter of greater import than whether you should buy the | |||
less-expensive 1980 CB900 or wait until the 1981 version is available. The | |||
differences between the 1980 and 1981 CB900s are mostly cosmetic; the extra | |||
money for the later model buys you tube-less tires, shine-through instruments, | |||
an extra horn and a "demand" automatic fuel petcock as functional hardware. | |||
But there are large differences between the Honda CB900, Suzuki GS850 and | |||
Yamaha XS850. Go for the Yamaha and you get lightness and agility, with a | |||
suspension that is almost as compliant as the Honda's and much better | |||
controlled. The Yamaha also out-customs the CB900 Custom's looks, for whatever | |||
that's worth. The Suzuki GS850 is recommended by superb handling and what we | |||
consider supreme agreeability, with performance only fractionally inferior to | |||
the Honda's. With the Honda CB900 Custom you treat yourself to what probably is | |||
the best ride in motorcycling, strong straight-line performance, a look and | |||
quality of finish most people will admire, and maybe the most comfortable | |||
short-haul seating position ever provided between two wheels. If those are | |||
things you find most appealing, then the Honda CB900 Custom is the bike for you, | |||
whether you buy a 1980 model right now or wait for the 1981; whether it's better | |||
or worse in other ways than the Suzuki or Yamaha; and whether it is called a | |||
touring bike, a road-sport model, or a "custom." | |||
Source Cycle 1980 | |||
==Specifications== | |||
{| class="wikitable" | |||
|- | |||
!Make Model | |||
|Honda CB 900 Ccustom | |||
|- | |||
!Year | |||
|1980 | |||
|- | |||
!Engine Type | |||
|Four stroke, transverse four cylinder, DOHC, 4 valve per cylinder. | |||
|- | |||
!Displacement | |||
|901 cc / 54.9 cu-in | |||
|- | |||
!Bore X Stroke | |||
|64.5 X 69 mm | |||
|- | |||
!Cooling System | |||
|Air cooled, | |||
|- | |||
!Compression | |||
|8.8:1 | |||
|- | |||
!Lubrication | |||
|Wet sump | |||
|- | |||
!Induction | |||
|4x 32mm Keihin carburetors | |||
|- | |||
!Ignition | |||
|Inductive electronic | |||
|- | |||
!Starting | |||
|Electric | |||
|- | |||
!Max Power | |||
|95 hp / 70.8 kW @ 9000 rpm | |||
|- | |||
!Max Torque | |||
|77 Nm / 56.7 lb-ft @ 8000 rpm | |||
|- | |||
!Clutch | |||
|Air cooled, | |||
|- | |||
!Transmission | |||
|5 Speed | |||
|- | |||
!Final Drive | |||
|Shaft | |||
|- | |||
!Front Suspension | |||
|37mm Air assisted forks, | |||
|- | |||
!Front Wheel Travel | |||
|155 mm / 6.0 in | |||
|- | |||
!Rear Suspension | |||
|Dual air assisted shocks, | |||
|- | |||
!Rear Wheel Travel | |||
|97 mm / 3.8 in | |||
|- | |||
!Front Brakes | |||
|2x 280mm discs 2 piston calipers | |||
|- | |||
!Rear Brakes | |||
|Single 297mm disc 1 piston caliper | |||
|- | |||
!Front Tire | |||
|110/90-19 | |||
|- | |||
!Rear Tire | |||
|130/90-16 | |||
|- | |||
!Dry Weight | |||
|277 kg / 611 lbs | |||
|- | |||
!Fuel Capacity | |||
|16 Liters / 4.2 US gal | |||
|- | |||
!Consumption Average | |||
|41.2 mpg | |||
|- | |||
!Standing ¼ Mile | |||
|11.9 sec / 177.8 km/h | |||
|- | |||
!Top Speed | |||
|135 mph 217.3 km/h | |||
|} | |||
==References== | |||
{{reflist}} | |||
{{motorcycle-stub}} | {{motorcycle-stub}} | ||
{{Honda CB}} | {{Honda CB}} |