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Difference between revisions of "Honda CX500C"
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The race for technological supremacy was at its height at the beginning of the Eighties multi-cylinder, multi-valve engines were all the rage. and the latest novelty was the turbocharger. Costly, and often imperfectly engineered. The turbo proved a flash in the pan. but that didn't prevent the best of the turbo bikes from acting as a superb technological showcase for their makers. | |||
==High-Tech Turbos== | |||
Launched in 1980, the Honda CX500 was the most daring attempt at producing a high-tech turbo bike. The world's leading manufacturer at the time. [[Honda]] had chosen to turbocharge a relatively small engine, and complicated the problem further by choosing a v-twin. | |||
==Technical Complexity== | |||
Honda achieved its aim in a masterly manner, though at the expense of fearful technical complexity. If the original CX500 was plagued by a turbo that came in too sharply, the [[Honda CX650|CX650]] that followed was one of the best sports-touring bikes ever built. But it came too late, the turbo craze was over soon, and performance-hungry motorcyclists began turning towards increasingly large naturally aspirated engines. Honda had done its best to make the CX Turbo a success by employing the renowned Italian automotive stylist [[Giovanni Michelotti]], who created a shape that was as practical as it was innovative. The CX's fairing offered a rare level of protection while forming an integral part of the machine. | |||
==1979== | ==1979== | ||
[[Image:1979_honda_Cx500c.jpg|left|thumb|1979 Honda CX500C]][[Image:1979_honda_Cx500c_1.jpg|left|thumb|1979 Honda CX500C]] | [[Image:1979_honda_Cx500c.jpg|left|thumb|1979 Honda CX500C]][[Image:1979_honda_Cx500c_1.jpg|left|thumb|1979 Honda CX500C]] | ||