About CBX400

In those days, so many high quality motor bikes are produced by various domestic companies as it started the period of the boom. "Super Sports CBX400F" by Honda was one of the most popular motor bike in there.

The one (CBX) which came to my house was called INTEGRA which has been presented with a big fairing. This type is called CBX400F2 by Honda's specialists. Since the popular color of the CBX was red and white, my brother chose bule and white based one. It was really rare that I could distinguish it at once.

At first my brother often took it and went around with his friends to the winding road in Kyoto. But he had taken it only a bit more than a year and then he changed to "CBR400F ENDURANCE" as one of his friends had "VF400F" which was more poweful than his CBX.
From then I became the one who mainly rode the CBX. It was summer of my eighteenth year, right after I took the driver's licence of midium categorized motor bike. (Limited under 400cc) I could rode it for granted though my brother told me only one rule which was I had to take care of it very well. He told me this because he knew my character very well ( I used to break things so easily... ) When I started riding it the total distance was about 12000Km, but the CBX was fine and the engine had no troble to the red-zone. The sound of inline-four was also fine. Though the characteristic sound which it used to make around 3000rpm was not heard anymore.

Time flies, I had rode it untill the summer of my twentysixth year. During my first year I didn't go too fast as it was my first experience. But little by litte I became passionate to go very fast, and devoted in going from windings to the sea in the early morning. Once I made a little round trip of 190Km to the sea with a friend only spending about 160min. My parents didn't know what to say to me about this (they acutually consisdered me strange). Apart from this I really enjoyed leaving early in the morning, I always met a certain fox on my way watching me passing through. Though now that the road was remade and I wonder how he's doing.

While my friends are changing their bikes, I've made my mind not to change it untill it breaks. Of course I obliged to exchange various parts as I went on through the year (except cold winter). Not only drive chain but also steerling bearing or front wheel too. At last I changed cam chain because my brother changed gear to the 1st on his slowing down in windings. (And when rev-meter reach to the red-zone, he use even half clutch!)
I had to change prolink every time when I had an official checkout of a car or a bike which comes every other year. So did valve adjust, and only after that pleasant sound was heard. I really impressed by that.

Since I had been on the bike for 8 years, so many things happened.
It had such a big fairing and was suited for a long trip, I made various trips though I was lazy going out. Once every summer, I visited places over 2 to 5 days. I still remember well my first trip with my friend. Since it was a first time I made a high-way trip rather easy from Nagoya through Kurobe to Itoigawa. The first night on the camp, there was few people as it was off season (instead there was a lot of cows!!). I met a man who was tralving all Japan by bike and another with bicycle. I ate supper with them. It began to rain that night and so did the day after.

Last trip I made with my CBX, I went to Nikko. I had decided to reach there in a day even though it was considered the longest and unreachable carrying out in a day. (it was 850 km long) I left home at 6:00 in the morning and I had breakfast at Hamamatsu in Shizuoka pre and in the early afternoon in Yokohama. I lost in the middle of Tokyo and I arrived at Utsunomiya around the evening.
I did my best ( going super-fast ) to make it and I got to Nikko a bit before sunset. Concluding some loss time in Tokyo I ran 850 Km by 14 hours. Now I think it was adventurous trip. The day after I saw Nikko and went back to Yokohama and stayed my friend's house. After that spending some days traveling through Hakone, Fuji, Kawaguchi lake, Hida, Takayama to Nagoya where I stayed another friend's house. In total I ran for more than 1100 Km long in such a few days, though I always met someone who was making travel by bike and I rarely ran alone. There were 2 funny guys from Sakai - deep area of Osaka - with whom I ran from Shiraito-no-taki to Suwako lake. On our way, we met a man who gave us grapes and spoke dialect Japanese that we hardly understood him by word. Ha ha!

I got a new sport typed bike when I was 26. Since I thought I was gonna break if I went on. I made the most of it. My CBX showed its limit when I went on full speed and its tires are diminished because of use. You run the bike depend on the reliance that there won't be no problem if you are not a racer. If you see your bike unreliable, you start feeling afraid of it. It was what I actually felt toward my CBX. I became used to my brandnew bike and I feel the difference between them and see how the latter one was further superior in capacity than my CBX.

Somehow CBX has a certain popularity as "bike of decades ago" in these days, and I could have sold it expensively. Though I'd decided not to leave it and left it in my shed. Who knows that when will it be taken again? But I'm sure that someday I will. I quite favor my CBX which is heavy, big, hard to treat to ride but not with much capacity comparing other bikes today. Whenever I heard its characteristical sound of engine I can't help looking around and think about my CBX on the road again.
Our relationship never ends.

July, '92 Yasu.
Translated by Mari Taguchi. Thanks a lot!