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I bought a Bussman ATC-ID-SK fuse kit w/LED made into the fuse . When the fuse fails , the LED lights up indicating a blown fuse . 7 ea of 5a-30a fuses . These are the best thing I have ever seen . No need for guessing , no test light , no nothin' . this kit was about $64 so it is not for the cheapskates ! When the original fuse fails , install a conventional fuse to see if your problem remains . You don't need a handful of $$$ and still have a problem. BTW , if anyone wants to post a pic of these fuses , go ahead ! [docc added image.]

Agree with @Lucky Phil I still have and ride the 45 year old CBX that I have had since new with about 71,000 KM (owned a Honda dealership back then). Had it out for a ride a couple days ago. During my ride I was thinking about what attracts people to this bike as it is not very pleasant to ride. I have the Euro bars/ foot pegs option that was available in Canada, better CB900F rear shocks, and much better Pirelli tires than originals, but it rides and handles not well, much like many 1970s motorcycles. My 1975 Norton 850 is a nicer, lighter, better handling bike. But if I make the mistake of stopping by the local motorcycle Starbucks for a coffee, it is swarmed by the other bike riders, and the non riders that recognize it, etc., more so than some of my other old bikes that I think are much nicer. I don’t like to answer all the questions, so avoid doing that. If you like that kind of attention for your bike, the CBX can do that.

Mate, what are you like....

In light of the many instances of fuses being a topic for discussion, I thought I'd post this. I stumbled upon it tonight while having an emergency beer after work and thought it very very interesting. A detailed investigation into fuse quality. For our more electrically capable members, I am sure this isn't news, but for amateurs like myself I found it really enlightening. I hope it's OK to post this here.

I think life would be boring if viewed only through rational eyes.....

On airplanes, the cylinder needing checked is put at TDC compression stroke. The prop is dangerous and is held tightly before turning on the air. The regulator sets the first gauge at 80 psi, and the second gauge shows the leakage. The prop then can be turned back and forth a degree or so to get the highest reading. A normal cylinder will be 75 psi or above. I don't get terribly concerned until it reads 70 or under. This will show leakage from rings at the crankcase breather, intake valves at the carb, or exhaust valves at the (wait for it) exhaust stack. It won't tell anything about valve guides, but since it is at TDC you can feel how much clearance there is by wiggling them around. Edit: I would put an on/off valve on the hose to the cylinder on the pictured rig. It makes things simpler.

I know motorcycle desire is a strange thing but why would anyone want a six cylinder CBX. They were a bit of a orphan even in their day but now in a 40 year old motorcycle they represent about 3 times the risk mechanically. These bikes were all about the engine and the rest of the bike was like an afterthought. Like a 60's Ferrari, you know you bought the mechanicals and Ferrari threw in the rest for free. It's like choosing a dog breed. I look at people that choose dogs that are just a headache as a breed let alone as an individual dog. For example why would you buy a massively sized breed that costs a fortune to feed and comes with a truck load of hereditary physiological issues, why? When I bought a dog 5 years ago I chose a breed I liked but above all it had to be a physically robust breed without chronic breed issues. These questions about rationality interest me quite a bit. After we ordered the Supra my wife saw the latest Corvette on the road and asked me why we didn't buy one of those as our Sunday drive sports car. I told her the Supra was stretching the rationality boundary but a Corvette would definitely be crossing it. Same goes for a CBX I think. A rational classic would be a Mk1 Le Mans. You can still buy them for reasonable money and there are parts available at 1/3 the quantity of a CXB and a backyarder can still work on one. A sporting ditch pump. Rational purchase and more class than a fat wide wobbly CBX. There endith the lesson in rational life choices. Phil

If I may: you need to be thorough, systematic and careful in your analysis of what is going on. Record everything and be specific in the info you give us.... this will help in the analysis. Tell us exactly what the oil is like when you drain it. I'd replace it all again anyway and use the correct measure and filling procedure required. Keeping your bike really clean will help in identifying any leaks that may develop. And spending time just looking at it and under it, is part of being involved and knowing what is going on with our bikes. I wouldn't ride it until you know what is going on. I'm in Redmond so if you want to chat, send me a private message and I can give you my phone number.

I’d say that while yes, it is a ‘Western World’ phenomenon it is generally more of an anglophone western phenomenon, certainly my experiences in non-English speaking cultures in the last couple of decades have generally been more favourable. There is also the simple matter of history. History and sums! For the last half millenium at least western culture has been, both geographically and politically dominant. The historical narrative, at least the one most people absorb, is western and Eurocentric. Now other countries and cultures are becoming wealthier a proportion of their citizens will want to travel and when you are looking at countries like China and India with populations of over a billion a piece it doesn’t take many as a percentage to mean that their chosen destinations will become overwhelmed. Throw in ‘Our’ own boomers who have retired and want to see a bit of the world, often in a cocooned and ‘Safe’, ie, familiar environment that never takes them out of their comfort zone and it all turns into a rapidly evolving train wreck! I don’t think that the majority of these people are bad or unpleasant. Just boorish impatient and demanding. The way Jude and I tackle it is probably a bit unusual in that we try to avoid big ticket ‘Name’ destinations like the plague and if we do want to go somewhere where you know it’s always going to be insanely busy we go, as we do in most places, in the depths of winter as this tends to thin the tourists out a bit. On top of this we like to go to, and actively prefer, to stay in poorer, less developed and smaller towns and villages. Apart from the fact locals in bars and restaurants are always fascinated by WHY these strange, little old white haired pensioner people have come all the way from Australia to their little turdpoke village in Abruzzo or wherever! Then they want to know if you are on first name terms with their cousin in Griffith in the Riverina in NSW or their son Claudio who is a waiter in Adelaide etc etc ! In the UK we only drop down below the imaginary line we’ve drawn between the Bristol Channel and the Wash to visit relatives as anywhere below that line is an overpriced zoo with far, far too many people, most of whom think they are terribly special and are crying out for a good ‘Throat Punch’! Above the line things are infinitely better. There are still pockets of asshattery and some of the cities are really grim after 45 years of almost uninterrupted Tory destruction but the population density is way lower, it’s cheaper and the locals, (Outside the grim cities.) are friendly and helpful. It is also the cradle of the Industrial Revolution with history and museums to die for. The countryside, even in mid winter when it can be pretty bleak, is beautiful and once you get into Northumbria and Northumberland and thence on to Scotland the geography and landscapes are simply breathtaking. There is plenty of interesting Roman history to tickle my fancy in the borderlands areas and once into the highlands the austere magnificence is hard to beat although the lack of trees in the far north can cause issues! In January on one trip we were travelling around the A9 across the top of Scotland and had picked up some picnic vittles in Wick. After nearly getting stuck when it stated snowing the weather cleared and we continued but Jude got a bee in her bonnet about finding a picnic table and eating out of the car. Somewhere just west of Thurso she spotted a side road with a sign depicting a picnic spot so we hung a right and went down to the small rest area on the coast. It had a beautiful little beach, (Surprisingly devoid of naked Germans because as you know wherever you go in the world if you find a nice beach it will have some ageing banker from Düsseldorf and his hausfrau lying around with their kit off! Even in Scotland in January!) The absence of trees though belied the fact that it was in fact blowing about a force five gale! As we gathered up our meal of some cold cuts and proper English Cheddar the sun broke through the clouds and shafts of sunlight speared down onto the snow covered Orkney islands to the north, it was like the dawn of the world and stunning to behold! When we got out of the car though the gale was all too apparent but my darling helpmeet insisted we go and sit at the table, which we duly did and I set about hacking up the Baguette I’d bought in Wick. Jude unwrapped the 1/2 Kg of delicious cloth wrapped cheddar and sat it down on the table just as a particularly strong gust of wind hit, picked it up and sent it whistling off in the direction of Stromness never to be seen again! One assumes some lucky guillemot or puffin probably dined well that day! Anyway, after that even Jude thought discretion was the better part of valour and we retreated back to the car! And continued our trip! Sure, in the summer it would have been warmer, the wind would probably of been gentler and we might of got to eat some cheese! But at the same time the A9 across the top of Scotland is in some places only a single lane road with passing pull-offs. In summer it would be gridlocked with morons towing caravans and other assorted mouth breathers! We were probably lucky to see two cars an hour! Anyway! Enough. My main message is pick the ‘Wrong’ time to travel and you’ll find it’s likely to be the ‘Right’ time!

Refill capacity is 27-28 oz. If this box was empty , you should have destroyed everything inside. Make sure you have ridden this at least 5 miles to make everything in the gearbox is mixed together , then remove the drain plug and allow just a little to drain (into a white paper plate) and quickly reinstalling the drain plug. Looking at what you have in the plate will tell you what is going on inside . Shift bendix ? That is new to me. A normal motorcycle trans had a shift drum that moves the gears to produce different gear ratios. MG has a different setup .You would just have to look at it to understand how it works .There are adjustments that can be made but you have to be familiar wit this stuff before you start adjusting things .

These arrived a few days ago from Joe. The latest timing gears and oil pump. The pump now uses a bronze bushing for the main drive gear to minimise oil loss through the needle bearing type. I had Joe make my Jackshaft gear 16mm wide as opposed to the alloy gears 18mm width. I don't see a reason for a wider gear if it's now steel instead of aluminium. Pumps L to R....Joes pump, a std Daytona pump and another brand aftermarket pump. The Jackshaft is an MGS-01 shaft. The MGS got rid of the long jackshaft with the additional plain bearing at the flywheel end of the crankcases. That was a carry over from the 2 valve engine which needed the rear bearing as in that engine it was a camshaft and needed the rear support. The MGS shaft is supported by a ball bearing instead of the plain bearing at the front of the crankcase for less friction but it means the oil supply to the heads and oil pressure switch is now blocked so those are fed from the oil cooler connection. I'm seriously toying with the idea of just chopping the rear bearing and shaft off the jackshaft and running just the front plain bearing. I can't see why this wouldn't work and so preserve the integral oil feed to the heads and oil pressure switch. A bit more friction is all I can see as the result. Details from Joe Oil Pump gears are Helical Case Hardened and polished and should give a Hardness around 55-60 R The Bronze bushes have a 1mm shoulder like a top hat to prevent the bush moving towards the crankcase. The large 56 teeth Steel belt pulley large gear is 16mm in gear width compared to the original of 18mm. All the gears are made from en36 or 655m13 which is an upgrade from before as I was trying out this new supplier and so these are shiny and not the usual black Tuftride finish. These are Case Hardened gears which are then polished and so have a harder surface wear finish . The black gears are classed as through hardened in the heat treatment and so not suitable for the polishing process. The case hardened gears have an increase of around 10 Rockwell over the Tuftride gears and so I think they might sound different too.

Thank you ! While swapping out the fuses on both bikes , I found the 30a fuse on Greenie starting to melt the plastic on the fuse . SO , I start all over and bend the terminals on ALL connectors on ALL the fuse terminals and use a dab of NYE 750G "goo" to help the contact surfaces . I put the old fuses in a baggie and stuck them up in the hole behind the seat . When I got back from my trip to town I found the package from MG Cycle. Now I can install the pump , air filter and fuel shutoff . The strange thing about this shutoff , it does not need a 12 in pie wrench to turn the fuel off/on ! One of these days both of these bikes will be in riding condition !

I would not ride my bike to the end of the driveway (1000') and back w/no oil in the transmission. You have no idea how fortunate you are !

Not sure if that was a lesson or judgment day. I attend Portland Cars and Coffee here in my town regularly. There are usually about 20 bikes, sometimes more, that come park under the big overhang in front of the building. All types, all years, just like the cars in the lot. One regular there has a beautiful CBX. The vehicles are different, the passions are the same. I am always amazed at the abilities of all these owners to keep their stuff in tip top shape, no matter the year. Except for me though. I was there with my bug splattered Stelvio after 12 hours riding to and from the rally. It was a mess. Better on the bike than on me.

Now , I do not know what the allowed % of leakdown is on this cylinder is . MOST tests allow 5% or less as being perfect . I would test at BDC, halfway and TDC to know how it is doing throughout the cycle. It doesn't take that much more time to do . Use a ratchet/socket on the c/shaft for no surprises ! Watch some YouTube videos to make sure you are happy w/your procedure.

The book "First Man" about Neil Armstrong is a really amazing read.

Nice story Pete. My good wife also reminded me that since my 80's sojourns around Europe the wall has come down and China and India now have burgeoning middle classes. So Eastern European, Russian, Chinese and Indians and probably more I haven't thought of are now travelling. Phil

Who knew British Columbia had deserts? 103*F today, quit at 2:30.

Yep , that will do what you want it to do.

The faired one is not my cup of tea. That red one above, I could have gone for it if it had been available. I am glad it was not... 16k? something puzzles me with the FB adds; especially with a six cylinder, you ought to post a short video with the engine singing.

Pretty sure I rip it up and down the rev-range like a jackrabbit on hot lava. Might be pulling "too much" lube down the valve guides and up the cylinder walls . . .

Nooooo , the most important question is , how much oil did you add to the transmission to get it to the correct level ? Also , I hope the bike is in an upright position when you are doing this .

Empty ? How much fluid did you add ? Be specific ! First thing , YOU purchase enough to refill the gearbox . Next drain the oil from the gearbox and inspect the fluid That has come out. Be sure you are draining and refilling the gearbox in the correct spots. Someone had refilled the gearbox at the rubber plugs going into the clutch housing area with bad results. Let us know what happens

The fuel supply from our petcock to the external fuel pump (on the early V11) has always been vulnerable to heat soak from the left cylinder/head. Proper grooming away from the heat source and heat shielding the fuel line is well indicated. One of the contributors to this problem in high ambient temperatures/ hot motor is the mapping that runs rich on EVERY startup for about 4000 revolutions regardless of the temperatures. V11 are likely to run very poorly starting when already hot and high ambient temps until past those 4000+ revolutions. @Lucky Phil could recite the exact number . . .

Re-priming the fuel pump sounded "weedy." I thought I could "clear" the lines/pump/injectors by cycling the pump. Never worked out. At 5,000 miles, those plugs look "bad" to me . . . You can imagine my joy, starting the Sport up and riding away, after changing the plugs on that roadside after an hour in the immense heat . . .

What with no experience with the CBX, I have refrained from comment. Yet, I had a significant foray into a similar era 1000cc 1975 Honda twenty-five years ago. Even then, support and parts were becoming difficult. I rode the GL1000 four years, about 44,000 miles, in some very demanding sport-touring riding with modern motorcycles in the group. She acquitted herself well, but was heavy and had limited ground clearance for aggressive cornering. I did love that flat-four shriek from 6-8,000 rpm! In the end, I suspect the continual stream of costs was a factor in The Wife's endorsement of the V11 Sport. Pretty sure she might have thought, " At least the Moto Guzzi is a brand new bike. It couldn't possible bleed us like the old Honda. "

Hmmm. 1 Don't buy ANYTHING you can't fix yourself . Get a bunch of biker buddies that own and work on their own bikes and hang out w/them too. 2 A great mechanic doesn't negotiate prices. a greater mechanic may let you watch them and instruct you on what they are doing , why and what you can DIY . A good mechanic will explain why they do something and what you can do . 3 Just because you want one doesn't mean you need one. I will have to quote a saying my Momma used to have "you need that like you need a possum with a red asshole". 4 If I didn't know as much as I do (especially joining THIS forum) , I would have regretted this bike .

Gotcha. i actually added the entire given amount in the specs- (can’t recall atm) and made sure the bike was level after. When I stood it up, the level read at the center of the bubble or slightly higher. It wasn’t over-full by my untrained assumption. presumably the gearbox was dead empty. Yikes. Worried I did some harm there, obviously. will drain and fill properly soon