Get a Honda GB500 and Sell Your Guzzi!

[LowRyter]

My goodness.   Those things are worth their weight in gold.   I've gotta say, anyone smart enough to hold on them must be a genius (Docc).  

https://www.hemmings.com/auction/1990-honda-gb500-broomfield-co-148727?utm_source=google&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=make_offer_dynamic_remarketing&utm_content=620436190775&gclid=Cj0KCQjwlPWgBhDHARIsAH2xdNegxS1JZwLTPH3XLlduXRgU8IFyaXkGhaFFYG_Ad4XzIDR90WLdgOUaAn37EALw_wcB

 

$16.5k  

[gstallons]

They are fantastic .  they sat on the dealership's floor forever and could / would not sell. Now , they are gold.

[Joe]

51 minutes ago, LowRyter said:

My goodness.   Those things are worth their weight in gold.   I've gotta say, anyone smart enough to hold on them must be a genius (Docc).  

https://www.hemmings.com/auction/1990-honda-gb500-broomfield-co-148727?utm_source=google&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=make_offer_dynamic_remarketing&utm_content=620436190775&gclid=Cj0KCQjwlPWgBhDHARIsAH2xdNegxS1JZwLTPH3XLlduXRgU8IFyaXkGhaFFYG_Ad4XzIDR90WLdgOUaAn37EALw_wcB

 

$16.5k  

Nice bike, but sky high price.

[activpop]

I'm waiting for one still in the crate...

[docc]

Very rare to see one that complete and original. Down to the original reflectors and goofy secondary air pump.

Even the tail cowl looks intact. (These tend to crack at the mounting points.)

As @gstallons said, these languished on showroom floors with asking prices upwards of $4,000US when the 4 cylinder CBR600 "Hurricane" sitting next to it was about the same money. I found mine at a dealer about an hour from me, sitting on his floor for nearly two years.

Over 52,000 miles now and still a doll. 

Met some of my best buds and lifelong friends through the GB500 . . .

[LowRyter]

@docc

He hears no evil.  (perhaps it's due to the artillery reports?)

[guzzler]

Yep, I reckon these are great bikes!

Honda did this really really well and so much better than the standard XBR 500!

As a fan of big singles I'd love one as the backroads round here do resemble English lanes in parts.

Then again an Enfield bullet might be better to potter about on them and a damn site cheaper too?

Cheers Guzzler 

[audiomick]

3 hours ago, guzzler said:

 so much better than the standard XBR 500!

What's the difference?

[guzzler]

Pretty sure the engine and state of tune are the same, but The GB has much better bodywork!

 

Makes it look more like something out of the ole dart rather than Japan.

[Twin AH]

Weird................

 

Ciao

[LaGrasta]

Yup, got the one of these in the stable as well. In fact, it's my second (sold the first). This one however is the actual Cycle World feature bike!

http://www.champsclock.com/gb500hu.htm

 

[billgreenman1]

I've always lusted after one of these, now partially sated by my RE 350 single. Every time I think about lower bars and more rear set pegs though, I remember my age, arthritis etc. and settle back to the fat ass seat and stupidly easy egos. I'll save the aches and pains for the v11...

[docc]

24 minutes ago, billgreenman1 said:

I've always lusted after one of these, now partially sated by my RE 350 single. Every time I think about lower bars and more rear set pegs though, I remember my age, arthritis etc. and settle back to the fat ass seat and stupidly easy egos. I'll save the aches and pains for the v11...

With 300 miles between the two this weekend (Glorious! ) . . .

 . . . I find the V11 a bit more challenging for the knees and the GB harder on the wrists.

Luscious, enticing beasts . . . 

[al_roethlisberger]

I thought this was an interesting retrospective:

 

 

[docc]

It took me a long time to understand the Honda GB500. That guy just doesn't get it.  Honda did not build it to sell. It was only sold in the USA? Yet, I read early on that the Japanese "built it for themselves."

I was, like, "Huh, but they weren't sold there" . . .

(Many) Years later I read an interesting piece by designer Glen Kerr talking about another Japanese motorcycle that "failed miserably in the market." He deftly explained that model was a "corporate pride" project and that the teams involved with producing it benefited immeasurably beyond the market performance.

Suddenly, the Honda GB500 made sense to me.  "They built it for themselves. " For their corporate pride. And for the motivation to carry on and build impressive models for the world to enjoy. Models that would be successful in the marketplace.

The GB500? It is like a striking, and complex, piece of jewelry. And, as Gordan Jennings said of it back in the day, "Equal to a gentlemanly pace."