Leaked patent images of what look to be a modern interpretation of Honda’s CBX from the late 70s show that the Japanese bike maker could be considering a re-entry into that unique segment. When and if launched, even though it will feature similar looks to the BMW R nineT Racer and Kawasaki Z900RS, this bike will exist in a space of its own. That being said, this bike does have one cool ace up its sleeve – a six-cylinder motor with six exhaust tips!
The patent images also show that Honda has used a stacked gearbox on this motorcycle, thus considerably reducing the length of the motorcycle. This shows how the Japanese bike maker has made an effort to keep the engine as narrow and short in length as possible, which in turn will considerably improve dynamics. In terms of equipment, the bike is almost certain to get all-LED lighting, ABS, traction control and other modern-day components.
Interestingly, the original 1978 Honda CBX with its 225kph top speed was once the world's fastest production motorcycle; but it wasn’t the first to have a six-cylinder engine. That achievement belongs to the Benelli Sei of 1972. Coming back to the modern motorcycle, it looks to be running a liquid-cooled, six-cylinder engine which is considerably narrower than that of the original CBX. This is because this motor isn’t air-cooled, like the older bike and doesn’t require fins on the cylinder head for cooling. This makes the motor a lot more compact than the one on the original bike. This engine will be a new development; and Honda’s only other six-cylinder engine which exists in the Goldwing line has a horizontally opposed cylinder design.
We’re not sure how far away a production-spec CBX is, but our eyes will be peeled at this year’s INTERMOT and EICMA motor shows in October and November, respectively.
Azaman Chothia
Vishal Venugopal
