Will the CBX Ever Achieve the Vincents Collectability Status

[Mike Barone #123]

over the next 10 weekdays i am going to post the most frequent cbx questions i have heard over the last 25 years (actually ones i thought were interesting).



i am not going to wait for the questions ...but post the q and a myself.



i suggest you do the same........if we get 20 members to post one question a month the tech library base will be increased dramatically and help cbxers forever



second goal is to liven this dead line up a bit............





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Q 10. Will the CBX ever reach Vincent type collectablity status



A1. i lean toward saying no because the number of cbxs made was far more than the number of vincents and the availablity of an item is one prime factors for the collectablity status



A2. vincents were over 3k new back when 650cc brit bikes were less than 1k. my take is anyone can buy a good black shadow now for 25k or an increase of only 8x in 50 years!!!!!.



now maybe some of you will be around 25 years from now to get your 8x investment back....but by then will you really care when you are in the old folks home (saying get the heck out there and ride the wheels off your cbx while you can....enjoy it for the reason it was built --- for riding. in 25 years a good early model has increased in value 2x and good late models are still selling for the retail price of 5k so ...so far things are not really looking good at getting to 8x 25 years from now



A3. real world: i started riding bikes in the very early 60s rode when vincents were still on the road as motorcycles and had a friend that had a black shadow.....and frankly i never liked vincents then and this has never changed over in 40 plus years.



when new they were in my view and at best....contraptive machines with 1920s fork, brake, suspension technology that had wonderful big v twin engines and none of this has changed in 50 years.



during the early 60s on rides i got alot of up close and personal views on just how bad vincents handled ....and how bad the brakes were. contrary to myth....vincents were easy to toast in the tight twisties.



the vincents prime pluses were intimadating harley owners and that big 1000cc v twin. another buddy of mine owned a 1000cc ariel square four that would put the shadow on the trailer time after time on acceleration runs up to 100 mph or so ..........sooooo the vincent was not even the best accelerating brit bike of the era... ....all this did not add up to an amazing world beating machine then or nor does it now



in comparison the cbx was by far the best bike of its era and was declared as such by many international publications. comparing the vincent vs cbx was in its time period to other bikes also favors the cbx on most counts and oddly they do share nne sad fate....not being a hugh sales success.



A4. as most of you know i really dont care about the collectablity of my bike...........the next owner when i am gone will take care of that and restoring it back to stock including the correct weight chain guard decal to the nearest millionth of an ounce. for me the cbx is a great bike to ride ...and ride alot and the same could and can not be said for the vincent



later now





mike

[broook]

I also started bikeing in the very early 60`s and I have to agree on most things you say about the Vincent. It looks like the the seat was added as an afterthought and the forks were way behind the times but if George Brown were still alive, [Nero and Super Nero] he would not agree with the performance issue as the only person that could come close to him was Alfie Hagon on his J.A.Prestwich Mighty Mouse. I saw the two of them race in England back in 1965.

Before you jump down my throat I know this is a slightly different subject to what you started. What the He?? Jump anyway.



Triumph Fan.

[Guest]

hi bob



no disagreement with anything you said and i forgot about that seat "after thought" look on the vincents



i know vincent specials were indeed exceptions to my comments and had some first hand experience with one ...... the guy that worked on my goldie getting it from a gs to rgs state was a vincent dealer and he had a couple of high performance vincents that would were neat and fast....plus handled. one held the world sidecar speed record at bonneville for a while....i think (this was 40 years ago)



thx for you post and how is the weather up there in new foundland



btw is is true that mosquitos in new foundland only live the two weeks between spring and winter ....aka newfie summer and they get to be 3" long and three can kill small animals. enquiring minds wannnna know



best now and call me sometime





mike

[broook]

On the evening news the other night they said mosquito`s only live for two days. Thats more like our Newfoundland summer.

After saying that now it was 24deg c today.[75f] Ok while on the bike but waaaaaaaaay tooooo hot for me when you stop.

[BDR]

I have had the opportunity to ride beside a beautifully restored Black Vincent while on my CBX and the Vincent rider says his biggest concern is anticipating to stop. He actually plans for stop signs. The brake techonology is so poor by todays standards that he has to ajust his thinking every time he goes out on it.

[broook]

Hi BDR.



Back in the days of the Vincents etc. everything had rod activated drum brakes front and rear so we just grew up with them because we didn`t know the difference. The cars back then were not much better. Our CBX`s are not blessed with A1 brakes but they are way ahead of the Vincent. The only Vincent I rode myself was the Comet 500cc single. It didn`t bring up any excitement until you tried to go int a corner.

[Mike Barone #123]

I have had the opportunity to ride beside a beautifully restored Black Vincent while on my CBX and the Vincent rider says his biggest concern is anticipating to stop. He actually plans for stop signs. The brake techonology is so poor by todays standards that he has to ajust his thinking every time he goes out on it.

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you friend is right....and ofcourse the faster one goes on a vincent (something few current owners of restored bikes will do but back then it was the norm) ...the more "planning" one hadto do to ensure the vincent could/would stop.



marginal brakes was not unique to the vincent back then...just as bob said....but my friends vincent was in league by itself in this regard and this was esp risky given the vincent could do an honest 130mph in stock trim as where most other bikes of the early 60s...triumph bonneville, gold star, norton 88/99...on and on....were barely able to get over 100mph.



btw ....the 125mph early 1960s stock bonneville is a pure myth perpetuated by todays young bike magazine editors that realllly dont have clue



i remember one time on my goldstar that i was playing around with my buddie in his shelby 350 on the "new interstate." when we took the ramp he stopped without issue at the top of the ramp T.... but this "caught me out totally" and i was deep in prayer mode knowing i wouldnt get stopped...luckilyhe saw me in his mirror and pulled away at the last moment and as such saved my buttttttttttttttt and more



like bob.....i dont rate the stock cbx early model brakes as super stoppers either, but in the end, they were a bit better for the early 80s era .....than the vincent brakes were for the mid/late 50s.



good to hear from everyone





mike