The International CBX Owners Association

hi to all,

I am a new member,so forgive me if i ask some basic questions,and as yet have not aquired a cbx , so I am trying to do some homework/research before a purchase,as I'm trying to find an original unrestored example if at all possible.
I am aware the frame and engine numbers do not coincide exactly.
on some bikes I have seen there is a difference of around 150 and on others 300 between engine and frame numbers,although they appear to be in the correct range for that model,(ie "z")is this normal?
also the location of the engine number differs,on some it is above the rear of the gearbox and others it's behind the right hand cylinder,is this of any significance?

cheers

allan

Welcome Allan, We have several experts on this living in the States. Give them a few hours to rouse & have coffee & I'm sure they will be able to give you a definitive answer.....

Hi Allan

Welcome to our site.

Here are the directions to a good article/data on CBX motor and serial numbers. Go left column of our site scroll down a bit to "CBX Vital Statistics"

If the left column is not showing on your screeen enter http://www.cbxclub.com/ in your browser to see it

We are all here to help you........keep posting questions or your needs. What bikes do you have now?


Mike

cbxjam wrote: also the location of the engine number differs,on some it is above the rear of the gearbox and others it's behind the right hand cylinder,is this of any significance?

cheers

allan

I believe the earliest production engines had the numbers near the gearbox, later engines all had the number near the cylinders.

thanks for the replies so far,the definitive answers I believe!! hopefully in the next week or so I will be able to puchase a cbx.currently I have a kawasaki z1a , which is in excellent original condition.I also have a kawasaki h2 just for good measure.I have lusted after cbx1000z for some time now,it is an iconic bike.
It amazes me that there is a resource such as this cbxclub where information can easily be found,and people across continents are so friendly and free to give it.

many thanks

Keep us posted Allan.........

"I am aware the frame and engine numbers do not coincide exactly.
on some bikes I have seen there is a difference of around 150 and on others 300 between engine and frame numbers,although they appear to be in the correct range for that model,(ie "z")is this normal?"

In the first CBX series (Z) model, 78 non USA and 79 USA models, some of the motors were taken from the assembly line for testing etc so the frame numbers didn't match. My early Z model is about thirty digits off from what the frame number is and my motor number is way in the back.

http://s70.photobucket.com/albums/i87/j ... 5Small.jpg

Considering that engines and frames are made on different lines, it should be surprising, if they would match. The "matching number obsession" is something that comes from the vintage car enthusiasts and is hardly applicable to motorcycles. As production of a model starts and proceeds, engines are being mated to frames as they become available and thus they are in the "same range", i.e.: early frames have early engines, but I wouldn't be surprised that you could find two frames with numbers close together and the earlier frame having a later engine.
The engine serial number was placed on the primary drive housing behind the clutch up until engine number CB1E-2017146 and moved behind cylinders 5 & 6 thereafter. Considering that approx 24,000 CB1 engines were built, most of them had the engine serial number hidden from plain view.

"The "matching number obsession" is something that comes from the vintage car enthusiasts and is hardly applicable to motorcycles. "

well all I wanted to know really is; if I bought an "original" cbx,how I could establish that it still had the original motor,fitted to the frame,that it left the factory with back in the late seventies!!!!!!!!!! (assuming no service record etc, to consult)

cbxjam wrote:"The "matching number obsession" is something that comes from the vintage car enthusiasts and is hardly applicable to motorcycles. "

well all I wanted to know really is; if I bought an "original" cbx,how I could establish that it still had the original motor,fitted to the frame,that it left the factory with back in the late seventies!!!!!!!!!! (assuming no service record etc, to consult)

I see what you mean. I would think that if the numbers were pretty close in sequence that you'd have no real way to know, sans paperwork proof of course, but if the numbers were waaay off, that would seem to me to be a tip off, especially between the Prolinks and a Z or A model. Agree with EMS that it woud probably be a great coincidence if someone discovered they actually had 'naturally' matching numbers.

cbxjam wrote:well all I wanted to know really is; if I bought an "original" cbx,how I could establish that it still had the original motor,fitted to the frame,that it left the factory with back in the late seventies!!!!!!!!!! (assuming no service record etc, to consult)

Allan, all that was said above sort of points you in the right direction. You can never be 100% sure. Unless you have good records and credible comfirmation from previous owners. I have a 79 CBX that I bought new in 1978 and the engine serial number is 62 units higher than the frame. Like Terry said, as long as they are in the same range, they very likely may have come together. But if someone had a catastrophic engine failure, let's say in May of 1979 and had the complete engine replaced, he may have ended up with a replacement engine that was built early, with a serial number close to the frame number of his bike. Engine replacements that happened later, like 10 to 15 years after the bike was built, are easier to spot, as in most cases engines supplied by Honda for that purpose were of later vintage. I know that in Germany you couldn't get a CB1 engine anymore fairly early and Honda was supplying SC03 motors.

There are known to be a scant handful of CBXs with matching frame and engine #s. I have one of them. My '82 is frame and engine #244. Pete Ruff did a survey many years ago and found perhaps 4 or 5 CBXs of different years that had matching numbers.
Marysville '80s will never be close in engine number because the frame #s started over when production moved there and the engine #s continued on from Japan. There will be approximately 2000 difference in your '80 Marysville frame and engine #s.

Dave

daves79x wrote:There are known to be a scant handful of CBXs with matching frame and engine #s. I have one of them. My '82 is frame and engine #244. Pete Ruff did a survey many years ago and found perhaps 4 or 5 CBXs of different years that had matching numbers.
Marysville '80s will never be close in engine number because the frame #s started over when production moved there and the engine #s continued on from Japan. There will be approximately 2000 difference in your '80 Marysville frame and engine #s.

Dave

Marysville frames started with --10001. It only looked like they started all over if you don't look at the whole number.

Like I said - the frame #s started over in Marysville - and, yes, they had a '1' starting the string. The production in Marysville didn't start at 10,001 bikes, it was just the way Honda differentiated the frames. They only made about 4000 '80s total - approximately 2000 each from Japan and Marysville. You can prove this by following the engine numbers. You'll not find an '80 engine number over 4500 or so. (If you know of one higher, please let me know - I've been following this serial number thing for a long time).

Dave

daves79x wrote:Like I said - the frame #s started over in Marysville - and, yes, they had a '1' starting the string. The production in Marysville didn't start at 10,001 bikes, it was just the way Honda differentiated the frames. Dave

Don't understand what you are saying. Marysville frame numbers started at 10001, but didn't start at 10001??