The 1980 Honda CX500motorcyclebroke many long - establish molds when it debut . It almost seemed as though Honda had on purpose lay out to create the weirdest bike it could envision .

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First , the powertrain : While V - twins were nothing unusual and Moto Guzzi had been mount them " crosswise " in the physique with irradiation drive for many days , the 1980 Honda CX500 bike was decidedly different .

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Not only was the 500 - ccenginewater chill , it had four valves per piston chamber operated by pushrods rather than more conventional overhead cams .

Furthermore , styling of the 1980 Honda CX500 bike was confutative , at best . Upright forks and a short engine contributed to a stubby wheelbase on a bicycle that was itself rather improbable .

The CX500 was one of the first recipient role of Honda ’s new Comstar " mag " wheels , which measured 19 inches in front but only 16 in back , and the aspect took awhile to get used to .

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But all of that paled next to the sheetmetal of the 1980 Honda CX500 motorcycle . The fuel tank taper toward the front , and a huge half - moonshine tail lamp jut out from a forgetful fairing behind the radically stepped backside .

The end result was an left over mix of criterion , play , and pleasure boat features .

Strangely enough , the 1980 Honda CX500 motorcycle met with a fair point of achiever . It proved to be reliable and economic , and despite rather high prices for a 500 , was one of the least - expensive prick - driving bikes around .

The rather awkward - looking initial variation demonstrate democratic with police departments and commuter train , while later Custom variants were easier on the optic , and a touring - oriented Silver Wing ( sort of a baby Gold Wing ) made for a nice lightweight route motorcycle .

And though performance was never a Honda CX500 motorcycle selling point , that was about to commute .

Go to the next page to see more pictures of the 1980 Honda CX500 motorcycle .

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1980 Honda CX500 Pictures

The 1980 Honda CX500 was different look than its predecessors , but it raise to be both economic and reliable .