Honda CB1000 Custom Reviews - Page 2 of 3

Speedometer cable rattled... that's all.. been running excellently.. (if that's a word)

This bike will turn the heads of even Harley owners I've come across, (and passed)... been on several poker runs with a bunch of Harleys, and always got the "thumbs up" from all of them... Most reliable bike I ever owned, and I never liked Hondas... go figure.

Front fork seals at 10,000.

Starter at 10,348.

Carburetors rebuild at 11,024.

Brakes, carburetors, coils, A&B cam chains 17564.

Best Motorcycle I have ever had. Hey Honda, start making more parts, keep your 1 year product alive.

When at idling, the motor generates a kind of fuzzy sound, somewhat like that of an old machine in operation.

The motor is a bit cold-blooded, and needs to run a distance of at least 2 miles with choke on even after it's properly warmed up to get normal performance.

It's a powerful, smooth, fun-riding, multifunctional, and economical big bike.

I have simultaneously owned a 1978 Kawasaki KZ1000, a 1981 CB900 Custom, a 1983 CB1100F, a 1985 Sabre V65 and this 1983 Custom 1000 in the past 2 ~ 5 years, yet this 1000 Custom is, the way I think, the best among them in every aspect.

I once rode it on a local expressway and made a solid 130 mph!!! Given some more time and guts, I think I could "break the speedometer".

Please bear in mind that I live and work all my life in Taiwan, which is a country with very complicated and, in most of the time and situations, rough and crowded road systems which makes these heavy bikes harder and less advantageous to drive, yet whenever I'm on this Custom 1000, everything seems much easier and safer.

I love this bike, and I'll keep it straight and sweet for many many years to accompany me.

I opened the air box to find about 75 ACORNS & HICKORY NUTS INSIDE! Yet... the bike not only reached 95 mph, it was only running on TWO cylinders! We replaced one of the two ignition modules so that cylinders 2 & 3 would join in.

Low enough to be in/on the bike. Good low center of gravity. Smooth strong acceleration.

Seat a little uncomfortable after 30 minutes. Only one seating position. Handles predictably & surely.

I've had cam chain issues with this bike, some other minor issues after 24 years, not bad at all. I own 2.

Beside the cam chains, which I've addressed with Honda in 1984, there were some valve issues that they told me about... need to use high octane gas.

Hard to find OEM exhaust now as corrosion takes a toll.

Driven lots of bikes... dual tranny, lots of low end torque, high gear RPM's nice and low, can take a little while to wind her out, but hang on tight, a sleeper.

Nothing as of yet.

A great bike that is no longer built like this one!

Rear brake caliper had stuck and melted when I purchased this bike.

Cam chain was out of adjustment.

This bike ran but on 2 cylinders.

Purchased this bike for $300. Did some miner repairs to the brakes. Took this bike for a test ride discovered it ran on 2 cylinders. Chased wires and re-rode. HOLY COW this is one fast smooth running bike.

The bike ran fine, but the stock seat was horrible. Once replaced with a leather custom single saddle from Corbin, the comfort factor improved markedly.

Being the owner of many faster and lighter bikes of the era, the Honda CB1000 Custom seemed to run out of out of steam about 70MPH. Below that speed it was adequate. Major complaint was from the horrendous stock seat.

MY`82 GS1100 Suzuki was far superior in all performance related categories. The Honda was a very nice looking bike -- reliable, but not all that fuel efficient - especially at higher engine speeds.

Ten speed tranny was unique, but not all that effective.