HONDA CBX550F (1981-1982) Specs, Performance & Photos

The Honda CBX550F was a sport-tourer motorcycle part of the CBX series in Honda's range, manufactured from 1982 to 1986. Honda also made available the CBX550F2 model, which was identical to the F model, except for the addition of a half-fairing.

Honda developed a completely new and unusual design for the engine to compete in the middleweight sector that included twin overhead camshafts acting on rockers and screw adjusters for clearance that actuated the four valves per cylinder.

Also, the engine featured a standard oil cooler and a distinctive exhaust system, with cross-over pipes in front of the engine that linked one and four cylinders and a separate pair of pipes that linked two and three cylinders.

For suspension, the bike packed an air-assisted telescopic fork on the front and Pro-Link air-assisted shocks on the rear that offered optimum suspension performance and handling.

In the braking department, the bike featured two 230 mm discs with two-piston calipers enclosed in a drum-type mechanism and a 230 disc with a hydraulic caliper on the rear, also enclosed in a drum-type mechanism.

In the power department, although the 1982 Honda CBX550F had a 550 designation, it was powered by a 572cc four-stroke four-cylinder air-cooled engine fed by four Keihin carburetors that helped deliver an output power of 65 hp with maximum strength at 10,000 rpm and 49 Nm (36 lb-ft) of torque available at 8,000 rpm.