Would a Honda CB-1 be competitive in Lightweight Classes

[limelight]

I have an opprotunity to acquire a 1989 Honda CB-1 and was considering it for Lightweight Classes.  Does anyone have any history and/or experience with this model??

[benprobst]

simple answer NO. generally 17 year old bikes are not competive

that being said, in the am. ranks idealy if you are talented enough you can win on almost anything, but the lw am. is generally pretty stiff comp. withing the top 3 or 5. So all in all I would say no. you will make less horsepower and weigh more and have a chassy that is not as good. generally all of those things should not be against you. people can deal with 1 or two things against them. the sv's are generally down on power. the big air cooled twins are often up in weight and sometimes a little bit sluggish in the chassis. and the inline fours are just old  however it seems the cb will have everything going against it, but come on out and race anyway, racing cheap would be a nice change

[clutch]

Not in LW, but maybe in other classes.  Not sure if it would be legal for classes such as WERA's Clubman or D SS and SBK classes

[PJ]

I have an opprotunity to acquire a 1989 Honda CB-1 and was considering it for Lightweight Classes.  Does anyone have any history and/or experience with this model??

Ed Key had a highly developed CB-1 back in the day--I mean developed in the way that only Mr. Key can dream and do things. It was weapon in the LW classes.

When the SV 650 first came out, he bought one and brought it to the first Blackhawk race of the season. I remember asking him, while checking out his new bone stock SV, when he thought he would retire the CB-1 and start racing the SV. He said...well, the CB-1 is pretty well sorted...I guess whenever I get the SV to the point where I think it will be faster.

He was racing the SV, still mostly stock, the next weekend.

[eeky]

To this day the CB-1 is still my all time favorite motorcycle. Reliable, well engineered as most Honda's are and the best handling bike I've ever ridden. With gear driven cams and little flywheel weight that engine would build and loose rev's incredibly fast. The sound was one of the nicest high pitched screams in the world. The wheels are also wide enough to mount modern race tires.

The front brake is weak as it only has a single rotor and the coolest feature of the engine is also it's downfall as a super sport race bike. The gear driven cams do not allow you the option of "machining the head gasket surface" to legally increase the compression ratio. The radiator was also a little small for hot days. I used a FZR400 radiator to fix that issue.

While it's no longer fast enough to be competitive it's still an extremely competent race bike and as Honda didn't sell many it's very collectable.
Ed Key

[Super Dave]

I remember racing with you on the CB1 in 1997.   

[Un-retired_racer]

Richard-

Buy the CB-1 and come out and race in the Ultralight Superbike class.  Ultralight SB is basically the old lightweight class before the SVs came out.  You'd be up against FZR400s, RS250 Aprilias, Hawks, air cooled Ducs, EX500s and motards.  Since its a superbike class you can make the upgrades other folks are mentioning and still be legal.  You can also "race up" in GT Lights and the other lightweight classes if you want more track time.  I ran Ultralight on my FZR last year and had a blast!

Tom
CCS #96

[Super Dave]

+1

Good point.

[spyderchick]

I know where to find Ed Key's CB-1. It's in a basement getting good care. 


Oh, and it's for sale. 

[PJ721]

Richard-

Buy the CB-1 and come out and race in the Ultralight Superbike class.  Ultralight SB is basically the old lightweight class before the SVs came out.  You'd be up against FZR400s, RS250 Aprilias, Hawks, air cooled Ducs, EX500s and motards.  Since its a superbike class you can make the upgrades other folks are mentioning and still be legal.  You can also "race up" in GT Lights and the other lightweight classes if you want more track time.  I ran Ultralight on my FZR last year and had a blast!

Tom
CCS #96

Hey Tom!!! Good point...but will you be running the FZR again in 2007?

[Un-retired_racer]

Paul-

Yep, back on the Fizzer again next year but with white plates this time.  Ultralight will run AM/EX combined so the plate color is moot.  Will you be back out on the SV?

Merry Christmas to you and your family!

[Un-retired_racer]

Alexa-

I'm trying to drum up interest in the Ultralight SB class and there's no better carrot to dangle in front of a retired racer than a fully prepped bike.  Can you give me the details on Ed's bike?