The Big Red One: 1995 Honda CB1000 for Sale

1995 Honda CB1000 for Sale
Miles: 4,246
Clean Title
Bid at post: $2,025
Auction ends: May 5th, 2024
No Reserve

To be fair, I’m probably stretching the definition of “sportbike” a bit to post this very clean Honda CB1000. But the looks resemble the very first “superbikes” and I couldn’t resist, considering the Honda CB-1 that was posted yesterday… Produced between 1992 and 1996, the CB1000, known informally as “Project Big One,” was only available in the US for two short years: 1994 and 1995. The bike didn’t sell well here for a couple reasons. First of all, while naked bikes were popular overseas and all of the major Japanese manufacturers had unfaired, large displacement, inline-fours, they were never big sellers here in the US. The other issue was that performance was considered a bit… soft. The CB1000 was powered by the liquid-cooled, four-valve engine from the CBR1000 suspended from a steel frame, with milder cams, valve timing, smaller carbs, and lower compression to suit the bike’s supposedly lower performance expectations. The result was 97hp and increased flexibility, compared to the 132hp of the CBR. That was more than enough for most riders, but I wonder what would have happened to sales had Honda simply left well enough alone and bolted the CBR1000F’s engine and transmission [the CB had one less gear] into the CB1000’s frame: at 520lbs dry, the CB was noticeably lighter than the CBR. Would sales have skyrocketed? Probably not. But I imagine it would have become even more of a cult bike. Most of the major manufacturers continued to detune their naked bikes for what they believed were lower expectations, and it would take years for a manufacturer to save development costs and entertain riders by simply ripping the fairings off of and fitting flat bars to a full-on superbike…

Affectionately known as the “Big One,” the Honda CB1000 was produced for just two years as a bike that stood out in a world of superbike replicas with acres of plastic bodywork. The slightly detuned engine didn’t help sales, and the USA weren’t ready for standards – the CB1000 ended up as a cult classic. The bike was the result of a pet project from engineers at Honda R&D who wanted to create something different. The production version used a detuned engine from the CBR1000, producing just 97 horsepower. “Just” is a relative word, but reviewers back in the day though the acceleration was disappointing. But everything else about the bike was absolutely excellent, especially for someone looking for a daily rider. This bike starts and runs well. I have put about 60 miles on the bike. This bike sat unused for many years and the tank requires more cleaning. The carbs are still getting a bit of debris from the tank. I would replace the tires as well. One rear shock is leaking. Great low mileage bike. Low mileage examples are hard to find.

The seller’s description sums up the bike’s history well, but his notes on function need some clarification: does the bike “run well,” or does it “need tank cleaning” and possible carb cleaning as well? Regardless, this looks like a very clean and low-mileage example of a rare and under-appreciated model. Bidding is up to just over $2,000 as I write this and any reserve appears to have been met. Depending on where it ends up, this could be a steal of a bike for someone: it looks great, makes plenty of power for its purpose, handles fine, and should be cheap to run, although watch out for the 18″ hoops found on the CB, since that could significantly limit tire availability. I haven’t followed up recently, but there was talk about developing more modern, performance-oriented rubber in the 18″ size to suit bikes like the early GSX-Rs. I’ve no idea about parts availability for these bikes in general, but the bike shares its engine with the CBR1000 so that should help a bit.

-tad