Honda CX500 1978-1982 Service Manual

When Honda unveiled the CX500 in 1978, reviewers didn't quite know what to make of it — Cycle Guide's own first-look review called the styling "quite a shock," and one tester famously described the engine as looking "like an air compressor." It looked, as one retrospective put it, like a cross between a Honda and a Moto Guzzi, and the nickname that stuck — "manure pump" — wasn't exactly a compliment. Underneath the unusual looks, though, was a genuinely innovative machine that went on to earn a devoted following, especially among UK dispatch riders who valued its shaft-drive reliability above all else.

Power comes from a 497cc liquid-cooled 80-degree V-twin, longitudinally mounted with the crankshaft in line with the frame, four-valve heads twisted 22 degrees to keep the carburetors clear of the rider's knees, and a 5-speed transmission with shaft final drive positioned below the crankshaft to lower the center of gravity. Output sits at a claimed 48-50 hp at 9,000 rpm, delivering a genuinely strong 106-111 mph top speed for a mid-size tourer of the era and 45-55 mpg fuel economy. The CX500 also holds a genuine first in production motorcycling: it was the first bike fitted with tubeless tires from the factory.

The range expanded significantly across this span — the original 1978 Standard model, a smaller-tanked Custom with buckhorn bars added in 1979, and the fairing-less Deluxe joining that same year, before the Standard was dropped in 1980. Comstar wheels, a steel backbone frame using the engine as a stressed member, and telescopic forks with adjustable rear shocks (later Pro-Link monoshock on updated variants) rounded out the chassis across the model years. Cycle Guide praised the handling as excellent even in that first, skeptically-received 1978 test, singling out steering that felt "wonderfully neutral and light."

This factory service manual covers the procedures, torque specs, and diagrams needed to keep a 1978-1982 CX500's engine and driveline running the way Honda built it.