Honda GB500
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| Manufacturer | Honda |
|---|---|
| Production | 1980s-1990s |
| Predecessor | XBR500 |
| Class | standard motorcycle |
| Engine | 498 cc air-cooled RFVC 4-valve SOHC single Bore X Stroke: 92 x 75 mm CR: 8.9:1 |
| Transmission | 5-speed |
| Suspension | Front: 35 mm telescopic forks Rear: Twin shocks with adjustable pre-load |
| Brakes | front single disk, rear drum |
| Tires | Front: 3.25 x 19 in Rear: 3.75 x 18 in |
| Rake, trail | Rake: 64°, trail: 105 mm |
| Weight | 157 kg (346 lb) (dry) |
| Fuel capacity | 20 L (4.4 imp gal; 5.3 US gal) |
The Honda GB500 'Tourist Trophy' is a single cylinder, air-cooled, single passenger motorcycle introduced in the late 1980s and first marketed in Japan in 1985 in two 400 cc and one 500 cc versions.
Honda subsequently introduced a third 400 cc version for Japan and finally a 500 cc version for the US (1989,1990). The motorcycle was unofficially sold on the grey market in a number of countries.
Also called the TT, the motorcycle derives its café racer styling,[1] mechanical configuration and its name from the motorcycles that raced the noted Tourist Trophy,[2] a historic 37-mile road circuit on the Isle of Man.
Overview
All GB500's featured black-green paint with gold pin-striping and lettering, as well as chrome wire wheels, clip-on handlebars, steel-braided oil lines, steel side covers (i.e., not plastic), round gauges with matte silver faces, fork gaiters, non-adjustable fork with hydraulic damping, 18-inch wheels with tube-type tires, solo seat with painted rear cowling and a fuel tank indented with knee grips.[3]
The GB500's engine was based on the Honda XL600 engine, a dry-sump four-stroke dirt bike. The four-valve single cylinder engine featured a radial four-valve combustion chamber, along with a tubular frame, wire wheels, clip-on handlebars, solo seat, seat hump, and pin-striped gas tank. The styling resembled TT single-cylinder racing bikes (such as the Manx Norton, the BSA Gold Star and the AJS 7R) that were prominent in the TT until the 1960s.
In the USA, GB500s were imported for model years 1989 and 1990. In 1992, a third-party exported 1,000 unsold Honda GB 500 Clubmans (German) from the USA to Germany as grey import vehicles.[4][5][6]
Both the 400 cc and 500 cc versions were imported and sold by Honda New Zealand. When originally released in NZ, the GB came in three models: dual seat; Mk2 with half-fairing, single seat with cowling; and no fairing, single seat.
References
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External links
Media related to Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. at Wikimedia Commons
