bobr (07/08/82)
I bought a used '78 Honda CX 500 in 1981; the warranty repair on the camchain tensioner had been done way back. At 30,000 km, my camchain broke **due to the defective camchain tensioner mechanism**. The people who repaired my bike told me that I was the umpteenth owner of a CX500 with a broken camchain. As far as they could see, this particular problem incurred with such a distrubing frequency that faulty design could certainly be suspected. Shortly thereafter, I met an Iowa motorcycle dealer who told me that in the U.S. HONDA paid the repair bills for broken camchains on 1978 CX500s even after the warranty period. HONDA CANADA, however, was quite unco-operative and told me that with 30,000 km on the bike I should not be too surprised about what happened. They did not even bother to discuss the allegation of a likely faulty design. Several questions arise: 1. Has anybody "out there" had similar problems ?? 2. Suppose that a mistake in the design of the early CX500s could be *proven* , how does one get the manufacturer to reimburse after the warranty period? 3. I am quite outraged at the suggestion that one of the better and more durable HONDAs can - at 30,000 km - in priciple not be trusted to take me across the continent without a major engine damage, *although* it had always been treated conscientiously. Does anybody know about qualitative comparisons of the durability and longevity of motorcycles ? (==> suspicion, maybe, that in the long run, BMWs are the most cost-effective touring bikes.) Any answers or opinions out there? thanx, Christoph Bobrowski ...!decvax!utzoo!utcsrgv!bobr