Sorry i was replying to the previous message about the CB450K- it looked good on the website.
Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, loony Well, leave some fucking context in, and we'll know what message you're replying to! It's really not hard. Read the UKRM CBT, FFS. -- Wicked Uncle Nigel - There are few things in life more sinister than a public toilet with the lid closed. WS* GHPOTHUF#24 APOSTLE#14 DLC#1 COFF#20 BOTAFOT#150 HYPO#0(KoTL) IbW#41 SBS#39 OMF#6 Enfield 500 Curry House Racer "The Basmati Rice Burner", Honda GL1000K2 (On its hols) Kawasaki ZN1300 Voyager "Oh, Oh, It's so big" Suzuki TS250 "The Africa Single" Yamaha GTS1000
Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, loony I realised that i did it again. Sorry guys. I forget because I just use the google groups on the web-browser where it appears next to the message you replied too. I forgot that people read these as emails and wouldn't have the faintest idea what I was talking about.
I realised that i did it again. Sorry guys. I forget because I just use We still don't, you're female ffs! -- And I just had to look up FFS on google..... lol. Venus and mars and all that.....
Now that's a bike you don't see that often... I think at the time the 350 was a bit of an experiment to prove that Honda could mass produce a small capacity 4 cylinder - the road tests at the time compared it to a "digital read-out wrist watch - a fantastically intricate toy". It didn't work that well as a commercial product as the 350-four was always going to be way more expensive and slower than the 350 twin that was one of Honda's big sellers at the time and hence they only made it for 3 years before developing it into the 400-4 which was a huge hit. What the 350 did have was sophistication over the twin and a charm that a lot of people still appreciate. I like the 400-4 but I'll always prefer the 350's styling as it has an air of precision about it whereas the 400 is more about aggression. I do wish the 350 had a sixth gear though as I'm always trying to shift up when it's already in top!
A fair assessment. Me, I prefer the 400 Four's looks, though, because the 350 just looks like the 500, which looked like the 750.... Interestingly, the 400 Four was only a runaway success in the UK. The Yanks ignored it, and it only sold relatively strongly in Germany and Australia.
On Mon, 30 Jan 2006 21:43:21 +0000, I always liked the 400 Four because it was 'different' to the 500 & 750 but if I had to pick a favourite I'd go for the 500. I never have and never will like the 550 but I couldn't explain why if I had to. Don't get me started on the 500 twin because any bike with a brown seat needs burning.
A fair assessment. Me, I prefer the 400 Four's looks, though, because I don't know whether the 400's success in the UK was partially due to the non-importation of the 350 here, i.e. a virgin market (though I know they had 350s in Germanyand they also had them in Aus), but I do think that the 400's styling is particularly British in a way, though I can't really explain why. Perhaps it's the squareness of the tank and the side panels -which I personally don't particularly like- one of the posters on the www.SOHC4.us forum calls it "slabsidedness" which is a good way of describing it! The striking twisty downpipes were definately a matter of taste you either love them (as most do) or hate them..
I always liked the 500, and particularly liked the four-piper 550 Four. The others are just too thirsty. Don't get *me* started. Remember, I'm the man who bought three of the damn things.
Bollocks. That tank makes all the difference. Okay, it's a Honda four, with four silencers, but the look is completely different: http://www.bike70.com/moto7585/CB350.jpg http://www.japsirauta.fi/CB500-73-13tkmES.jpg It's small, neat, agile and a great rider's bike. Of course it bombed in the States.
Love the cb350 pic. I wish mine was red mine's a weird bogey green metallic!. And I'd love to have that helmet with the CB350 tank stripes on. I agree Platy the 350 tank is much different and IMO nicer than the 500 which is a lot more bulbous looking.
Istr it was made as a 350 to start with because of the Japanese licencing or tax bands. Once it had established there and to some extent the rest of the world, it became a 400. Otoh, this is poorly remembered information from a bike mag, so it could be total bollocks for at least two reasons.
It is total bollocks. The 350 started as a 350 because it was a popular class in most of the world. The 400 Four was actually first made as a 399cc bike for Japan - where they had a 400cc licence limit, anything over that being *very* hard to get a licence for. It was also sold as a 399cc bike in France, where again they had a 400cc licence bracket. We, the US, and most other countries - not sure about Germany - got it as a 408cc.
On 30 Jan 2006 13:56:28 -0800, "loony" <> wrote: I've never met anyone who didn't love them. I used to go down to the garage specifically to admire them... -- _______ ..'_/_|_\_'. Ace (brucedotrogers a.t rochedotcom) \`\ | /`/ GSX-R1000K3 `\\ | //' BOTAFOT#3, SbS#2, UKRMMA#13, DFV#8, SKA#2 `\|/` `
