I've started to get a thing about...

It wouldn't surprise me if someone did - the earlier Hondas weren't
renowned for their handling.

I've seen Vincents, Triumphs, Velo's (Velo's? Why, FFS?), and a Hillman
Imp crammed into Featherbed frames. Personally, I don't rate them that
highly.

The old Douglas advert claimed you could ride alongside a 3" kerb at 30
MPH and ride up and down it. I tried it on slightly lower kerbs, and
didn't fall off.

 

Basically, yes. The 500 Four certainly did. As long as you changed the
oil religously, the smaller fours would last. Even the 400 Four goes on
for ever and ever. That said, I've come across some high-mileage CB750s
as well.

Worst thing about the 550 is the fuel consumption. The F and F2 were
ridiculously thirsty for the performance - it was a struggle to get
better than 40mpg out of mine, and on one hoon in France (to Chepy, to
get there before the restaurant shut!) I got just 29mpg/76 miles to
reserve.

They did a carb change on the four-piper 550K and it was *much* easier
on fuel.

 

Andy Wegg came up with the following;:

When it was blowing up of course, duh!

 

I almost bought a CBX 550 once...

 

hmmm.

trials bikes. how long's a piece of string?

I've always rather fancied an XT500 or XT660 meself.

 

Having had an XT500 back when they were first out, I can testify that,
great bike that it is, it bears almost no resemblence whatsoever to a
trials machine.

Trail, maybe, but not trials.
--
_______
..'_/_|_\_'. Ace (brucedotrogers a.t rochedotcom)
\`\ | /`/ GSX-R1000K3
`\\ | //' BOTAFOT#3, SbS#2, UKRMMA#13, DFV#8, SKA#2
`\|/`
`

 

Yeah, just try some 4T scrambling on one.
They do have a top end weakness, the small end. As there is no bearing
it requires a rod change.

Alternatively you can ream the small end round again, do the same to the
piston, machine and harden an oversize pin from silver steel and sell it
on quickly to someone who lives several hundred miles away.

 

Different animal.

 

Different animal.

 

Very.
<inboard discs>

 

Strewth. What he said.

Zs and GSs are much nicer to ride. Problem with Z650s is that OE, and
even pattern cans resembling OE, are utterly unobtainable now. I
considered buying one recently, and checked with Z-Power first. As Timo
says, the parts supply for the old SOHC Honda CB750s is much better.
But I'd rather havea Z650 myself.

 

Well I used to do a fair amount of off-road, including lots of
jumping, on mine. Seemed to cope OK, but then I was young so I bounced
more than I would do nowadays.

By the time I'd realised that I had a problem, mine required a rod,
piston and cyclinder change. Bloody thing had seized solid and the
piston was rotating around the gudgeon pin. Not surprisingly, it had
been overheating like a bastard; what was a suurprise was that, as far
as I could make out (i.e. from the overheating), it had been running
like that for several months/thousand miles.

Heh. I flogged mine off as scrap for fifty quid, much to my later
regret. But I couldn't afford to rebuild the engine and it had been
cluttering up the yard for nearly a year.

--
_______
..'_/_|_\_'. Ace (brucedotrogers a.t rochedotcom)
\`\ | /`/ GSX-R1000K3
`\\ | //' BOTAFOT#3, SbS#2, UKRMMA#13, DFV#8, SKA#2
`\|/`
`

 

Lethal it was. Mostly just too heavy I think.

 

Gods teeth, I'd forgotten about them.
They was 'orrible!!

Dave

 

Thanks TOG, you are a true gent.

 

I've tried that one, on my KTM exc300.
The trials sections were nearly impossible.

 

Bound to have. I knew one bloke who was too skint to put a Triton
together, so used the discards and built himself a NorUmph.

Shit, it was.
--
Dave
GS850x2 XS650 SE6a
I demand nothing of you except that you amuse me.

Folding@Home Team UKRM
http://vspx27.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/main.py?qtype=teampage&teamnum=47957

 

Modern enduro bikes are motocrossers with lights, and not suitable for
LDTs at all...............its pretty obvious that idiots such as
"Krusty" who feels 380 Greeves MX bike would be a good choice, has
never even watched an LDT, let alone taken part in one!

k

 

Hey. Someone else who loves Greeves Griffons! I still regret not buying
an old 380 seen in Dennis Kelly's shop in Wimborne, Dorset in about
1978. He wouldn't px it against my Francis-Barnett. Wonder why! Mind
you, it may have been difficult to silence it enough to MoT it,
especially considering that, as an 18 yo I did most of my 'maintenance'
in the road outside our house with the street light for illumination!
Happy days!

Mark

 

Heh, I'm not surprised - an EXC smoker is definitely at the far end of
the suitability range[1]. Popular bikes are TTR 250s, Serows, Beta
Alps, Gas Gas Pamperas & various XRs.

That's not to say an EXC wouldn't be usable, but you'd need damn good
clutch control, & a flywheel weight made out of dark matter.

[1] Well almost - a TM125 would be further still, especially as the
electrics would probably crap out halfway up that rocky climb.

--
Krusty.

http://www.muddystuff.co.uk
http://www.muddystuff.us
Off-road classifieds

'02 MV Senna '96 Tiger '79 Fantic 250