1969 Honda CD175
My pride and joy since the age of 22 has been my Honda CD175. I bought it new in 1969 for £202. It was metallic grey with lots of sparkling chrome. For the first couple of years usage was minimal. It wasn’t until 1972 that it really started being used, a trip from Cardiff up to Abersoch. As I worked for the railways then I took it on the train, free of charge, to Shrewsbury.
After 50 pleasant miles, I stopped for a sarnie and a slash, halfway through the latter two RAF jets roared across the sky. Scared the shit out of me, but they tipped their wings as they went over. The rest of the trip was uneventful. The bike averaged 55mph and 70mpg.
Coming back wasn’t so much fun. The weather turned nasty, misty rain that started pissing down. Five miles on the road and I was soaked through despite the claims of the manufacturers of my water proofs. Things became worse when I took a wrong turning and ended up in Machynlleth with the only sign of life in the petrol station where I was directed up a street that would get me back on the right road.
To hell with 55mph, I thought. 70mph in the pissing rain to get it over with. The CD flat out, the SOHC motor singing along, I can’t get any wetter after all. After 40 miles the sun comes out. In a layby I wring out the wet clothes, much to the amusement of a car full of tourists.
Gloves, leather jacket and boots (swapped for shoes) dumped in the top box, I let the sun and wind dry out my clothes. Next problem was a huge traffic jam into Shrewsbury that I weave through but arrive too late to catch the train. Oh well, a pint, food and walk later the next train comes in 35 minutes late.
The following year I went to Bournemouth. Put it on the train going down, but came back by road as I soon got pissed off with all the train changes. The Honda whizzed along the back roads with reasonable handling and no complaint. To avoid Bristol, I took the M4 for 60 miles, doing 55mph in the slow lane. An old 1100 Morris overtakes and I see that the driver's asleep! A Roller overtakes up in the fast lane, the turbulence wakes him up, he swerves into the fast lane and then back over the road into my lane!
Later, there’s a Honda 250 broken down by the side of the road. He had a puncture, no petrol and was skint. He'd already called for a rescue van so there was nothing I could do. Anyway, I had four hours of very enjoyable motorcycling on the little Honda, save that my arse and left hand had gone to sleep.
After 28000 miles my first camchain snapped. As it had a split link it wasn't too difficult to replace. General maintenance was also straightforward. There was a single carb and fully enclosed chainguard. Tappets were screw and locknut.
The other major problem was rusting silencers, I needed a new set every three years. By 1980 I was getting tired of this and cut off the old silencers and replaced them with a used set of BSA twin silencers - they are still on the bike, in perfect condition. The chrome is still there, thanks to Solvol Autosol. I always do regular oil changes with high quality oil.
In 1981 I left BR and started using the bike to its full potential. I went on many, many rides with few mechanical problems. One thing, though, niggled at me, Honda UK wouldn't supply me with a tin of paint. They kept sending me the names of dealers who didn’t have it in stock. At least you can still buy engine spares.
The chainguard disintegrated after about ten years, so a Honda 100 bit was fitted. The rear mudguard split after 18 years, but I picked one up through the Free Ads.
During the last 12 months I've used the bike day in, day out, in all weather and it only let me down once - a flat battery. About two months ago the second camchain snapped whilst I was half-way up Caerphilly mountain - turn around and free-wheel down.
Fortunately, I already had a spare engine, again thanks to the Free Ads. As there aren’t any down tubes on the pressed steel frame, engine removal is very straightforward. The other engine had been stripped and reassembled, so I knew it was a good ‘un. It’s been in for 4000 miles without any worries.
The bike is now 20 years old, still going strong (touch wood) and regarded by all and sundry as a classic (it may be faster than later CDs, but... Ed). Apart from two others in the Cardiff area I haven't seen any others in the last 10 years or so. I would never part with the bike now, it’s not only become a friend to me in all those years, but like the younger brother I never had.
The bike’s just clocked up 50000 miles, 20000 of those in the past two years. It struggles a bit going up steep Welsh mountains but I get a sense of achievement once it makes the summit. I get some very odd stares from F reg car drivers who seem to think it should be in a museum and go to extreme efforts trying to keep up in town. Next August I will be able to tell everyone I've got a G reg bike.
G.Williams
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1975 Honda CD175
The first motorcycle I owned was a P reg orange Honda CD175. I inherited it from my brother who had bought a new RS250. The bike had no bottom end, so £30 was given to a breaker. All I had to do was bolt down my cylinder head. The Honda wasn't exactly high tech, so no great problem.
CDs, as everyone knows, are a no frills, SOHC twin with a single carb and styling that might have been modern in 1960. Four gears, drum brakes, huge mudguards, full chainguard et al. The bike's physically small and it’s easy to reach the ground. Handling is often strange thanks to the soft suspension and brake fade from the SLS front drum is built in to discourage high speeds.
I made several attempts to fix the baffle-less silencers but they didn’t stop it sounding like a jumbo jet and go like a jumbo elephant. Only when I fitted a pair of CB550/4 silencers did it quiet down. It also was 5mph faster and did 5mpg better. What they say about the non-effectiveness of loud exhausts is true.
The bike has a top speed around 70mph, returns 60mpg, runs without a choke after ten seconds and only ever broke down once. It cruises at 60mph with ease - if you can call screaming the engine in third and getting down on the tank whenever there was a steep hill of heavy headwind easy.
Overtaking, at say 60mph, requires a drop in gear and revving the engine until the valves bounce. Once, when I did this whilst overtaking a car and racing a TS100, the motor went dead. The camchain had snapped at the split link. I bought a new link, put it all back together and must have advanced the timing or something because performance was transformed.
I have witnesses who will support my claims of a new top speed of 85mph! I was rather pleased with myself, although the way the bike wobbled and weaved was, I suppose, not really very safe. If had to brake hard from 85mph, then the brakes would take the rest of the day off - the rolling chassis was designed for some old Joe to go back and forth to work on. The increased performance meant I had to keep adjusting valves and points all the time to keep it in shape.
I eventually sold the bike for a Kawa KH250. It’s the only bike I’ve ever regretted selling. People used to knock the little Honda all the time because it was ugly, didn’t handle and had 6V electrics, but they were damn reliable, very cheap and lots of fun to ride.
The later Benlys share a similar concept but have a flimsy build quality that I bet does not last half as long nor inspire such a loyal following.
Paul Gould
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1974 Honda CB175
The CB175 is a lot less common on the roads, these days, than the ubiquitous CD175 with which it shares so much. This is a great pity, because the CB has most of the CD’s virtues and few of its faults. The basic engine is similar, with a higher state of tune and twin carbs. The frame is the same mixture of hidden pressed steel and tubular down tubes but the suspension is stiffer and, at least when new, works OK. The styling is a sort of scaled down version of the early seventies CB250K and, in my opinion, is the nicest looking of the Honda twins - before or since. 12 volt electrics means decent lighting can be fitted and the electric starter works when it’s in the mood.
I am lucky enough to have one of these machines tucked up in my garage as I write this. I bought the bike three years ago off an old chap who'd only used it on sunny weekends. There were 15000 miles on the clock and it was mine for just a hundred notes. It’s a cherry red colour which has not faded one bit and only the spokes have gone rusty. Not immaculate, but well looked after and raring to go.
Naturally, on the ride home I wanted to see how fast it would go. It shot up to 75mph in fourth but took an age to reach 85mph when I changed up to fifth. There was a gentle weave at that sort of speed on smooth roads.
I soon found that at both ends the suspension was well worn. Heavier oil and some spacers in the forks and a pair of Girlings I had in the garage (that fitted perfectly) got rid of all the nastiness on bumpy roads. I like my bikes to feel taut, something to do with all those British bikes in my past with two inches of suspension movement. This may also explain my addiction to vertical twins.
The Honda shares the garage with a 650 Dommie and a 500 Daytona. I originally bought it to do all my hack work, saving the British stuff for impressing the boys at weekends, but I soon found that I could buzz along on the Honda at 70mph in much more comfort and with much more peace of mind than on the bigger British twins.
It soon became obvious why the British motorcycle industry went bust and I’m currently pondering flogging off the British stuff now as it never gets any use! In fact, a couple of macho mates who‘d never even considered the Jap stuff were so impressed by the sweet running of the little Honda that they’re on the lookout for similar machines. Could the British motorcycle myth collapse all over again?
In three years I've done 30000 miles, the kind of mileage on a Triumph twin that'd require three rebuilds and maintenance every weekend. The Honda required a new set of spark plugs, an oil change every 1000 miles (which equates to the amount of oil lost/consumed by a Brit bike) and a check over (more for my peace of mind than necessity) every 5000 miles. Absolutely nothing has broken or fallen off, nuts and bolts just don’t come loose like they do on British bikes. The only poor point was the fuel economy. On the Daytona I could average 65mpg without thinking about it, on the CB175 I have to ride very carefully to do the same. 55mpg was more normal, although it would do as little as 40mpg strung out on full throttle, the only time there was any vibration.
I managed to acquire a spare engine through the Free Ads and was so intrigued by the way it ran that I stripped down the motor the owner said it had done 55000 miles before he’d crashed his bike. What a gem of a motor. Outside, it looked a real mess, all the alloy gone white and few of the bolts weren't ruined. But when I finally split the crankcases, after mucho abuse with a chisel and big hammer, it was fine. All shiny metal, huge roller bearings everywhere and not a hint of play. The valves needed lapping in, the tensioner was well worn and the camchain was well stretched.
Anyway, I was very impressed in comparison with the British bikes I've worked on - I've owned some British bikes from new that after 10000 miles have been complete wrecks on the inside even if the alloy looks very nice on the outside.
I even took the Honda on a 2000 mile tour of the UK. My friends on Bonnies thought I was mad at first, but they spent half the time working on their bikes whilst I was able to sunbathe, eye the nubiles or fish (it was sometimes possible to combine all three). I could actually out-handle the Triumphs in the tight stuff and kept up with them on the straights as they just wouldn’t bowl along at a speed greater than 80mph. Just to rub it in, the TLS brake was even more powerful than the British stuff and there was rarely any fade - it was certainly sufficient not to require a disc fitted. Brake shoe wear is so minimal that I have not yet had to change them at either end, although to be honest I’ve reached that point n in my riding where I tend to look ahead and use engine braking a lot.
Although the tank and sidepanel paint is fine, it peels off the frame with tedious regularity and I do miss the red primer of British bikes. The silencers are also full of weld from where I've filled up the holes. I tried a couple of megaphones I had hanging in the garage, but they made the bike sound like an enraged pile driver and lost most of the mid-range performance. I had a go on a Honda Benly and it felt really gutless after my CB. Put the two bikes together and it is easy to see which one is built better. According to this magazine the CB200 is even better than the 175, having the same performance but CD economy, but I’m not convinced. The 200 looks pretty awful and has a mechanical disc. However, if I see one in the Free Ads for under a hundred notes I might well go and have a look. My only regret is that I didn’t discover this bike when I was much younger before I had become blinded to the perils of British biking. Better late than never.
David Jones
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Honda Benlys
As someone who’s owned two CD185 and three CD200 twins, I feel I can reliably give an opinion on these machines. I bought one of the first CD185s to come out, two years on HP and 14000 miles on the clock. All I did, apart from basic maintenance, was replace the back tyre and a set of brake shoes. The chain was just about due for renewal when I replaced it. It could cruise along at 60 to 65mph and averaged about 85mpg.
The engine proved to be bullet proof, save for a couple of spark plugs and regular tappet and camchain adjustment I never touched it. If handling wasnt perfect it wasnt exactly dangerous either. It was just vague and imprecise, the faster you went the worse it got. Which goes for the drum brakes as well.
I sold the bike to the first person who came to see it for a good price and had a rest from the rigours of moyotcycling until 1983 when I bought a T-reg CD185 with 23000 miles on the clock. For £100 I couldn't resist it and the motor ran as sweet as a nut. The only problem I had was rattly silencers, so these were sawn off and replaced with a pair of universal items.
Since then I’ve owned three more CD200s, two early V-reg models and my current Y-reg job that has the benefit of 12 volt electrics. The previous 200s were bought and sold, or rather one got nicked and was never seen again. These CDs have rarely been my sole form of transport and were put to work for commuting, but out of all the bikes I've owned none has been able to match the sheer reliability of the little Honda twin.
My latest one was purchased in March 1985. It was in pristine condition with only 1500 miles on the clock. I paid £400 for it and never regretted it. Having been so impressed with the bikes in the past I made sure to take on care of this one, I've never left it for more than a 1000 miles before changing the oil, which I am sure has contributed to the engine's longevity.
However, I’m not so sure what kind of quality alloy they use in the engine, these days, as I managed to strip the spark plug thread and had to have a helicoil done. I have now put 15000 miles on the clock in three years of enjoyable riding. It has gone through two rear tyres, one drive chain and one set of brake shoes, two universal silencers and several drums of oil.
I can leave the bike for weeks on end, pull the choke and it always starts first kick. It does around 90mpg and can do about 75mph, although I think the non-standard silencers have reduced performance slightly but it’s still just as reliable. I feel sure that my current bike will out last any number of more modern bikes and I expect to still have it on the road for many years to come. Sorry, there’s no great trauma in this story but that’s because these bikes are just so rugged and dependable.
Barry Maltas
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1976 Honda CB200
I've owned this bike since new and done 76000 miles so far. The cost of that mileage has been two top end rebuilds, four sets of rear shocks, one new set of forks, and far too many calipers, silencers and various bits and pieces to mention. But the bottom line reads favourably enough. It’s been very cheap to run and provided loads of kicks. Especially since I've managed to fill up the garage with three non-runners for spares - the total cost of these came to less than a hundred notes. So I can sit here and give two fingers to consumerism and extortionate interest rates.
Ahem, back to the serious business. This is not the first small Honda twin I’ve owned but it is the best. I look at the new CD250 and burst into laughter. I look at the price tag and I'm crawling around the floor in hysterics. And I've yet to see one on the road.
The CB200 is the final evolution of the Honda twin. After this one they just didn’t bother any more. The Benly may be economical but it makes an MZ look flash and a CD175 like a work of art. Ugh! I had a race with a Benly once. What a laugh, he didn’t have a chance. You see, I want what a lot of people want - something for nothing! And the CB200 gives me that. It'll do 80mph and 80mpg without falling apart.
There are a few weak parts in the engine that show up after high-mileage and a bit of abuse. The obvious things like the camchain and the tensioner, plus the exhaust valves also go around 40000 miles if you don’t watch the valve clearances and/or run the bike on the wrong sort of exhaust. The clutch, and its operating mechanism, are also a bit dodgy. But the engine tears apart without any special tools, a real prayers and big hammer job. Even allen screws tend to get knackered after a while and chewed up allen bolts are even more of a pain to remove than the usual chewed up screws... On the road the bike is worried by the usual junk suspension and the swinging arm bearings are a laugh a minute (or every 6000 miles to be more exact), but it can be flung around fast B roads without the need for a death wish.
Shocks and forks are non-standard these days and a lot better for it. The steel used in the frame and cycle parts has an aversion to paint and it’s on the second re-spray now and it's very tatty already. The shape of the thing tends to grow on you. When I first bought her, I thought what a mess but now I'll give anyone who gets too critical a good slapping (ex public school boys should note my rates are quite reasonable).
It's never actually let me down on the road and left me stranded miles from anywhere. The time a gear selector spring broke I had to travel 35 miles in fourth, an event that must’ve helped burn out the clutch as it started slipping 50 miles later. I’ve had no less than six clutch cables break on me, but I've got that sussed now by having a spare taped in position.
One day there was this tremendous squeaking noise from the wheel. I thought the bearings had gone, but it was only the drive for the speedo. Another time the thing did a a speed wobble when a rear shock damper rod broke. Another, it blew the cylinder head gasket and coated engine, bike and rider in a layer of oil Another. the front disc stopped working as the bike was speeding down a hill with a van coming the other way. Grass verge stuff. I could go on and on, but you've probably gone through the same travails if you’ve been on the road any length of time.
The bike’s very good for pissing off 250 owners too, as it’s just fast enough to stick right up their exhaust, and with its improved suspension goes around corners. better. Would I sell it? Sure, sure, just as soon as someone makes a bike that’s significantly better and reasonably priced. By better I mean do 100mph and 100mpg with the same degree of reliability (I'd quite like no maintenance as well), and by reasonably priced I mean well under £1500. Until then I'm happy enough going for the world’s largest collection of non-running CB200s.
Peter Smith