When the oil cooler fell off I thought it was time to start looking for another bike. It happened in town and I saw the fountain of oil spurting out. The fierce secondary vibes, that always attacked the chassis under fast riding, had slowly loosened the bolts until the cooler was hanging on by its hoses. When one of those let loose a couple of litres of oil was pumped over the front wheel and engine.
I quickly switched off the motor, pondering the wisdom of owning a 1984 bike that had almost gone around the clock and was fast falling apart under me. This story really starts three years prior to this act of treachery when I bought the bike for £1275 with 52000 miles on the clock. Already, the engine had been rebuilt twice and sounded like it would be due for another dose of expensive work soon.
I was forced to buy the F2 because there was little else available that could pass for powerful in that price range. It still churned out most of its 95hp, still could put 130mph on the clock and still managed a massive dose of top gear pulling power between 75 and 105mph. In a straight line it was, and still is, a highly impressive piece of machinery.
By the time it was full of oil and petrol, weight was approaching 560lbs. Its wide, DOHC across the frame four layout meant that a lot of that mass was carried very high. The top heavy feel never faded away. It went from merely inconvenient in town to downright dangerous at speed. The CB900 really liked to run wide out of corners under acceleration, holding its suicidal line until I yanked with all my muscle on the bars to change direction.
This weight also had its effect on the suspension. The fork seals never lasted very long, these flexible friends used to get so terribly crossed up under cornering abuse that I was never that surprised when damping went AWOL. They then matched the pogo-stick back end in effect.
The frame, a suitably massive tubular steel affair, was just about up to coping with the power, most of the madness was down to the poor suspension and weight. Mind you, rear swinging arm bearing life was less than 7000 miles a throw however much grease was chucked in at fitting time. Running an F2 on shot swinging arm bearings is not recommended - you might just as well undo the wheel spindles and wait to see which wheel falls out first.
That reminds me of a curious period when the Honda was left parked out in the street in Hackney. Several attempts at sabotage were made by some unspeakable cretins. They filled the petrol tank with sugar but only after wrecking the cap. I suspected foul play and drained off the fuel before it could do any harm. Tyres were slashed in such a way that they did not deflate but would have blown further down the road. The fluid was drained from the front brake and the hoses put back on.
I found that one out the hard way and took out the back of a Ford Escort, whose driver went berserk and started attacking me with a tyre iron. Only the arrival of the plod allowed my survival. I became so paranoid that I started parking the bike in the hallway - it needed the help of my two flatmates to haul the brute up the steps into the house. Our landlady was not too amused by this but as the old hag was being humped a couple of times a week by one of the flatmates she had to restrain her anger.
A night spent in the warm hallway didn’t help cold starting. It was always a recalcitrant starter and an inconsistent one. It was impossible to tell the position of the choke and it churned over on the battery for several minutes, huffing and grumbling to itself. It often needed an early morning push much to the annoyance of my friends as it was impossible to move let alone bump with just one person. As well as the mass the discs stuck on.
61000 miles into its life it refused to start despite our best muscular efforts. Its demise caused by a combination of worn out components that included pistons, bores,camshafts, valves, camchain, tensioner and clutch. I managed to replace most of these with used bits of reputable quality — there are a lot of CB900s in breakers!
The most common cause of falling off has to be wet weather riding. There are any number of factors that can cause an accident - rotten disc brakes, hitting the power in the lower gears, sudden misfiring due to ingress of water into the ignition system and running on worn out tyres. In my opinion, anyone who runs an F2 on tyres with less than 2mm of tread must have a death wish. Also, the bike needs an expensive pair of Phantoms (£130 a set every 6000 miles) to damp out the nastiness apparent with other makes of rubber.
In the early days, before I had become used to its ways, I had some really violent wet weather slides that had the back end twitching about a yard either side of the machine. Its top heavy nature made it difficult to pull back once started on any particular course. I often ended up just sitting atop the machine hoping it would sort itself out. I now ride the Honda in an entirely different manner - you have to show the beast who is boss and dominate forward progress by sheer muscle power. I have forearms like Popeye!
Even in dry weather I have been thrown off a few times, after entering bends too rapidly and finding that the twin discs suddenly decided to fade. Rapidly knocking down the box at such times would often produce a crunchy change, although at others it could be pretty smooth, for a Honda anyway. Playing around with the settings on the air forks and twin shocks does not seem to make much difference. There is basically just too much weight and too high a centre of gravity. Honda’s latest 900 four which weighs just over 400lbs puts the whole thing into perspective.
The second engine rebuild was rather more serious as the crankshaft bearings were shot, as well as all the usual top end complaints (this at 83,400 miles). The gearbox was given new selectors as a treat, although the cogs looked as good as new. An exchange crankshaft put the bike back on to the road. This rebuilt engine was a lot thirstier on oil and fuel than the old one. Down from 500 to 300 miles per litre for oil and consumption going from 45 to 38mpg. It was possible to do as much as 50mpg if ridden sedately but now it has never done more than 43mpg.
Performance was pretty much the same, so I was still quite happy to ride the bike. The three quarter fairing provides enough protection for 100mph cruising which I could do all day were it not for the foot numbing vibes and stomach churning weaves. 80mph is a much more pleasant cruising speed but hardly justifies the power, weight or running costs of the machine.
Apart from tyres, both the chain and front pads are consumed at a rapid rate (7000 and 4000 miles respectively) with a set of pads for the front getting rid of forty notes. I wouldn’t have minded so much if the brakes had been more reliable. I justify the horrendous running costs by occasional flat out excursions that are both very exhilarating and dangerous.
Now, with 97600 miles done, the engine is running off tune and after the oil cooler episode making some pretty horrible noises. In its present state it's not worth very much. I forgot to mention that after 65000 miles everything went into a quick rot mode and even where I tried to touch it up the corrosion has got such a hold that such attention is pointless. It needs to be stripped right down to the frame, blasted and sprayed professionally. Given the way the engine keeps wearing out in less than 20000 miles it hardly seems worth the effort. Ill probably run it until the engine seizes or I crash it terminally then sell off what bits are left over. I want one of the new Honda 900 fours like I've wanted nothing else but there’s no way I can raise the dosh. So, I'm in the market for a nice used four. And, yes, I would buy another F2!
F. Johnson