He's had enough. Wimp, it was he who wanted to see how fast my new bike would go. It was I who decided to try it on the way back from Brighton up the M23 in that bad weather. Yes, I do need my head examined. As soon as I've got the new chain, then I'll try for the ton properly. This time without a pillion to slow things down. The economy of that trip was just the same as it always is, 60mpg. I just can’t seem to get it any better, save when the bike was being run in, when it did 75mpg. It can go lower, but only when thrashed around town, it then gives a measly 55mpg.
The running in of a bike is probably one of the most boring things going. I was always tempted to open the throttle just a little bit more. Never obey Honda's instructions about running in, they recommend far too high revs when brand new. The total running in distance I used was 1500 miles, by which time I only had the revs up to 8500rpm. I rode very carefully at first, as I didn’t want to waste the £1850 I'd splashed out - I got it cheap because I paid cash via a bank loan rather signing up for HP.
I was surprised to find that the Honda still had the low speed weave displayed by the Superdreams - I'd thought they would have got rid of it by now, especially as they designed a new frame - it does, however, go away when two up. And the comfort for pillions is not good thanks to footrests that are far too high. I am very lucky in that I have long arms so can reach the bars without suffering torture - I’m not very keen on the trendy new riding position that bends you double. Much less comfortable when stuck in the all too common traffic where I live.
The instrument layout is cute and easy to read both in the normal riding position and the head down crouch when racing across Banstead Downs, useful for checking how much you're breaking the speed limit by. Even the mirrors can be used with the head down, they never vibrate however much you rev the engine and actually show you a clear view of following plod mobiles rather than sweaty armpits.
With 11000 miles up, which is rumoured to be a third of the way through its engine life, the rear indicators, attached by usefully flexible stalks, have begun to sag, which is pretty much what my mouth did when I enquired of the cost of disc pads. The Honda has twin discs with dual piston, fully floating calipers, which work very well indeed. To replace two sets of pads costs £25, more than some UMG readers pay for a whole motorcycle. Do they make pattern pads yet - you have got to be joking. Luckily, the pads still have loads of wear after all this time. The discs even work in the wet and the discs themselves show no sign of wearing thin before the pads have worn out.
The rear drum brake is superb, the shoes nowhere near being worn out, which has a very high tolerance to panic braking - it's really difficult to lock up the rear wheel. Until you're used to it, the front brake is rather different, my first emergency stop to avoid a cat, had the front wheel locked up, with the tyre screeching along the tarmac.
Now let there be light, said God when he found that he couldn't read his copy of Playboy. Shame he didn’t say the same to Honda about putting a sensible headlight on this machine. The CB comes fully equipped with a quartz halogen 55/60 watt headlamp, but the beam just disperses all over the road - there is no concentrated portion of light in front of you. It is bright, but not bright enough, so I added a single spot-light which does the business for blinding BMW drivers when they cut you up
The paint on the tank is very good, it only chips easily where it has been put on thick, whilst the paint on the frame is terrible. It has only one coat that appears to come off when I wipe it over with a sponge. Ditto the paint on the swinging arm. The rust is now quaintly oozing out of the metal.
The exhaust system is pretty good, if you don’t mind it rusting two months after purchase. And guess what, Honda warranties don’t cover exhausts. The metal that it’s made from is very thick, so it should take about a year to rust through completely. I had to remove the exhausts, rust treat them and repaint them - one had, my hand print on it as a cat made it fall over as they were drying and I had to grab it whilst it fell. Exhaust paint is very difficult to get off hands, and it is jolly expensive.
The tyres last for 7500 miles rear and miles front. I replaced them with Metzelers of the correct speed rating. The Bridgestones it comes with are rated too low, only up to 95mph. The Metzelers grip really well and have removed the weaving problem I mentioned earlier.
Here comes another good joke: chain replacement. The sprockets alone cost £39, the chain another £50. No pattern parts yet as the sprockets are a special design. My chain was worn after 10000 miles, but this was only a couple of seized links. Replace the links in an endless chain? I haven’t had so much fun since I discovered girls.
At least the oil filter is a common one, but the air filter is a £10 paper element job. I tried to fit a a car one (£2.50) but it was just, and only just, too wide. I'm trying to convert the old one into an oil soaked one. Engine design had been improved by the use of an oil cooler, which stops the overheating apparent in a Dream I once owned, whilst the camshaft has an additional oil feed and the camchain an improved tensioner so, with a bit of luck, the whole top end should last a lot longer.
The gearbox ratios are much better than on the Superdreams, there is a difference between 3rd, 4th and 5th now. First gear is very low, it'll only do 30mph if you red line it. This does give YPVS eating pull-off acceleration and also confuses CB400 owners because the 350 only knocks out 35hp at 9000rpm. I've come close to ramming the backs of cars, so unused was I to such acceleration (ZX-10 owners can stop laughing please).
The bike will pull away by just letting out the clutch, no throttle needed and the spread of power is more than adequate. In third, it will pull away from 1250rpm right up to an engine-killing 11500rpm. Engine vibes vibes are minimal if you keep the balance chain properly adjusted, if you don't it rattles away at 6000rpm like a Triumph.
The new frame looks very pretty, and with decent tyres works OK, but it took one and a half hours to take the carbs off - a triple jointed, patience of the Buddha, job. 18" wheels allow for high speed stability and 370lbs dry for reasonable flickability, although the rear shocks are beginning to go. Those 370Ibs also means it’s easy to pick up when the side stand decides to flip up on its own - park a ic ae the bike in gear.
As a boring summary, the bike is good, I like it a lot even though I've slagged it off in several areas. It does provide cheap, economical and reliable transport but it ain‘t flash or fast. Honda have now replaced it with the 450 version, which is probably just fine as long as you can afford the insurance which is in the same bracket as the CBR600.
Bruce Glithero