These Yanks are undoubtedly a
spoilt lot. Just imagine if you, dear UK reader, were offered
a nice brand new across the frame 750cc Honda four for just over
two thousand pounds (or whatever the equivalent is to the American
price of four thousand dollars by the time this literary effort
gets into the shops). Yes, shocking ain't it, all Honda UK will
offer you for the same price is a ratty old CB450 twin if you
can find a dealer desperately discounting them or if you insist
on paying full retail an even worse CD250U!
The equation becomes even less
impressive if you throw in the fact that Americans, at least those
with a modicum of intelligence, earn appreciably more than UK
work slaves. Naturally, having had my Vee Max written off by a
most inconsiderate car driver, the new Honda seemed just the thing
to provide endless hours of amusement. The engine is basically
a mildly tuned version of the good old CBX750, putting out something
like 65hp. Maintenance is limited to balancing the four carbs
and changing the oil and filter, the valve clearances setting
themselves by means of some hydraulic trickery far too complex
and boring to go into here.
The CBX engine was known for eventually
burning out exhaust valves and occasionally wrecking pistons,
but in this milder form should be just as long lasting and reliable
as the original, sixties SOHC four from which the current model
takes its designation and inspiration.
Engine power delivery is such
that I suspect had Honda's engineers the imagination they would
have got away with just a single carb. Power fades away rapidly
once past 7500rpm, the pay back being enough low speed and midrange
torque to make changing down through the slightly clunky five
speed gearbox a waste of time once 35mph was achieved.
This is one very laid back motorcycle
to ride, the civility of its motor enhanced by a lack of annoying
secondary vibes at most engine speeds. However, somewhere deep
in the engine something is seriously wrong. The CBX power plant
shows its age and thus the bike up as a lashed together budget
design. Just bumming around, enjoying myself without exerting
too much throttle effort, revealed that the bike was only doing
35mpg (corrected for UK gallons). Further exploration of the economy
prospects of the CB revealed a best of 42mpg (how to die from
mindless boredom) and a worst of 31mpg (a 100mph freeway blast).
Part of the Honda's problem comes
from its mass, around 495lbs with four gallons of petrol on board,
not much better than the sixties design which managed to be both
appreciably faster and more economical. It does seem incredible
to me that having created a large capacity, low powered, low budget
motorcycle that the Honda has such appalling fuel economy. I feel
sure fitment of a single carb would've helped greatly, the 34mm
CV's fitted are surely big enough to suit 120hp/litre engine designs
and are probably leftovers from the original CBX750.
Progress of a kind has been made
in the frame and suspension area. Thank god! It would have taken
a pretty big idiot to throw together a nineties motorcycle that
handled worse than the original sixties Honda CB750. The Honda
sits on a fairly skinny 18" front wheel and a moderately
fat 17" rear, a strange combination for sure, but one that
endows the Honda with good straight line stability and a flickability
that belies it massive mass.
The bike also sits on a conventional
pair of rear shocks with 5 way spring load adjustment. These are
better than many a FVQ set fitted to the Superdreams et al, but
that doesn't say much. After the Vee Max it could be swept through
corners with elan, but it was back to the death defying tactics,
bum clenched madness to keep up with 600cc race replicas. It can
be done but any half sane person will soon cough up for a decent
set of aftermarket shocks.
The 41mm front forks have no adjustment,
don't flex much despite being afflicted with fairly awful side
loads from the single disc. They get a bit rattled by bumpy going
and patter nastily over small surface irregularities, but for
the money you pay they aren't half bad. The 59" wheelbase
helps stop any weaves that might intrude on long fast sweepers
and I did the odd 120mph bend without shitting my trousers.
The frame is off one the old American
Nighthawks, an utterly conventional tubular construction with
rather poor support for the swinging arm, where what would be
saddle tubes on a cycle bend inwards in a decidedly dodgy manner.
However, neither that nor the rakish angle of the forks conspire
to upset the general feeling of correctness that the bike creates.
Naturally, European riders will
look askance at the raised nature of the handlebars, but the footrests
are well placed and the seat comfortable (and low), so it only
really becomes a pain if you want to cruise at more than 80mph
for hours on end. The bar's width are great for hurling the bike
around town and you can convince young poseurs that you are real
man with stories of high speed junkets.
Wheels are surprisingly expensive
looking five spoke jobs, the rear looking all the better for a
single drum. No doubt Honda designers were scared shitless that
the adequacy of a good rear drum would make all their rear disc
brakes look silly, so they fitted this rod operated one with shoe
linings that don't offer much by way of retardation. Ferodo, or
someone, will doubtless make a killing in the aftermarket spares
game.
The front disc is a reasonably
modern design with a twin piston caliper that affords both adequate
power and feel. Wet weather delay, I am glad to say, was nonexistent.
However, in the six thousand miles I managed in a couple of months
the pads were down below the wear lines and the drilled disc had
developed some nasty grooves, doubtless the cause of the anti-social
wailing noises the front brake took to producing. Given the poor
quality of the rear drum, careful care and scrutiny of the front
brake is mandatory.
Equally indicative of cheapo manufacturing
was the rust on the underside of the four into one exhaust where
the downpipes meet. The amount of muck this item picks up is not
very surprising given the minimal nature of the front mudguard.
Both exhaust and guard will doubtless be replaced by the keen
owner as time goes by, so I suppose no great problem.
Owners will also feel rewarded
by touching up the frame paint where it chips off - nothing like
owner involvement. Honda have spent some money on the overall
finish, the plastic and metal cycle parts being done in a well
matched, deep red, the panels having a better fit than on much
more expensive Kawasakis.
Styling is right on from certain
angles, lumpy from others. It certainly isn't classic in lines
like an early CB750 or Z1, more a Superdream with a few extra
curves. Overall, it looks better than any $4000 motorcycle should,
which can't be bad!
The motor ran faultlessly for
the six thousand miles I've done so far. It never failed to burble
into life first touch of the starter (mind you, this is hot old
Texas and not freezing Shit City), never uttered so much as a
misfire and the motor is lot quieter than the original CBX. The
rear tyre has just about had it and the front looks good for about
another 2500 miles. The chain has required just two very minor
adjustments.
Whether the motor will keep going
as long as the original CB is anyone's guess but it is very mildly
tuned by modern standards and hard to rev into the red, so the
prospects look good.
In America the Honda is seen as
a step back from the race replica madness, a sane bit of machinery,
a beefed up modern incarnation of the original Honda four. With
its low price it undercuts all the opposition and where it might
be lacking in certain areas is easy enough to upgrade as the years
go by; I expect to see them customised every which way from back
road racer to long distance cruiser.
Any UK reader interested in buying
one would be a fool not to have a cheap holiday in the States
whilst doing a private import - you'd still come out hundreds
or even a thousand pounds ahead of trying to buy one in the UK.
Having escaped death aboard a
veritable road rocket I needed a motorcycle which would not impress
me with the need to speed mindlessly everywhere. In this respect
the Honda is perfect, its nature is pleasant, easy to ride, easy
to live with and not too hard on the pocket. As a long term economical
mount I have serious doubts about its viability but as a bit of
sixties/early seventies nostalgia it's not half bad, and a lot
safer, to boot, than those early brutal fours.
Johnny Malone
****************************************************
The tail end of 1993 I was on
the lookout for a bargain buy. I had an open mind, fancied something
nearly new, around 750cc without too much plastic. It was all
down to what turned up in the local papers. After looking at a
Zephyr which was rusting before my eyes, I ended up with a 2000
mile Honda Seven-Fifty for 2800 notes.
Honda started off the whole four
cylinder bandwagon back in the late sixties. I actually owned
one of the CB750K1 models back in my youth. No comparison, really,
the new model was much more sophisticated, accelerated faster
and handled ten times better. The weight was the same at 480lbs,
as was the top speed at 130mph. Progress can be weird at times.
The CB knocks out 75 horses at
8500 revs, with a linear delivery between 3000 and 9000rpm. The
motor lacks entirely the gutsy torque so beloved by those mounted
on European hacks. Civility's its calling card, even the gearbox
and chain final drive was well sorted; something of a rarity on
a Honda.
Handling required a touch more
muscle than I was used to but after the first couple of weeks
such effort faded into the background and I felt right at home
on the shining beast. The tyres were Japlops that skittered like
a young toddler over the icy roads of January and reacted to tarmac
awash with water with a little bit of hopping and skipping but
had none of the latent violence of seventies fours. That K1 used
to wobble without any warning or apparent cause. I certainly wouldn't
pay silly money for one.
Not in the light of the new bike's
sterling performance. Compared to 600 race replicas it was very
naff, even the grey import 400's could burn the old girl off.
Compared to seventies stuff it was well on the pace and I never
came across a car that was able to stay with us up to the ton.
Being over thirty it was well fast enough for me, supremely comfortable
and big enough not to be thrown around by the cross-winds or the
slipstream of speeding artics.
Of course, the early part of 1994
was excessively wet and cold; I don't think the cagers stuck in
traffic were filled with an excess of envy. It was dead easy to
end up soaked through even when wearing waterproofs; the banana
shape of the large petrol tank had the water streaming off into
my groin whilst the bars left the rest of my body splayed out
in the weather. A big Rickman fairing was considered for a moment
but the potential weight rather put me off. A Gortex suit proved
more waterproof than the Belstaffs, but the claims about being
able to breathe proved false - walking any distance left me shivering
from trapped sweat.
Summer came in March - for a whole
day! Long enough to find the Honda sure-footed but somewhat lacking
in ground clearance. I had quite a lot of fun in the dark (the
front light was good for 70mph), sparking on the council's finest
until something dug in. Having 500lbs of metal wobble like a broken
helicopter ensured a more moderate pace as well as shaking hands
and dirty underwear. I soon came to know the limits of the Honda.
In the next year I did 26000 miles
of reasonably hard riding with nothing more than oil and filter
changes. Plus quite a lot of consumables. Avon tyres were a major
improvement on the originals, damping down a lot of the wet weather
madness. They lasted about 9000 miles, the front having about
1mm left before it went illegal but showing a willingness, at
that stage in its life, to slide away without any warning on damp
roads. Given its size and power I thought the wear was quite reasonable.
The original O-ring chain lasted
for 14000 miles; an amazing feat in my experience. However, I
pushed the chain to its limits, the damn thing breaking when I
was out in the countryside. The adjusters were at their limits!
The flailing chain gouged the back of the crankcases but didn't
quite break through. I know someone who had a broken chain take
off the back of his leg! The replacement O-ring chain lasted for
only 5500 miles. New sprockets have helped the replacement last
for much longer.
Fuel was the least impressive
aspect of what's essentially a lowly tuned engine, 40 to 45mpg.
Compared to 50 to 60mpg from the K1 that's piss poor progress.
Almost as annoying were the disc brakes. Pads went for 6000 to
7000 miles but after 13000 miles I suffered from sticking calipers,
especially at the rear. On what's sold as a basic mount, especially
in the States where they are dirt cheap, how can anyone justify
a rear disc? Come on!
The front brake was plenty powerful
enough to lock up the wheel! I had to use a bit of restraint in
the wet. In the winter of '94 it had me off when the sticking
caliper suddenly freed and locked up the wheel on a bit of icy
road. The front wheel just flipped away, nothing I could do to
save it. A lot of damage to the cycle parts and my poor old knee,
but the bike was still ridable so I rode home with blood dripping
from my knee. A waste of time spending hours hanging around hospital
when I could clean it up at home.
The bike was about ready for an
aftermarket exhaust, as well as the dents from the accident there
was quite a bit of rust seeping under the chrome. Couldn't find
one new, ended up welding and chopping an unmarked but used Alfa
meant for a CB900. The engines were, in fact, very similar but
the pipes needed radical surgery to increase the offered ground
clearance of, erm, 2mm!
'Twas a touch loud but the powerband
was as bland as ever. Cruising at 90mph gave a nice drone which
drowned out jet engines above the ton! The Honda was surprisingly
good on the motorway, bopping along at 90mph with the ease of
a Gold Wing, the upright riding position not at bad as you'd expect
because the pegs were well placed to help brace my body against
the gale. No weaves or wobbles even when flat out, although the
buzz that shook the chassis was redolent of the original 750 (at
half the velocity).
With 28000 miles on the clock
the head gasket started leaking. I tried to ignore it, was rewarded
500 miles later with boots covered in oil. Hmmmm! The engine had
never used much lubricant between changes, now it was going through
a half litre every 400 miles. When the motor started gasping I
knew the gasket had finally blown. Damn! Tightening down the head
bolts hadn't helped.
I got a mechanic to fit a new
gasket, £70 including labour. There was no apparent reason
for the failure - the valves and pistons showed no signs of the
excess heat that might've resulted from running a non-standard
exhaust and the plugs were spot on. Just to be on the safe side,
I secured a stock exhaust from a breaker, off a bike that had
snapped its front forks! Probably some fat clown going up a pavement.
A few thousand miles later I was
shocked to find the front end wobbling away like an old H1. Shot
steering head bearings. Whilst I was ripping the front forks off
the rest of the bike fell over! Missed me but almost decapitated
the cat - he went missing for a whole two weeks. New bearings
went in okay, but from then on the suspension went off very fast.
On knackered suspension, a lot of the old K1 traits came back
- weaves, wobbles, wallowing, etc.
A new set of Hagon shocks sorted
the back end, the swinging arm bearings showing no signs of looseness;
something of a shock as they never received any grease. A fork
brace was deemed an easy solution to the front end as stripping
the forks had me shaking like an addict deprived of his kicks.
I'd once taken some GS400 forks down and nearly took my eye out
when it suddenly came apart with explosive velocity. The result
wasn't perfect but the lack of precision wasn't dangerous so it
sufficed.
At the time of writing, the clock
shows 35,740 miles. The engine runs rougher, the chassis looser,
but the bike still goes well up to the ton. The finish is good
but only because I resprayed it after the crash. They do go off
if ridden every day through the winter, a test of my endurance
which I do every year for the simple reason that I don't have
the dosh for a car. Even if I did I wouldn't buy one; no point
sitting in traffic all day long.
I've seen K1's that look good
after going around the clock. I doubt if the Seven-Fifty will
match that longevity but up to 50,000 miles they seem okay, blown
head gaskets aside. I've seen the odd one advertised for just
£2000, so they are something of a bargain buy in these days
of seven grand 600cc race replicas.
Jon Lyme
****************************************************
I needed a bike to do my summer
blitz around England and Scotland. Down to one of Bristol's bigger
dealers to have a look and then find myself astride a two year
old Honda CB750 four. Fitted well between the legs and the riding
position suited me fine. The dealer wanted four grand but when
I pointed out that I could buy a discounted new one for not much
more, he came down to £3500. £3250 was finally agreed
upon, with a full service and one year guarantee. Probably not
worth the paper it was written on but it's always nice to have
the illusion of security.
Three days later the bike sat
on the forecourt, ready and waiting. My last bike was a VT500,
so it was a literal step up in the motorcycling game. I gave the
Honda a final look over and, in all honesty, I couldn't find anything
wrong with the 7234 mile machine. The CB gave off a feeling of
quality - the sheen of its paint, the glow of its alloy, the precision
of its switches and just that general fine fit and finish that
Honda do so well. My grin was large and wide.
The first few weeks of riding
did little to lessen it. Acceleration was much more snappy than
the VT without being too dependent on revs. Smoothness was impressive
- all those oiled components whirring away with immense precision;
it's sometimes amazing to me that the internal combustion engine
actually works at all - and handling was competent. The only slight
weak spot was the front brake, twin discs, which seemed less than
powerful two-up, but as I've been at the game a long time I usually
look where I'm going!
The first blow came when I worked
out the fuel consumption. 32mpg! The 20 litre petrol tank gave
a range of about 125 miles, which didn't really test the comfort
of the machine unless I was doing more than the ton for any length
of time. When the upright bars resulted in severe shoulder ache.
I admit that I liked to play with the machine's acceleration,
but given the mere 73 horses at 8500rpm I was expecting at least
50mpg, perhaps 60mpg.
The second blow came after 700
miles when the bike was attacked by fierce vibration and a lack
of go-go juice. I went running to the dealer, waving the guarantee
under his nose, but he reckoned the bike needed its carbs balanced.
In fact, apart from oil and filter changes, that's all the servicing
that the CB needs - £35 a time.
Sure enough, the vibration went
away and performance returned... but every 1000 to 1250 miles
it needed a carb balance, but at least it meant I went to the
bother of an oil change at the same time - kept the dealer in
loose change anyway. I've never had to do a carb balance in my
life, before, so it all came as a bit of a shock.
One day I was riding along, merrily
minding my own business, when there was a bang at the back of
the bike and the next thing I knew I was attacking the tarmac.
I'd been riding in the middle of my lane, obviously slowing down
some idiotic cager who decided to knock me off. When I staggered
up I found the Honda battered and dented but in one piece, without
any serious damage. I was a bit bruised but had rolled with the
fall. Which didn't stop a few ped's bursting into hysterical screaming
fits, obviously expecting to find severed limbs and mashed heads.
The cage was nowhere in sight.
I rode home in a foul mood and spent the next few days going around
the breakers for bits. They reckoned the motor was tough enough
and that most of the ones they had in had battered front ends.
Bits and bobs weren't exactly given away, cost £80 to put
the bike back into its gleaming state. Cheap enough not to annoy
the insurers.
All set up for a tour of the UK,
with a nice pair of Krauser panniers, I found that the 475lb machine
when overloaded with two people, full panniers and tank-bag, was
down on its suspension, with about an inch of travel left to deal
with our ruined roads.
It was quite impressive in that
there were no weaves or wallows - the tubular frame was hefty,
the steering geometry and weight distribution dead on for stability,
and the Michelin tyres had a tenacious grip if short life (about
5000 miles) - but the lack of ground clearance made for deep furrows
in the tarmac. I returned home, dumped all the camping gear and
decided that the plastic would have to take the strain of staying
in hotels.
The bike was back to its former
glory, although as mentioned the braking's a bit marginal. Performance
hadn't been affected by the extra weight and the pillion reported
that the seat was comfortable for the 125 miles between petrol
stops. The grabrail was useful but I prefer my women passengers
to hold on with a bear hug.
Interestingly, high speed work
tended to keep the carbs in balance for longer - good for about
2000 miles. Unfortunately, the gearchange went off after 1500
miles unless the engine was treated with fresh oil. Daily mileage
was between 200 and 800 miles, depending on whether we came across
somewhere interesting or were just blasting through the scenery.
With a naked bike the major thing's
the weather. All I can say is don't go to Scotland unless you
enjoy riding in the rain, 90% of our week there was wet. The Honda
doesn't have the kind of vicious power that makes wet weather
riding difficult but there is a lot of mass high up, which means
if it starts to go things can turn vicious. I didn't fall off
but had to get my boot down on one wet, leaf strewn road. In the
brief bursts of sunshine, the scenery was revealed as breathtaking
but I preferred the constant sunshine of the Pennines.
The Honda did nearly 10,000 miles
in three weeks. With its carb balancing and oil changes, it whirred
away as good as new - which was exactly what I'd expected. Well,
not quite. After carting us around at high speed, the suspension
was the worse for wear. Both ends feeling loose and the wonderful
directional accuracy that I'd experienced first time out on the
bike was gone. It wasn't actually dangerous but it didn't inspire
spirited riding.
As the summer riding was over,
I decided to leave it until we'd emerged from the winter commuting.
After a couple of months of rain and salted roads I was shocked
and horrified to find that the discs, at both ends, had gone into
quick rot mode. Foolishly, I just sprayed some WD40 at the calipers
and ignored the more ominous squeaks. Even my garage was turning
into a fridge, didn't inspire mucking around with bikes.
The end result was three knackered
discs and calipers. Luckily, someone had written off a 2000 mile
bike in the breakers. I had newish brakes and shocks, plus rebuilt
forks...total cost £190 - not bad as the bike is as good
as new again. Not a true sportster but as a general all-rounder
the CB750 takes some beating and old ones start at less than two
grand.
Phillip Coleman