On the outward leg, screaming down the M1, exhaust noise suddenly became more pronounced. A quick inspection in a service car park revealed a large hole where one of the baffles should have been; we decided to avoid the motorway on the return journey, and travel at less than max revs.
To be fair to the Suzuki I realised all was not well in the engine department before we set off. I'd spent weeks trying to get something like an even tick-over - checking valve clearances, float level height, air filter, all to no avail. It suddenly dawned on me when I was struggling up yet another incline, that one or more valves were not sealing as the engine designer had intended. So much for super high tech, eight valve heads. The bike had not yet clocked up 8000 miles.
On initial acquaintance the Suzuki was nippy enough to see off a friend's RD250 on top speed (sure, sure - Ed) and around corners. Now, with shot silencers and ropey top end, it was but a pale shadow of its former self. I'd bought it with only 3000 miles on the clock, religiously changing the oil and oil filter, and maintaining the bike. I felt both cheated and disappointed. The words of the salesman still haunted me - these new generation 250s will soon make bigger bikes obsolete and unnecessary. I wish I could have done the same thing to him.
All I could think of was a bigger bike. One big and handsome CB650 in particular, sitting provocatively in the window of the local dealer. In my usual altruistic fashion I'd already subconsciously taken the decision to try to off load the bag of nails I was coaxing back home onto the dealer in part exchange for the Honda.
One week later - enough time for me to recover from the above journey - I was haggling for a decent part exchange price for the GSX against the Honda. I'd already held my breath, crossed fingers and toes, while the young man took the Suzuki around the back for a quick medical. My exhalation of relief, when he said all was in order, must have been audible the other side of town. What about shot silencer and lumpy tick-over? Strange, very strange. Needless. to say, I still continued to haggle. He was willing to offer £450 against £900 for the Honda take it or leave it.
That was the year of the new learner law, consequently 250s were selling like pork chops in Jerusalem. So I guess I had to take it. Visions of simultaneously machine gunning and impaling the previous dealer loomed up before my glazed eyes. But all thoughts of vengeance subsided when one week later, after its free dealer service, I sat astride the. Honda listening contentedly to the happy burbling of its even tick-over.
The Honda was 18 months old, had 10000 miles on the clock, and looked like a million dollars. To my eyes it was far better looking than the Kawa 650 (I was blissfully unaware as to its quality as a machine to ride). The Honda came from that early seventies school of Jap motorcycle style, CB750, Z1, etc. A style sadly lacking in today's anonymous diet of plastic clad, cloned lookalikes. I mean it even had the odd area of chrome, for goodness sakes.
First impressions were of weight and bulk, compared to the Suzuki. It didn't handle as well as the Suzuki or a BSA A65 I once had the, er, pleasure of owning. However, it was quite smooth and in a straight line extremely rapid, right up to an indicated 120mph. But it didn't have much low down stomp, the engine acting quite highly strung and making most of its power around 7000 to 8000rpm. I know that this is par for the course for many Jap bikes, but I still can't get used to the need to rev the nuts off an engine to make it shift with any useful degree of rapidity
In three years of ownership the Honda proved to be relatively reliable. Main problem areas were front brake calipers, fork seals, exhausts and soggy suspension. Standard of finish was generally good. By regularly boiling the chain in lube I managed to get just over 10000 miles on new chain and sprockets. Rear tyre lasted 7000 miles, front 12000 miles.
The front discs on my machine were fine as ornaments to adorn the forks, as for stopping - forget it. Without loving care the pistons would seize. Once, when changing the original pads, I had to drill out the retaining pins. Moral grease retaining pins. Pads last for huge mileages - not surprising considering the performance of the brakes.
The front forks suffered from seals that went at regular intervals, but this didn't exactly make all that much difference because there wasn't much damping in the first place, but I did cure the problem by fitting fork gaiters. If the brakes had worked they would have probably dived quite viciously, the ability to absorb bumps disappeared over really bumpy roads, but generally the ride was quite smooth without being too remote.
On the advice of someone who owned a CB400 I adjusted the camchain tensioner every few hundred miles - no slack, no stretch, he argued. It seemed to work as the camchain was still good at 30000 miles when I sold the bike. Unlike the Kawa 650, the Honda valves have screw adjusters and are relatively easy to service - the gaps didn't vary very often.
The engine is based on the old CB500 and can be quite fragile if really thrashed - everything from the clutch, gearbox, crank, cams, pistons, etc can wear out rapidly. But given regular servicing and frequent oil changes, together with reasonable treatment, the Honda fairs quite well. And it is a very straightforward unit to look after.
By 20000 miles the FVQ shocks were doing a good impression of a pair of pogo sticks. I bought some leaky S & W Street Strokers from a breaker for £20 - they were still much better than the OE shocks. I also had to replace the starter solenoid, £8 from the same breaker. The original exhausts, believe it or not, lasted till 25000 miles. I got away with welding one and replacing the other with a better second hand one. I'm convinced that the sweetness and reliability of the engine had a lot to do with running the bike on original exhausts. The gear change is very slick, but watch out for play in the rear set linkage. Also watch out for rounded off oil filter housing retaining bolts. The bike can cruise between 80 and 90mph, two-up. Steering ain't as precise as a Z650, GS550 or 750. But it has regularly out handled a friend's XJ900, although that probably isn't very much of an achievement.
The condition of the engine will depend very much on who's owned it and how they have treated it. It's not as resilient as a Suzi or Kawa four, but then it is simpler and a lot cheaper. Although not very popular, I enjoyed my 20000 miles with the Honda and was only subverted by the sight of an old BSA A65, which is another bike that never captured the public's imagination but still has some very worthy characteristics under the skin.
Gerald Sturdy