The leaky tap was easy enough to fix, even if the nagging from the girlfriend took longer to repair. There was only a pint of oil in the engine, the timing was miles out and the advance unit seized open. One day later with a serviced motor and a working back brake, I discovered that the clutch was brutal and heavy, and that no amount of adjusting or oiling made any difference.
The CJ started third kick (no electric starter on this model) and after four attempts first gear engaged; up through the gears with a trail of blue smoke. The CJ felt like a bigger bike, with large tank and nice seat - the engine looked larger than its 250cc but performed like a good CD175, with a flat out cruising speed of 75mph. The vibes at this kind of speed were bad enough to hurt my hands after 20 miles and cause the girlfriend to start nagging again.
Over the first 80 miles the CJ used a pint of oil and gave 35mpg. I also found out that it was faster in fourth than fifth and could reach a heady 80mph. Handling was OK around country roads, much better than a CD175 and at lower speeds it would return 45mpg.
The CJ used to suffer from travel sickness - on stopping the motor a lump of white stuff spat out of the breather pipe. Had it been a horse I would have shot it. My mates were having a good time slagging me off for buying the heap and to add injury to insult the thing went onto one pot. At traffic lights it meant holding the engine at 10000rpm, slipping the clutch and paddling away like mad. Each time the 125cc single changed gear the revs dropped by 7000rpm.
Crawling homewards I noticed a crowd of scooters in the mirrors, the twenty or so turds riding the damn things didn’t look too friendly. The CJ gasped at a slight hill, down to second and up to 10500rpm by which time my girlfriend and I were covered in spittle and abuse. Ten miles further on the other pot chimes in. Stopping for petrol (35mpg) and a pint of oil, I reflect on the Honda, it feels good to ride but let down by the motor. Up the M1, 12500rpm in third, butchering the engine in revenge but I enjoy it, so what the hell.
I met up with the previous owner who claimed to have re-bored it. I checked the cam timing - yes, it was two teeth out. It responded better but was no faster. To celebrate I took bike and girlfriend to West Woodburn, a route that has loads of blind summits - screw the bike down the hill and up the brow at 65mph - at one point I almost lost it when a steam traction engine doing about 4mph was in the way - down through the box, brakes full on, girlfriend digging me in my ribs and a last moment swerve avoided disaster. We stop as soon as possible for a soothing coffee, a load of bikes pulled in, mostly Z900s and the like. One of the lads ask if it's my CJ outside - the girl friend denies it and won't leave until they have gone.
With proper cam timing it does 45-50mpg. On a 120 mile run the insides of one of the silencers fell out (they were glowing red) but the bike keeps going if noisily. It now seems faster and going down a hill it reached 90mph in top, and would do 85mph on the flat until a hill or strong wind brought it down to 80mph, a speed it could hold two up for long distances.
I always left the CJ out in the street and never cleaned it, even though it was used for work during the winter. The travel sickness became worse in the winter and on short journeys. The end came on a ride up to London, after a 80 mile cruise down the motorway, the engine seized up in town, with a con-rod poking out of the crankcase. The number plate was removed and the bike left by the side of the street.
That’s the good thing about a cheapie, if it blows up you can dump it or sell it to a breaker. In the four months I'd owned the bike I'd done 5000 miles mostly flat out. It would have been a good bike if it had a decent motor perhaps a CB350K4 would have fitted...
William Gould