The last time I slung a leg over a step-thru I ended up in a ditch... well, we were three up, I was a touch drunk and the lights didn't seem to work on a country road so dark I was convinced the end had come. My vast experience and relative sobriety meant it was my tender paws at the controls. I was all for dumping the heap and hobbling home but the owner had other ideas.
A lot of time and energy was wasted getting it out of the ditch. Relegated to the tail end of the pillion, I managed to step off before it careered off the road again. The major problem was then diagnosed, or rather revealed because the owner knew exactly the state to which the hack had degenerated, as shot linkages in the front suspension but even then I wasn’t allowed to put a lighted match in the petrol tank. Spoilsports, some people.
Anyway, that was enough to put me off such devices for a while and decide they didn’t need to be indulged in the cheap biking category. Perhaps their major advantage’s cheap insurance. That particular hurdle (the last thing anyone wants to do is line the pockets of parasitical bastards in grey suits by hundreds if not thousands for insurance) can be overcome by buying something over fifteen years old that qualifies for classic insurance.
There may be some mileage restrictions but that's easily overcome (if you need to ask how you shouldn't be reading the UMG) and the cost is usually under a hundred notes for third party. This is nothing more than a legal necessity, don’t bother claiming, do your own repairs. Otherwise, the rates will start rising up to the absurd levels of standard insurance (by the way, my last ramblings on insurance were described as the rantings of a mad seventeen year old - flattery, dear reader, will get you nowhere).
I can’t condone riding without insurance because I know one thing leads to another (don’t ask me how, though, my licence still bears the scars). No insurance means no tax which means no point doing an MOT... the next thing you know you'll be syphoning off petrol from cars and sticking cagers up for the tyre money.
It only takes one pull from the cops to throw the book at you, when their vast computer links makes the old scam of giving a false name and address more likely to end up with a knee in the balls than sudden freedom; fleeing the country the only option left, which might not, these days of increasing numbers of stupid laws, be such a bad idea...
As it happens, the seventies was a great time for ballsy motorcycles and the minimal insurance rates makes them almost a compulsory buy. OK, a lot of them have been thrashed to death, thrown off the road a few times and ended up rebuilt by rank amateurs. But a surprising number survived that era, either by being rebuilt a few times or stored away at the back of the garage whilst kids and cars beckoned. Reincarnated as serious cycles that can be run with a minimum of hassle and dosh.
This is where the Japanese engineering finesse that saw off the British motorcycle industry helps. It's easy to forget, in these days of righteous retros, what a lot of mechanical misfits the Brit industry turned out and that they failed because, basically, they were unreliable, unpredictable and unable to adapt to modern engineering.
A rebuilt Japanese engine (there are always exceptions, mind) should run for tens of thousands of miles with none of the roadside horrors so tied up with the old British bike experience. In fact, modern additions like electronic ignition and better quality oil (one area where you shouldn't try to save money) mean they often run even more reliably than in the seventies.
Most problems coming when naff pattern parts replace major engine components. Even something as simple as a cheapo camchain can lead to a written off engine in a remarkably short time, especially the types with a split link. Hondas are especially renown for this trick, a standard pitch camchain used in many of the smaller models meaning that the CD’s split-link type can be used on models where the endless type was originally specified. Alas, there’s no easy way of checking components for originality when looking a bike over; it's all down to luck! At best an intimate knowledge of a certain model might turn up an increase in vibes at certain revs, but even then it’s expecting too much for a uniform performance from twenty year old motorcycles.
The chassis is easier to get a handle on, one area where lack of originality is to be applauded. Japanese suspension, brakes and chassis bearings were, back then, generally crap, the sooner they're swapped for something more modern the better. The lights and horn were laughable junk, some of the electrical systems questionable. I say this as someone who spent his youth riding doubtful tackle down dark country lanes until my vision went so bleary that I ended up testing my off-road skills.
There are limitations to acceptable chassis mods. Those into the Easy Rider scene should be referred to the nearest loony bin (if there are any left) and even those devotees of the cafe racer should be viewed with deep suspicion; they're probably desperate to find some money to cure their back problems.
On the other hand, hardly anyone wants to buy dubiously modded tackle so they’re cheap and easily converted back to a more sensible spec. If the engine’s OK and the price is low it’s worth going for. Don’t even be too put off by the Used Guide, there are still many bikes from this era that have been moderately used by mature owners and still have loads of life in them. It does take a little luck and a lot of effort to hunt them down,
From the seventies certain bikes stand out as useful, fast(ish) hacks which have yet to appeal to those obsessed with turning mediocre motorcycles into classics. The British motorcycle scene has long been ruined by people either trying to relive their youth or make a quick buck on bikes they hope will become collectible. Even the recession, or the range of brand new Triumphs, failed to dampen their ardour.
Of Honda’s myriad models the CB200, CB350K4, CB500/4 and CB550 stand out as plausible possibilities, available for under 500 notes and unlikely to turn up any major expenses (that can’t be handled with a visit to the breaker). Most of the decent Suzukis have already risen too high in price, leaving somewhat doubtful devices as the GT185, SP370, GS400 and GS850GT, any of the really good models of that era at reasonable prices being too close to rats to bear scrutiny. Yamaha offer such luminaries as the RD350, XS400, XS500, SR500 and, for the desperate, the XS750. Kawasakis are even rarer but the Z400 and Z500 offer some limited possibilities.
There are loads more potential bikes, not just Japanese, but as the divergence between “classic” and normal insurance increases both demand and prices are likely to rise. Get in there while you can - I, natch, already have!
Bill Fowler