Author Topic: So why did you choose a Honda SOHC4? (Read 6576 times)

Superbiker_uk · « **on:** July 16, 2006, 10:35:49 AM »

I have been riding bikes for over 18 years. In that time I have ridden and owned some great bikes. They may not be great to everyone but I have loved owning, maintaining and riding each and every one. From a humble C50 to a mighty FZR1000 EXUP they have all been rewarding machines in their own way. The C50 because it gave me my first taste of freedom that a motorcycle can provide back when I was 16. The EXUP because I wanted one as soon as I saw it them in 1990 and managed to get one of my own in 1996 - I still have it now. Diverse reasons and VERY different bikes. My other biking experiences have been gained on a variety of other machinery including a CBX550 F2, AR125, VFR400 NC24, CG125, X5, Z200, RG250 Mk3, CB250N to name just some of them. This brings me back to the SOHC4 and my question - why did you choose yours?

For me it went something like this....

It was way back in early 2004 when I started to consider a project bike. I began my over enthusiastic start for the search for an ideal candidate. As I trawled through the plethora of e-bay adverts for potential ‘project’ bikes, a whole new chapter of my motorcycling life was just beginning. I allways hankered after a bike that I could build / customise into a cafe racer. I knew something about Dunstall bikes and felt that the Honda CB750 version would be a good choice. He (Paul Dunstall) of course made other specials with later bikes bikes such as the Suzuki GS1000 and was also producing some Kawasaki Z1 cafe racers around the same time as the Honda's. Then I found just what I was looking for.

On the 17th May 2004 I became the proud owner of what turned out to be a very sorry looking CB750 K2. On reflection I paid more than I should have but it seams that e-bay fuels and more often over inflates the prices of what used to be affordable classic motorcycles. That’s thanks to people like me I guess looking for that elusive bike bargain and a potential good investment. Anyway, here I was with a CB750 and a collection of Dunstall parts that had been removed from the bike I now owned by the previous owner as a half hearted attempt to begin a ‘back to standard’ restoration. I would now be able to build my very own classic café racer - what better styling and design to aspire to than the Dunstall Honda bikes of the 1970’s?

So that's how I ended up with mine. Any regrets - NONE. The CB750 is a brilliant motorcycle. The Dunstall modifications just make it more personal and special to me. The purists in the Honda camp may not like it as they may think that the standard K2 would be better. On the other hand the Dunstall aficionados out there may not like it either as mine is not a faithfull restoration of the original. Does that matter? Not really because I love it in every way. Smiles per mile make it worth every penny.

So that's my story of how I came to get my version of the iconic CB750. If you have time, perhaps you can tell us why or how you ended up with yours?

nickjtc · « **Reply #1 on:** July 16, 2006, 11:09:49 AM »

I thought it would be asking a bit much of my '71 Commando to carry me on up to 1000km commutes to northern BC, from home in Kamloops. I am in 'classic' mindset at the moment so I trolled the Vancouver Buy and Sell looking for an affordable bike, with a little 'character'.

It goes without saying that I have no qualms about relying on Japanese reliability, given appropriate maintenance and tlc.

So, after looking at several possibles (a 500 Ascot, XS1100, and an '82 Nighthawk), all requiring too much shop time to make them viable, I found the ad for Silver Sophie, a '79 CB650. She ran well, didn't smoke, and was complete, so the deal was done. As a mark of faith I promptly jumped on and rode her 200 miles over the mountains to my home. I have only ever had dohc 4's (a brand new '77 GS750 and an '84 XJR750RL) so this is my first relationship with a sohc.

I am really enjoying the ease of maintenance compared to my last bike, a '00 VFR800, and after 5,000km in six weeks she is running well. The original plan of only keeping her until the end of the season is rapidly changing.......a cosmetic resto might be in the future.

bwaller · « **Reply #2 on:** July 16, 2006, 12:22:51 PM »

I too was a fan of the Norton until I started working in a Honda shop in the early seventies. What else could I do but buy a CB750!

ProTeal55 · « **Reply #3 on:** July 16, 2006, 12:26:10 PM »

1. Low initial cost to purchase
2. Parts still readily available
3. Reliability

upperlake04 · « **Reply #4 on:** July 16, 2006, 12:38:24 PM »

good topic SBUK - in my case it was mouldering in my nieghbors backyard and he wanted $100. - 48BP

Steve F · « **Reply #5 on:** July 16, 2006, 01:43:19 PM »

I didn't really "choose" it, but it chose me. I was at home one evening and my brother-in-law Wally calls me up asking me if I had any room in the shed. I asked what for and he asked me again "do you have any room in your shed?" I said yeah, some not much, and he hangs up the phone. I'm thinking "WTF?" So over an hour goes by, and he pulls in the driveway with this motorcycle in the back of a pickup truck......in several boxes.....looking pretty sad. A 1976 CB750F all complete, but inserious need of some tlc. Turns out the Wally had an intake manifold for a Chevy big block that the bikes owner needed. A "trade deal" was struck, and since Wally didn't need another bike, he brings it to me, says "here you go, I know you were looking for a bike!" We had to push it down the ramp....brakes seized, tires flat slightly corroded aluminum parts. After that, I found this site for all the technical help one could ask for and never looked back. Wally asked $100 for the bike, which is what he wanted for the intake manifold. Cheap and twice the price!
I was hooked at that point, got the second one, my cafe'd 76 750F for $150 from a guy in North Carolina. Another "almost" basket case, but complete and turned over ok. After two years of off-and-on work on that one it's "done and fun"! Gotta love these old Honda's....theyre reliable as hell!

GroovieGhoulie · « **Reply #6 on:** July 16, 2006, 01:58:49 PM »

Since owning one, I like them for the following reasons:

1. Cheap to buy
2. Cheap parts
3. Parts are still available from Honda (Try THAT with any other 30-year old machine)
4. Reliable as hell
5. Easy to work on

My personal tale of getting one:

I am in the Army, stationed at Fort Polk, Louisiana. It's the ass-end of the earth, let me tell you. Well we got hit pretty hard by Hurrican Rita (Katrina spared us), and we were without power for days and fuel for weeks. My daily car is a mid-sized SUV that gets decent milage (18/25), but after three weeks of no gas at gas stations and when gas DID arrive, lines were 2 and 3 miles long with fistfights and guns being pulled at the pumps, I decided I needed a more fuel efficient vehicle.

Enter the motorcycle. I decided to get one for the daily commute and to bang around town to save gas. Back in the '60s and '70s, my dad owned a few Honda 350 Twins. He never specified Twin or Four, just that he owned "Honda 350s" and they were the best bikes around. So I set out to try and find one. I knew they could be had cheap and being a 350, were probably good on gas. Plus, they were old-school, which attracted me since I feel I was born too late.

So I went on eBay and typed in "Honda 350" and a whole mess of 350 Twins popped up in various conditions. But one auction caught my eye. It said "Honda CB350 Four Cylinder - RARE!". Out of curiousity I clicked on it and saw a ratty, snotted out 350 Four. But I was intrigued, why would Honda build a Four and a Twin of the same displacement? So I typed "Honda CB350 Four" in Google and found this website.

I was a goner at that point. Seeing that Honda (widely) released the first four-cylinder road bikes and compared to the bikes of the era, they had disc brakes, electric start, didn't leak oil, started every time and were fast, well I had to have one. I started comparing the different models and first settled on a 550 after I read that the 350 was really slow, (and 350s were VERY hard to find in good all-original shape).

After seeing some pictures of the 400F with its swoopy exhaust and cafe-racing looks, and reading that it was intended for the younger, more hard-core rider, I had to get one.

Ang here I am, proud owner of a beautiful CB400F that is everything I expected (reliable, good on gas) and is fast, fun to ride and timeless. While other bikes are certainly faster, the 400 just has something about it that begs to be ridden. A personality? A playful little voice that calls to me? Absolutely.

Modern machines are soulless speed machines that tear up the pavement, but these old Hondas really have something the modern bikes don't. Personality? Soul? I'll let you decide, but I think you all alrady know since well, you're here.

Steve F · « **Reply #7 on:** July 16, 2006, 04:53:20 PM »

Jeez Ghoulie, you should be a writer for some classic cycle mag or somethiing!!! Very well put.

Tim. · « **Reply #8 on:** July 16, 2006, 04:53:38 PM »

This thread should be merged with this one started May 2005:

http://www.sohc4.us/forums/index.php?topic=1471.30

GroovieGhoulie · « **Reply #9 on:** July 16, 2006, 05:16:46 PM »

Quote from: Steve F on July 16, 2006, 04:53:20 PM

Jeez Ghoulie, you should be a writer for some classic cycle mag or somethiing!!! Very well put.

Thanks. I was a journalism major in college before the Army beckoned, but once I get out, I'm thinking about trying to get on with a classic bike magazine.

tramp · « **Reply #10 on:** July 16, 2006, 05:18:20 PM »

inexpensive
fun to ride
still find parts
50mpg
nuff said

Bob Wessner · « **Reply #11 on:** July 16, 2006, 05:22:28 PM »

Quote

I was a journalism major in college before the Army beckoned

Beckoned?

GroovieGhoulie · « **Reply #12 on:** July 16, 2006, 05:29:27 PM »

Quote from: Bob Wessner on July 16, 2006, 05:22:28 PM

Quote
I was a journalism major in college before the Army beckoned

Beckoned?

Perhaps that was the wrong word, though I will ignore the roll-eyes smiley since rolling eyes imply negative things and I think that volunteering to serve is not negative.

The military is a family tradition for us, my grandads, my dad, etc. Tons of pride for it and TONS of pressure to join. I wasn't going to as I didn't want to.

Then September 11th happened and the whole country was gripped with War Fever(c)! So I joined ROTC and in 2004 I became an Army Officer. Made the Family proud and all that.

Since I've been in, it's not a bad gig, but it's not for me. I'm not wired right for the military. I think too much for myself and have problems with authority. I hate being treated like a 4-year old when I'm a grown man. So I'm getting out when my commitment is up.

Not to knock the military, but Hunter Thompson said it best: "The military is an experiment in Forced Lobotomies using rules instead of scalpels."

Bob Wessner · « **Reply #13 on:** July 16, 2006, 05:32:38 PM »

No offense intended. I had no idea of your age and thought perhaps your "beckoned" was the same as mine, aka DRAFT. Guess there aren't too many draftees here to recall that, and times and circumstances were very different at the time.

GroovieGhoulie · « **Reply #14 on:** July 16, 2006, 05:37:15 PM »

Quote from: Bob Wessner on July 16, 2006, 05:32:38 PM

No offense intended. I had no idea of your age and thought perhaps your "beckoned" was the same as mine, aka DRAFT. Guess there aren't too many draftees here to recall that, and times and circumstances were very different at the time.

Ah, no not a Draft, but with the amount of pressure from various males in the family, it sure seemed like it! Wasn't offended, figured it was a misunderstanding. Text loses all the subtleties of spoken word.

Age? 25 now, 21 when I signed my name on the dotted line, 23 when I got Commissioned. Be out when I'm 28.

Bob Wessner · « **Reply #15 on:** July 16, 2006, 05:50:40 PM »

Congratulations on your commission and have a safe tour.

GroovieGhoulie · « **Reply #16 on:** July 16, 2006, 06:34:26 PM »

Thanks!

The upshot to deployment is all the tax-free money I can save. Play my cards right and I can pay cash for the K0 of my dreams when I return!

Now back to your regularly scheduled thread!

Uncle Ernie · « **Reply #17 on:** July 16, 2006, 06:43:32 PM »

I was different from most in that I grew up wanting a BMW. As soon as I was emancipated, I ran out and got an R26. I was to dumb to know what a POS it was, and it was pretty. Cut to the mid-'80s; a friend was trying to sell me his girlfriend's bike (read- a bike he got his girlfriend hoping she would want to learn). It was OK looking, but it was >gasp!< chain driven. Didn't understand/get chains. Maintenance items. He made me ride it. Light! Maneouverable! Tight figure 8s! Quick little bugger! Getting cuter...! Took a ride through Marin up Hwy1 to PtReyes (customary stop for Amaretto coffee with real whipped creme and 2 cigarettes) and back. A little puppy that loves to play!!! I'll take it. Soon, riding into the City over the top deck of the Bay Bridge on a glorious day of intense blue with wads of fluff balls floating by and the whole city layed out below and beyond was the best part of any day. Once, after just such a ride, a friend stopped next to me. She (a woman on a Guzzi V50) looked at me with pity in her eyes and asked if my bike was broken down. I realized that this was an important step in my life; "It" had finally become about the "ride" and not the macho or image. The whole point of motorcycling is getting your knees in the breeze, and the rest is just a branch of the main trunk. This is my 3rd, and last, 400. I'll never make the mistake of selling this one. It has become one of my "core" bikes.
...now if I could just find the **** short and ride it again...

martini · « **Reply #18 on:** July 17, 2006, 09:19:43 AM »

Nobody seems to have mentioned looks - I love the look of these machines, especially the 750 k's. To me they retained the "classic" look in a modern machine. My decision to purchase one came down to the following:

Looks, costs, availability, reliability.

seaweb11 · « **Reply #19 on:** July 17, 2006, 11:59:49 AM »

My daughter found an ad on the local bulletin board.
Bought it that day without even riding it. Guy before me test road it and crashed.
No front brake

Gordon · « **Reply #20 on:** July 17, 2006, 12:39:53 PM »

Well, it was way back in the year 2001.

I woke up one Sunday morning and decided it had been too long since I last owned a motorcycle (about two years).
I had some cash burning a hole in my pocket, so I went down to the cafe where I worked, looked through the classifieds and saw an ad for a running 1975 CB400F. Had no idea what it was at the time, but I knew I wanted something from the mid seventies.

I went to meet the guy, test rode it, and bought it for $200 less than he was asking.

At some point not long after that I found the Greenspun sohc/4 forum, and realized there was a very loyal following for these bikes which doubled as a support group. I've been hooked ever since!

This group is definitely one of the main reasons I've bought three other sohc4's since then, and will most likely end up with several more in the future.

seaweb11 · « **Reply #21 on:** July 17, 2006, 04:22:11 PM »

From Gordon "At some point not long after that I found the Greenspun sohc/4 forum, and realized there was a very loyal following for these bikes which doubled as a support group. I've been hooked ever since!
This group is definitely one of the main reasons I've bought three other sohc4's since then, and will most likely end up with several more in the future. "

DITTO For ME

Thanks again to all
Derek.

Chris Schneiter · « **Reply #22 on:** July 18, 2006, 09:27:20 AM »

Back in the '80's (after my first divorce), I had a room mate with a 750...I thought it was about the prettiest bike I had ever seen...I bought his Yamaha 250 Enduro..rode it for WAY too long...my second wife talked me into selling it..
Jump to the mid '90's....after firing the second wife (actually it was the other way around)...I thought "why not?"..so I followed the classifieds for about 2 years, until I found an ad for a '76 CB750...the guy also had a CL350..both in ok shape, but the CL wouldn't start (turns out the guys wife wanted him to clear out the garage...he had 4 bikes in there! Bad move on her part!) I got the CB for $500.00..it ran really well...a new tire, some brake pads, fixed the blinkers, a paint job, and it was on the road, and looked as good as you see it here! Of course, I hadn't ridden them much...GOD it was uncomfortable at first! Fixed that with some highway pegs and a winsheild!

Noel · « **Reply #23 on:** July 18, 2006, 09:57:10 AM »

The Honda GP bikes of the late 60's were/are some of the most perfect machines ever created, IMO. When I sat down and thought about it and realized that I could own a piece of that -- no matter how far removed from that technology the average SOHC may be, and regardless of the amount of effort it would take to replicate -- I had to try.

StevieMac · « **Reply #24 on:** July 18, 2006, 11:07:56 AM »

As my motocycle tastes have matured I've come to love older bike and the SOHC Honda's are simply works of art IMO. Such classic designs that truly stand the test of time. On top of that ss others have said, they are affordable, easy to work on, parts are available etc, etc. What else could you ask for?

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Author Topic: So why did you choose a Honda SOHC4? (Read 6576 times)

Superbiker_uk

upperlake04