Topic: If Honda could've done any better...

[Stev-o]

Just saw this post.....for my less than worthless two cents in today's totally distracted, cell phone addicted society I opt for an AIRHORN.....and I mean one of those big locomotive type window cracking jobs mounted directly above the gauges and headlight pointed forward!

You can get them from FIAM (I think they are still out there?). And, they remove the PAINT from the car ahead of you: just be sure to not mount them inside your fairing, if you have one.

These sound like an 18-wheeler, and I almost wet my pants from laughing the first time my friend used them on his 500. The road cleared in front of him like Moses at the Red Sea.

Ha!   They're easy to find HM, this pair look pretty cool....

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-R50-5-R60-5-R75-5-AIRHEAD-HORN-FIAM-838-HI-LOW-SET-2-kawasaki-Z1-/161252614081?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item258b679fc1&vxp=mtr

Should I put them on my Z1?!

[lucky]

"Value engineering" another BS term.

You got value back then that is for sure since you are riding a 40 year old bike.
The CB750 was way ahead of its time.

Almost all of the parts were repairable unlike the "value engineered" JUNK of today.

Just put things in everyday language instead of alienating 1/2 of your audience.
For instance:
Wikipedia...Value engineering (VE) is a systematic method to improve the "value" of goods or products and services by using an examination of function.

In plain english.... Did it function well for the money you paid?

[lucky]

That would have been the FLT I think,,funny frame..reversed trees, wierd wheels bearings, and swingarm bearings.. A ot of new strange parts.  New generation stuff at the time.. Like the FXRT.. Which whas a pretty good bike.p
 Yeah the Honda fork tubes in hardchrome would have been nice. I bought, OEM 77/78 tubes to put in my chopper, wish i remembered what they cost..
 Honda didnt need stiffer forks till the disc came into use....one improvement causes need for the next one..

What many people forget is that when the CB750 was introduced, the freeways between states were just being built.
Most roads were not as good as they are today.
People were not in as big a hurry either.

[dave500]

whos in a hurry man?
rg pass

[754]

Honda motors typically did not get pulled very often, so my guess is the engineers for the 750 were thinking that way...not expecting head gasket leaks.
 Dual cam engines by necessity were able to get the valve covers off.. Absolute must to set valves.. .
 As to Honda maybe having used removeable valve cover.. The tappetcover covers used were on nearly all models at that time.. Far easier than messing with a valve cover gasket..IMO..

[Bootlegger56]

"Value engineering" another BS term.

You got value back then that is for sure since you are riding a 40 year old bike.
The CB750 was way ahead of its time.

Almost all of the parts were repairable unlike the "value engineered" JUNK of today.

Just put things in everyday language instead of alienating 1/2 of your audience.
For instance:
Wikipedia...Value engineering (VE) is a systematic method to improve the "value" of goods or products and services by using an examination of function.

In plain english.... Did it function well for the money you paid?

Unfortunately "Value Engineering"  has been replaced by "Planned Obsolescence."  Manufacturers today spend a lot of money to ensure that products do not last indefinitely so they can sell repair parts or new products at the soonest cycle after warranty as possible.

In working for Denso in the late 90's at a fractional DC motor plant we did exhaustive design validation and product review testing to insure our designs were only "reliable" enough to meet warranty requirements within a statistical profile.  In short we intentionally cheapened the design or process up so that the product would fail sooner.

Although through our experience there are things that could be improved with today's technology that would aid us in service and performance on these old bikes I am just generally tickled #$%*less with what I have.  It could have been like today's real JUNK.