Topic: 20 Rides 100miles or more, in 2020..

[PeWe]

....SOHC  Miles Matter....
 There are ...2 main types of OHC Fours..
 SAINTLY  OHC......AND ........DEVILS  OHC.....

This is what Van Halen sang about?
Runnin' with the devil .....

[Terry in Australia]

Terry, I could not resist to tease just a little

It is extra important with rides now instead of sitting in jail at home all of the time!

SOHC miles can be worth double than DOHC to compensate? 

I have to wait 3 months ....

Ha ha, thanks Per, I still laugh when I think about a previous post someone made that modern bikes are easier to ride long distances than CB750's, I can attest that my back, shoulders and arse were more sore after the ride with Spotty than my first K0 ride a couple of weeks ago, older bikes are way more comfortable than newer bikes. Obviously not as fast, don't handle as well or stop as quickly, but the standard seating/footpeg/handlebar positions are just about perfect for long rides.

What is great about modern big bikes is their rate of acceleration, Spotty and I had a few occasions where we needed to overtake lines of slow moving cars, and without needing to drop back a gear we'd just crank the throttle in top gear and within seconds were doing 120(+) MPH for a few seconds. Great fun!

[754]

Most newer bikes can be jumped on and ridden across the country with few or no issues..
 WTH.. some even come with a spare camshaft.. 

  That is not always the case with 40 year old  machines..
 Try stopping at a few shops and getting an 18 inch rear tire..

[Terry in Australia]

Most newer bikes can be jumped on and ridden across the country with few or no issues..
 WTH.. some even come with a spare camshaft.. 

  That is not always the case with 40 year old  machines..
 Try stopping at a few shops and getting an 18 inch rear tire..

I'm sure there were old farts saying the same thing when the CB750 came out too Frank, it's an opinion though, not necessarily fact. I have no problem buying 18 inch tyres here, as some of the 'retro bikes" run 18 inchers, and there are so many guys restoring old bikes, there's a market for them still. Royal Enfield even got Pirelli to start re-making the venerable "Pirelli Phantom" tyres (one of my favourites, back in the day) for their 650 twins, I might buy a set for my Z1.

[754]

Sure they are out there, you can order them from most suppliers.. just don't expect shops to stock them..

[Terry in Australia]

Nope, all the shops around here stock them Frank, and they’re usually way cheaper than modern 17 inch rubber. The shop I buy my Stinko’s from stock plenty of our size tyres in Pirelli, Dunlop, Metzler etc, no problem. Try finding a local stockist of tyres for a Triumph Rocket III and you’ll know what a PITA it is, and Rocket III’s are a “Modern” bike.

[PeWe]

Local tire shops are too expensive.
I order online for car and bike. Mostly shipped from Germany. When order for car, I write the address to the tire shop that will mount them.
Vintage bikes are now popular again so it must be local shops selling the sizes our bikes can use.

My K6 is rather comfortable. Max recent riding for one day around 300km.
Back in the 80's started in Austria (Kitzbühel) and rode home, only pauses where refueling with food and ferries. 1850 km. 12 hours to German northern ferry to Denmark. Mostly 160-170kmh on Autobahn. 2 guys and luggage. No pain then

Bike was recently very uncomfortable for a while when shocks were too low. Pain in hips during hard acceleration and ass ache.
Changed shock ride height to max, softer damping and bike felt good again.
Clubman bar another way to make it uncomfortable. Low euro bars has good height for me.

[Terry in Australia]

Sweden sounds like an expensive place to live Per, that must piss you off? I had four new Stinko 712's fitted and balanced, old tyres removed and disposed, new Michelin tubes and rim bands fitted on my F2 and K0 rims for $500 AUD. ($350 USD?) That ride from Austria to Sweden must have been epic, in 1991 I rode my BMW K100RT from Melbourne to Brisbane then to Canungra (1800 Km) in two days, had a great ride, but as the Army was paying for it, I stayed in a nice motel at end of day one, and ate a nice meal at a local steak restaurant, washed down with some good whisky. I did hit a dead Kangaroo @ 160 KPH and got some air, then had to wash the rotten guts that had cooked onto my radiator and engine off the next morning at a local car wash.

I met a guy at a gas station in a little town called Warwick in Queensland around midday on day two, he was riding a new Kawasaki ZZR1100 and had taken 3 days to travel as far as I had, because his Kawasaki was so uncomfortable. He (almost) begged me to swap bikes and ride together to the Gold Coast turnoff (a couple of hours ride, from memory) so we did, and I was glad to get back on the BMW when we swapped back. Modern Sportsbikes are fun, but not so much for long rides with low bars and high pegs.  

[PeWe]

It was much worse for 15 years ago. Higher taxes and much higher property bank interest, now only 1.15%, before 4-5%.

Motorcycle rides south to former Jugoslavia, Italy, France and Spain very common in the 80's. I made 4 rides to Mediterranean see always over the Alps except one year over France - Pyrennees one week in Andorra continued to Spain Tarragona for another week.

I learned to enjoy cheap hotels rather than camping. Hotel prices down there cost over 4 times more today than back then. Germany, Austria and Italy.
Camping only double. I investigated that for 12 years ago when finding my old reciepts. Maybe worse today.

Tires not that horrible. Your Shinko's not available here but other Shinko not cheaper than other European brands.
Tires cost around $110-200US each.
Tires have always costed much more if buying direct from a tire shop.

[Terry in Australia]

I've just been looking for tyres for my Rocket III. Looks like the only ones I can find are what's on it now, Metzlers, and the price per pair, is $700, ($531 USD) plus fitting and balancing.

Stinko don't make tyres that big (240/50-V16 rear, 150/80-V17 front) so I'll just suck it up. The set on it now have been fine for 13 years, and 9000 miles, so I'll be nearly 74 when the next set wear out.......... I could put 4 new tyres on my car for a lot less though........  

[PeWe]

Half width of that rear is much on a CB750 that last less than half

[754]

Rocket 3 and Burgman...2 bikes known for slim tire choices..
 UJM ,s on other hand, made at least a half million of them, there used to be strong demand.
 17 inch are easy to source , but high aspect ratio ones are harder to find..
 It is what it is..

[Terry in Australia]

Half width of that rear is much on a CB750 that last less than half

Yeah, when I bought the Rocket from my brother with a whole 20 miles on the odometer, almost 2 years after he bought it new, I jumped on the R3 forums and the "Experts" were telling me that I'd be lucky to get 5000 Km's (3125 miles) out of a set, so I'm pretty happy that I've gotten almost 3 times their estimate. To be honest though, I haven't been 100% happy riding it on 13 year old tyres, so won't be too sad to see them go, I might just have to wait until my next payday before I ride it again.

That's OK, I want to take my VFR750 out next, it hasn't had a run in well over 6 months, hopefully the new Motobatt battery I installed just before the lockdown will have enough power to fire it up, and another 100(+) miler will get that battery fully charged again.

[PeWe]

Terry, you need a schedule for all your bikes and give them the rides they need.

[RAFster122s]

Is 220kmh hold some significance in AU?
That translates to about 137mph.
AZ freeway speeds outside population centers is 75mph (121 kmh). Here if pulled over and ticketed for doing 77 in a 75 zone they give you 2 points on your license (8 pts in 12 month period your license is suspended.) Not sure what speeds translate to next point. I won't give an insurance company access to my car's computer for lower rates like many do because it uses accelerometers and braking force and likely speedometer input thst gets geolocated to see if you are speeding. If you corner hard or stop hard or accelerate hard anytime they are going to give you a higher rate. If you drive very cautiosly and slowly and obsteuct traffic flow in the left lane they reward thst unsafe behavior because according to their little tracker module and the car's data log you drive safely. Bullocks!
Insurance companies jacks up the cost for every point or violation on your license/registration. Expect high insurance rates with moving or non-moving violations even if you do not receive any points.

[Terry in Australia]

Thanks Per, yep, with so many bikes I need to keep them all in serviceable condition, and the only way I'll do that is to ride them all regularly.

David, 137 MPH is a "Go straight to jail and have your bike confiscated from you, permanently" speed, so of course, I'd never entertain breaking those rules........... We have really tough road laws here, but a tiny annual road fatality rate compared to the US, so it does make sense, as annoying as that might be. 

The wonderful news is that after standing in line with my mask on for (only) 2.25 hours today, I got my "Club permit" for the K0 so I can (legally) ride it, and it's insured for $20K AUD plus $3K for riding equipment, if I throw it down the road (and hopefully survive) I also get the damaged bike back to rebuild if the worst happens. I've just paid John (Benelli SEI here) for his OEM K0 handlebar switchblocks, and while standing in line at the DMV, I bought a set of OEM handlebars from France, so it's getting closer to OEM as parts become available.

Tomorrow I'll be taking it for a 100 (+) miler, and am looking forwards to enjoying a comfortable old CB750 for a change. Old bikes (in good condition) are much easier to ride at legal speeds than new bikes! I did have a problem shifting back to 1st gear at the lights, but after taking the tranny cover off again today I realised that the shifter "arm" was rubbing against the inside of the shifter drum and not engaging with the pins, so I did some creative bending with a pair of pliers, then reassembled it and did a 3 mile ride around the streets so I could test it to ensure I could engage first gear from second, and it's spot on now.

As the guys who've put some of these engines together will notice, it's very different from a CB750K1 and onward setup.

K0 Tuesday 29 Dec 2020 7 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

I screwed my new number plate on, and even used Honda -K0 only- "Big 8" bolts to hold it on, how's that for originality?!

K0 Tuesday 29 Dec 2020 6 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

     

[RAFster122s]

15mph over in any speed zone is considered reckless and often yields trip to jail, mandatory court appearance, vehicle impound and hefty hefty fines. Guy I worked with on post serveral years ago rode a crotch-rocket back and forth from Sierra Vista to Tucson and he was pulled over after a long chase by a State Trooper on Interstate 10. The trooper was quite upset with him for having to give chase so long to catch him. He was going in excess of 110mph or 115 mph at some point... Judge gave him the option of losing his MC license and forfeiting the bike and facing jail time or and forfeit of the bike and MC license with heavy fine. He chose the later. He risked losing his clearance and job having done this and apparently it was not an infrequent occurence. He knew if he didn't forfeit the bike he would face the judge again. Usually a DUI or court case like this cost you 10-15k US easily for the lawyer plus your fines... Think his fine was something in the ballpark of $5k. Bike was new and he had been riding it a year to 18 months at most.

[754]

Lose license for how long ?
 How much fine for riding without a license ?
 This could put a damper onsome riders. ,!

[Terry in Australia]

Yep, I went to court for a minor speeding fine (5 MPH over the limit) 7 years ago, and got let off lightly because, the "Clerk of Courts" told the magistrate that I had an "Excellent" driving record.

Obviously they didn't go back too far, in 1978 I got chased because I was doing 215 KPH (134 MPH) according to my speedo on my first CB750, (a shiny new F0 with RC pipe, bigger mains, velocity stacks, flat bars and a bikini fairing) in a 35 MPH zone. It's a long story, but because I was in the Army and the cop who chased me was a Vietnam vet, I was let off with a minor fine ($80, over a weeks pay back then) but if I did that now, I'd do jail time. Those were the days.........
 

[PeWe]

CB750 has a built-in speeding control. Tripple speed mostly not possible, only double!

Back in the 80's often rode around 160kmh on roads/streets with max 50kmh. Those are sabotaged by speed bumps from the 1990's. Especially in the city area.

Terry, you need to ride every bike you have to drain the old fuel, flushing the carbs, injectors from old fuel sludge, refill and ride again at least once a year.

[Terry in Australia]

Terry, you need to ride every bike you have to drain the old fuel, flushing the carbs, injectors from old fuel sludge, refill and ride again at least once a year.

Yeah mate, I didn't ride the RC51 and destroyed the fuel pump, same/same for the BMW K100RS. I have new pumps, I better fit them and drain that disgusting fuel, which does make great degreaser! After the K0, next 100 mile ride will be the VFR750, it needs a ride, badly.

[PeWe]

OK, so old fuel is good?
I have my old original K6 tank with fuel still in. Filled 1990.
At least 5-6L, before green ideas about fuel.

[Terry in Australia]

Well when I said good, I only meant recently old fuel makes good degreaser. (the fuel in the RC51 is three years old, and BMW is maybe 5 years old) 30 year old fuel with lead in it might still be good for something, but I don't think I'd try running my bike on it..........

[Terry in Australia]

OK, so ride #20 was on the K0 today, and what a great ride it was! 137 miles on the backroads from my place to the Heathcote Bakery for a delicious meat and vegetable "Pastie" and an orange juice to wash down a couple of anti-inflammatories to settle my poor sore back. I really need to go back and get more Cortisone shots into my spine, but hey, 5 year old Nurofen Zavance tablets in my jacket pocket did the job, and the ride home was great.

K0 Wednesday 30 Dec 2020 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

K0 Wednesday 30 Dec 2020 9b by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

The riding position is just about perfect on the K0, and as "peppy" as the engine really is, (thanks to the high comp CB77 pistons, electronic ignition and 98 RON BP fuel) it's not so fast that it'll tie the frame in knots under acceleration or braking, which, even with new pads front and rear, is pretty sub standard. I'm thinking about having Hugh Robinson mount one of his cast iron drilled disc rotors onto one of my K0 specific disc carriers, as I have a couple of spares. I found that riding in the 60-80 MPH range was the new engine's "Comfort zone", and it happily zoomed along at those speeds all day. The "cackle" from the magnificent Delkevic exhaust was loud, but music to my ears.

I went out of my way to stop at the railway crossing that I always take my bike pics at, it's a kind of a "Rite of Passage" for all my bikes, so I parked up, and took a couple of pics:

K0 Wednesday 30 Dec 2020 4 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

K0 Wednesday 30 Dec 2020 6 by Terry Prendergast, on Flickr

So #20 is in the can, I'm tempted to take my VFR750 for a ride tomorrow, the battery must need a charge, and it's too easy to drive over to the self storage place, fire the bike up, and hit the road. Hopefully I'll sneak out before the weather turns to mud (literally) and/or the wife finds a job that I need to do........


 

[PeWe]

Finally a correctly done ride!
A good looking, well sounding CB750 in good weather with a food stop.
Life is good!!!

Scheisse, I have 3 months left for such adventures, if lucky!
Soon time for a
Happy Ending of This Year!!