Topic: Maintenance/ Repair as far as 2 vs. 4 cylinder

[uglyplaidshorts]

What are the big differences between 2 and 4 cylinder's as far as ease to work on?  Is a 2 cylinder easier to work on just because there is less of an engine?  What other things as far as cost/abundance of parts, engine construction come into play?  Did every SOHC4 model year have a corresponding twin? 

I haven't been able to find out much information about twins, and the Hondatwins.com site isn't very established yet.  Are the twins just less powerful, more fuel efficient, lighter siblings of the four?

[mj_honda]

The 350 twin is faster, lighter and vibrates more Well, at least that is what I have read.

The 350F is smooth as silk and considered more refined (as much as it can be for bikes of that era) . The 4 carbs are harder to deal with than the 2 on the twin. Parts are usually more expensive and harder to come by unless you know what can interchange. The original exhaust will cost you more than the bike itself. The Four has drum brakes on the back and disk on the front. The twins have drums on both.

I have a 350F and love it. It is easy to cruise at 75mph all day long and will go faster if needed. It is the perfect around town bike but goes great on twisties.

Not sure of actual numbers but there are a ton more twins out there than the 350 Four models. I don't know much about the twins or other other models besides the "F" but I'm sure someone else will chime in.

[low-side]

    The twin you don't hear much about is the one they made the longest, the DOHC 450.  Came out in '65 (?), got a 5 speed trans. in the late sixties, ran until '73.  Then it got a makeover as a 500 twin and ran '74 to '76(?).  Not positive on the dates but they made it quite a while and it is a great compromise between the benefits of a twin and a four.  It is as tall and steady as any of the fours, so you don't feel like you're dwarfing the bike.  It has the ease of maintenance of a twin, but most of the power of a four.  I had one for a while but it came down to a choice between it and my 750 and I kept the 750 but it really was a tough choice.  There's 5 450s on Ebay right now ranging from $800 to $1900 and 4 of them look great. 
    The fours of this era are built more like modern engines and are longer lasting.  The twins all ran on ball bearing mains, roller bearing big ends on the con rods, and piston style oil pumps with centrifugal oil filters.  The fours ran on plain bearings (mains and rods), had rotor style oil pumps, and cartridge oil filters.  This made the four cylinder engines generally much longer lasting than the twins.  Maintenance costs are a little higher on the fours just because of 2 more spark plugs, the occasional set of carb kits costs twice as much and they hold a little more oil, but it really is negligible in the long term.  Buy what you like and enjoy it.