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Author Topic: You Know What You Can Do With Your Honda SOHC  (Read 12138 times)

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Offline JBMorse

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Re: You Know What You Can Do With Your Honda SOHC
« Reply #25 on: November 25, 2009, 10:11:42 AM »
I'm too young to remember any 70s two strokes, but while they're neat bikes in their own way, I don't think they really compare to sohc Hondas.  Back then it was probably easier to lump all jap bikes into the jap bike category.  It seems to me the Hondas were the most practical to own, if not the fastest bikes.  They had nicer manners, were better for longer trips, got much better mileage, didn't smoke.   

I've never ridden one of those triples, but it seems from what I've read that the ad's claim of "smooth, steady rpm's purring through the entire power bank" is far-fetched.  I bet those 2-strokes are loads of fun to ride, but to own and ride every day, I don't know!
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Offline mgbgt89

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Re: You Know What You Can Do With Your Honda SOHC
« Reply #26 on: November 25, 2009, 10:27:59 AM »
I would love to own a two stroke street bike some day. The triples sound like a load of fun. I love my two stroke dirt bike, The powerband hitting and pulling up the front wheel with little notice is fun, to say the least. Makes it feel faster than it really is. That poor yamaha is lonely among the 3 sohc4's in the garage. I need a RD400 to keep it company.
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Offline Gamma

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Re: You Know What You Can Do With Your Honda SOHC
« Reply #27 on: November 25, 2009, 10:30:12 AM »
In 79 I raced a friend of mine back from the pub on the Island of Anglesea UK, I was on a 76 750F1, he was on a Kwaka S2 350 with some tuning.  I could keep up by thrashing the hell out of the Honda, but not get past.  It was all twisty stuff through the woods.  Great fun, but thinking back to those days, I am very lucky still to be around!
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Offline petercb750

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Re: You Know What You Can Do With Your Honda SOHC
« Reply #28 on: November 25, 2009, 01:35:26 PM »
Quote from: Gamma on November 25, 2009, 10:30:12 AM
 Great fun, but thinking back to those days, I am very lucky still to be around!

Yes mate, I think a lot of us can identify with that comment - I know I can...... :-[
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Offline bwaller

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Re: You Know What You Can Do With Your Honda SOHC
« Reply #29 on: November 25, 2009, 01:42:51 PM »
Quote from: petercb750 on November 25, 2009, 01:35:26 PM
Quote from: Gamma on November 25, 2009, 10:30:12 AM
  Great fun, but thinking back to those days, I am very lucky still to be around!

Yes mate, I think a lot of us can identify with that comment - I know I can...... :-[



 ::) +2
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Offline HB-1fan

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Re: You Know What You Can Do With Your Honda SOHC
« Reply #30 on: November 25, 2009, 02:45:09 PM »
Yeah 2 weeks after the scary H1 500 test drive wheelie in front of the dealership, I totaled my KZ when a 16 yr old girl backed out her driveway right in front of me. Helmet saved my life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 I did not have the nerve to spend the insurace money on the H1, so I bought a sohc 750. So, I might not be typing this now if it wasn't for that scary as hell wheelie in traffic.
  On my buddies triple race bikes I had to do extensive fab work to the frame and the swingarm for them to be stable at speed at Daytona. Especially on the 500.

HB
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Offline Hush

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Re: You Know What You Can Do With Your Honda SOHC
« Reply #31 on: November 25, 2009, 09:02:06 PM »
Yes mate, I think a lot of us can identify with that comment - I know I can

+3  ;D
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Offline Don R

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Re: You Know What You Can Do With Your Honda SOHC
« Reply #32 on: November 25, 2009, 10:36:53 PM »
The 750  kawi I was on never seemed to drop rpm on a shift and was scary fast. But my 500 honda was the first bike I ever rode with both wheels off the ground. That riding style did put me in the ER though. I'm happy to be back on the 750 SOHC again. Wondering where the 500 ended up.
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Offline petercb750

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Re: You Know What You Can Do With Your Honda SOHC
« Reply #33 on: November 26, 2009, 12:20:55 AM »
Quote from: Don R on November 25, 2009, 10:36:53 PM
Wondering where the 500 ended up.

Sounds like it might have ended up in orbit Don!  :o
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Offline Terry in Australia

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Re: You Know What You Can Do With Your Honda SOHC
« Reply #34 on: November 26, 2009, 01:58:28 AM »
When I was a kid back in the early 1970's, I had a mate, Ocker, who's brother Charlie, bought a worked H2 from another local bloke. It was a beauty, black paint with a mural, clip on bars and chrome expansion chambers, it sounded wicked!

Now Charlie was only 16, so the seller wouldn't let him take it for a ride, but he took him for a "test ride" on the back. Me and Ocker were out the front of my parents house when they went past, they saw we were watching with interest, so Corrie (the seller) pulled a power wheelie @ around 80 Mph, and held the wheelie until they were well out of sight.

Apparently Charlie almost fell off, but he bought it anyway but didn't ride it much, and from memory he sold it to a drag racer in Melbourne who had built a twin or triple engined H2 drag bike. If it was still around, I'd buy it in a heartbeat! Cheers, Terry. ;D
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Offline petercb750

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Re: You Know What You Can Do With Your Honda SOHC
« Reply #35 on: November 26, 2009, 02:44:45 AM »
My mates H2 had the baffles out - now that was a sound that would wake the dead. He'd beat me in a straight line (my first CB in '73) but in the twisties I'd leave him for dead - sometimes though it was fun to just sit behind him and watch it bucking and weaving - plus I just love the smell of Castrol R in the mornings. ;D
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Offline Bill/BentON Racing

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Re: You Know What You Can Do With Your Honda SOHC
« Reply #36 on: November 26, 2009, 06:53:05 AM »
Quote from: Terry in Australia on November 24, 2009, 06:58:05 PM
It's only a 40 year old advert guys, no need to take offence, the Kawasaki triples were great bikes, as were the Yamaha RD's etc, but my favourite was the Suzuki GT750K, just like a CB750 to ride, weighed about the same (due to the radiator and water cooling system) but had better brakes, (twin discs) and just like a CB750, you could tour on it all day. I wish I had one in my garage now.......  ;D
Damn,sold three last yr,still want one?Bill
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Over 35 years of experience working on vintage motorcycles, with a speciality in Honda SOHC/4 with a focus on the CB750 and other models as well from 1966 - 1985.
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Offline Hush

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Re: You Know What You Can Do With Your Honda SOHC
« Reply #37 on: November 26, 2009, 09:37:29 AM »
Check out this listing just arrived from Japan, pretty straight Kwaka triple.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/a.aspx?id=256487124
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I think the thing I most like about motorcycling is the speed at which my brain must process information at to avoid the numb skulls who are eating pies, playing the ukulele, applying make-up etc in the comfort of their airconditioned armchairs as they make random attempts to kill me!!!!!!!

Offline Terry in Australia

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Re: You Know What You Can Do With Your Honda SOHC
« Reply #38 on: November 26, 2009, 02:24:17 PM »
Quote from: bellcow54 on November 26, 2009, 06:53:05 AM
Quote from: Terry in Australia on November 24, 2009, 06:58:05 PM
It's only a 40 year old advert guys, no need to take offence, the Kawasaki triples were great bikes, as were the Yamaha RD's etc, but my favourite was the Suzuki GT750K, just like a CB750 to ride, weighed about the same (due to the radiator and water cooling system) but had better brakes, (twin discs) and just like a CB750, you could tour on it all day. I wish I had one in my garage now.......  ;D
Damn,sold three last yr,still want one?Bill

G'Day Bill, yeah mate, I'd love one! I was doing some "wheeling and dealing" with a member here who claimed to know where there was a huge collection of "water bottles" in South Australia and we even agreed on a price for a nice "K" in original (but faded) paint and trim, and then the dude disappeared off the face of the earth, doesn't post here anymore, doesn't reply to my PM's etc, so I guess I'm lucky I didn't send him any money.

I can't buy any more bikes until after christmas though, so if you've got one, can you send me some pics to tease me while I clear out my garage? Cheers, Terry. ;D
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I was feeling sorry for myself because I couldn't afford new bike boots, until I met a man with no legs.

So I said, "Hey mate, you haven't got any bike boots you don't need, do you?"

"Crazy is a very misunderstood term, it's a fine line that some of us can lean over and still keep our balance" (thanks RB550Four)

Offline Bill/BentON Racing

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Re: You Know What You Can Do With Your Honda SOHC
« Reply #39 on: November 26, 2009, 02:45:10 PM »
I'll be glad to check,mine are gone,also sold pristine GT550,But my buddy may have or know of some,Back in'75 was going to school @ AMI in Daytona,went to visit my cousin in N/Fl.and his Dad let me ride his bike Denco ported H2 with pipes,carbs etc.I found out you can't turn well in 4th with the f/end in the air,braking also difficult(glad I packed extra underwear)WOW it was fast but not for the inexperienced!!It was definitely you tube material....I was lucky but I still kept riding it...just with a lot more respect!,Bill
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Over 35 years of experience working on vintage motorcycles, with a speciality in Honda SOHC/4 with a focus on the CB750 and other models as well from 1966 - 1985.
______________________________________
1993 HRC RS125 | 1984 NS400R | 1974 Honda CB750/836cc (Calendar Girl) | 1972 CB 500/550 Yoshi Kitted 590cc | 1965 Honda CB450 Black Bomber | 1972 Suzuki T350 | 1973 88cc | Z50/Falcons Pit Bike | 1967 CA100| 1974 CB350 (400F motor)...and more.
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Offline Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er

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Re: You Know What You Can Do With Your Honda SOHC
« Reply #40 on: November 27, 2009, 01:45:59 PM »
750K maybe! I had 2 buddies back in '75 that both had Mach III's. They went around picking on K's. They had never seen a 75 F at that point. I let them mouth off for a while then proceeded to kick both their asses so bad that I quit after 3rd gear with both! That's one reason I like my F so much and still have it. I was about to take on another of those Kamakazies, a 900 this time, in 3/76 while at Daytona when I broke #2 intake when I missed 2nd doing a power shift while blowing it out. I was looking forward to that but never had the chance.
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Offline Terry in Australia

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Re: You Know What You Can Do With Your Honda SOHC
« Reply #41 on: November 27, 2009, 11:04:14 PM »
Quote from: Jerry Rxman Griffin on November 27, 2009, 01:45:59 PM
750K maybe! I had 2 buddies back in '75 that both had Mach III's. They went around picking on K's. They had never seen a 75 F at that point. I let them mouth off for a while then proceeded to kick both their asses so bad that I quit after 3rd gear with both! That's one reason I like my F so much and still have it. I was about to take on another of those Kamakazies, a 900 this time, in 3/76 while at Daytona when I broke #2 intake when I missed 2nd doing a power shift while blowing it out. I was looking forward to that but never had the chance.

Jerry, now you know that I love you like a brother, but in this case, you are just so full of shi-ite! I bought a canary yellow 1975 CB750F new in 1978, it was sitting in the packing crate for almost 3 years because it was just so butt-ugly the dealer couldn't give it away, and I I have to tell you, I was so disappointed with it after riding many CB750K's, it was so slow, and handled so bad, Kawasaki dirt bikes with knobby tires could kick it's fat ass!

And handling? What handling? The original Bridgestone tires were made from some kind of black lard, that fat bulbous muffler would grab the road at only moderate cornering angles and lift the back wheel off the ground, and the crappy rear shocks would let it wallow like a fat chick on the disco floor, what a friggin' nightmare, that slug of a thing almost killed me! No wonder I got rid of it at the first opportunity and bought a K1, a far superior bike, in every way!

I've ridden a Mach III many times, and owned a Z900 for several years and I can tell you with all honesty, a CB750F ("F" stands for "Farking fugly") wouldn't be a match for either. Tell you what mate, bring it over here on your next vacation and I'll get my mate Davey to bring his stock Mach III around and you can give him a run, just for old times sake, but you better start working on making up some good excuses as to why he kicked your ass, because you'll need 'em, ha ha! ;D
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I was feeling sorry for myself because I couldn't afford new bike boots, until I met a man with no legs.

So I said, "Hey mate, you haven't got any bike boots you don't need, do you?"

"Crazy is a very misunderstood term, it's a fine line that some of us can lean over and still keep our balance" (thanks RB550Four)

Offline Hush

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Re: You Know What You Can Do With Your Honda SOHC
« Reply #42 on: November 27, 2009, 11:12:17 PM »
Aw don't go disapointing me Terry, I was starting to look for an "F" model here in NZ, anything that can kick a Mk3's ass and handle better than a drag bike sounded worth having.
I too have to question a stock Honda beating a half decent Kwaka 500 in a straight sprint race, those things were lethal fast, but untameable, I lost 2 good mates as a teenager on those tragic bikes, put me right off them.
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I think the thing I most like about motorcycling is the speed at which my brain must process information at to avoid the numb skulls who are eating pies, playing the ukulele, applying make-up etc in the comfort of their airconditioned armchairs as they make random attempts to kill me!!!!!!!

Offline grumburg

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Re: You Know What You Can Do With Your Honda SOHC
« Reply #43 on: November 27, 2009, 11:24:20 PM »
A friend used to race H2s and 3S back on the 70s-80s and had people calling to come haul them away after: 1) They crashed them.  2) The center  (or one of the outside ones...or all 3) cylinders seized. 3) The CDI s$@t the bed and replacements cost more than the bike was worth. Can still see them piled up behind his garage like cordwood. 
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Offline Hush

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Re: You Know What You Can Do With Your Honda SOHC
« Reply #44 on: November 27, 2009, 11:29:22 PM »
Ha ha I have a friend who has a shed full of old Kwaka triples, they thoroughly deserved the nickname "Handgrenade". ;D
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I think the thing I most like about motorcycling is the speed at which my brain must process information at to avoid the numb skulls who are eating pies, playing the ukulele, applying make-up etc in the comfort of their airconditioned armchairs as they make random attempts to kill me!!!!!!!

Offline Terry in Australia

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Re: You Know What You Can Do With Your Honda SOHC
« Reply #45 on: November 28, 2009, 04:52:49 AM »
Yeah, 1960's and 70's Japanese engineering was highly suspicious, I was having a look at the specs for my 1973 Laverda SF1 today, the SF1 engine started life as a 650 in the mid 1960's, but is built like a tank, with a dual row cam chain and triple row primary chain, (with an external adjuster, wouldn't we like one of them on our CB750's?) 4 roller bearing crank, ("overkill" for a twin cylinder engine) and massive clutch. If Honda was making engines like this "back in the day", they would truly be as "bullet proof" as people here say they are! Cheers, Terry. ;D
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I was feeling sorry for myself because I couldn't afford new bike boots, until I met a man with no legs.

So I said, "Hey mate, you haven't got any bike boots you don't need, do you?"

"Crazy is a very misunderstood term, it's a fine line that some of us can lean over and still keep our balance" (thanks RB550Four)

Offline grumburg

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Re: You Know What You Can Do With Your Honda SOHC
« Reply #46 on: November 28, 2009, 06:26:35 AM »
Quote from: Terry in Australia on November 28, 2009, 04:52:49 AM
Yeah, 1960's and 70's Japanese engineering was highly suspicious, I was having a look at the specs for my 1973 Laverda SF1 today, the SF1 engine started life as a 650 in the mid 1960's, but is built like a tank, with a dual row cam chain and triple row primary chain, (with an external adjuster, wouldn't we like one of them on our CB750's?) 4 roller bearing crank, ("overkill" for a twin cylinder engine) and massive clutch. If Honda was making engines like this "back in the day", they would truly be as "bullet proof" as people here say they are! Cheers, Terry. ;D
By '73, the Italian twins just weren't competive with the Japanese 4s. A Z1 Kawasaki cost $2000, an SF1 was $2500+, and there was a Kaw dealer on every other corner. Twins were out (especially expensive ones). Price wins over overkill every time.
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Offline bucky katt

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Re: You Know What You Can Do With Your Honda SOHC
« Reply #47 on: November 28, 2009, 07:12:30 AM »
i still have that 72 suzuki titan sitting out in the garage waiting to be torn down, i'll get to it someday..............on an unrelated note, Hush is that celery on your head in your avatar?
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Offline Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er

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Re: You Know What You Can Do With Your Honda SOHC
« Reply #48 on: November 28, 2009, 11:16:10 AM »
Hey Kooler King,

Yes, I may be fulla shiite but one thing I don't do is lie.  8) I figured that kicking one's ass might just be a fluke until I kicked the other one. They stayed my friends after their embarrassment.

Well, one problem you had was the SULFUR yellow was a '76 at least in the US so you probably had a bastardized 3rd world dingo slow K model made of left over F tanks  ;) I have a feeling that the first 1606 made were perhaps tweaked a little as Honda was know to do when they brought out new bikes. That's why I bought one of the first to hit our shores.

AND, I didn't say anything about handling. Mine handles better than I ride since it's still in one piece. PLUS back in the day I rode in cut off jeans and my Converse All-Stars and I do not have any scars on my knees from dragging in corners. I like those straight lines that are at least 1/4 mile. Too many sign posts, cars, and guard rails to lean them over deeply. I can't help how Bridgestone made tires either. Mine didn't make it through the first season from kicking Kamakazie's arses.  8)

You should hook with with Sammy Auto on his next trip and bring one of those bad boys over. Oh yeah, don't bring any of your fat chicks over. We already have WAY too many. That is unless Sammie needs a date  ;D
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Offline Hush

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Re: You Know What You Can Do With Your Honda SOHC
« Reply #49 on: November 28, 2009, 12:09:24 PM »
Yo Bucky, it was the lower part of a cauliflower Jaffa was chopping up for dinner....couldn't help myself. ;D
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I think the thing I most like about motorcycling is the speed at which my brain must process information at to avoid the numb skulls who are eating pies, playing the ukulele, applying make-up etc in the comfort of their airconditioned armchairs as they make random attempts to kill me!!!!!!!
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