Poll

So, how many MILES has your SOHC done?

0-25.000
199 (41%)
25.000-50.000
192 (39.6%)
50.000-75.000
47 (9.7%)
75.000-100.000
17 (3.5%)
More than 100.000
30 (6.2%)

Total Members Voted: 358

Author Topic: Highest mileage on a SOHC?  (Read 50467 times)

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Offline Stev-o

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Re: Highest mileage on a SOHC?
« Reply #150 on: September 08, 2017, 02:33:20 pm »
Great report, Greg, your bike is simply incredible!  Couldn't the bad spark plug cap be the reason for the sooty plug?
'74 "Big Bang" Honda 750K [836].....'71 Honda 750K project.....'76 Honda 550F.....K3 Park Racer!......and a Bomber!............plus plus plus.........

Offline ofreen

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Re: Highest mileage on a SOHC?
« Reply #151 on: September 08, 2017, 04:40:45 pm »
Thanks Stev-o.  Yes, no question the caps were the cause of the problem. I should have checked them out before this.
Greg
'75 CB750F

"I would rather have questions I cannot answer than answers I cannot question." - Dr. Wei-Hock Soon

Offline scottly

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Re: Highest mileage on a SOHC?
« Reply #152 on: September 08, 2017, 09:11:39 pm »
What speeds were you running on the stretches where you got 50 MPG?
Don't fix it if it ain't broke!
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Offline ofreen

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Re: Highest mileage on a SOHC?
« Reply #153 on: September 08, 2017, 11:28:10 pm »
I kept it 65-70 pretty much the whole trip to take it easy on the poor old thing.  We stuck to 2 lane roads most of the way, which generally are posted 65mph.  One leg on the way down was interstate from Burley Idaho to south of Pocatello to join up with US30 because of where we were headed.  That was 75-80mph.  Idaho interstate speed limits are 80 mph away from towns and I didn't have many people going by me.  Mileage dropped down to 43mpg or so on that stretch.
Greg
'75 CB750F

"I would rather have questions I cannot answer than answers I cannot question." - Dr. Wei-Hock Soon

Online HondaMan

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Re: Highest mileage on a SOHC?
« Reply #154 on: September 15, 2017, 07:59:11 pm »
However, I am mercenary enough that the bike remains for sale, current price $160,471.30. 

I like your pricing idea! I might have to make that offer myself? Mine's not as expensive as yours, though, at only $149,567.40 it's a bargain.
:D
See SOHC4shop@gmail.com for info about the gadgets I make for these bikes.

The demons are repulsed when a man does good. Use that.
Blood is thicker than water, but motor oil is thicker yet...so, don't mess with my SOHC4, or I might have to hurt you.
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Link to Hondaman Ignition: http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=67543.0

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Offline ofreen

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Re: Highest mileage on a SOHC?
« Reply #155 on: September 15, 2017, 08:10:22 pm »
However, I am mercenary enough that the bike remains for sale, current price $160,471.30. 

I like your pricing idea! I might have to make that offer myself? Mine's not as expensive as yours, though, at only $149,567.40 it's a bargain.
:D

A bargain it is.  At that price, yours would sell quickly though, leaving mine again without any competition.
Greg
'75 CB750F

"I would rather have questions I cannot answer than answers I cannot question." - Dr. Wei-Hock Soon

Online HondaMan

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Re: Highest mileage on a SOHC?
« Reply #156 on: September 15, 2017, 11:05:06 pm »
As usual, it seemed to run stronger the farther we went.

Mine has always been like that, too. If I ride it mostly in town for, say, a year, then hit the road/hills with it, it smoothes out on the 2nd or 3rd day and just begs for more.
See SOHC4shop@gmail.com for info about the gadgets I make for these bikes.

The demons are repulsed when a man does good. Use that.
Blood is thicker than water, but motor oil is thicker yet...so, don't mess with my SOHC4, or I might have to hurt you.
Hondaman's creed: "Bikers are family. Treat them accordingly."

Link to Hondaman Ignition: http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=67543.0

Link to My CB750 Book: https://www.lulu.com/search?adult_audience_rating=00&page=1&pageSize=10&q=my+cb750+book

Link to website: www.SOHC4shop.com

Offline RAFster122s

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Re: Highest mileage on a SOHC?
« Reply #157 on: September 16, 2017, 07:04:52 am »
Greg,  have you retired yet?  What were your three careers as?  Any more thoughts on a new bike for the collection?  Oddly enough the initial run of 750 DOHC motors were not that good, they must have fixed that as the Nighthawks have a cult following and I had considered buying one at one point.  The Nighthawk 650 was unreliable as they had punched the 450 design from original for the 550 and then the 650, it overstressed the motor in a few areas leading to failure areas and other problems.  They started over for the 750 Nighthawk motor with an evolution of that design.  I am not suggesting a Nighthawk as I didn't research their parts and other issues heavily.
It seem Honda has produced some rather mild perf motors in recent models with uninspiring perf.  The CB1000 retro throw back and the motors in the CB500 variants.  Both seem to have steady and rather flat power delivery and their output is far below what many would expect or want.

Sales in bikes are way down on most models with some exceptions.  So, it can be a good time as a buyer with a little bit of leverage when buying since they are wanting the sales.

David
David- back in the desert SW!

Offline ofreen

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Re: Highest mileage on a SOHC?
« Reply #158 on: September 16, 2017, 07:56:06 am »
Greg,  have you retired yet?  What were your three careers as?  Any more thoughts on a new bike for the collection? 
Nope, still working for a living.  I now fantasize about pulling the plug next year.  Back when I was a young stud I built railroad cars which is where I picked up knowledge of fabrication, welding and machining, then retired from the FAA after 27 years, now working for Idaho's transportation department.  Still don't know what bike to get.  The Thruxton R is cool, but there is nowhere to pack any gear for traveling, plus fuel capacity is too small.  I rode a R1200RS and was very impressed with it, but it shares many of the characteristics that pmanning and I were grousing about in the posts last year.  The base version is better for that, but they are more elusive than Bigfoot.  There is more profit for BMW with the models with all the features.  I probably ought to just get a V-Strom, which is what I advise people who ask me for a recommendation.  But they don't float my boat for some reason, good as they are.  So nothing has changed much in the last year.
Greg
'75 CB750F

"I would rather have questions I cannot answer than answers I cannot question." - Dr. Wei-Hock Soon

Offline NewBoots

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Re: Highest mileage on a SOHC?
« Reply #159 on: November 06, 2017, 07:09:09 am »
Greg........Are you planning on riding your 750 to next year's reunion? I just got a new winter project, a 1983 XJ900 Seca Yamaha. With 17k on it. Needs a little tlc and adjustments but in pretty good shape. However I plan on riding my 750F Honda to next years meet. Any ideas on where yet?
Bucky

Offline gwallis

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Re: Highest mileage on a SOHC?
« Reply #160 on: November 06, 2017, 02:30:22 pm »
I have three Honda's....

2 1976 CB550 Super Sports...  one with 14,366 miles and the other with 19,225 miles

1 1977 CB400 Super Sport...    7,488 miles

Have a soft spot for the SS's!

Offline ofreen

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Re: Highest mileage on a SOHC?
« Reply #161 on: November 06, 2017, 07:42:59 pm »
Greg........Are you planning on riding your 750 to next year's reunion? I just got a new winter project, a 1983 XJ900 Seca Yamaha. With 17k on it. Needs a little tlc and adjustments but in pretty good shape. However I plan on riding my 750F Honda to next years meet. Any ideas on where yet?
Bucky

I'd like to.  There was some talk about doing something in South Dakota, but I think it fell through.  It just depends on where it is and how much time I can get.
Greg
'75 CB750F

"I would rather have questions I cannot answer than answers I cannot question." - Dr. Wei-Hock Soon

Offline KeithH

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Re: Highest mileage on a SOHC?
« Reply #162 on: June 17, 2019, 02:24:47 pm »
My 1978 Honda CB750k just rolled past 64,000 km which is just about 40,000 miles and think it is just broken in now.

Just checked my mileage after a carb rebuild and some tuning and was pulling down 48 mpg Imp / 42mpg U.S. (mixed city highway) so expect even better on longer highway trips. Last year I did some day trips was was pulling better than 50mpg at 100kmh / 60mph.

The Windjammer probably contributes to the improved mileage a good deal, that and I usually take it pretty easy.


Offline NewBoots

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Re: Highest mileage on a SOHC?
« Reply #163 on: February 16, 2020, 09:11:49 am »
My 750 now has 60k on it. Still runs fine. Lets all meet up this year at the 2020 gettogether.
Bucky

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Re: Highest mileage on a SOHC?
« Reply #164 on: February 21, 2020, 07:20:58 pm »
My 1978 Honda CB750k just rolled past 64,000 km which is just about 40,000 miles and think it is just broken in now.

Just checked my mileage after a carb rebuild and some tuning and was pulling down 48 mpg Imp / 42mpg U.S. (mixed city highway) so expect even better on longer highway trips. Last year I did some day trips was was pulling better than 50mpg at 100kmh / 60mph.

The Windjammer probably contributes to the improved mileage a good deal, that and I usually take it pretty easy.
I completely agree: my K2 has always had the 'Jammer aboard, and there was a definite personality change between 30k and 40k miles with it. That was during the summer of 1977 (started 31k, ended 44k that year) and it was smoother than silk at the end of that year, and the MPG improved by about 2 MPG at hiway sppeds. I thought I was imagining it, but it stayed that way the following year. I currently believe it has something to do with the final matching-together of the tranny gears happening about then, but have no real proof of that. They are all hog-cut cast-steel gears, no MIMs parts here! :D
See SOHC4shop@gmail.com for info about the gadgets I make for these bikes.

The demons are repulsed when a man does good. Use that.
Blood is thicker than water, but motor oil is thicker yet...so, don't mess with my SOHC4, or I might have to hurt you.
Hondaman's creed: "Bikers are family. Treat them accordingly."

Link to Hondaman Ignition: http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=67543.0

Link to My CB750 Book: https://www.lulu.com/search?adult_audience_rating=00&page=1&pageSize=10&q=my+cb750+book

Link to website: www.SOHC4shop.com

Offline RAFster122s

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Re: Highest mileage on a SOHC?
« Reply #165 on: August 04, 2020, 11:32:41 pm »
Anyone have updates to share?
David- back in the desert SW!

Offline Don R

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Re: Highest mileage on a SOHC?
« Reply #166 on: August 06, 2020, 08:35:46 am »
 My Sandcast is over 9700 miles. It's still the best running bike I own but the closer it gets to 10K the less I seem to want to rack them up. I just need to get on it and not come back home until it goes over the mythical barrier of 10K. My gl1000 is taking the abuse these days.
No matter how many times you paint over a shadow, it's still there.
If you love it, set it free, if it stays it's probably one of my 750's.
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Offline rocket johnny

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Re: Highest mileage on a SOHC?
« Reply #167 on: August 06, 2020, 11:01:25 am »
my 76 k6  turned  60,000   today  :)

Offline ofreen

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Re: Highest mileage on a SOHC?
« Reply #168 on: August 12, 2021, 09:10:57 am »
The 750 rolled over 165,000 miles a couple of days ago.  It went from 5000 to 6000 miles a year to taking almost 4 years to get the last 5000.  We got hit by a pickup back in July of 2018 which slowed us both down.  I was hurt worse than the bike was as the bike wasn't touched by the pickup at all.  My left leg got caught between the bumper and the 750's engine, almost severing my foot.  The story is here in case anyone is interested in how badly I can screw up - http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,23731.msg2069630.html#msg2069630

At any rate, the bike is running as well as ever even if the miles aren't accumulating as quickly.  A look at the maintenance log for the last 5000 miles doesn't show much.  Besides the repairs for the busted alternator case and the bent carb mounts, there wasn't much I had to do to get it back on the road after I was able to get to it.  I had to put oil in it at 163,574 miles to replace all the oil that ran out of it through the alternator case hole.  That oil had only been in there for 114 miles before the accident dammit.  Tappet clearances checked at 163,000 showed no change. 

The bike was down for a good part of last summer because one of the fingers for the carb slide lifter broke, which put a side load on the slide rod, bending it.  I've never heard of one breaking before so can only wonder if it was cracked during the accident  The rod was easily fixed but the lifter was not.  I tried a JB weld repair on the finger but it didn't hold like I figured it wouldn't.  DSS had a new assembly for $1100 so I went looking for a used one.  I had no luck so finally settled on a really garbage carb rack from ebay for $125.  The linkage wasn't all there but the part I needed was.  The carbs are incomplete, corroded crap and otherwise worthless.  But it got the bike back on the road and the painful memory of how much I had to pay has subsided. ;D  If you've never had one of those linkages apart, you may be surprised how much engineering is in them.

New EBC front brake pads went in at 164,500.  The old ones went in at 151,724 so a little arithmetic shows they lasted not quite 13,000 miles.  This is less than I've gotten in the past by quite a bit, but those pads didn't squeal.  I think EBC changed to a softer compound a few years ago.  So they don't last as long but they don't squeal like a banshee, a good trade off I think.  The new ones let out an occasional squeak, but no squeal.  As with the last set I did have to sand a little material off the pads as they are a hair too thick.

The rear brake master cylinder has been weeping off and on for the past few years, more so now that it hasn't been ridden as much, so I finally got off my dead butt and installed a Honda rebuild kit I bought back in the 80's.  The bore in the master cylinder was still in excellent condition, so the rebuild was successful.

The EMGO ignition switch I installed back in 2014 failed after 20,000 miles.  The switch assembly popped out of the bottom of the lock mechanism when I turned the key on.  It gave some warning for a while before failing completely as the clicks became weaker.  Of course I ignored it, so I was lucky it failed at a friend's house where I could work on it in the shade of his shop instead of alongside the road or in a parking lot somewhere.  It takes a little disassembly on the F model to get to it.  I found where it had separated.  The design of the switch is such that it tries to force itself apart every time you turn the key.  The assembly is held together by three little plastic tabs that finally said enough is enough.  I tried taping it together but the tape just stretched in the 100 degree heat.  It held together well enough as long as I didn't turn the key, so I took the negative cable off the battery, put it all back together with the key on, hooked the battery back up and made it home.  The EMGO switches are the only game in town that I can find, so ordered another for 28 bucks and had the bike fixed in three days.  I considered gluing the busted one back together, but decided I wouldn't be able to trust it.  I may order a couple of spares to have on hand since they are cheap and readily available, but who knows about the future.  On the plus side, the contacts in the EMGO switch are robust and are in good condition, not showing any burning.

The wires broke off the original horn many years ago.  So I replaced it with a Fiamm, wiring in a relay in the process.  The Fiamm was quite a bit louder, so it was an improvement.  But the Fiamm crapped out last year.  I'd been riding around without a horn thinking I should do something about it.  But I am lazy and rarely use the horn anyway.  I came across the stock horn a few weeks ago while looking for something else.  I took it apart, soldered on some new wires and put it back on the bike.  Now that it gets full battery voltage through the relay instead of the feeble little wires the factory used, it doesn't sound too shabby.  And I like the original looks of it over the Fiamm.

The engine is running strong and smooth.  It may be smoother than ever, the mirrors clear at all speeds.  Oil consumption remains low, though it may be starting to increase.  It was down about 3/8 of an inch on the dipstick over the last 1500 miles, which is still pretty dang good for such an old engine with this many miles.  Still using Spectro 20W50 HD.  It pulls respectfully well through the gears, especially noticeable since the Windjammer came off of it.  The engine spins seemingly effortlessly at 70-75 mph.  Very satisfying.

Since for some reason I decided long ago there is something significant about these 5000 mile intervals, I went for a ride to commemorate the event.  Here are a few photos from Tuesday's ride on SH55 up to McCall, ID.  The bike averaged 44 mpg, by the way.















Greg
'75 CB750F

"I would rather have questions I cannot answer than answers I cannot question." - Dr. Wei-Hock Soon

Offline Stev-o

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Re: Highest mileage on a SOHC?
« Reply #169 on: August 12, 2021, 11:16:17 am »
Hey Greg...great update, but you forgot to update the sales price?! 

Your bike is a testament to the Spectro oil, they should hire you for a commercial!

BTW - cant see the pics.
'74 "Big Bang" Honda 750K [836].....'71 Honda 750K project.....'76 Honda 550F.....K3 Park Racer!......and a Bomber!............plus plus plus.........

Offline ofreen

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Re: Highest mileage on a SOHC?
« Reply #170 on: August 12, 2021, 03:51:31 pm »
You are right Stev-o, I got in a hurry.  Thanks for looking out for me. I hope I didn't miss an opportunity to make a sale.   Purchase price today is $165,196.60

Anyone else not seeing the photos?
Greg
'75 CB750F

"I would rather have questions I cannot answer than answers I cannot question." - Dr. Wei-Hock Soon

Offline RAFster122s

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Re: Highest mileage on a SOHC?
« Reply #171 on: August 12, 2021, 04:14:40 pm »
Pics are fine for me...
Its a bargain price if you throw in a gallon of Spectro with the sale...

Speaking of, Amazon for some reason priced 15w50 Spectro Golden 4 at ~$32/gal last month so I ordered the last two from an Amazon supplier for my VStrom 650. Problem was they shipped me one of what I ordered along with 2nd gallon of 20w50 Spectro 4, std not Semi-synthetic. So, I returned thestd and they shipped me two of the Golden 4 to replace it. Billing me for the one I didn't return that was correct. Now they are selling the Golden 4 for $45-46/gal.
Had the two in my cart for week or two and price kept fluctuating before I bought it before dropping to $32/gal. It was around $36-38 before that... So, when it dropped I bought it.
Guess sometimes you make out OK.
David- back in the desert SW!

Offline ofreen

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Re: Highest mileage on a SOHC?
« Reply #172 on: August 12, 2021, 05:54:17 pm »

Its a bargain price if you throw in a gallon of Spectro with the sale...


You drive a hard bargain, David, but it's a deal.  Congrats, you've made a great buy.  Maybe you'll let me stop by and visit the bike once in a while?
Greg
'75 CB750F

"I would rather have questions I cannot answer than answers I cannot question." - Dr. Wei-Hock Soon

Offline scottly

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Re: Highest mileage on a SOHC?
« Reply #173 on: August 12, 2021, 08:08:17 pm »
Don't fix it if it ain't broke!
Helmets save brains. Always wear one and ride like everyone is trying to kill you....

Offline RAFster122s

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Re: Highest mileage on a SOHC?
« Reply #174 on: August 13, 2021, 12:21:38 am »
I think Scottly has a crush...
David- back in the desert SW!