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#msg2069630At 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.
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.
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