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Topics - MrDavo
16
« on: February 20, 2019, 05:42:28 PM »
Now I've finished my CL450, and before I get committed to restoring a car, there's a narrow window of opportunity to 'invest' in another bike project (that's how I will pitch it to the wife). What do you think of this for a project, a CB350 K0 US import from the Frog dude. Luckily he steps away from the easy start / remote fuel supply and just checks they turn over. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Honda-CB350-CB-350-KO-1st-year-the-4404th-CB350-ever-made-A-MUST-SEE/222900719868 A pretty little thing, I always find that the earliest versions of any model are the best looking, then they get buggered about with over the years to make 'fresh' models for the marketing bods to flog. It could be extremely low miles if it broke early or something bad happened, you wouldn't know until you got it apart for a look / clean and to change all the seals etc. What the hell was going on for it to be geared down with a huge back sprocket and knobbly tyres to be fitted is anyones guess. Was the CL350 available then? Like my CL450, looking at the closeups of the wheels, the tyres seem to have been fitted with steak knives rather than tyre levers, damaging the rims. Overall it looks very good, with paint that looks well worth saving, possibly a blown head gasket looking at that oil leak, how findable are needed stuff like seat covers, chain guard and exhausts though?
17
« on: February 13, 2019, 04:01:56 PM »
I'm a bad person. I've had my age related registration number, for my CL450, for all of three hours, when the post came, and I'm looking into the legality of selling it, and whether DVLA would then give me another (non transferable) age related number for my bike, or tell me to do one for being such an ungrateful money grabbing bar steward. This one doesn't say 'non transferable' on the V5, but the number ends in '912 H'. Classic Porsche 912 (4 cylinder little brother of the 911) owners are a pretty well heeled bunch, and someone with a 1969 one would pay good money for the plate - '911' numbers are occasionally advertised for ridiculous money in my classic car porn mags. You couldn't put the plate on an older 912 as you can't make a vehicle seem younger than it really is, and 1969 was the last year of 912 production, apart from the 912E in 1976. Perhaps I should bide my time and do the odd classic show, and wait for an offer I can't refuse.... 
18
« on: June 05, 2018, 11:47:20 AM »
I didn't want to necro an old thread, but I read earlier about always remembering to add the length of the tape measure when you are using one. I didn't know that!  Oh Sh*t! I'm a builder!
19
« on: May 10, 2018, 07:16:04 PM »
I’ve never had the baffles out of my HM300s, but I assume that they have been in there for decades.
The bike runs fine, and isn’t too loud for me. However I was wondering firstly if you can renew the fibreglass packing, and secondly whether they are supposed to be replaced at specific mileages or intervals?
20
« on: March 29, 2018, 12:07:01 PM »
11/1969 K0 diecast barn find, unsiezed, £3,999 from the frog dude. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Honda-CB750-CB-750-K0-1969-Diecast-Barn-Find-Project-A-MUST-SEE/222901637370The wrinkle tank appears to have taken a direct hit with a cannon round, but that's the yanks for you. worth saving but it would be a hell of a patch. Recessed ignition switch, battered but correct clocks. 5.00 x 16 back wheel, shot pipes. Engine cases are chromed and peeling but strippable I guess. Last taxed 1982 from the plate. Bar operated carbs, I believe correct for a later K0, no number given. A bit of a mess, but he hasn't been at it with the easy start, DK would've. Could be a good resto project if you had the time and parts.
21
« on: December 03, 2017, 01:48:26 PM »
I know Ashely has had someone buy stuff in Japan and bring it back, I'm looking into having a friend, who is going to the USA on business do the same for me.
My CL450 has very non standard semi pullback bars at the moment, although they look OK, the wires are on the outside, and I want the bike to look as stock as possible. At the moment the only set of CL450 bars available i the UK are a rough bent set from DK, they could be straightened and rechromed, but I'm guessing it would be more trouble than they are worth, though I don't know for sure what that would cost.
I'm fast finding out with this project that buying larger items from the US, the postage, plus VAT, duty and Parclefarce fee more than double prices of stuff that is plentiful over there - the CL was never sold here but there were thousands sold in the USA. Handlebars are particularly dear to post (they can't be easy to wrap either! ). A half decent set on eBay at present is £26 to buy, plus £47 carriage to the UK, plus 20% VAT on import, plus £8 collection fee!
In the near future my mate Ed is off to New Hampshire on business, does anyone know if it is possible to bid for stuff on eBay here (I dont have a US account on ebay.com) but have it delivered to a US address? If so Ed reckons he could arrange his clients to look after it, and bring it back as baggage on the company account. If I hit 'buy it now' then eBay automatically adds carriage to the UK etc, I'm not sure how to get round it.
22
« on: November 16, 2017, 07:29:31 PM »
Well seeing as we now have a board for all things Bomberage, the 1969 CL450 I just bought might as well have a thread.... As bought on eBay:       The bike turned up this afternoon, with a receipt and NOVA certificate. Mark said Summerbud was a very slick operation - 'which bike?' - wheeled into van, swap money and paperwork, thankyou, next...      No nasty suprises, other than some crash damage to the very back of the mudguard that if not hidden by a numberplate / mudflap could be trimmed off. What I feared was an acid burn to the guard's chrome started to come off with solvol and elbow grease, so a run of spilled grey paint then, phew! A small scratch to the top of the front mudguard, other than that it is like brand new, same with the rims. OEM Japanese Dunlops, very original finish to some of the alloy, but very yellowed laquer. The shocks look original, and work. Clean oil, compression, O/S air filter is AWOL, a shame cos they are expensive (cleanable type). I'm thinking I might buy a pair though, as if one is new and one is ancient it wont help getting the carburation right. The twistgrip is connected and moves both carbs smoothly, the clutch frees off when you pull the lever when it's in gear. The rear heatshield is a bit scratched, I will see what the options are for getting it chromed if I could polish the scratches out. The earlier heatshield would not fit this later exhaust system, which is almost like brand new, so is staying, Uli, how much do you want for the new rear heatshield you have? Scratching and shell damage to the top of the headlamp, incorrect speedo and front brake lever, plus the mudguard damage at the rear and front top, point to it having been wheelied right over, as well as explaining the stupid low indicated mileage if it got a new speedo out of it on an insurance claim. Both clocks are properly fitted, but from looking at photos and parts lists the tacho is the correct one, the bezel is wrong on the speedo. I could live with the non matching speedo, but if I came across the correct one I would be temped to buy it and get Marcel to fettle it, assuming he deals with these twin cylinder abominations. My first purchase came today, the new grey front brake cable. Now where in hell do I get the round tank badges, they seem to be made from unobtanium?
23
« on: November 08, 2017, 08:12:58 AM »
Here’s a new one, call me shallow and easily impressed but one thing that makes a restored bike look ‘as new’ to me is when you see the little yellow paint marks to show certain safety critical parts such as the rear brake lever and axle nuts are still tight as they left the dealers.
Is there a service bulletin covering these? Is it a specific paint (chromate?).
24
« on: October 16, 2017, 08:40:49 PM »
https://www.davidsilverspares.co.uk/CB750K1-FOUR-1971/part_217723/Has anyone seen a set of these in the flesh, so to speak? If so has does the quality (chrome, welds etc) measure up tp the real thing? I wonder if they will be available for the long term or if they are a limited supply. In the scheme of things, £1200 plus VAT isn't so bad compared with the prices that the increasingly unicorn poo like NOS ones go for. I always wondered given the silly money that NOS CB750 exhaust sets fetch, why Honda wouldn't want to make them any more, it has to be more straight forward to make and sell them than whole scooters that go for similar money new, and they sell themselves. Personally there is plenty of life left in my genuine HM300's, but they won't last forever. Although 'no number' pipes aren't strictly right for a K1 AFAIK, its a lot nearer the look and sound of the HM300s than the later HM341 pipes and their increasingly quiet sucessors.
25
« on: October 11, 2017, 05:24:53 PM »
I know we have mad scientists such as Ashley on here that think nowt of doing there own plating, but given that I have zero experience, but a rusty O Level Physics understanding of how these things work, what does the team think of kits such as these? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Zinc-Nickel-Plating-Kit-Electroplating-kit-Restore-Car-Bike-/252386206787?_trksid=p2385738.m2548.l4275Do I need to use all the chemicals and do a big batch at once or can I pour just a bit out to do a few bolts in a small container? Can I pour stuff back in the bottle or is it one time use only? Is the used solution hard to dispose of, assuming I'm not going to chuck it down the drain when noones looking? Will the wife and cat die from the fumes? So many questions... I have yet to visit the plating forum linked to in the advert, I just wanted someone who knows about these things to tell me whether its worth the bother, or would I be better putting my parts in a bag and going to a professional, I could probably get a lot plated for that sort of money.
26
« on: October 04, 2017, 10:22:43 AM »
This should be easy, if you know the answer, what gauge wire should I be buying for indicators etc?
I have some correct size bullets sleeves and sockets to replace all the nasty red connectors in my headlamp, I'd like to extend the feed to the indicators as they can pull out at full lock, having been shortened in the past by stripping back to fit aforementioned red crap.
I have speaker wire that's too thin and heavy duty stuff that's too thick, what should it be?
27
« on: September 18, 2017, 02:53:45 PM »
I noticed this yesterday to my horror, only the other day I was saying how touch wood I never had a front blowout, we were talking about a friend of mine (Paul Howard, RIP) who passed away some years ago on the M6 after nearly saving a front blowout on an F2 CB750, having wrestled it to the hard shoulder, only to fall heavily.  Not my finest picture, well you try taking a picture of a black hole on a black backgound a mobile, but you can see the tear in the sidewall to the right. If I hadn't been taking the forks off to release the headlamp ears I may never have noticed it. The tyre has a tube, so maybe it isn't an imminent blowout, but it has to be an MOT failure surely? What would cause it, a faulty tyre? Would Avon just laugh at me if I tried to claim for a new one? At least it should tip my hand to get the correct looking Continentals I've been considering.
28
« on: July 04, 2017, 10:44:59 AM »
When my tank was painted last (its not original paint after all, according to Trigger), the top face of the filler, where it meets the rubber cap seal wasn't painted, it's bare metal. At Crich, I was showing Graham how petrol has got behind the paint around the filler neck and made it very soft / falling to bits. It won't have helped that when I got the bike, the seal was completely perished with age, along with everything else rubber on the bike (I've changed it since). Luckily it only affects the vertical part of the filler neck and the petrol has never tried to spread accross the tank under the paint. My question is, when I get the tank repainted in the winter, am I right in thinking the filler neck should all be painted and laquered, ie including the horizontal surface that is in contact with the rubber seal? I don't want to cock it up before I've even started.
29
« on: June 04, 2017, 03:42:18 PM »
My tank has always had a bubble in the paint, about the size of a 2p. Because the paint is original afik I have left it alone. Today i noticed to my horror that, whether because of the recent hot weather, or me poking around at it, a large pea size bubble has appeared in the middle of it.
This is too big to ignore. The good news is that I always wanted a Candy Gold Honda, my mate had a new gold CB250 that I tried to keep up with. I know that there is a tank painter on here, and advice about fresh decals, however it can all wait until Winter.
In the meantime, can I pop the bubble with a sharp blade and reseal with my clearcoat touch Up? Or would you leave well alone?
30
« on: June 01, 2017, 06:34:37 PM »
I was lucky enough to buy this on eBay, for a £30 offer. Its an original March 1970 manual, I know its all scanned and available in Ash's dropbox, but there's nothing like having the real paper article for browsing, checking and to go with my orginal partsbook. Somewhat used, but not with all the dirty fingermarks that fill most of mine. I must try and take care of it. The bike in the photos is chassis #2, engine #4. Does that make it one of the prototype show bikes, if so which one?     Therer are neatly handwritten service notes in the back, for a bike dated April to July 1971, at 4,947 miles, I'll try and take a photo tomorrow.
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