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Messages - flatfour
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61
« on: December 04, 2021, 03:46:37 PM »
I've put a spare electric pipe heater of (I think) around 100w into my 20' by 10' cedar bike garage and so far this winter, although it is wetter than we can ever remember, it's held condensation at bay.
Without the heater on previous years, there have been real issues with damp in there.
62
« on: December 04, 2021, 10:31:48 AM »
I owned a CB350/4 for a few very happy years, though in the end I sold it due to its small physical size (I'm 6' tall and around 90kg). Whilst I was quite comfortable, it did look ridiculous whilst I was riding it.
At the same time as I owned the 350, I also owned a fair selection of other classics such as a Benelli 750 Sei, CB500/4 and CB750/4.
With these others available however, I chose to take the 350 on a trip to Wales and then on to Cornwall (from Norfolk) in the company of a CB750/4 and a Suzuki V-Strom. The 350 ran like a jewel for the whole journey, and I didn't ever feel outclassed by the performance of the other bikes. At the end of the trip, we rode 330 miles home, quite a lot of it at night, when poor weather moved in on us in Cornwall.
In many ways, I do wish that I hadn't sold that lovely, happy, grin - inducing little bike!
63
« on: October 15, 2021, 04:40:03 PM »
Vince, for a moment I thought that you might have bought my old CB500 K1!
After many long years of ownership, just over two years ago I sold it to an acquaintance who already owned a CB750 and wanted a 500 to go with it. He lives in Norwich and did not keep the bike for long, telling me that although he enjoyed riding it, he found it a little small and lacking in torque compared to the 750.
Mine was, however a January 1974 registration and gold/black with standard exhausts. It was also in very good condition at the time that I sold it.
I actually preferred riding the 500 to the 750 and thought that the handling was far better and exhaust note really lovely and, if I didn't have other bikes to look after, I would most certainly buy another.
64
« on: August 31, 2021, 08:21:39 PM »
The Craven rack platform is quite small, however the racks are very solid. I managed to get through two of the Old Tower racks on the 750 and three on the 500. All fractured just behind the rear bracket fixing. All were fitted with a top box (usually empty when travelling and used to store clothing whilst at the destination) and quite old, so might have been brittle.
That's the reason for investing the time and effort with the Craven, almost two years of use and the mounting brackets haven't even needed to be retightened so far! (I still use a top box with it).
65
« on: August 31, 2021, 11:08:44 AM »
I would think that if you take the bike to Draganfly Motorcycles at Bungay who make the Craven luggage range now, they will be able to measure and if necessary fabricate brackets to suit, as well as offer a choice of rack sizes and optional fittings for side panniers too.
I did this with my CB750 K2 in late 2019, and I know that they are trying to extend the range to cover more Japanese bikes. My bike features in their photos for the Honda range, if you want to see the end result.
In my case, the bike was ridden in, measured and ridden out. A couple of weeks later I went back for a trial fit prior to final finishing of components and the rack and fittings were then sent to me.
If you want to pursue this route, I could probably find the names of those staff that I dealt with, one of whom is ex-David Silver.
66
« on: August 21, 2021, 08:23:01 PM »
A few years ago, a 750 K6 that I owned exhibited similar symptoms. It would ride normally until reaching some 4000 rpm and then just flatten out.
After lots of time and trouble, I tried easing the choke on one day whilst in the problem rev band, and immediately it ran normally.
I changed the main jets for new items and all was cured. My friend subsequently bought the bike from me and for the years that he owned it, things were also fine.
I later found that the bike had stood for over a year at the selling dealer before I bought it, so perhaps stale fuel caused a restriction within the jets?
67
« on: August 20, 2021, 05:52:36 PM »
I understand that John Wyatt (who owned Rising Sun Restorations) has died recently, so that's probably why the telephone is out of action.
I am not aware (others might know better) of anyone taking on the business.
68
« on: July 29, 2021, 07:04:29 PM »
Thanks very much for that, I didn't know that he had shut up shop, either.
I did quite a few miles on the bike that was restored for the magazine, my friend owned it for around fifteen years and, as he suffers from Reynauds Syndrome, the cold affects him very badly. Most years, he would leave it with me for the winter (usually October to April, in fact) and I would ride it together with my own, as often as possible. It also went to France twice for the Coupe De Moto Legende at Dijon, to Spa for the "Biker Classic" and Scotland, as well as Wales almost annually.
69
« on: July 29, 2021, 05:55:56 PM »
Does anyone know what happened to John Wyatt?
I've bought a couple of bikes from him when he had imported containers full as a "job lot" and he has supplied me with lots of spares over the years.
He also restored the CB750 that my friend sold to Frank a few years ago and was the prize in a raffle with one of the magazines in the late nineties, so I have met him quite frequently in the past.
70
« on: July 19, 2021, 08:50:50 AM »
I insure with Footman James and it's included as part of the Policy, Europe - wide.
I've made two calls in some 20 years. On one occasion the AA attended, the other the RAC. The AA operator estimated four hours to reach me (on the main A11 dual carriageway near to Thetford, Norfolk). I saw a passing patrol van and flagged it down and, luckily he carried a fold - up bike trailer and was able to take me the 20 miles or so home. The second time, the RAC were much quicker on the scene (around 30 minutes) though said that they would need to call a recovery service to transport me and the bike a similar distance (20 miles). As I was on dealer premises and knew staff there well, they offered to move us to home using their delivery van, because as the Sales Manager said: "You don't want a bike like that strapped to a flat - bed lorry".
One thing that I make a habit of following policy renewal or a change of bike is to call the breakdown service provider and check that the correct bikes are registered with them. On one occasion, they had listed a bike that I no longer owned and not added its replacement!
71
« on: May 05, 2021, 06:58:09 PM »
Perhaps not quite the same, however I bought a sports car for the summer last week and the registration was changed to my name on the Monday, and the new document arrived on that same Thursday.
72
« on: April 17, 2021, 05:46:33 PM »
I think that the quote appears in the "Performance Portfolio" on page four, part of the introduction.
It might appear elsewhere in that book too.
73
« on: March 09, 2021, 10:08:20 AM »
I'm 6' and 14 stones and owned a 350/4 for some years, until 2004. I once rode it to Cornwall (from Norfolk) and then on to Wales, before returning home.
The bike was faultless in every respect (it was bought from a private collector in the U.S. and came to me with only 2,800 miles on the clock, at 26 years old).
Although I would often choose to ride it over other bikes, I did eventually sell it for the very reason given - that when I sat on it, the bike disappeared from view. I usually sat on the pillion seat and, whilst I am uninterested in fashion in any way (ask my wife or daughter!) I began to realise that I resembled the "oversized man on a donkey" seen on comic holiday cards of years ago. This was too much, even for me!
Now, I restrict myself to 750cc or more amongst the older bikes (although a CB500/4 is just about sensible).
74
« on: December 14, 2020, 03:26:14 PM »
I don't know whether better fuel would help - I often run all of the bikes on Super Unleaded (the BMW needs it anyway) and in the past, I frequently used Avgas 100LL (low lead) with no change in the situation.
Today I wheeled the CB750 out after almost four weeks of rest due to really poor weather and, as expected it started third kick (I always use the kickstart from cold) and ran really badly for a couple of minutes until it had warmed a little, when everything settled down.
75
« on: December 14, 2020, 09:14:02 AM »
My 500/4 was never a good starter from cold after standing for more than a couple of days - symptoms as described earlier.
The 750 however, seems to start immediately regardless of length of time stood, air temperature etc. though it runs rather poorly and needs much juggling with choke and throttle for the first few minutes. (1972 750 K2, U.S. spec).
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