Honda-SOHC

I have been reading up on the Maico Letta 250 Scooter that I owned as a teenager fighting the nostalgia trap at present.
I knew the electric starter always sounded strange - it rocks the engine rather than turns it over!
Made me wonder if this was used on any proper motor cycle engines in the past.

The old shaped  petrol Smart four two run out model used the alternator to operate the stop start system with a normal starter motor for normal & cold starting.

Just been reading a bunch of bike mags given to me by my BiL Dave - on the outer cover was the photo of half a spanner.

Went to page 54 where an article expounded the virtues of a well made adjustable spanner by BAHCO - that rings a bell I thought so nipped into my cold garage - there on my tool rack hangs an adjustable spanner that belonged to my late father.

I can't put an exact date when mine was made  it but I think I was sort of given it sometime around 1975 - model 972  10" so an earlier version of the 8072 featured in the article. I always knew it was the best adjustable I have ever used just did not know why.

I'm having a tidy up in my loft - my 400 came with  a newish Motad exhuast system. The PO gave me the old 400 front pipe in case I wanted to revert it to original.

There are no holes in the original front pipe but the chrome has gone particularly on the rear of number three down pipe with one down pipe slighly scuffed/damaged numer 4 pipe. (see pics)

Is this front pipe of any use to a member here or do I put it out for our local Albanian scrap collectors ?

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pic 2 by Macabe Thiele, on Flickr
.pic 3 by Macabe Thiele, on Flickr
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pic 4 by Macabe Thiele, on Flickr

My  BiL called in this morning for the Christmas present exchange visit as Wendy was out - he says I might need to buy an Ariel Leader as I mentioned it in more than once  in conversations in the last year - I owned two back in the 1960's as well as an Arrow.
Gutless compared to modern two strokes with none existent brakes. That said they seem to be pretty cheap still.
He has a mate with a rusting BSA in his shed that is a Road Rocket 650 - he had never heard of the model!

I've been googling Leaders for sale .................

We have lived in our house since 1984 so you would think I know my local routes when returning home.
Trouble is what was once a relatively small suberb of Derby has grown so much with all the extra housing and development of spare strips of land - I reckon the housing stock has roughly quadroupled or more in the last 39 years.

Some through roads are now dead ends, some dead ends are now through roads, some road junctions have changed priority not to mention lanes to roundabouts having markings altered every  few decades.

I have taken a turn too soon and ended up in a cul-de-sac or missed my turn completely in the dark.
Old lamdmarks have changed as saplings have turned into huge trees plus they have errected mobile phones masts, landmark pubs have gone, once barren roundabouts are now small woods.

Even worse when I take a rare trip into the City Centre - my mental map was drawn up when I passed my test back in 1965- since then I moved away for a few years. One-Way systems have come and gone there are roads where if you stop to let out a passenger (e.g.Railway Station) you end up with a Fixed Penalty Ticket even at night when the roads are empty.  Little wonder I ocasionally find myself on the wrong slip road heading in the wrong direction to find a small business that has become marooned by the developments in the City Centre. I know exactly where Clarke Street is. I could not give anyone directions but in a series of wrong routes I manage to eventually find it.

No wonder I ask myself if all my lifts still go upstairs.

If I have worked the size out correctly the captive headlamp earth nuts on the 400 & 500 are M9 presumably 1.25 pitch thread can anyone point me in the direction of a supplier for some SS bolts?

I had some SS hex headed flange bolts in my stock & could do with a couple more.

Purists do not read beyond this point.

As some folk will know I have fitted a LED unit to my 500 - good old google has come up with a suggestion that I might like this retro P700 type lamp.

Just wondered if anyone here has fitted one - a bit cheaper than the DS unit - not sure what the beam pattern would be like.

P 700 by Macabe Thiele, on Flickr

Parts manual shows NGK D-7ES or Denso X-22ES

The Denso seems to now have a U at the end now shows as Denso X-22ES-U

The NGK looks as though it is obsolete - I have resistor caps so don't want NGK DR-7ES.

Green Spark Plug Co shows the Denso X-22ES-U at good price.

Can't find my old spark plugs - I've been using some used NGK D8EA plugs to keep debris out.