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Messages - Tony.B
31
« on: December 12, 2023, 08:10:06 PM »
Thought some of you might find this amusing. Way back in '79, as a 17 year old looking for my first 'proper' bike after my moped, a blue Suzuki AP50; I was reading an article in Motor-Cycle Weekly, (I preferred it to MCN). They featured a 250cc conversion for the 400/4 offered by Hertfordshire tuning company, Jock Kerr racing developments. All my mates were buying RD, XS and various Honda 250's, and I've always liked to be different. Anyway, after trading in my Suzuki at Keith Manning motorcycles in Wokingham, I found myself the proud owner of a Honda 400/4, in red, reg number NDP 85R.
I booked it in with Jock Kerr's for a few week's time, and had to just wait. Naturally one Saturday when mum and dad went shopping, I couldn't resist taking it out for a quick blast up the A30 to Blackbushe airport. I only went about three or four miles, but it scared the life out of me, after a 50cc moped, it seemed like a rocket ship!
Long story short, after they had converted it to a 250, which consisted of sleeving the cylinder and using smaller pistons, which left the combustion chambers mushroom shaped, it wasn't much faster than a 125, if that! It was frankly dog-slow, you had to take it to 11,000 in 5th, lay flat on the tank, and you could just about get 70 on the clock. It wouldn't even pull 6th gear.
If I had my time again, I wouldn't have bothered, but it was kind of cool to be 17 years old riding what looked to be a 400.
And yes, that's me in my avatar back then, you can just about see the 'L' plate on the bottom of the rear mudguard.
32
« on: December 09, 2023, 10:56:51 PM »
Sorry for reviving an old thread, but I saw the title and thought it was going to be something George Formby and motorcycle related..............
33
« on: December 09, 2023, 06:12:38 PM »
Pm returned, sale pending.
34
« on: December 09, 2023, 05:25:37 PM »
Next up is another pair of side panels. Funny how when they are in brown they look really dull and boring with dust and muck on them.....then.....a quick wash in hot soapy water, and wow, now I can see how they really look. Not concours, badges as usual suffering degradation to the chrome and black lining. Some scuffs on the panels, but again, probably a good 7/10. Still need more cleaning and some polish.
£45 plus postage depending on where, how and when etc. Or collect Woking Surrey, or Kempton in January at the jumble.
35
« on: December 09, 2023, 01:53:50 PM »
Am I right in saying 500 shape side covers will fit a 550f?
Hi, I have no idea, but if they do, I might have another pair, I'll need to check.
36
« on: December 09, 2023, 01:52:46 PM »
I will take them thanks
Hi, pm sent 
37
« on: December 09, 2023, 11:53:32 AM »
Hi all, second item, pair of side panels, in gold, with badges. Gave them a quick clean, they need more fine cleaning, not perfect, a few scrapes, the badge chrome is pitted and the black edging needs tidying up. If you ask me how I would rate them, I would say 7.5/10. There is the remnants of a Revetts sticker on one panel. All the mounting tabs are in one piece. These are a really tidy pair of panels for a bike that's not a show pony.
Postage will be calculated on basis of where, how, speed etc. Or, collect from Woking Surrey, or at Kempton jumble on Saturday 20th of January.
Price £45.
Cheers, Tony.
38
« on: December 09, 2023, 11:44:19 AM »
Hi all, here is my first posting of some of the spares that recently came into my possession. This is a rear light bracket that I believe, (and I'm NOT an expert), is UK spec. I have posted a picture showing the approximate distance apart of the light mounting holes. Please ask if you need more details. I am fairly sure that the paint is original, ie that this is a NOS item, however, as detailed in the close-up picture, there is what looks like pitting in the metal at the top corner. I don't know if that is typical of new parts, but the bracket doesn't look like it is powder coated as the paint is quite thin and not over shiny.
Price doesn't include postage, I will calculate that based on where it's going, how quickly you want it, and how well you want me to package it. Plus, you are welcome to collect from Woking in Surrey, or at the next Kempton jumble on Saturday 20th January.
Price, £45. Thanks, Tony.
39
« on: December 09, 2023, 10:53:03 AM »
I had a CR250RS, W reg, back in the early Nineties. Used it for commuting for less than a year. Can't remember why I sold it, but to be honest it was a nice bike, great fun on twisty A roads. The chain and sprockets never used to last too long on them, the giveaway was a bad vibration through the left footpeg.
40
« on: December 09, 2023, 12:29:09 AM »
Welcome to the forum.
Thank you
41
« on: December 08, 2023, 12:30:50 PM »
Welcome ... always nice when you find a stash of parts and thanks for giving us the heads up on them first !
Oxford Classic Honda had a T90 with supposedly 2k miles on the clock for £2.2k a couple of years back and I was tempted but it sold whilst I was still pondering. But I bought my Honda C110 from him last year and he (Charlie) told me a nearby restorer had bought the T90 and was disappointed that it wasn't as good as he had expected ... so a narrow escape there.
Blimey, that's cheap! I know prices have dropped, but I would still expect to pay around 3k for a T90 if it was all there.
42
« on: December 08, 2023, 11:49:05 AM »
Oh, also a VFR750 FH that let me down last year, and after sitting in the back garden for a few months now, won't start. It'll be time to clean out the carbs - again then....sigh.
43
« on: December 08, 2023, 11:47:13 AM »
Thanks for the welcome chaps. I did like my 400's, I'll start a fresh thread on my first one soon, I was 17 and it was my second bike after an AP50, and 'enjoyed' an infamous modification by Jock West  I don't actually recall getting my knee down, or doing stoppies and wheelies, but perhaps it's just my bad memory  Other projects? A '39 Triumph 6S, (well, actually two of those to be accurate), a '63 T90, a '60 T110 that has been built to look like a T120, an Armstrong Mt500 that is being converted to have an electric start as I have a hernia! A '76 CZ175 single, a mid fifties Peugeot 125 with a hand change. Oh and an Ariel Arrow and a '39 Norton that I'm rebuilding for other people. So yes, some projects. Oops, nearly forgot a couple of Morris Minors, my son's saloon that is actually drivable, and my van that is in it's component pieces but has a new chassis to rebuild it all on to. Sorry, you did ask ......... 
44
« on: December 07, 2023, 11:20:23 PM »
Hi all, just joined, Tony in Surrey, not currently owning a sohc Honda, but had several 400/4s a few years ago, and briefly a 350/4. I've joined now as I have just come into a job lot of bike bits from a house clearance. The owner of the house had eclectic tastes, cars of the fifties and sixties, Brit bikes, mainly AMC and Ariel, but also Hondas. There appears to be a 500/4 engine plus more bits, including a few side panels in rather good condition, and possibly fork yokes and odds.
At the moment, stuff needs sorting, and it's in a storage facility, so can't be properly sorted until I get it home, but once it is, and I clean it all up, what I have will be available here first. I hate the fees that a certain auction site charge, so am happy to knock things out at reasonable prices.
Of course, there is always the option of keeping the bits and building up a bike, as a 16 year old I rode on the back of a mate's 500/4 with those separate exhaust pipes, and I loved it! However, I have many projects already, and my wife would kill me................
In the first instance, please don't ask exactly what's there, as I need to get it home first, but rest assured, by January I should have it all home, cheers.
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