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Messages - RupertB
16
« on: August 31, 2011, 10:14:13 AM »
Hondabrat - I suppose a lot depends on first impressions and how the first few replies go or strike you. I would say give it time - I have had some very good replies from the sohc forums on both sides of the Atlantic (and some quite deservedly ignored too!)
But on to more serious stuff - can you tell us what car you drive please?
17
« on: August 12, 2011, 10:59:13 PM »
Have put another post in the site, but some pics attached here too - not done many miles as I want to check out a rattle which I think is clutch basket and with luck not too serious, but need to be sure for my wallet's sake! First impressions of the bike are that it is wide but not too much so, and incredibly smooth - almost literally like an electric motor apart from one thing - the exhaust note. That is just unreal - all the lovely noise a stright six car engine but with the rortiness of a bike. Now I haven't ridden or heard a CBX6 so can't comnpare, but the Benelli is an impressive item. Riding position is a bit upright and feet forward after my other bikes, but not so much so that I would alter the setup with rearsets or suchlike.
18
« on: August 11, 2011, 09:17:31 PM »
Tried to post this before but lost it in the ether. Anyway as a former owner of a CB500/4 (1980 to 81) I suppose this is a logical extension, if not as well made as the CB ever was. Somebody asked me to post pics of this on here when it arrived, so here it is. And believe me it sounds phenomenal. It will be at the Shetland Classic Motor Show in Lerwick in early June 2012, as I hope will be as many forum members as possible because believe me it is well worth the trip. The Foale CB750 should also be coming, courtesy of a horsebox which can also be converted to carry horses when not constructively moving bikes... Will post more on the Shetland Show as it gets nearer, but check out the previous - not the best of websites, but a great few days every two years. Go to Photo gallery and see 'motorcycles'. http://www.shetlandcms.co.uk/
19
« on: August 04, 2011, 09:51:01 PM »
Well the Foale 750 is off for stripping by someone who actually has a clue, and the frame is away for a bit of cosmetic work and mild non-structural welding, so that project counts as 'under way', but in the meanwhile I have had a serious rush of blood to the head and have ordered one and a half CB500s in the shape of a restored 750/6 Benelli from Spain. It is currently on its way North in a van, and arrives tomorrow all being well. The guy who restored it and sold it to me has answered my question - the oil filter on CB750 and Benelli 750 is an interchangeable item.
Expensive way to find out, but there you have it!
I now have a month on Spanish plates to confuse the hell out of North Welsh Police if I ride over the border...so I probably won't bother.
20
« on: July 13, 2011, 11:17:46 PM »
My secret is out - Indeed t'was my secret lover going first there. She was Runcorn's slimmer of the year last year. And the year before. Sexy little beast eh? I think she's Welsh - I met her in a 'baa'.....
21
« on: July 13, 2011, 09:00:14 PM »
Except KaceyK2 who has an inflatable sheep. Probably.
22
« on: July 13, 2011, 03:29:25 PM »
Wouldn't dream of travelling without one.
23
« on: June 27, 2011, 11:34:37 PM »
Having decided (almost) that the 810 pistons in the CB won't be reused in its rebuild, I was going to get a set of Wiseco 836cc pistons. I have heard of Wiseco and I think they are OK (opinions please...)
However a well known internet auction site has now thrown up a set of 'Cycle X' psitons which take it to 850cc.
Any opinons either way on Cycle X versus Wiseco please?
24
« on: June 16, 2011, 10:01:24 PM »
Couple more things - some almost on topic too! - Aircraft wise the Gimli one is one of the most amazing, plus the recent one on the Hudson following the birdstrike, as that one hapened with so little time to spare or consider alternatives, and also this one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Airlines_Flight_232Slightly on-post now - at the risk of sounding a total anorak, which I am not usually, I did a number of years on Air Support in my County during which time the Matthew Harding helicopter crash took place http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/35069.stmThe pilot was far better than the reports indicated apparently (I knew a number of ex-services people who had worked with him) but the report reckoned he reached a point of mental overload where too much information was coming in for him to process and he had a sort of logjam. He was also in sole charge, and under pressure to complete the job on time, so had commercial pressures on top of operational difficulties. You will find a similar effect happening if for example you go from good driving conditions to bad (into a sudden hailstorm or cloudburst for example) and you start to find that the car radio and the conversation you were having become almost disorentating and highly distracting. First sign of overload is when the pilot/driver goes quiet. Good indicator of danger and time to shut up and let them concentrate. And turn the radio off. Without those extraneous distractions which do not affect your physical ability to9 control the machine, I reckon the brain has the ability somehow to accelerate your awareness and reaction and judgement speed. Look at it this way - the mental processes which motorcyclists tend to have to manage are limited - unless you have a Gold Wing you are unlikely to be listening to a CD or cooking a meal while travelling - so your mental juggling continually deals with a finite number of issues more or less. But in a crisis or emergency of some sort you have to deal with them very very fast - the hyperspeed effect, and an extension of normal effects into extreme territory - when for example a minor skip of the back wheel becomes a slide, or heavy braking becomes a locked wheel. You know what has happened but maybe not why, and it is outside your physical experience. On four wheels you have more distractions which are not part of the driving process - music, hands-free phone, kids fighting in the back, and that irritating constant whining noise I seem to get from the pasenger seat. Oddly the wife never hears it, but she is always in the car when it occurs. Never worked that one out......
25
« on: June 16, 2011, 06:39:07 PM »
The pen buying scenario is my mother-in-law's mode of shopping - having finally decided which pen to buy she would then convince herself that it was cheaper the previous day, but buy it eventually. The following day she will announce that she bought the 'wrong' pen, on the basis that either it is of inferior quality, or a different one would have written better, or 'it won't last' or some such failing. Predictable, irritating, consistent, and given that she is 82 and has always been thus, unlikely to change. But on to more dramatic things - I am of the opinion that moments of acute danger do focus the mind, and it is replayed later in slow motion(provided you survived I suppose). I had one such 'moment' on a Norton Commando many years ago when I overtook a Hillman Imp (said it was a long time ago) on a straight but narrow lane. I had just passed the car when the back wheel hit a patch of ice and the thing went into a sort of tank-slapper. Basically I held the handlebars straight, and the rest of the bike went from side to side. I still remember considering all the options, and jumping off started as favourite, but was pushed into second place by the thought of being run over by a Hillman Imp. Oddly, I also remembered I was only third party insurance as well, which is not normally something you consider in a very alarming situation. I also remembered every piece of writing about bikes and skids, and eventually (microseconds that felt like hours) later, I shut the throttle and the whole thing snapped straight again and I carried on. Probably more luck than judgement, but the actual amount of information processed in the incident was astonishing. You can also build up to speed, those of you good enough to have read my book will know I was a traffic cop for some years (I retire a week on Monday so will be able to speed with an even easier conscience from then on) - during a decent chase you would perform a staggering number of calculations in the heat of the moment. A friend of mine was driving when we chased an XR3 up a narrow alleyway with concrete slat fencing on either side. It got away with mucho damage and sadly we couldn't follow it through the gap it had got through. (They were caught a few minutes later but that is by the by) Anyway, we had a video camera in the car which showed speed and stuff, and my driver had gone up the alleyway at around 35 mph for maybe a hundred yards, no problem. We reversed out and didn't go over 2 mph in reverse as there was no more than 2 inches either side of the wing mirrors on our car. I don't think you could recreate that accuracy at speed in a test situation as the adrenaline would not be there. Same driver, different passenger, lost it in a bend on another occasion and found themselves heading irrevocably out of control towards a jeweller's window which had concrete posts in front of it to stop ram raids. Passenger assessed all the factors, and calm as you like turned to the driver and said 'Brace yourself Shiela' which at least meant they were both smiling as the concrete bollards tore the gearbox out of the car and destroyed the front of the jeweller's shop. The airliner that ran out of fuel due to lbs/kg mixup is this one by the way - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimli_Glider
26
« on: June 05, 2011, 05:05:29 PM »
Thanks folks - had a feeling they might not be, but better to ask than guess - either way!
27
« on: June 04, 2011, 09:03:36 PM »
Anyone know definitively if a CB500 rear hub is the same as or interchangeable with a CB750 - or is the 750 heftier to cope with power/weight etc?
28
« on: May 30, 2011, 09:21:44 PM »
So frustrating- at the time of posting this query I was looking at a couple of 750/6 Benellis - a rough one with an allegedly rebuilt engine which needed a load of parts, and a Spanish import with very low mileage which was more expensive but in much nicer apparent condition. And after the conversation on this site I checked again thinking it was getting to 'make your mind up time' and boogie me - they've both gone! Saves money, but since when was that an aim of motorcycle ownership?! Still, others will no doubt pop up, but every time I decide on a bike they go up in value (or at least cost) just before I get my hands on one, and plummet immediately afterwards. I have the same effect on shares and any other investment.
Hey ho, not to worry - patience is probably the best course. At least I can get started on the Foale framed 750 soon. At the moment it is little changed from when I first posted here..... but have patience!
29
« on: May 14, 2011, 03:20:08 PM »
I like the way this is shaping up - obviously the more info that appears, the better, but if nobody is sure what interchangeability there is, then I will just have to buy a 750/6 and find out. I'll just practice my lines - 'No dear, it isn't extravagance, it's research. And I will be able to help so many people with this work. It isn't for me you understand, it is for the greater good.'
Sounds convincing to me.....
30
« on: May 12, 2011, 08:36:22 PM »
This must have been raised before, or at least passed through a lot of members' heads but here goes anyway.
I admit to being mentally ill, I have three Italian bikes to just the one Honda if you wanted proof. But I must be getting worse as I keep pondering about buying one of the Benelli 750/6 things. Yes, the ones with the dodgy gearboxes, that weigh too much, that are as much in fashion as flares and stack heels, but what the heck.
Anyway - while De Tomaso pretended it wasn't really a rip off of the 500/4 with 50% nailed on the end, we all know it was - right down to the bore and stroke as I recall. So in the possible event of me actually remaining mad for so long that I acquire one, does anyone know for sure which if any parts are a straight swop? Oil filters spring to mind as a possibility, but what about stuff like valves, pistons, wheel bearings, points, exhaust gaskets etc? All info gratefully received.
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