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Messages - kettle738
31
« on: October 01, 2018, 07:26:18 PM »
The first batch of 50, 750's to the UK would of gone straight to warehouse and they would not of looked for the earliest VIN as a press bike, they would of just pulled one out The first batch of CB750s for the UK from what I've read over the years was approx 20 bikes and they were allocated to dealers who were particularly in favour with Honda UK at the time for whatever reason; the first batch was small because Honda had recently had their fingers burnt with unsold CB450s and they were not confident the CB750 would be a good seller in the UK. My bike went to Ken Ives of Leicester.....unsurprising really as he had helped dig Honda out of their CB450 problem by creating the 'Ken Ives special'.......Black Bombers with some questionable quality British parts, some paintwork and extra chrome added to get them out the door. I recall reading somewhere that the serial numbers of the first batch of UK CB750s were sequential. The Honda press bike was quite a bit later, it had a 1015 chassis number IIRC which meant the first twenty bikes were on the road long before Honda UK even had a brochure printed. Mick.
32
« on: September 25, 2018, 11:14:50 AM »
Hi Ash, as you know, I have replaced my original stanchions with Yamiya...my Honda originals are also heavily corroded around the lower yoke area, but I have hung onto them just in case they can be sent to Philpotts at a later date. Fitting the Yamiya legs was simple enough apart from the snap ring at the foot of the tube which needed a very decent set of snap ring pliers to even have a chance of fitting it. I think I recall noticing the damper valve etc was not particularly snug, but given my (perhaps misplaced) faith in Japanese produced parts I put it down to me imagining it, and/or wear in my original parts, so I assembled them without a second thought. I filled and repeatedly compressed both legs before fitting and the damping felt fine (normal)......I did get a pronounced knock when I compressed them hard on the bike which resulted in what I thought was the offending leg being pulled apart again, but that simply turned out to be clearance at the caliper swing arm, dealt with by a shim  I haven't actually ridden the bike since I fitted them  so I can't comment beyond that, so it could still go horribly wrong, but thus far it's situation normal. You will see them in any event on Saturday. If I can find my ancient micrometer I will have a go at measuring the swept area of the new stanchions against the old if you think it might tell you anything.... Mick.......... (AKA.... Warren T. Klame)
33
« on: March 30, 2018, 06:29:39 PM »
If spikes are good I would use them and no need for adhesive. With the spikes you can remove again easily. Just my 2p worth +1 And you will find it much easier with the spikes, no tacky fingers....... Mick.
34
« on: March 27, 2018, 09:18:43 PM »
That 175 looks superb Rich, no surprise really that you got an award for it.......sorry to miss the Ardingly show, it was the day of the village litter pick...(and you have to be seen to attend)....so while you were drooling over beautiful bikes I was ankle deep in McDonalds wrappers and whatever crap people can throw out of vehicles.
Hope to get to the Ashford show, Easter Monday........Mick.
35
« on: March 07, 2018, 08:45:54 PM »
Did they really drop the hammer then re-start the bidding?
36
« on: February 28, 2018, 01:20:00 PM »
Could your pivot bolt have had a fresh coat of bright zinc plating and 'grown' enough to prevent it getting inside the collar?
Every time I have spindles or the like zinc plated it's usually necessary to remove it from close fit areas.
Just a thought............Mick.
37
« on: February 26, 2018, 05:15:05 PM »
Go for it, I love tools nearly as much as bikes......and that looks like a proper piece of kit 
38
« on: February 26, 2018, 05:44:42 AM »
Just a sucker for punishment........doubtless this will bite the hand that feeds it.
39
« on: February 25, 2018, 04:12:35 PM »
Here is some original Honda frame paint for comparison......very glossy, very thin, shows up every tiny detail, still looks superb, all it required was some of the welds touching in, the paint on the frame tubes is all Honda.
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40
« on: February 25, 2018, 01:38:31 PM »
Powder coating like everything else doubtless comes in many forms and qualities......unfortunately for me; every experience I have had with this stuff has led me to hate it with a passion; it dulls and can't be polished properly, the surface changes colour at random giving a nice piebald effect, it's not as tough as it's made out to be and when it chips, make sure you touch it in or you will be peeling it off in sheets later. I suspect it is popular because it gets into every nook and cranny, and it's cheap.......the problem is, when it does get in everywhere, it's the devil's own job to get rid of it later on. Don't let a leaky fuel tap drip on your black frame or the affected section will turn pale grey.....forever....DAMHIK. I sold this Norton five years ago and bought it back last week.....unfortunately, Norton powder coated the frames on these from new and they are a box section affair with a built in oil tank.....oh and the wheels....which started out as silver I'm told, they are now pale battleship grey. [ Guests cannot view attachments ] # Just in front of the rear mudguard on the faired models is a mud trap, the owners club forum has a number of threads which involve the powder coat failing at this point, rampant corrosion taking root under the coating and the first the owner knows is when he gets an oil leak from the tank. Repairing that damage makes most tasks on our Hondas look like childs play. Go look at some street signposts or garden furniture that has been permanently exposed to the elements, you will likely as not see the powder coating flapping in the breeze and the underlying metal rotting for all it's worth. I think powder is probably good for crash bars and lots of other applications, and it's probably fine on a classic that will only get dry weather use, and admittedly the stuff I experienced was a good few years old, so perhaps it's improved, but as a choice for a regular use bike instead of paint?....no....just my opinion of course. Mick.
41
« on: February 01, 2018, 02:02:12 PM »
I think the sleuthing has already been done......the quantity of NOS early parts speaks volumes; however, I would be very surprised if DSS stored vulnerable parts like that on open shelving, it doesn't look organised and it doesn't look very safe.
The bike itself looks a bit of a mixture of old and new, but it's fascinating just to get a look at it as the only previous images have been from way back when.
I hope they scoured the place where it was stored for parts and got everything there was.
It does look like it's had a knock at some stage given the damage to the tank and the non painted tinware at the front end.
What a great bike to get involved with though, real once in a lifetime stuff.
Mick.
42
« on: January 21, 2018, 01:43:13 PM »
Years ago I read about a method for renovating faded black plastic (might have been in the VJMC mag) which involved heating it with a hot air gun until the surface colour just starts to visibly alter......and before it starts to melt. I remember trying it on an old greyed out Givi top box and it worked.....however, the margin between renovate and ruin was quite small so it paid to try it out on something worthless......and it occurred to me at the time that it was much better suited to small items as the likelihood of getting a uniform finish over a large surface area seemed small....always keep the heat gun moving. That said......grey became black again and stayed black. Here is a bloke refurbing a greyed out plastic bumper on youtube....... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9tDq1oRy9UMick.
43
« on: December 17, 2017, 01:24:02 PM »
Very hard item to find, an original Bomber seat......as Ash has already mentioned, the vinyl they used is unusual and seems to be specific to the Bomber....I suspect there might be a manufacturer in Japan who could reproduce it as per Yamaiya CB750 seats, but I've never seen anything even close in the UK.
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The photos attached (hopefully) are of a seat from an original UK bike with just 2,500m from new, definitely the best Bomber seat I have ever seen, even the foam had escaped the usual crumbling and the typical crush marks at the front as it had such little use and the previous owner was quite a small chap.
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Grey piping, white Honda logo ...... the cover I passed onto Ash with silver piping came from the far east, Pit Replica on ebay, the best I have found by far as they are tailored covers that use the original tabs, not glue. Once I had pointed out the error they were happy to supply a cover with grey piping......the idea being to make a decent spare seat to preserve the original.
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Mick.
44
« on: April 17, 2017, 12:22:19 PM »
You can solder them....it's slightly awkward, but a fibreglass pencil to clean it up makes the job easier and low temperature modellers solder means much less heat involved.....a mini gas torch is perfect for the job.
Mick.
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