Honda-SOHC

I've got to say that I had not thought of a thin coat of silver under the lacquer - makes a lot of sense though and is why we can't really replicate it after polishing. As we know, it wasn't that good really and if you rode on salt laden roads just once and didn't rinse it down, then that familiar mottled effect developed by the following day. 
As a complete philistine, I have frequently paint stripped NOS parts to remove the lacquer (and now seemingly this silver base coat) preferring just a polished and waxed finish which I find much easier to keep clean.  I wonder if anyone knows what silver base was used and if it would still look correct under a more durable 2 pack lacquer.
You've opened a can of worms here Ash - do you know how many flakes of metal per square inch  there should be in the paint on my tank?
Ian

That's great to hear Roy,
glad you are back to a good place and that it is again oil leak free like all good Hondas!  Wish I could say the same for this 350 Norton I'm on with at the moment.  I have tried to 'engineer out' as many leaks as possible but the primary chain case is nearly impossible - belt drive and diaphragm clutch and no oil would be an answer.

Ian

On a bitterly cold winter morning a husband and wife were
listening to the radio during breakfast. They heard the announcer say, "We
are going to have 8 to 10 inches of snow today. You must park your car on
the even-numbered side of the street, so the snow ploughs can get through.

"So the good wife went out and moved her car. A week later while they are
eating breakfast again, the radio announcer said, "We are expecting 10 to 12
inches of snow today. You must park your car on the odd-numbered side of the
street, so the snow ploughs can get through. "The good wife went out and
moved her car again.

The next week they are again having breakfast, when the radio announcer
says, "We are expecting 12 to 14 inches of snow today. You must park.." Then
the electric power went out. The good wife was very upset, and with a
worried look on her face she said, "I don't know what to do. Which side of
the street do I need to park on so the snow ploughs can get through?"

Then with the love and understanding in his voice that all men who are
married to blondes exhibit, the husband replied,

"Why don't you just leave the car in the garage this time."

Oh, that's great, very close to God's country where Ash is and a little bit nearer to Orkney when you are out for an afternoon ride (kettle's warm) All stress gone now?

Ian

Many thanks folk for the variety of interesting replies.  It would appear that most you have misunderstood or misread the original entry.  As both sets of figures, namely GPS distance plus fuel receipts as one set and distance recorded by the vehicle and average consumption shown on the computer as the other set, were recorded on the same 3000 mile trip, then no matter what load we were carrying (buckets and spades eh?) and no matter how heavy my right foot was and no matter how many hills or stop starts we encountered (or even if there was a fuel leak - now, really?) then those factors have no consequence in this COMPARISON of data sets, as they would apply EQUALLY to both sets.
I am well aware of the speedo error allowance but had hoped to open a sensible debate about misleading info from vehicles.  I also realise that test data given by vehicle manufacturers is obtained in ideal lab type conditions however that was not really in the discussion.
If we don't question the validity of data now and then, we run the risk of continuing to be deliberately misled.

Perhaps it's not just VW who are pulling the wool?


Christine and I have just returned from a great trip from Orkney to the Netherlands, Germany and Austria - not with the Daimler or the GoldWing, but with our Peugeot Partner Tepee.  I decided before this trip that I would do a bit of testing of various parameters which come up on the display and in particular the overall MPG figure.
We have been using a Garmin 60 csx GPS unit successfully for a few years now, so I thought I would use this to accurately log the distance travelled.  We fuelled up to the brim before we left and disregarded that fuel quantity. We kept all of the till receipts and filled up finally when we returned home and included that in the total.
On such a long trip with many visits to the fuel stations, any small discrepancy in total volume would be insignificant.
We travelled a total of 2960 miles according to the 12 channel GPS and we used 55 gallons of fuel, or 230 litres

This works out at 52.44 mpg, yet the digital display on the dash of the Peugeot read 55.3mpg.  That might not sound much of a discrepancy, but it's close to a 6% error. 

Is this just down to the difficulty in accurately measuring fuel flow and therefore specific fuel consumption, or are the dark forces at work here as well as at VW?

You (and they) can come up with all kinds of reasons, such as odometer error, tyre wear (incidentally ours were almost new before the trip) but the error is always in the same direction. Food for thought!
Ian

Hi Roy,
If you know of a good jobbing turner, it would not be too much hassle to make one by spinning.  I made a similarly shaped but smaller cover for the top steering bearing on my Model 50 Norton.  It's described on my web site under that model, part 8 I think.  Mine was stainless so took a bit more 'persuading' over the corner than mild steel would.  Let me know how you get on.
Ian

Btw, your restoration of your 350 is stunning - I thought mine was good but looks like an oily rag job compared with yours.  They really are lovely little bikes and although I have a couple of 400/4's, the 350/4 is still my favourite.

Ah! Just found the piece in GB 400TT part 2,
Ian