Honda-SOHC

It's strange it should handle so badly, isn't it virtually the same frame and suspension as the 500/550 four?

Sorry, I don't have it anymore.  It was a  1946 Scout 741 military bike which I rebuilt for a friend.  It was rather strange, having a foot operated clutch, hand gear change and throttle on the left handle bar.  I had it bored out to 850cc which was a massive job but worked well; we took about half an inch out of the liner walls. Steve at Piston Broke is a genius, he also did the rebore on my 500/4 back in 1995.  He said he was going to bore it slightly tighter than Honda recommend and that if I ran it in very carefully I would get more miles out of it.  He was right, fifteen years later and it still doesn't burn a drop of oil.

I don't have any photographs of the Indian, in fact, thinking about it, I don't have many photographs of my bikes past or present.  I'm not really a photography person.  I had to bribe my son to take the picture of my 500 in the avatar.  I did do a before and after photograph of the cb500 when I built it but I don't have a scanner so can't publish it. 

That is kind of you Bryan but I have ordered another banjo bolt with a bleed nipple in the top which solves the problem very well.  This is in fact what I had already been using for the last twelve years and it was that bleed nipple which had eventually frozen in.

However, I put the chemical removal thing up for info really for people who want to keep their caliper original.  A guy called Steve at Piston Broke Engineering in Bristol offers the service and he seems to be very confident about it.  He did some excellent work for me a few years ago on my Indian and I trust him greatly.

I think it should be pointed out that trying to drill out a bleed nipple is rather difficult as you cannot be sure you will not to run into the base where the nipple seals into the caliper.  Obviously, if this seal is compromised the caliper could become unsafe.  The whole idea make me very nervous.  At least if you leave the remains of the nipple in the caliper it isn't going anywhere and the banjo bolt/nipple option works brilliantly and, I think, is easier to bleed.

My carbs always clogged until I got fuel filters.  Annoyingly, the needle valve would get gritty and the carbs would flood. 

If you are not too worried about looks, I find the large car ones are the best because they have a good flow rate and they are cheap, so periodically, when they look really dirty, I throw them away and fit new ones.

On the subject of compression; a friend had a 550 many years ago (1987-ish) which he bought as a non runner.  It had been standing for a while in the previous owners garage.  When my friend got the bike going he took it for a blast and was a little too enthusiastic with the throttle.  What he didn't realise, until I had to strip the engine for him, was the piston rings had become gummed up with old oil during its 'rest' and when he thrashed it they all cracked.  However, I fitted new rings for him and it ran a treat after that.

I do bits and bats on another website and I wrote a tongue in cheek piece about restorations

Look here http://www.realclassic.co.uk/opinionfiles/opinion05040500.html

It'll soon sound all too familiar 

I very much enjoyed your article.  It also made me curious about how you get to write articles for the website.  Is it possible to just submit things or do they need to know who you are?

Steve

Good heavens you work fast, whenever I try to take my bike apart there is always some corroded bolt that refuses to come undone and turns a ten minute job into half a day spent cursing.  Having said that, all the bolts were greased when I put the bike together but then some of them haven't been touched for fifteen years.

I don't think the brakes have been dragging for long, I just noticed it when I wheeled the bike back to get on the other day.  Looking at the caliper it has oxidised quite a bit more than usual this winter and I suspect the pivot at the top is not moving as it should.  One day I will learn and will clean my bike occasionally and perhaps even put it under cover.  Then again it's probably wishful thinking.

What you have said is very useful because it has reminded me that I will need to buy a new piston seal before I take it apart as well as some new brake fluid.

Someone mentioned brakes locking up in the wet.  Can others please confirm this.  The brakes on mine have so far been pretty rubbish so I find this revelation rather surprising.  Does this mean that the only advantage of drilled disks is in wet weather?

Looking at mine very carefully I would say that it has been drilled by hand because one of the holes is v.slightly off centre.  I would imagine that with careful use of a professional bench drill it should be possible to do it oneself.  What do people think?

Also has anyone used a drilled disk and are they worth the trouble?

Are you talking about your brake disk and having it drilled?  

Does it make much difference?  I have a drilled one under my workbench but have never bothered to fit it.

Would you be able to take a pattern from it?