SOHC.co.uk Forums > CB350/400
Just out of curiosity?
Laverda Dave:
The styling says it all, it was designed for European tastes with a cafe racer look, low handlebars and great handling (for its day).
I remember a road tester at the time saying the front header pipes have more curves than a page 3 girl (of course he wouldn't dare say that today)!
They make a fantastic noise when wound up as well.
I owned my first one in 1980. I've owned 5 of them and restored three of them from the ground up.
Get a yellow one and see what all the fuss was/is about 😀.
TrickyMicky:
I guess that over the years it's been a combination of fashion, finance, tied in with a strong sense of reminiscing. I bought my 1st 750 in 1972, they were still a bit of a show-stopper then, and we were still revelling in the recent memories of those wonderful 4-pipe racers. The 750 cost me about £690, and due to my stupidity of lots of short runs, the exhausts failed just outside the warranty period. A new set was £100, no way! Dave Degens/Dresda had just produced probably one of the first 4 into 1 systems for a lot less money, so, a quick trip to sahf London in my mate's mini van, and the deal was done. The whole system was quite neat, and you could see all the way through the silencer (?). Up to 4000rpm sounded a bit like an MGB, beyond that - WOW!! Grand Prix starts under Romford railway bridge were the order of the day. Replacement model in 1975 was purchased, and this one was looked after much better and kept original. At this time, a colleague at work had just bought a new 400, and he let me take it out for 1/2 hour. Very neat, compact, and nimble. I was impressed, plus Honda had done a magnificent job with the exhaust system, unlike some of the replacement systems which were to follow, which had the front pipes running all over the place. So yes, we are a funny lot, when we had 4 pipes we all wanted 4 into one. When we were given this, I have seen some examples where people have fitted 4 into 4 systems. Ah, the joys of motorcycling.
Laverda Dave:
You could always go for a 6 into 6 to be really cool 😎
https://youtu.be/UH4ZIsWy4SE?si=WKkvyf3a-JO25rNk
McCabe-Thiele (Ted):
Being a student in my early moped/motorcycling days (Circa 1964) I never bought a new bike ever, that did not stop me looking in the windows of local bike dealers or drooling over them in the college bike sheds.
One of my early recollections was how bulbous the silencers were on some Japanes bikes, I saw the 4 into 4 systems as old fashioned. The 4 into 1 whilst visually not symetrical sounded great.
When I started my 500 restoration I had no intention of fitting a 4 into 4 system, not just cost but what I disliked in 1964/5 I still disliked. Towards the end of my 500 project I had done a U turn - I wanted that 4 into 4 bulbous look.
The launch cost of the 500 4 into 4 Delkevic system made me see the light. 8) 8) 8)
Otis:
Some great anecdotes and thought provoking memories, thank you all.
Kawasaki launched their new Z900 with 4 into 1 but gave the option of 4 pipes at I believe an extra £2K. I have seen one in the shop and it is absolutely fantastic with the 4 pipes. I did a double take because I thought I was looking at a 1970's Z900.
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