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Messages - Orcade-Ian
1
« on: April 13, 2026, 01:03:13 PM »
Hello and welcome to the forum,
I have a 350/4 too - the original name of the Honda colour was Candy Matador Red but as Bryan says - no code available that you could use at the paint shop. I used a Rover Car colour called 'Nightfire Red'. That was a passable colour for me and still available over here. It was used by Rover during the 1990's. Decals are available - Piki might be able to help there as Julie says.
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Ian
2
« on: April 05, 2026, 02:48:04 PM »
Hm,
A banana republic
Just culled this definition from t'internet
The phrase banana republic was coined in 1904 by American writer O. Henry. A banana republic is a country with an economy of state capitalism, where the country is operated as a private commercial enterprise for the exclusive profit of the ruling class.
Just saying!!
Ian
OK Steve, I'll behave myself from now on!
3
« on: April 05, 2026, 09:56:15 AM »
Thanks Johnny for expanding on my reference to the stone fiasco and sorry that you too didn't get some freebie bananas.
The wheely bins I mentioned also might need an explanation - we used to get black plastic rubbish sacks issued but the Council begged Gov money (our money) to replace the ageing bin lorries on the understanding that wheely bins would be needed. They went ahead and ordered bins with the Council logo embossed on them for every PERSON in Orkney, rather than every HOUSEHOLD. Further to that we now supply our own rubbish sacks to keep the bins clean - they won't take black sacks of rubbish without a bin but I see them frequently lift our sacks out and hurl them in the lorry - much quicker than using the hydraulic mech.
I think we need a re-set of councils and Gov - sack the bloody lot and start again with some common sense!
Hope I don't get me collar felt by Steve for that rant!
Ian
4
« on: April 03, 2026, 12:41:12 PM »
Bryan, it's the Western Isles that have the problem with the breakdowns and the expensive new 'green' ferries that use more fuel than the old uns.
Our problems have only been the usual weather related delays/cancellations. Will be worse this weekend when another Dave comes to visit.
Tim,
I agree that the yellow ones would be too fast to negotiate the potholes!
Ian
5
« on: April 03, 2026, 10:34:44 AM »
Everything to do with 400's 🤡 Although there were one or two 400/4s bought new from Jackie Shearers back in the day, as far as I can see there were no banana yellow ones! In fact my red one might be the only 400/4 in Orkney. Oh, and by the way, it is Orkney or the Orkney Isles but never 'the Orkneys'.
But back to the story - a supermarket with 5 letters needed an order for 380 Kg but someone ordered 380 boxes - easy mistake, our Council does it regularly - wheely bins, crushed stone to name but two.! They kindly redistributed them to worthy causes. It would have been a 40 mile round trip for me to have some 'free' bananas!
Johnny might have had some - he's far nearer!
Ian
Forgot to add, we've had lots of ferry cancellations due to bad weather so the nanas couldn't be sent back.
6
« on: April 03, 2026, 08:26:40 AM »
James,
I got a lovely new old stock brake pedal from Ken (Oddjob) and as he says, he has one left! What's the famous come-on in almost every advert? 'Hurry, while stocks last'. If funds won't stretch that far, I have the one I replaced it with. PM me if needed. I should be meeting up with my Hull mate in the Highlands soon (assuming fuel available and no lockdowns - grrrrr!!!) and he will be going back home to Hull later - easy courier if needed. I don't have a kickstart but I do have a few US spec indicator bodies and lenses - all used, some good.
Ian
7
« on: April 02, 2026, 09:24:48 AM »
A few better pics (hopefully). Not too easy to see everything - lots of black bits in the way!
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Hope this helps,
Ian
8
« on: April 01, 2026, 06:45:33 PM »
Me again,
Just found a couple of general pics of right hand side, not specifically taken to show the set up but if you zoom in you might just see how it all goes.
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They should be expandable if you click them, then zoom in.
Ian
9
« on: April 01, 2026, 06:38:09 PM »
Hi James,
From Hull, not IN Hull, we are on the West Mainland of the Orkney Isles (so about 550 miles away by coincidence) but yes, I will get a few pics of what you need - will have to be tomorrow though - a few bikes need moving as always!
Ian
10
« on: April 01, 2026, 04:48:08 PM »
Hi James,
Welcome to this wonderful forum - lots of great advice and ideas for sourcing parts - many of us have been where you are with a bike and me, literally I'm from 'Ull too. I have a 76 reg 550F1 and a few others from Honda. My mate, also from Hull bought a new 550 F2 back in the day from Hull Motorcycle Centre in Witham (salesman was Stuart Myers, who I went to school with but sadly no longer with us.)
Ian
11
« on: March 28, 2026, 03:35:13 PM »
The reason for my comment about them all being bent was from personal experience. I bought a brand new CX500A in January 1981 and in June 1983 I had a leaking fork seal at just under 35,000 miles. I stripped the forks in readiness for replacing the seals and checked the stanchions with a DTI between V blocks at the ends, one had a TIR of 0.007" and the other reading was 0.010". I had certainly never crashed this bike or ill-treat it in any way other than normal use. It's not possible to grind a bent stanchion (apart from using centreless grinding), hence the straightening process before grinding.
Ian
12
« on: March 27, 2026, 12:34:00 PM »
Hi Johnny,
Seems like everything has doubled in price - I'm not doing any more! I'm sure the likes of Bryan and Ken will chime in soon with 'they are always bent'. I've had dozens apart and never found a straight pair yet. Perhaps some of the more modern stuff with larger diameters might stay straight a bit longer but our 70's stuff is borderline for strength. It's not that they've been crashed but all of the forces present are doing their best to bend them in "normal' use.
Ian
13
« on: March 23, 2026, 04:01:21 PM »
Hello again,
The brass bits alluded to are the jets, needles and emulsion tubes and they don't suffer much from wear (unless some gobbin has already messed with them). Many aftermarket replacements are not Honda quality and can give hours of fun (read misery) during setup and running. The originals have a funny little 'k' shaped logo stamped - someone might chime in with a pic. Nurse Julie might be able to supply what you need if the postage is not exorbitant.
I personally would not put a 400 motor in with that rather unnecessary 6 speed box - better to fit 400 jugs and head to what you have if you need more horses. Might need some crankcase mouth work though.
Ian
14
« on: March 23, 2026, 11:01:22 AM »
Might have been two owners Johnny - San Francisco Police department and US Army! but at least it was cheap!
Ian
15
« on: March 23, 2026, 08:53:44 AM »
Hi JC,
It wasn't just a few consumables that I needed for mine - there was lots of difficult to find stuff too. A good proportion came from a real guru for finding stuff over in Orange County - but that was well over 20 years ago!
I have both 400 and 550 fours too but the 350 is just such a lovely thing to pootle about on and of course a 5 speed box and better riding position for me.
This is mine as found and bought for £200 back then!
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Ian
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