YES FINALLY PICTURES DIRECT FROM NIX!(I hope)

CB750f2n(s) Hondas best kept secret? I think so,well at least the grey one!TBH I have had some pretty bad luck with these 2 bikes. I bought the Grey L reg in september 2006 and LOVED it! Although it wasn't the best start to a bike/rider love affair as it broke down on the test drive and once the bloke from the shop came out and got it going again it suffered a throttle problem that culminated in me crashing it ,dislocating my ankle and breaking 3 ribs -the bike landed on me and didn't have a mark on it. It turned out that the "mechanic"(term used loosely)at the shop had been doing something to the carbs and had tightened the jubilee clip up so that the end of the screw jammed the throttle open - not ideal! still in spite of all the above and the fact that the engine had a slight top end clatter I was hooked by the way the bike rode and the pokeyness of the CBX derived twin cam motor,so handed over £1000 and off I went. Within a month the engines' top end noise increased until it was like riding something that sounded like an AK47,it was horrendous. So back to the shop. I think that they were that grateful that I hadn't kicked off about the accident that Ronald McDonald the mechanic had caused with his twathanded screwdrivering,that they were unbelievably helpful. They agreed to supply a replacement cylinder head,cams,hydraulic tappets(the culprit in the performing of the machine gun opera under the cam cover)basically everything except the gasket set and labour. I pointed out that the gasket set was actually part of the bits needed to effect a repair,in the end I paid for half the cost of the gaskets and,bearing in mind my limp and achy ribs,I politely refused to let their"mechanic" anywhere near  anything as complicated as a 16v twin cam bike engine,so it was agreed that I would do the work myself and, for both my own and the shops peace of mind,a good friend of mine and a local bike guru would oversee what I was doing. Everything went swimmingly,I also ,as a sorted of "do the job once and do it right"fitted a new cam-chain,which I paid for,in one day we sorted the engine and fired it up,it sounded fantastic!
I loved that bike and did 7.000 miles on it during my first year of ownership,I told everyone it was the best bike ever-it is basically in between a 600 and a 1200 Bandit,it looks similar,is faster than a 600,obviously not as fast as a 1200,but I think it out handles Suzuki's best seller.It is a great all round bike,perfect for every kind of riding,it is even economical,never below 50 mpg ,which is pretty good for a 140mph bike! So the obvious next step was to SELL IT!!!! A friend had a much newer,tidier,low mileage version of the same bike-mine was 1993 with 32k on the clock and quite a few scrapes an dings,his was 1998 with 17k on the clock and pristine - it was a no-brainer,his bike had been stood for 6 months since he took delivery of a new 900 Hornet and was just in his way so a remarkably low £750  changed hands and I rode home on a beautiful green F2N,this was april 2008. I sold my grey bike to a very good friend,on the understanding that I would have first dibs on it when he decided to sell it,he happily gave me £850 for it! Within a week I knew I had cocked up,the green bike just did not hack it. It was slow,wheezy and ,although it felt tight and nice and smooth (basically newer than the old one)it simply did not handle anything like the grey one-I have no idea why,the F2N never change over its entire lifespan of nearly 10 years,but it just felt all wrong. As I still had several other bikes it just got shuffled to the back and just used once in a while,on the odd occasion that I did use it I noticed an all-too familiar chattering was starting to make itself known. The noise got worse,to the point that it was plain embarrassing to ride down the rd,I turned up at a mates  and he came out saying"dont remember ordering a taxi!",it really sounded like a pinking diesel .Last october I found a nice 1200 Bandit and bought that,I stuck the F2n on Car and Classic as a runner or spares and after a few months a guy from London that customises F2Ns bought it ,for £850-wow I am in profit!!!
A couple of months ago I realised that the Bandit just basically was not the bike for me and was discussing this with the mate that still had my old F2N, he immediately said"I'll have it ,how much?",we agreed it was worth £1500 so then we went out to his bike safe to inspect my old F2N. He had come home from work in the pouring rain 18 months earlier,put it in the shed and not touched it since,it was actually down to the fact that it needed 2 tyres and a new exhaust and the last ride had been HORRENDOUSLY wet,I think he decided that was it for biking. She was in a terrible state,covered in rust ,cobwebs and mould and looking really sad. Fortunately Adam had kept her connected to an Optimate so the battery was still reasonable. The next day we dragged her out and after a couple of hours of fettling,a squirt of brake cleaner down the air filter and a boost from his car battery she burst into life and sounded fantastic - it had never crossed my mind that she would fire up straight on to 4 cylinders RESULT. Apart from the Kojak tyres and the lattice work Motad it also turned out that the ferrous beetle had nibbled a hole in the swing arm,so in the end we agreed on £1200 and the Honda in exchange for the Bandit.
The next week I hired a Transit and fetch her back from Alfreton,stuck her in my garage and started assembling bits. A fortuitous scan thru Ebay got me a brand new 4-1 Stainless Motad,direct from the manufacturer for £175 +p&p,almost exactly half list price. Ebay then provided an as new rear tyre for £40,a swing arm in good fettle for another £40 and I found a forgotten new,unrun front tyre on a ZZR600 front end that I had bought to modify my GPZ. After a week of mostly de-cheesing the poor old girl she went off to and passed her MOT. The bike is every bit as good as I remember and I am stoked!With the 250 for running about,the NC for fun runs and the 750 for the big miles and fast stuff I think I have the perfect Honda collection! Hurrah!! Good night,hope I've not bored you TOO much,CHEERS NIX