stanr
Junior Member
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Post by stanr on Aug 5, 2017 19:46:05 GMT
This may be a very contentious thing to ask, but remember that I am not from the UK. Why get a Honda CB400N? I had not heard of them or seen one until recently. If one is going to restore an old bike surely one of the the more landmark bikes makes sense. For instance a CB77, Black bomber or red devil, or one of the early fours 350F or 750F or even a CB 500/550F would be more rewarding.
I ;look forward to your comments
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Post by JonnyHonda on Aug 5, 2017 20:38:26 GMT
Ahhhhhhhhhh. The old, why pick a <insert name of bike> to restore question.
Well for me I just like restoring bikes and moving them on, never make any money it just a hobby.
I think for many of us there is a lot of nostalgia involved, the Superdream was my first big bike after passing my test and my good wife wanted a 250 as a runabout, it could easily have been a gsx250 Suzuki.
The thing about owning a classic, which a lot of people miss is, it's hard work, and the older the classic the harder it becomes to maintain. I don't own a classic bike to run it every day, I have one to because I love tinkering with bikes and it stops me playing with my daily ride. (Wow that sounds weird).
Early Japanese motorcycles may have set the world on fire in the '70s and to some extent killed the first British motorcycle industry off, but they were not without there problems. Early Hondas for instance suffered from poor lubrication I had a cd200 and and cb750 F1 both of with suffered from poor lubrication and camshaft wear to the point of distruction.
Restorers, well, we come in many guises.
You get your purists who stick to one model and want to make it better than factory perfect.
You get your enthusiasts, they just want to keep them running and will stay faithful to the marque but are prepared to make sacrifices.
You get you customisers, No consideration to the marque and seem to either just want to make money or show off.
Me, I'm a tart. An enthusiast with little loyalty. I just want to build bikes, I've rebuilt cb750s gs450s, gsx250 and 750s, BMWs and yam diversions. But I always make them usable running machines and I don't mess with the design.
Me, I saving the world, one motorcycle at a time.
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Post by BritPete on Aug 5, 2017 20:47:07 GMT
Perhaps I can answer
From a UK perspective the CB250N Superdream was at the largest engine size a UK rider could ride on a learner
The 400 was the larger version
I have a 250 I bought a few years ago and recently bought a 400 in Germany and bought it back to the UK
I like them as they still look like a bike not a modern fibre glass monstrosity
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Post by JonnyHonda on Aug 5, 2017 21:01:56 GMT
Perhaps I can answer From a UK perspective the CB250N Superdream was at the largest engine size a UK rider could ride on a learner The 400 was the larger version I have a 250 I bought a few years ago and recently bought a 400 in Germany and bought it back to the UK I like them as they still look like a bike not a modern fibre glass monstrosity Showing your age Britpete, in 1981 the max cc for learners was reduced to 125cc, that's when I entered motorcycling. |
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Aug 5, 2017 21:02:37 GMT
i like all bikes old brits old big hondas ibought the sd to ride not as heavy was just going to make it look better than it was but went a lot farther
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 5, 2017 21:05:31 GMT
your only as old as you feel or as old as the lady you are feeling
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Why an SD
Aug 5, 2017 21:07:49 GMT
via mobile
Post by BritPete on Aug 5, 2017 21:07:49 GMT
Perhaps I can answer From a UK perspective the CB250N Superdream was at the largest engine size a UK rider could ride on a learner The 400 was the larger version I have a 250 I bought a few years ago and recently bought a 400 in Germany and bought it back to the UK I like them as they still look like a bike not a modern fibre glass monstrosity Showing your age Britpete, in 1981 the max cc for learners was reduced to 125cc, that's when I entered motorcycling. Guilty as charged but I thought it was 1983 the 125 limit came in |
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Post by JonnyHonda on Aug 5, 2017 21:14:57 GMT
Forgiven, but you're still correct, it was the '80s 250s that tempted us into passing our test. The motorcycle industry new this and Let's face it what's differance mechanically between a 250 and a 400 - nothing, but to a punter loads.
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Post by adelee on Aug 7, 2017 8:14:54 GMT
Why did I buy a Superdream?
I lost my elder brother to an accident involving a person not seeing him on his bike and killing him, i also had to deal with the emotional distress to my recently widowed mother, my sister in law and their three children. That was four years ago.
My daughter had always loved bikes and had done her test and purchased a Keeway POS. For obvious reasons, I didn`t want her riding a superlight,superfast new rocket machine, so we had a chat and looked around and plumped for a superdream. I`m a bit of a honda nerd and had recently done a 400/4 and a 750 four. The 400N we bought would be a good starter bike for her, I think, maybe wrongly, that riding older bikes would give her a better grounding on bike riding. The brakes are not as good so you have to look further forward, they don`t handle as well as new bikes so you have to be more attentive to the road and the road conditions.
I may have got all that wrong, but she is a safe and sensible rider, though as we all know that sometimes does matter one jot.
Plus, old bikes are easy to fix and maintain, I bloody hate all the electric gizmos on new stuff.......
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 7, 2017 8:20:32 GMT
sounds like a nice sensible girl
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stanr
Junior Member
Posts: 36
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Post by stanr on Aug 7, 2017 15:03:16 GMT
Thanks for all your responses to my question. I certainly can understand now why the SD has its followers. I guess that is why I would like to restore a CB77 or a CB450 black bomber or red devil - bikes I had in my youth. I started off as a purists wanting to make my SD better than factory perfect. However after researching the project and the associated costs which in my case includes overseas shipping, I have become an enthusiast Read more: honda-superdream.co.uk/thread/9774/why-sd#ixzz4p58Rh6Tb |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 7, 2017 17:51:23 GMT
what bikes have been and still are popular in sa
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Post by autopilotone on Aug 13, 2017 9:35:48 GMT
I purchased mine and have given her a mechanical and cosmetic freshen up cos I've been admiring these lovely bikes for over 30 years!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 13, 2017 18:16:08 GMT
like most bikes but was never into the cruiser style but they are getting more appealing as i get older
brian
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