The best ever 4-stroke vertical twin?
in [Motorcycles]
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From: S'mee on 21 Jul 2010 01:33 On Jul 20, 9:12 pm, "tomor...(a)erols.com" <tomorrowaterolsdot...(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > On Jul 20, 6:08 pm, BryanUT <nestl...(a)comcast.net> wrote: > > > On Jul 15, 9:18 pm, sean_q_ <nos...(a)no.spam> wrote: > > <snip> > > > Am I the only one who can't believe the Honda 350 isn't on the list? > > <ick> > > > Oh wait, the CB450 DOHC was much better, > > <shudder> > > Two soulless washing machines that managed to capture ALL that was > wrong with Japanese bikes of the 1970's. > > Best ever 4-stroke vertical twins? I'd nominate them for running in > the top ten of WORST ever 4-stroke vertical twins! (I'm going to hate myself for this) Why?
From: The Older Gentleman on 21 Jul 2010 05:56 BryanUT <nestle12(a)comcast.net> wrote: > On Jul 15, 9:18 pm, sean_q_ <nos...(a)no.spam> wrote: > <snip> > > Am I the only one who can't believe the Honda 350 isn't on the list? Heh. Was thinking Big Twins, otherwise you could add a host of little Hondas to the list, true. > > Yeah the old CB350s buzzed like nobody's business, but I loved riding > one. > > Oh wait, the CB450 DOHC was much better, I REALLY loved riding that > one. That was a great bike. The 500T that followed it was catastrophic. -- BMW K1100LT Ducati 750SS Triumph Street Triple Honda CB400F Suzuki TS250 Suzuki GN250 chateaudotmurrayatidnetdotcom Nothing damages a machine more than an ignoramus with a manual, a can-do attitude and a set of cheap tools
From: tomorrow on 21 Jul 2010 12:05 On Jul 21, 1:33 am, "S'mee" <stevenkei...(a)hotmail.com> wrote: > On Jul 20, 9:12 pm, "tomor...(a)erols.com" > > > > > > <tomorrowaterolsdot...(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > > On Jul 20, 6:08 pm, BryanUT <nestl...(a)comcast.net> wrote: > > > > On Jul 15, 9:18 pm, sean_q_ <nos...(a)no.spam> wrote: > > > <snip> > > > > Am I the only one who can't believe the Honda 350 isn't on the list? > > > <ick> > > > > Oh wait, the CB450 DOHC was much better, > > > <shudder> > > > Two soulless washing machines that managed to capture ALL that was > > wrong with Japanese bikes of the 1970's. > > > Best ever 4-stroke vertical twins? I'd nominate them for running in > > the top ten of WORST ever 4-stroke vertical twins! > > (I'm going to hate myself for this) > > Why? CB350/360: Introduced motorcycling to hundreds of thousands of young Americans as something that didn't require any investment in time, energy, resources, passion, involvement, or soul. They could pick one up for - sometimes literally - pocket change, and didn't have to know anything about motorcycles to use it for commuting to school or work. The bikes themselves did not invite nor require involvement, care, maintenance, passion, value, accessories (short of, perhaps, a luggage rack with a milk crate bungee-corded to it) modification, performance upgrades, or a passenger or co-rider. In short, they allowed hundreds of thousands of young American males to thinkt hat motorcycles were no more or less involving or worthy of a long-term relationship than did ownership of a Timex watch or a Bic lighter. They had no sound, no defining characteristics (other than being cheap to acquire and disposable when no longer used) and other than perhaps permitting a few people to learn to ride befire moving on to involving, cherished motorcycles, nothing at all to recommend them. I'm sure there are some people out there who cherished and loved them, but I would argue that that was in spite of, no because of, their major character traits as motorcycles. Imho, of course; ymmv, and all that. CB450: Heavy, stodgy, wide, soft, pudgy, slow, dull, muffled, ugly, conservative, wooden, numb, chubby, underpowered, and did I mention dull? The antithesis of the phrase "sporting motorcycle;" the cure for motorcycle passions ignited by the Suzuki X6 Hustler or the Yamaha R5, the bucket of cold water thrown on the fires of dreams made feverish with thoughts of the Honda 6-cylinder 250cc GP racebike and the other Herculean engineering feats of Honda in the early 1960's. Imho, of course; ymmv, and all that.
From: BryanUT on 21 Jul 2010 19:23 On Jul 21, 3:56 am, totallydeadmail...(a)yahoo.co.uk (The Older Gentleman) wrote: > BryanUT <nestl...(a)comcast.net> wrote: > > On Jul 15, 9:18 pm, sean_q_ <nos...(a)no.spam> wrote: > > <snip> > > > Am I the only one who can't believe the Honda 350 isn't on the list? > > Heh. Was thinking Big Twins, otherwise you could add a host of little > Hondas to the list, true. > > > > > Yeah the old CB350s buzzed like nobody's business, but I loved riding > > one. > > > Oh wait, the CB450 DOHC was much better, I REALLY loved riding that > > one. > > That was a great bike. The 500T that followed it was catastrophic. > > -- > BMW K1100LT Ducati 750SS Triumph Street Triple Honda CB400F > Suzuki TS250 Suzuki GN250 chateaudotmurrayatidnetdotcom > Nothing damages a machine more than an ignoramus with a manual, a > can-do attitude and a set of cheap tools I rode the CB450 my senior year of high school (1974), it was one of the few bikes on the road with a front disk brake. And it had DOHCs and a 9500rpm redline. The bike was sweet. I'd stop for gas, fill up, start the bike, clamp the front brake, drop the clutch, smoke the tire, release the brake and leave a wonderful trail of smoke and rubber out the pumps as I leaned over the bars to keep the front wheel down. Good times. I loved everything about that bike. I don't car what Tim says, my British racing green version was beautiful. Back in the day I had one of the coolest bikes around [1], compared to most bikes everyone else rode. [1] OK, the Bonnevilles and BSAs were cooler, the Kawasaki triples faster. But my bike always started, didn't leak oil or blow up. And Tim's rant on the CB350 was uncalled for. For $800 new you could get a bike that would take you across town or across country. And it also looked good.
From: The Older Gentleman on 22 Jul 2010 07:03
BryanUT <nestle12(a)comcast.net> wrote: > It is a crime that Honda is unable to set the bar > recently. I'd agree with this. They lost the plot in the mid-to-late 1970s, found it again, lost it in the early 1980s, found it again, and seem to be blundering a bit now. -- BMW K1100LT Ducati 750SS Triumph Street Triple Honda CB400F Suzuki TS250 Suzuki GN250 chateaudotmurrayatidnetdotcom Nothing damages a machine more than an ignoramus with a manual, a can-do attitude and a set of cheap tools |