Honda unviel CB1000F retro

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I think I might junk my old faithful R1 and get one of these - but at the end of next year in the sales :unsure: they are probably doing a Nero one too but I think the silver is better. I want the one with the small fairing though :)
 
Not sure why they have reduced the power that far from the already detuned (fireblade) Hornet Engine: 150 bhp to 122bhp 😮
 
The problem was the cam chain tensioner. On the dohc inline fours the main chain from the crankshaft was supposed to adjust automatically under spring pressure as the chain wore, but it didn't work very well and premature chain wear was common. The B chain, the short one connecting the two camshafts had to be adjusted manually by loosening a bolt on the front of the engine block which allowed a sprung piston to apply more pressure to the blade, but they were prone to sticking. On my old CB 750 KZ loosening the adjuster nut rarely saw the plunger move at all, even though the chain was audibly too slack, and most bikes were run with too much slack in both cam chains which allowed the chains to thrash around causing a lot of mechanical noise and accelerated wear to both chains and tensioners. The endcap of the B chain adjuster plunger/piston on dohc CB 750/900's is often dented where people have tapped it in an attempt push it against the adjuster blade. Mine ended up with a hole in it which would weep oil.
Things were even worse in Honda's early chain-drive VF 4's. The VF 500 and 750's were notorious for cam drive failure. When they brought out the VFR 750 they used gear-driven cams in a removeable cartridge - one of the reasons why the VFR was so reliable. They went back to chain-driven cams with the VFR 800 and V-Tec model but they'd learned their lesson by then and designed tensioners that worked. The early VFR 750 had a characteristic aeroplane whine which came from the cam drive gears.
 
I remember my old neighbour had one of these which was prone to cam chain issues

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The Suzuki bandit stroke GSX went through cam chain tenisoners like they where going out of fashion, i replaced my old 650 Bandit three times in it's 55K miles.Pain to fit and i still have them in the garage somewhere.
 
I don't like the looks of the thing with that twin spar frame. But I agree snipping its balls to 122 bhp seems pointless as I'm assuming it's basically the same chassis as the Hornet. Why not just make a full power retro Hornet?
 
The problem was the cam chain tensioner. On the dohc inline fours the main chain from the crankshaft was supposed to adjust automatically under spring pressure as the chain wore, but it didn't work very well and premature chain wear was common. The B chain, the short one connecting the two camshafts had to be adjusted manually by loosening a bolt on the front of the engine block which allowed a sprung piston to apply more pressure to the blade, but they were prone to sticking. On my old CB 750 KZ loosening the adjuster nut rarely saw the plunger move at all, even though the chain was audibly too slack, and most bikes were run with too much slack in both cam chains which allowed the chains to thrash around causing a lot of mechanical noise and accelerated wear to both chains and tensioners. The endcap of the B chain adjuster plunger/piston on dohc CB 750/900's is often dented where people have tapped it in an attempt push it against the adjuster blade. Mine ended up with a hole in it which would weep oil.
Things were even worse in Honda's early chain-drive VF 4's. The VF 500 and 750's were notorious for cam drive failure. When they brought out the VFR 750 they used gear-driven cams in a removeable cartridge - one of the reasons why the VFR was so reliable. They went back to chain-driven cams with the VFR 800 and V-Tec model but they'd learned their lesson by then and designed tensioners that worked. The early VFR 750 had a characteristic aeroplane whine which came from the cam drive gears.
My old 400/4 cam chain was a pain in the arse for constantly rattling.
I found a louder exhaust was the answer
 
Think ahead

My old man, said when the Japanese bikes came with hydraulic disc front brake, they were amazing compared to the twin leading shoe he had on his dommie.
It didn't matter back in the day because that was all we knew. I never felt my old school bikes were particularly underbraked at the time because I'd never ridden anything else. It's different now when you've become accustomed to modern brakes and you then get on a vintage bike. You need to recalibrate your brain to avoid nasty surprises.
 
I remember my old neighbour had one of these which was prone to cam chain issues

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I knew a lad who had one back in the early '90's. It went well but sounded like a load of spanners being shaken up in a dustbin. The CBX 750 was a much better bike. I always wanted one but it never happened. I still think they look quite good. A bit dated but still a good looking machine.

Honda CBX 750 F, 1984: фото, характеристики, история | Bike.Net
 
I remember my old neighbour had one of these which was prone to cam chain issues

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i had a girlfriend with one of those, I thought it was horrible and suggested she changed it so she did. We found her a Katana 1000 instead which I sprayed in the bathroom with rattle cans in Tiger 🐅 colours 🙂 much cooler 😎




But she then p/x’d it for a V-Max 🤷‍♂️😡😡😡




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My girlfriend at around that time had a baby Katana, the 400 twin. It was nice little bike but was plagued with Suzukis infamous alternator burn-out issues. It let her down several times and she spent a small fortune on replacement alternators. Then a bloke in our local MAG group who also worked at 3X Motorcycles as it was then figured out that we could adapt the entire charging system from a 400 Super dream. With his help I spent a weekend stripping it out and fitting Honda parts and rewiring it.
It worked brilliantly for a while till the engine went bang. She got rid of it and AFAIK never got another bike.
It wasn't just Hondas that had issues back in the day.
My little Yammy XS 400 which everyone laughed at until I customised it and turned it into a groovy little bobber type thing never missed a beat the whole time.
 
My girlfriend at around that time had a baby Katana, the 400 twin. It was nice little bike but was plagued with Suzukis infamous alternator burn-out issues. It let her down several times and she spent a small fortune on replacement alternators. Then a bloke in our local MAG group who also worked at 3X Motorcycles as it was then figured out that we could adapt the entire charging system from a 400 Super dream. With his help I spent a weekend stripping it out and fitting Honda parts and rewiring it.
It worked brilliantly for a while till the engine went bang. She got rid of it and AFAIK never got another bike.
It wasn't just Hondas that had issues back in the day.
My little Yammy XS 400 which everyone laughed at until I customised it and turned it into a groovy little bobber type thing never missed a beat the whole time.
There was a proper baby Katana at Stafford at the weekend: a 250cc 4 Cylinder Jap market model :oops:
 
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