gus wrote:Blimey richard,yours does look shiny and new!
That's cos the previous owner looked after it so well, it has nothing to do with the fact that Richard spent more time on Saturday cleaning it than I did in a year
L'oiseau noir
Moderators: Gromit, Paul, slparry
Got a couple of better pictures now (including new fairing panel on the 'Bird) plus a sneaky one of da new motah... afraid it's not as spangly as Paul's new one though (although it does go a bit for a tractor engine) 
Had Jaws do the Bird's 32k service last friday - this is basically a biggy; valves, carb-balance, the lot. Came to 137 quid or approx 80 quid more than doing it myself. I'll do everything bar valve clearances tbh - shim adjustment on a DOHC IL4 isn't my idea of fun. Je suis un lapin content.
Had Jaws do the Bird's 32k service last friday - this is basically a biggy; valves, carb-balance, the lot. Came to 137 quid or approx 80 quid more than doing it myself. I'll do everything bar valve clearances tbh - shim adjustment on a DOHC IL4 isn't my idea of fun. Je suis un lapin content.
Gromit wrote:shim adjustment on a DOHC IL4 isn't my idea of fun.
Very shiny sir, do you want to come to my gaff to hone your bike cleaning skills. There's a few here to practice on!!
I agree about IL4 valves, but you want to try desmo shimming
Valve shimming is probably the least satisfying service task ever, for me anyway.
Archie wrote:
Very shiny sir, do you want to come to my gaff to hone your bike cleaning skills. There's a few here to practice on!!
I agree about IL4 valves, but you want to try desmo shimming
Valve shimming is probably the least satisfying service task ever, for me anyway.
I've 'heard' about the 'fun' one can have with shimming Desmo valvegear. No thanks.
To be honest I once had a go at shimming a DOHC IL4 - my old Kawasaki GPz550 which I rebuilt the motor on. Took the cams out, removed the head and turned it upside down to check what the valve faces looked like. 8 buckets along with all their shims fell out onto the floor and got totally mixed up. I'm just glad it wasn't a CBX
Should've said - none of the clearances were out on the Blackbird which no doubt helped keep the cost down.
Ade B wrote:nice pics Gromit..
you still got the S? cos I still have your twinmax....
Hopefully sneak out on a brekkie run sometime soon to return it, or pm me your address and I'll post it to you (Flat DIY permitting..)
Ade
No problems Ade - there's no rush re the Twinmax as I no longer have a 'twin' any more.
Hope to catch up with you on a brekkie morning though sometime.
It almost seems a sin to admit it but despite my traditional long-held contempt for H0ndas I'm really enjoying the Blackbird. It's bloody quick (no surprises there) and with a 7.5mm spacer under the rear shock (plus a couple of other mods) it handles really well.
Its with a touch of sadness that I report the sale of my 98, Red , Blackbird. Just 53000 km old she did me well for nearly nine years , tackling with aplomb everything I threw at her . Tropical heat never moved the temp guage above 1/3rd on the move( it did turn the top of the tank a sort of metallic pink though) , Eastern Creek , Phillip Island, Mallala and Hidden Valley race tracks did nothing to her,apart from planeing down the alternator cover, exhausts and lower fairings and apart from two cam chain tensioners she never needed anything other than basic servicing .
Until recently we had no open road speed limit which the old girl loved , bowling along two up (the Mrs and I are well padded) at well past 200kmh for hours at a time . These are exceptionally good bikes and I will miss her , except of course now I can devote much more time to my new true love , my R 1200S .
Bye bye, Blackbird Bye Bye,
Col
1998 Honda Blackbird (Red) Departed
2006 Bmw R1200S ( Black )
Until recently we had no open road speed limit which the old girl loved , bowling along two up (the Mrs and I are well padded) at well past 200kmh for hours at a time . These are exceptionally good bikes and I will miss her , except of course now I can devote much more time to my new true love , my R 1200S .
Bye bye, Blackbird Bye Bye,
Col
1998 Honda Blackbird (Red) Departed
2006 Bmw R1200S ( Black )
An Ego driven, meat based, space time transporter
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