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The great Honda
hiatus
Sunday shed wrap
August 24, 2025, by Guy 'Guido' Allen
It was perfect Sunday
snack food for the brain. Wander out to the shed, dig
out the 1971 Honda
CB750-Four K1, apologise (again) for my lack of
attention over the last few months, pump up the tyres
and head off for a ride.
Have you ever set
yourself up to fail? Last week I gave the battery a
charge, and blissfully recalled how reliable
this motorcycle has been since I
bought it 11 years ago from young Mr Brian
Browne, then owner of TT Motorcycles in Vic.
Logic would suggest
otherwise, but I couldn't help wondering if my smug
thoughts on this being one of the most consistent
machines in the shed somehow spiked the chances of
getting it running. Switch on the ignition. Nada. Pining for
the fjords, in Monty Python-speak.
The complete lack of
instrument lights, horn, or any other signs of life
meant the battery was the primary suspect. It's
several years old and maybe it had finally handed in
its resignation. A quick check with a multi-meter
suggested otherwise – there was plenty of juice.
And yes, I checked the
fuses, which were all present and complete.
Ignition switch? It was
behaving as usual and the wiring behind the barrel
felt fine.
Okay, let's have a look
at the starter solenoid. That did look suspect, with
corroded terminals. Does that make sense? After all,
most of the bikes I have owned didn't require a
starter solenoid to show signs of life. It was usually
isolated from the other functions.
However some glimmer of
memory suggested that wasn't the case when this bike
was built. After tracking down a couple of wiring
diagrams online (ain't the interweb grand?), including
a Honda factory version, I could confirm that the
entire feed from the positive terminal on the battery
went through the solenoid before being distributed
elsewhere. So, if the solenoid fails, it's goodnight
Irene.
Problem solved,
hopefully. The next question was do you buy original
or aftermarket? The difference is a factor of 10! This
bike is largely 'correct', though it's running a K3
fuel tank because young Browne preferred a left-hand
fuel switch. I have a spare K1 tank (with right-side
tap location) in the shed. It's the wrong colour and
I'll just see it off as part of the package when the
bike is eventually sold.
That's the lead-up to me
justifying spending Au$300-plus for the factory
solenoid, rather than Au$35-ish for an aftermarket
replacement. The latter looks nothing like the
original and will probably work.
However, in the
collector market, details are important. I would
prefer that, when someone removes the left sidecover,
they will see something that looks vaguely original
without the glaring inclusion of a cheap and cheerful
electrical component that looks about as home as a
balloon in a barbed-wire factory.
You might think the
orginality gig is all madness and, some days, I would
agree. However my decision to spend Au$300-ish on a
solenoid pales into insignificance when you start to
price exhausts for this model. The factory set-up is a
complex four-into-four stack with heat shields and
marked HM300.
Given restoration of
historic bikes has become an international industry,
those original sets are near-impossible to find. So
far as I know, no-one has a complete set of hardware
in stock. You're scrounging for pieces as you find
them and the prices I've seen for key components, such
as a number three header and muffler at Au$1700,
suggest a complete set with all the hardware will cost
north of Au$9000 (US$5800, GB£4300, €5000).
If that's a bit rich, a
maker in Japan will sell you what claims to be an
accurate replica set for about Au$5000 once you get
all the hardware sorted.
Last week we
explored the emotional experience of getting the
Ducati
Hailwood replica out for a ride. And this week
it has proved to be (briefly) more reliable than the
Honda. Who knew that was possible?
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