This Honda NX650 cost a mere £31 to buy. But it needed a front-to-back restoration. So is a cheap runner really a bargain – or just a big money pit?

stops and handles (but doesn’t necessarily look) like new. Previous owner Simon’s plan had been to run the wretched thing through winter salt and then leave it in a damp garage. Discs, calipers, forks, shock, linkage, wheels and fasteners were all in a horrible state. On top of that, the oil-drenched engine wouldn’t tick over and emitted random pops and bangs on the ride home. But the frame had been recently powder-coated, the black paint was deep and lustrous and the fork gaiters hid smooth, unpitted stanchions. How bad could it be?

I soon found out when I took several armfuls of steel and aluminium parts down to my local blast cleaner. Salt had attacked the engine mounting plates so thoroughly it was if they had been gnawed by rats. Parts of the rear brake caliper mounting bracket were suffering from what looked like osteoporosis. But all the bits were structurally sound and after a coat of gloss black or Simoniz Three Wheel Steel they looked presentable. Honda gave the shock a protective plastic shroud which, needless to say, had filled with salt water. But after blasting it went off to Falcon Engineering in Dorset (falconshockabsorbers.co.uk). If you want a basic rebuild, Robin Packham’s your man. He can pull most non-rebuildable units apart, clean everything up, fit new PTFE piston rings and a new chrome rod if necessary, and cut a thread for a new cap. Theresult is better than new, and in my opinion £180 well spent. As for the forks, I just blasted and repainted the sliders, and gave them an oil change. Similar good vibes came from the other blasted parts. Thetwin downpipes cleaned up well and got a coat of lead oxide, followed by some excellent Techkote high temperature paint from B&C (bandcexpress.co.uk). Thelinkage had put up a fight – its seized bearings only came out with lots of blowtorch and vice action, but with genuine new needle roller bearings and seals (£91 from David Silver davidsilverspares. co.uk) it looked new. Theswingarm came up perfectly too and because its needle roller bearings were a more