HAPPINESS IS AWARMHONDA

Thanks for an excellent February issue. Can I add a few comments to John Shearer’s interesting CB250RS article? I was always surprised that a company that produced a gutless slug like the 250 Superdream could come up with such a lightweight charmer as the RS (282lb dry against 367lb) but then what do I know? They sold zillions of Superdreams…

During the 1980s I was a partner in Good Vibrations, a small London motorcycle repair and hire company, serving the courier industry. As you’d guess, a great many RSs passed through our doors. Our riders were of course thrashing them hard at low road speeds so they had a much tougher life than most. Nonetheless they were pretty reliable, with the big proviso that you had to watch the oil level. Capacity was only 1.5 litres which didn’t leave much reserve if it got low, and in London courier conditions they inevitably consumed oil.

Cylinder heads were usually OK for about 40,000 miles on the kickstart model, then they would start to crack between the valves with consequent compression loss and hard starting. The electric start versions had higher compression heads and these could fail very quickly. I’d definitely advise buying the kickstart version if you intend to use the performance. Honda’s automatic compression release system is superb. Provided you keep the cable adjusted, kickstarting is a pushover (sorry).

If you remove the top end you will almost certainly need to repair some of the threads for the rocker cover screws. We found Timeserts best if you have room; they’re a solid part so the end doesn’t jump out as can happen with Helicoils. However, the latter need less space so sometimes there’s no choice. Whichever you use, grease the screw threads before refitting. Ordinary high temp grease is OK, you don’t need copper.

Ignition had an odd quirk. It was selfgenerating and shut the engine down by shorting the low tension side to earth. The contacts on the back of the ignition switch were exposed and a build-up of crud combined with damp weather could cause just enough current leakage to ruin the spark when starting. If your bike doesn’t want to run and the compression’s good then try cleaning the back of the ignition switch. The earthing wire is the black one with a white tracer.

The front brake is Honda’s single sided, sliding caliper device. We didn’t see too many problems with these as the bikes were in constant use, but the sliders definitely need to be kept greased. Again, you don’t need copper grease unless your nickname’s Vale and your carbon discs glow orange. Ordinary hmp grease is fine.

As Rowena said, the CBX250 was a real disappointment. We only had one. There wasn’t any noticeable performance improvement over the RS; it was much more complicated (radial valves? really?) and while the ball bearing camshafts should have been long lived, our bearings failed at very low mileage. Then we found that Honda wouldn’t sell the odd-sized bearings without the cam,

making the whole business an expensive debacle. Probably designed by the chap who did those awful inboard disc brakes.

Finally, if you like the RS but want a bit more stomp, the XL/XR/FT500 engine is almost a bolt in fit. You’ll get through a lot of chains though. Tony Anderson, member 1183

What a pleasure to see a bike like my two gracing the pages of my favourite magazine. Just like the one featured, my two are workhorses, unrestored and kept going on a minimal budget. One was bought as spares for the other, but was too good to suffer that fate. John talked about replacing the oil filter screen. I’m not sure if you can even still get them, but you can clean them and re-fit them. In 36 years of riding CB250RSs – I had one from new – I have never replaced a filter screen.

John was right about the deluxe model (RSDC): the electric start wasn’t needed and in fact wasn’t terribly reliable, just like the FT500. I had an RSDC and mine didn’t even ride like the kickstart one. Both my current bikes are A models but have been fitted with the better deluxe front forks and use the deluxe rear wheel as well with a ‘proper’ cush drive.

My RS gives me just the right balance of reliability and a chance to engage a little with the bike to get the best out of it. I find the front brake benefits from being watched carefully when used in the winter as it seizes easily if you don’t grease the pad pins and work the piston backwards and forwards a few times. Mind you, often in heavy rain nothing happens whether the pads are good or not! Mine still uses genuine pads so maybe they’re better with modern pads. Michael Durrant, member 6740

How ghastly to see that classic (!) Japanese bikes are seeping through to the pages of RealClassic. I think it displeases many readers. Keep up the otherwise good work. Peter Hatfield, member

Before people get too aerated with that final comment from Peter, I should point out that he is tongue-in-cheek paraphrasing a letter from last month which commented favourably on the presence of Japanese machines in RC. Of course, we have always featured these bikes; a CBX1000 appeared in RC01 and there was a comprehensive catalogue of Kettles in RC02, etc, und so weiter. The more things change, the more they stay the same! Rowena