Faults:

My bike was left to me by my Father, who died right after buying it. I had a VERY hard time registering and insuring the bike. No-one had ever heard of one.

The bike leaked oil from day one. Never could fix that.

Bike never would keep a charge in the battery. Never could fix that.

Bike broke a valve spring at about 1000 miles. Ordered one and received a set for both. Cool. Installed easily in less than one hour.

Bike almost immediately broke the clutch cable. Same deal, ordered one and simple install.

Bike started missing the 1-2 up-shift every time. Adjusted shift ratchet, no parts required.

3800 Miles engine went bang. Broken crankshaft destroyed both engine cases. End of story.

Cost to repair will be more than another bike.

General Comments:

Bike was fun to ride for sure, girls loved it and got almost 80 mpg. Stock unmodified engine would only go about 65, comfy at 45. Definitely stay in town bike. Was pretty labor-intensive to keep running, and blew up way too soon for any new bike. Even a Harley will last longer than that. I will go back to Honda for sure.

Faults:

Clutch cable at 4000 miles.

Wheel bearing at 9000 miles.

Fender stay crack at 9000 miles.

Seat cover crack at 3000 miles.

Tires at 11000 miles.

Electrical short in steering head at 11000 miles.

Muffler support weld crack at 11000 miles.

Chain replaced at 11000 miles,

General Comments:

Great fun to ride, gets attention, has a soul.

Faults:

Brake cable broke at 1590 miles.

Clutch cable broke twice, 4000 miles, and 7500 miles.

Numerous bolts vibrated loose, 500-2000 miles.

Burned points at 4000 miles and 7500 miles.

Fork seal leak at 500 miles.

Seat cover deteriorated at 2000 miles, replacement cover seems much better quality.

Battery cable shorted to ground at 6000 miles, no fuse to break the circuit.

Trafficator flasher stopped functioning at 4000 miles.

General Comments:

Great fun to ride.

Very flick-able, nimble, maneuverable.

Low horsepower, but massive stump pulling torque.

Vibration causes nuts to loosen. Thread locker is a must.

Parts availability is very good.

Importer is very responsive.

Faults:

500cc 5 Speed Electric Start model.

The tail light fell off, it is only held on by one bolt. I loctited it on and it never worked loose again.

The headlight fell out (see above).

The throttle cable broke twice (fixed by distributor as a recall).

The crankcase breather blocked up and pumped out all the oil. Very common problem on models 2005 onwards. Fixed by fitting a different type of breather.

The (aftermarket) Amal carby seized the slide in the bore. Had it resleeved in stainless, works very well now.

Battery died. Replaced with sealed unit.

General Comments:

These bikes are a living classic. They are still virtually the same as 1955!

I modified my example with performance cams, cylinder head mods, exhaust and ignition.

Bike was 22hp, now is 40hp. Gets up to 100mph on the freeway, however, it is not the most comfortable at that speed.

The bike handles quite well, given the age of the design. Time spent on tyre pressures is well rewarded.

Parts are ridiculously cheap, and maintenance is simple.

These bikes are a true riders machine. They do require regular attention to tappet settings and frequent oil level checks. A competent home mechanic will be able to perform all of the tasks.

People love to look at the bike and comment on the style.