Faults:

When I bought this bike it had been dry stored in a heated garage for twenty odd years, and although in mint condition, both silencers had rusted on the underside. These I replaced with a pair of SITO pattern silencers, which actually seemed to be of better quality than the originals.

They also sounded better than the originals without being noisy.

General Comments:

Having owned almost sixty bikes from 1960 until now, this is my favourite for smooth, comfortable and completely reliable riding.

Wherever I go, people admire it and can't believe how old it is.

My wife agrees it's the most comfortable bike she has ever ridden pillion on.

Because it's the first version of this model, it has contact breaker points and coil ignition, which makes maintenance easy with no fears about ignitor suddenly dying in the middle of nowhere.

Only problem with this bike for me is that the seat is a tad high for my short legs, making slow speed manoeuvring a tad scary! But that's my fault, not the bikes.

Faults:

Nothing in six months of ownership.

I tidied/re-soldered the electrics, as some of the joints looked dry.

General Comments:

By modern standards this is a heavy bike.

It is a great long distance tourer, and has a bullet-proof feel to it.

Shaft drive is great to have.

Faults:

Battery died within 2 years.

28 year old seat finally split about 3 inches on a seam.

Nothing serious or expensive.

General Comments:

For someone new to touring, this is the bike to ride. You can get accustomed to the touring weight and handling before going to a land yacht.

Reliable, trouble-free, and smooth, this bike just plain feels good. It's quite comfortable and stable, plus it has the classic 70s 80s transition look going on. All it really needs to reinforce this statement is a mullet!

Riding for 40 years, I've been through most manufacturers and types. The 850 is Marty's chair on the TV show Frazier: for personal comfort, it just can't be replaced without spending a lot of money and, even then, it just wouldn't be the same. It has the power to get you out of trouble, but not enough to get you into it; it's reliable so you don't have to shell out bucks to keep riding.

Faults:

- Fuel petcock diaphragm stuck open, fuel overflowed & spilled everywhere.

- Head gasket blew in 1999, potentially weakened by the petcock problem.

- Original seat wore out; seat pan rusted to bits, both needed to be replaced.

- Flaky, inaccurate and unreliable fuel gauge.

- Self-cancelling turn signals do not always work.

General Comments:

For the most part, this has been a very dependable motorcycle that is a joy to ride, stressing neither the bike nor the rider on long trips. It is an excellent highway bike as it performs the same under heavy loads and with a passenger.

Acceleration, while not earth-shattering, is smooth, as is roll on. This bike is pretty easy to ride. My only complaint is that the brakes seem to be a bit undersized for its weight, especially considering the 25 years of wear and flex in the brake lines and calipers (both which are due for a re & re on my particular machine).