So after selling my RRE to take a totally different look at biking to a buy a CB750K, after much travelling and looking, mostly at completely overpriced mutton dressed up as lamb, I have realised the hunt will be long and painful, so after a few weeks of being Bladeless for the first time in 20 years, and a rather empty space in the garage thought I would plump for something that I didn’t buy first time round for reasons that I have no idea why as I always liked them. So it was a toss up between an R1 and this, so the R1 will have to wait a little longer, but Paulos has got me trawling the ads already. So finally found a very clean Foxeye, after a 250 mile ride home, I realised why everyone creamed their pants over them when they changed sports bikes forever, cracking smooth and responsive engine, that just piles on speed in a way some bikes of the early 90s did but then added the essential trick of going around a corner at high speed as well which the others couldn't, coupled with a front end that don’t need much provocation to get airborne, the only thing that reminds you of it’s era are the brakes, which are compared to today’s stoppers are best described as relaxed. Really wanted the R over the N & P, although they were the ground breakers that twin round light setup was best left with RC30s and 1980s style and not the 90s and for me the Foxeye was the pick of the pack. So after a long day to Devon and back, I’ve dumped it in the garage and will give it a good look over tomorrow, but it crunches miles with ease and is quite roomy with just the wide tank that shows its age. Big thanks to the guys at Torbay Honda for a painless buying experience, very accommodating and helpful guys.
Yep, fairly standard on the face of it, just a newish stainless header system as the OEMs are mild steel and rot, and the end can that is close to the obnoxious sound level, so that is going, it did not have the OEM can with it, only other obvious is the Goodridges, but after 26 years they would have been my first change. Don’t buy them to look at, they all get ridden, so need them to work properly, but I am not into exact as it rolled off the production line type of person.
I’ve got an RRV which is std apart from silencer, hydraulic lines and gear indicator. My headers are ok but the collector is a bit rusty, I should take it off again and paint it as it was from the factory. My wife had an RRW and that had proper stainless headers, mine seem to be semi stainless as the down pipes don’t rust but the collector and exit pipe do. Where ‘bouts in Kent are you? I’m Sandwich myself.
These old Blades are brilliant, the way you sit in the bike behind that big old tank and hang over it like a monkey clinging to a rock . Like how they come alive over 7000 rpm , nice smooth carbs . My RRV is a keeper
lovely lovely lovely . also lovely .I still crave a black and silver r. they just look sooo nice . look forward to seeing more of her.
I keep looking at these. Torbay got another one red white n blue that looks a good buy. I bought a tatty one last year that an old guy had for 17 years and had parked it in garage after a spill 5 years before. Had 69k on the clock but original paint. Got it for £300. 10 minutes of tinkering and a jump start of the car it purred into life. Fancy an urban tiger but prices getting silly.
The issue I see/saw, is that every man and his dog is punting the RRN/P as future classics and buy now before prices skyrocket, trouble is most of the bikes they are bigging up are sheds, the UT is being put on the same mantle, and again there are some nice ones but also much more mutton being dressed up as lamb, and for me 5K upwards is way too much. The RRR/S have some nice tweaks over the 92/3 bikes and obviously the styling is a personal issue of what you prefer. There are very few near 30 year old bikes that are not going to need some cash thrown at them if you want to ride them, and loads of bikes for sale have been off the road for any number of years, and standing around ain’t good, unless you want to buy and garage it just the same, and the sums can mount quickly even for fairly mundane stuff, coupled with Honda are crap at supporting older bikes, and many parts are now discontinued, so OEM plastics are like golddust, even common wear parts are very variable in their availability for OEM parts. Sure these bikes hold a certain appeal as they are the bike that changed sports bikes forever, but apart from a very few mint, stored examples, I don’t buy into the speculation bit. Find a clean one and it can still bring a smile to your face, and you can understand what all the hype and fuss was about all those years ago.
Bits finally stated arriving this week. Cosmetic change the headlamp and running bulbs, can’t believe how yellow they look, been replaced with a led and whiter bulbs. Stripped down and cleaned and rebuilt the calipers and added EBC HH all round. Old EBC organics in there that had seen better days, and pistons were covered in copper grease Drained coolant and run a flushing agent through. Drained oil and inspected for any nasties, appears all clear. Gorilla must have previously tightened the sump bolt, never seen the washer on so badly imprinted, lucky to get away with that. Awaiting new end can that will have some packing in it, current Quill must have blown everything out over the years as it weighs about as much as a fag paper. Going to leave it at that until the winter break and do a top end service and carb balance, as happy with the way it starts, idles and runs, and strip down and refurb the forks and rear shock. Maybe someone will see me a bit easier if nothing else. Removed all the plastics and nice too find they are all originals and date stamped correctly and all tabs etc are present and undamaged, not always the case on bikes of this age, only things needed replacing were some missing DZUS washers, pis*ses me off when they fall out and your scrabbling around trying to find them.
How do you find riding that blade after the newer blade you had @Kentblade. I’m really wanting an earlier bike again but thinking the memories should be left there so not to be disappointed.
Only ridden it 250 miles home so far then been stripping it down. First impression that smacks you between the eyes is the wide tank, but once on the move it will only effect midgets. Buttery smooth acceleration from a good carb setup. Had new BT016PROs fitted and they just grip and then grip some more, I know from previous experience they won’t last long, but good while they are fresh. Steers beautifully neutral and won’t be shown up too easily, you really understand what all the fuss was about, with weight reduction, massively strong frame and the early attempts at centralising mass, just feels light and flickable on the move. Hoping the rebuild and new pad setup will improve the average braking performance that it come with. In an out and out drag session it won’t be as quick, 125bhp has its limits, but then again how often do we hold to 6K and drop the clutch? Doesn’t need a lot of provocation to get the front wheel a bit light, so should do 2 fronts to a rear Switchgear is classic Honda, does what it says on the tin. It’s the clocks that give the game away, but at the end of the day, you know yer revs and speed and if yer engine is at the right temp, then there’s a weird thing called a choke, and after riding it a while it starts to judder and the brain kicks in and rotates a piece of plastic called a fuel tap, then it picks up and goes again. that said I cracked at 160 miles and pulled in for fuel thinking the fuel tap was faulty and it only took 12 litres so could have gone around 240 miles before running dry. This is only going to be known by the older riders or if younger someone who has a penchant for older bikes, but when you take it apart, it’s built properly with quality materials, unlike Hondas of the last 15 years or so, plastics are top notch, fit together and come apart easily. Been riding Hondas for over 40 years and the modern ones are a marketing mans invention rather than an engineers passion IMO, people can agree or disagree it’s just a personal view. The only thing I will add is, if you rode one you’d be gobsmacked if you had no idea how old they are, they hide the age well because they ride so well. I am biased as I have 2 pieces of Honda history in the garage, but if I was going for a Sunday blast, it was the 400 I turned too, not the RRE, hence my decision to sell and look around. If your a rider that craves or needs modern electronics then stay well away. As I have said they are not for everyone, and although it’s not essential it’s a lot easier if you can wield a spanner and do your own work IMO, as things do need more maintenance than a modern bike, but that said, unlike a modern bike, there is nothing a home mechanic can’t do on them, having been stripping bikes apart all my life, I just enjoy taking them apart anyway, and end doing far more than is needed, reality is most people would have just bought it and rode it, but I tend to be on the OCD side of dismantling everything I get my hands on. Ultimately just the fact I could throw a leg over it and ride it 250 miles straight off and get off and not feel like I had run a marathon shows just how easy they are to ride and roomy.
thanks a lot for the reply mate, much appreciated, I had one back in the day and regretted moving it on ever since. As much as I like my bike I’m always looking at these and the 954. I do most of the work on them myself and have good memories of how well they used to be built compared with how much of a pain in the arse they are now. Think I’ll have to get looking to buy and sell mine. thanks again mate.
