A slipper clutch is as described above. I was racing yesterday on a ZX636 which comes with a slipper clutch. It is nice because when you come screaming into a corner on the brakes you can just bang your downshifts and dump the clutch. The slipper clutch helps keep the rear tire from sliding. It is especially nice on corners with two downshifts. Otherwise the clutch needs to be let out smoothly and controlled, which gives the rider one more thing to do, which means less focus on the brakes and corner entry line.

Sliding the rear tire is not too bad if you are used to it. What happens is the rear of the bike wiggles left to right a few times while you are coming into the corner on the front brake. I did it yesterday when I was experimenting with three downshifts in one corner. It was way too much downshifting and the slipper clutch could not keep the rear tire from breaking loose. It is unnerving until you get used to it, then it is kinda cool, but hard on the rear tire.

Again though, slipper clutches are not a big deal unless you are racing. And even then people can go fast without them; I can go faster on my SV-650 without a slipper clutch than on the ZX636 with one. No need for one on a street bike. If you get one that comes with one, great. If not, no worries. Aftermarket ones are really expensive; there are better things to spend your money on, like gear.

I'll find out what year my buddy's Magna was. Based on these descriptions I think it was a third gen 1994-2003
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Magna

Looking at a vintage CB.

Exactly how bad are drum brakes in the front? and Exactly how hard would it be to convert to discs?

Honestly, they work fine. Like I said, I rode a CB250 for two years in college and didn't have any serious gripes with the bike insofar as functionality is concerned. To me, it was more of an engineering aesthetics argument, as in "why are they still using drums after all this time?" Realistically speaking however, you're unlikely to be taking a Nighthawk into a situation (such as a trackday or Palomar Mountain) where a drum brake is going to overheat. Just adjust 'em every now and then and they work fine on the street.

As to converting, unless you already have a euro-spec or JDM bike to use as a donor, I wouldn't even consider it. It's possible that parts from a Rebel might interchange, but I can't think of any other bike that'd be a likely donor.

What about just swapping the front forks from a earlier or later bike?

Absolutely agree with Joe.

To be honest for everyday road use a well setup drum brake will feel as good if not sharper than most disc brake setup's.

Only thing that really lets drum brakes down is consistency and maintenance.


Best bets to give em a go and see what you think.
If your used to disc brakes for foooooks sake take it easy at first as they tend to be a bit grabby.


Cheers
Mark

FFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKK

I didnt think I would win, I put in 1025 and thought id get beaten, but didnt.

fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.

I wanted a bike for a future cafe conversion, I didnt think it would happen this year or today for that fucking matter. I didnt think I was actually gonna win.

My mother is gonna fucking kill me, and if not my mom then my GF surely will.



Honda : CB:eBay Motors (item 300331672669 end time Jul-26-09 13:47:16 PDT)

HAHAHA You should be stoked!! The price is right for all the maintenance and repairs he has done. Carb syncing is not cheap!! If I where you I would check the inside of the tank for rust and debris. Im jealous......Congrats!!

cute!

That looks like a cool little bike. The new carbs were probably not cheap either. Hell, ride it, enjoy it.

I cant decide if I should ride it home or rent a uhaul.

Kinda scared to ride it home, never been on the highway before and all I got is the MSF under my belt but I did really well there.

The ride is only 106 miles. The uhaul would cost 250 bucks.

You guys got any tips for loading this thing into a van or pickup, turns out the uhauls dont have ramps only the 14' trucks.

You should be able to (hopefully) find a u-haul that rents motorcycle trailers. Those are great, easy to use, and inexpensive to rent. I used one a couple of times several years ago when I started doing track days (before I got my own trailer). Here it is...

U-Haul: Moving equipment guide: Moving trucks, cargo trailers, utility trailers, vehicle trailers

If not you can go to Harbor Freight or Northern Tool or wherever cheap Chinese stuff is sold in your area and get a steel motorcycle ramp. It would be a good thing to have around anyway. The aluminum ones are nicer (much lighter) but cost more. Hell if you were nearby I have an extra steel one I would sell you cheap. It is for dirt bikes (too narrow for sport bikes) but I'll bet that bike has pretty narrow tires.

TonyV has his dads F150. How awesome is that.

Tex, do you know if Uhaul gives you the receivers for hitches?

Whats the likelyhood of 3 guys deadlifting a motorcycle into the bed? Tony is a scrawny bitch but my other friend and I can deadlift 500lb between the two of us.

No they will probably not give you one. They will probably be happy to sell you one though ;)

If you have a buddy with a truck, why not just bumper pull it? The trailer and bike will be pretty light so as long as he has a decent bumper with a hitch hole in it... Sometimes the u-haul guys can be a PIA though. If they do not think your vehicle is 'worthy' for whatever you are renting to tow, they will not rent it to you.

You could probably lift it into the truck. But I would get a ramp.

What do you mean by bumper pull?

Oh good god ride it home pansy! It'll be a great adventure, just have the friend who drives you up there follow you home, making sure you don't die and all that.

If you can't though, I highly doubt you'll be able to lift it into the bed of a truck. Dead weight is one thing, the awkward shape, balance, and height of the truck bed will make it near impossible. Buy/rent/borrow a ramp.

Ah, cut him some slack. I've been riding for 12 years and I still like having a new bike delivered to my home so I can learn it in comfort and safety. They're all different.

A lot of pickup trucks have a hole in the bumper just aft of the license plate where you can install a trailer ball. It's not an ideal setup insofar as the height of the ball is concerned, but it's fine for light loads. Just find out what size ball you need for the trailer you'll be towing and pick one up at Wal-Mart.

A U-haul motorcycle trailer would work fine for this application. Just use a couple nylon ratcheting straps to secure it upright and you're good. My neighbor in Carlsbad used to haul two bikes to the track and back side by side in the bed of a pickup truck this way- never had any problems.

Seriously, that's an awesome price for a great-looking vintage Honda. And just judging by the little part of the garage that you can see in one of the pics, I'm guessing the guy takes care of his bikes. Congrats. :D

Two very kind friends and I picked up my 06 suzuki s40 and lifted it into a dodge ram. The easiest way I have found is two to lift, one to keep it from falling on the other two. Three grown men can lift one with little to no chance of a hernia.

Whether you ride it home or tow it home is up to you. One time I did buy a bike that was 1200 miles away. Flew to the local airport, did the deal in the airport parking lot, and rode it home.

It was not my first bike though. Plus I was ready to walk away and fly home if the bike did not pass visual inspection. I also stopped at a nearby dealer (a good one) and asked a mechanic to look it over for me.

Tony has a real hitch on his F150 so we dont need to worry about a bumper pull. However he doesnt have the ball mount. I am looking at harbor freight, and they have ball mounts that come in different "drop". For a uhaul trailer, would i need to get one with a drop since the truck is higher then a normal car? and how do I know which?

Im gonna talk to the guy today and hopefully with all his bikes he has a ramp we can use, getting it down is not a problem, up is usually harder.