spaceworm

Did it look like this? I lusted after one when they were first introduced.

Hobbsy

My Feedback: (102)

Dan and Richard, I lusted after one of those for years. A friend had one and it was surprisingly quick. Even geared rather tall it was still quick.

SrTelemaster150

That's a '67. The '68 had all black tank sides, a wide wrinkle black strip W/silver accent stripes down the center of the tank & silver fenders.

Mine looked just like this. (except it had "trials" tires)



I used to take my girlfriend for rides into the woods & then she would give me a ride. I was a cool dude the last few months of my Sr year!

I worked at Bob's Sunoco after school & weekends on US 30 in Irwin, PA & saved $30 a week from my $34 take home pay to save up for a down payment. My Dad signed for the loan.

Man that was a good looking bike. I should try to find one to restore for my grandson.

SrTelemaster150

It would blow a 305 Honda into the weeds. The "SS" had better gearing than the "H". It would do about 90 MPH flat out, maybe 95 going down hill laying on the tank.

On the way home from the Harley shop, I scraped the taillight lens off doing an unintentional wheelie in the middle of an intersection on Rt 30.

I was going to show off W/a fast get away. It had a lot of GRUNT. More than I was anticipating at the time.

JNorton

My Feedback: (2)

I had a '66 .305 Honda. I submit to you the driver of said motorcycle would have more to do with it than the bike. This was proven to me when I was 19 and my elderly Uncle of 30 beat me on his '70 750 Honda 4 then switched with me and beat me again on my '70 750 Honda 4!

JNorton

My Feedback: (2)

305 Honda Super Hawk

SrTelemaster150

I had a '70 Dart Swinger 340 that was tuned up pretty good. No headers or such but I had the timing cranked to it & had worked the Carter AVS over per an article in Hot Rod magazine. My friend was so impressed he went out & bought a similarly equipped '69 Swinger.

We raced & I beat him by 9 car lengths. We switched & I beat him (him driving my car) W/his own car by 2 car lengths.

That's a sum total of 11 car length due to the driver factor.

That poor soul couldn't shift a 4-speed worth a hoot. He would let off the gas, depress the clutch pedal, ham fist the shifter, release the clutch pedal back on the gas in 5 distinct, separate actions. He couldn't keep clutches in the car either. By the time he let out the clutch, the car had slowed so much that it took a horrible toll on the disc. When I would shift, it was one blur of action. on-off the clutch/off-on the accelerator in an instant while simultaneously shifting. .I didn't leave the accelerator on the floor as it would cause too much wheel hop in 2nd. I tended to trash the synchronizers though.

Hobbsy

My Feedback: (102)

I don't remember what year Honda's first appeared here, I had an almost new Harley 175 Pacer in HiFi red. My friend Don who rode a 200cc Ducati with the noisiest valve train I ever heard and I rode down the Wellsville, Ohio to Johnson Motors. Charlie Johnson sold BMW and Triumph, then added Honda. I test rode a Honda 160 Dream. It ran like a fine jeweled watch but was genuine dawg performance wise. I grew up about 3 miles from Route 30 just before it crossed into W.Va., and then Ohio. I saw a Super in Salem, Ohio at a flat track race. A Hawk and a Super Hawk sat sat side by side near our bikes.

I am surprised the Sprint did a wheely, they had a brass slug in the carb for the first 500 miles so you couldn't open it wide open. I never rode one though. I remember they had a deep powerful sound. Lottsa torque probably.The 175 Pacer had a Tillotson butterfly carb rather than the slide carb of the previous models.

FNQFLYER

SNR Telemaster, on clutches, have you ever used a button clutch (plate)? It is a 3 point clutch rather than a round disc type device. On bikes, for those who might be interested and want to sell Saitos to get there the Show and Shine in Cairns (usually in October) has lots repeat lots of bikes present most of which are used regularly including Aces, Brough Superiors, Indians and BTB Harleys are common fodder. Cairns at one point had more Harleys per head of population than any other city in Oz. A girl who worked for me had 3 her sister 5 all registered and used regularly. For those interested the eyes are getting better, even though I will need distance glasses (for flying and driving) I can still see models at height (1500 ft +) though they are "blurred" and I scare the crap out of the other half driving down the street. Doesn't believe me when I say I am ok,. Now to real stuff. Testing has begun for the contest models for the O/timer comp at the nationals. We have been running a Saito 62 on 30% nitro 20% synthetic, alongside a YS 63 on similar fuel and an OS 37H 2 stroke on similar fuel. All were running on "good props" with the Saito and the YS on 13x6 Bolly carbon needle props. The YS 12000rpm, the Saito 11000rpm and I don't know what the OS was doing. The YS was the most economical with the Saito chewing through 20 mls of fuel in 28 seconds. Interesting and we are testing for height achieved in a timed engine run. The YS gets 28 seconds, the Saito gets 32 seconds and the OS gets 25 seconds, food for thought, for info 3 seperate a/c were used and height gained was in favour of the YS. More testing required.

Charley

My Feedback: (2)

This is OT but: My uncle Carl ( a WWII P-38 pilot in the Pacific) rode big Indian MCs postwar, AIR. Similar to the big Harley Hogs.

CR

SrTelemaster150

I assure you, my Sprint SS didn't have any slug in the carburetor. I bought it from Harry Kunckle (sp?) at McKeesport HD. It was a little hole in the wall. Only had enough room for about 2 bikes, 3 if one of them was a single cylinder model, in what could only be loosly called the "showroom".There was room for about a half dozen more bikes packed like sardines in the back room.

Harry packed me across the bridge over the Monongahela river on the back of the Sprint to a dirt flat on the other side & gave me a "lesson" before turning me loose. No helmets, no special license. Harry was a crusty old fart & it wouldn't surprise me if he would have removed any sort of limiter that might have been in the carburetor. I put the 1st 500 miles on it in about 2 1/2 days.

Hobbsy

My Feedback: (102)

I should have chosen a better word, it was sleeve over the pull cable that only allowed the carb slide open to about 3/4 of the way. At the 500 mile check up it was removed.

SrTelemaster150

Like I said, I put 500 miles on it the 1st weekend & when I took it in, I don't remember Harry doing anything that increased performance potential. I was cautioned about excess revs & there was a certain speed I wasn't suposed to exceed.

I remember he warned me about slow, sharp turns under power. I was so embarrased about tearing up the taillight on the 1st day I rode to the Latrobe HD shop to try to get another lens rather than returning to McKeesport. RT 30 was a divided hi-way & when I left the shop (W/O a taillight lens) I had to go East a short distance & make a "U" turn to go back west. I was feeling pretty confident & didn't heed Harry's warning as I attempted to make the "Uey". The bike got away from me & I climbed halfway up the embanlment on the North side of the hi-way before I got the throttle backed off.

I guess there's something to be said for having to have a motorcycle certification before you are turned loose. Some how I survived that 1st 500 miles W/a Sprint that was making full power. If there was throttle stop in place, I sure couldn't tell! I think it would have been wiser if Harry had left that throttle stop on the carburetor.

Rudolph Hart

[QUOTE=SrTelemaster150;11993732]Like I said, I put 500 miles on it the 1st weekend & when I took it in, I don't remember Harry doing anything that increased performance potential. I was cautioned about excess revs & there was a certain speed I wasn't suposed to exceed.

I remember he warned me about slow, sharp turns under power. I was so embarrased about tearing up the taillight on the 1st day I rode to the Latrobe HD shop to try to get another lens rather than returning to McKeesport. RT 30 was a divided hi-way & when I left the shop (W/O a taillight lens) I had to go East a short distance & make a "U" turn to go back west. I was feeling pretty confident & didn't heed Harry's warning as I attempted to make the "Uey". The bike got away from me & I climbed halfway up the embanlment on the North side of the hi-way before I got the throttle backed off.

I guess there's something to be said for having to have a motorcycle certification before you are turned loose. Some how I survived that 1st 500 miles W/a Sprint that was making full power. If there was throttle stop in place, I sure couldn't tell! I think it would have been wiser if Harry had left that throttle stop on the carburetor.[/QUOT

You wer'nt wearing a flat black open faced helmet while all this was going on were you?

SrTelemaster150

Nope no helmet at all.

jetpoweredmonkey

My Feedback: (11)

I'm working on an oldie that looks to have had almost no run time, but needed bearings. All is nice and clean and ready to go back together, but I can't budge the ring. I have a new reproduction ring to install but the original is stuck solid. I suppose the ring must have rusted a bit (though it looks really clean) and wedged itself into the land. I have been working at the gap with a pointed pick, and have managed not to damage the piston, but man, that sucker is STUCK.

So far, I've soaked overnight with WD-40, then Liquid Wrench, boiled it in an antifreeze bath, and heated it up HOT with the heat gun. No luck. Any suggestions? I am not going to be able to get a new piston for this otherwise nice old engine.

N1EDM

My Feedback: (2)

JPM, I'm just thinking out loud here. I don't know if this is a good idea or not - some guys might chime in with better ideas.

If the engine is apart, and the piston is not at TDC, could you mount the head/piston upside down on a bench (it would have to be fully supported) and put a forked stick down inside the piston and gently tap it to see if it moved? The fork would have to be carved so that it straddled the connecting rod and the wrist pin and rest on the underside of the piston. The wood would have to be soft (pine?) and the tapping should be gentle. With a good sanding disk and a little creative X-Acto saw work, it would only take a few minutes.

I would NOT suggest hitting the connecting rod directly - there would likely be damage to the connecting rod and bearing, wrist pin, and piston journals if you did that.

Was there any trace of a fine, white powder inside the piston between the piston and the sleeve? It might look like dried salt? I am thinking that there could have been corrosion between the steel piston ring and the aluminum wall. If it had been in a damp environment, galvanic corrosion could have gotten in there and 'welded' the ring to the cylinder sleeve. But that would be in an extreme circumstance. I used to run into that in my old job (not in RC engines) quite a bit. It's a slim possibility that this might be your problem. I emphasize the word 'slim'.

Just my $.02

Bob

Rudolph Hart

Try giving the piston a couple of good whacks on a bit of soft pine.

ps somebody above mentioned re badged harleys,the only one i can think of is aermacchi,an italian middleweight with average performance for it's day.

Hobbsy

My Feedback: (102)

That would be the Knuckle Head Sprints, (250 and 350) and the Baja 100, as Dan mentioned above, they had above average performance. The little 100 could outrun 125's all day long at Moto Cross.

SrTelemaster150

The way I'm reading it, JPM has a ring stuck in the ring groove of the piston, not a piston stuck in the bore.

Perhaps a pair of snap ring pliers could get it apart far enough to get a small screwdriver tip under the ring?

SrTelemaster150

They also made an (Italian) 125 Rapido road bike. They could do a pretty good job of holding off the 165 Hondas of the day on the hi-way.

N1EDM

My Feedback: (2)

I think that you're right, SrT. I may have jumped at it too fast. If you're right (and I think that you are, now) perhaps the point of a dental pick could be driven down between the gap to 'spread' the gap open. That might break things free just enough to ease out the ring.

Again, 'gently' would be the watchword.

Bob

lngntooth

Help! Who is the best resource of Saito parts? I'd like to replace the old disc-type carb on a low use Saito 1.20 with the new air-bleed style but want to get it right the first time. The old engine has tons of compression.....I'm done trying to find the sweet spot on the carb adjustment. If I wanted to practice dead stick landings, I'd just fly gliders.
I've got a SA-1.50 with an air-bleed carb and none of the idle/mid-range issues.
Thanks!

lngntooth

I've got the bones of a '66 Dream in my barn. Engine is seized but it's mostly all there.

SrTelemaster150

I'm not aware of the FA-150 having an "air bleed" carburetor.