Spending Money Doing Up An Old Honda Hornet

[MattCinderey]

I bought a Honda CB250 Hornet about a year ago with green book for 80k. It was in half decent condition, mechanically sound.

I absolutely love this bike, the gear drive whine, the exhaust tune. It's not slow either. The perfect size for Samui roads. I enjoy riding it more than my 650R.

Now, unfortunately it's a bit tatty. The guy I bought it from decided to paint the frame red, it looks nasty.

I'd really like to do this bike up. Strip it down, have the frame re-painted, then the gas-tank and all the other bits to another colour. I'd like to change the colour of the engine to black, change the lights, powder-coat the wheels, black, etc. etc.

I'd just like to make it look like a very tidy bike.

I have no idea how much it would cost to do this, maybe 50k in total? My friend said I would be daft spending this sort of money on an old bike and if I sold it I would lose it.

I'm not sure what to do, whether to keep it as a project bike or sell it on as a friend of mine has offered me 90k for it. I'm very tempted to sell it and put the money towards another bike. I'd like to get rid of the Ninja as well.

I really love my in-line 4 cylinder bikes. I used to drive a CB400 V-Tec and that was my favourite bike I've ridden. I would definitely buy another if a good one came along, but they're pretty rare and I'm always concerned about buying bikes here due to dodgy green books, etc.

I guess my other option would be a bike from a dealer like an FZ6, or I really like the Ducati Monster 795 or the Triumph Street Triple.

Any advice would be great.

[MattCinderey]

This is the bike at the moment.

Edited February 5, 2012 by MattCinderey

[MattCinderey]

This is what I'd love to have it look like.

[submaniac]

I don't think you need to spend 50k baht. First off, if he painted the frame, it may be an easy fix. The frame would be powdercoated from Honda. If he just "painted" it, then you can try stripping the paint off with acetone or another paint thinner. That would not damage the powdercoat.

I like the color. If it's got scratches you don't need to repaint; you could just use rubbing and polishing compound and a hi speed buffer and the paint will look like new.

[wana]

sinking a ton of money into an old bike doesnt usually make financial sense unless you intend to keep it for a substancial length of time

if you wanna upgrade anyway id take the 90k and move on ,no point spending a pile of cash making a bike shiny just to sell it at a loss

also ,it shouldnt cost 50k to change out the lights and custom paint it ,

[MattCinderey]

I guess if I could get it re-painted and all touched up for 20k-30k, that wouldn't be so bad. I'd definitely hold on to the bike then. It's a great motor. It's pretty rare as well, I haven't seen many hornets about.

[karlos]

I'd hold on to it too, i've not seen a 250 hornet here in Thailand until now, nice looking bike

[VocalNeal]

555 I love it. That is a useless bike! I'll buy it from you for 90,000

If you need help with logistics I can deliver the parts to the powder coating place. Send me a PM when you are ready.

Edited February 5, 2012 by VocalNeal

[MattCinderey]

I'd hold on to it too, i've not seen a 250 hornet here in Thailand until now, nice looking bike

Thanks Karlos. I love this bike. It's very quick, but not as fast as the Ninja, so I can't get in to much trouble... The gear cam at the front makes an amazing noise, like an aeroplane turbine. I had the baffles taken out from the exhaust, so it's very "throaty"

I'm pretty tempted to get it sprayed and make it look nice. I've also been told the 600 engine pretty much bolts straight in.

[MattCinderey]

If you need help with logistics I can deliver the parts to the powder coating place. Send me a PM when you are ready.

Neal, where are you based? I'm down here on Samui.

[karlos]

I'd hold on to it too, i've not seen a 250 hornet here in Thailand until now, nice looking bike

Thanks Karlos. I love this bike. It's very quick, but not as fast as the Ninja, so I can't get in to much trouble... The gear cam at the front makes an amazing noise, like an aeroplane turbine. I had the baffles taken out from the exhaust, so it's very "throaty"

I'm pretty tempted to get it sprayed and make it look nice. I've also been told the 600 engine pretty much bolts straight in.

Looking at the size of your bike it seems to be a smililar size to the hornet 600 (nearly bought one last year) cracking bikes and it wouldn't surprise me if the 600 lump would drop right in, just be sure to cahnged the suspension and brakes to suit if you take that route in the future

[MattCinderey]

The 600 engine would be sweet. I wonder where you would get one from?

How are you enjoying your 2012 Ninja?

[VocalNeal]

If you need help with logistics I can deliver the parts to the powder coating place. Send me a PM when you are ready.

Neal, where are you based? I'm down here on Samui.

I'm in BKK. I take stuff to the powder coat all the time so if you need to add a few parts and then send them back for you.

[submaniac]

The 600 engine would be sweet. I wonder where you would get one from?

How are you enjoying your 2012 Ninja?

I am 99% sure that a 600cc engine would fit. Get a 600cc engine from a CBR600 and the mounting points should line up. The way it works in Japan is that there are different requirements for different cc bikes. Bikes above 400cc are only allowed for export. That is why you see alot of 400cc bikes from Japan, because that is their domestic market maximum displacement. (Of course there are over 400cc bikes in Japan but they must be first "exported"--just paperwork--and reimported into Japan to get around the law.) In Japan, it takes a special (more difficult) license to ride more than 400cc. Also in Japan, if the motorcycle is 250cc or less it does not have to have the yearly inspection, which costs money.

So instead of manufacturing completely different bikes, or engines, they just use the same base frames and the same engine blocks. The cb250 is pretty much the cb400 frame, which uses a detuned version of the CBR 600 engine. Hence CBR 600 engine will bolt in.

The CB250 is sold in the rest of the world as the Honda CB600 Hornet. The 600cc Hornet engine will fit in there, and the hornet engine is basically a detuned CBR600. http://en.wikipedia....ki/Honda_CB600F

here's one for sale (I think the price for this one is high though) http://www.ebay.com/itm/HONDA-CB600F-CB600-HORNET-ENGINE-MOTOR-6-5K-MILES-2007-/380267451038?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts&hash=item5889b4d29e

I was toying with the idea of bolting in the FZR600 engine in my FZR400.

Edited February 5, 2012 by submaniac

[VocalNeal]

The 600 engine would be sweet. I wonder where you would get one from?

I thought you said the original engine was fine and that the bike was perfect for Samui. Why change? Then all the paperwork hassle?

[MattCinderey]

The 600 engine would be sweet. I wonder where you would get one from?

I thought you said the original engine was fine and that the bike was perfect for Samui. Why change? Then all the paperwork hassle?

Neal, you're right, I'm just toying around with ideas. I doubt very much I would change the engine. Like you said, it's far too much hassle.

[MattCinderey]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm going to keep the Hornet and do it up. I spent most of last night reading hornet forums, so I'm quite excited and have lots of ideas to play with.

[robsamui]

The 600 engine would be sweet. I wonder where you would get one from?

How are you enjoying your 2012 Ninja?

I am 99% sure that a 600cc engine would fit. Get a 600cc engine from a CBR600 and the mounting points should line up. The way it works in Japan is that there are different requirements for different cc bikes. Bikes above 400cc are only allowed for export. That is why you see alot of 400cc bikes from Japan, because that is their domestic market maximum displacement. (Of course there are over 400cc bikes in Japan but they must be first "exported"--just paperwork--and reimported into Japan to get around the law.) In Japan, it takes a special (more difficult) license to ride more than 400cc. Also in Japan, if the motorcycle is 250cc or less it does not have to have the yearly inspection, which costs money.

So instead of manufacturing completely different bikes, or engines, they just use the same base frames and the same engine blocks. The cb250 is pretty much the cb400 frame, which uses a detuned version of the CBR 600 engine. Hence CBR 600 engine will bolt in.

The CB250 is sold in the rest of the world as the Honda CB600 Hornet. The 600cc Hornet engine will fit in there, and the hornet engine is basically a detuned CBR600. http://en.wikipedia....ki/Honda_CB600F

here's one for sale (I think the price for this one is high though) http://www.ebay.com/...=item5889b4d29e

I was toying with the idea of bolting in the FZR600 engine in my FZR400.

17,000B plus it's slightly damaged.

Then, of course, there's the shipping costs from England . . .

R

[MattCinderey]

Then, of course, there's the shipping costs from England . . .

R

That's no problem, I'm sure I could get someone to bring that over in their suitcase...

[BigBikeBKK]

If you need help with logistics I can deliver the parts to the powder coating place. Send me a PM when you are ready.

Neal, where are you based? I'm down here on Samui.

I'm in BKK. I take stuff to the powder coat all the time so if you need to add a few parts and then send them back for you.

I'd be most grateful for a referal to a good powder coating company here in Bangkok

[karlos]

The 600 engine would be sweet. I wonder where you would get one from?

How are you enjoying your 2012 Ninja?

You could import direct from Japan or i'm sure on mocyc.com they pop up from time to time

As for my Ninja, i'm loving it. I didn't and never will expect it to set any land speed records and set my mind to expect it to be a pretty tame bike compared to what i had back home in Old Blighty. 208kmh is the most i've had out of her in stock form, i'm guessing a new exhaust will help her reach the magical 220 mark that most ER's hit with aftermarket exhausts.... So no land speed records there then. As for me thinking it would be a tame bike, it surprised me a little to be honest, she'll willingly lift the front wheel if given a fist full in first gear and she's a sure footed and pleasantly nippy sport tourer. I'm happy i bought it and considering my initial mindset it hasn't disappointed me However i will be itching to sell it if the CBR600F comes to Thailand at a reasonable price