Econohonda

[Motu]

I gotta give a plug for Malcolm Kirkby at Econohonda,this guy is outstanding to deal with.

I have a bit of an unusual bike - 1986 Honda XLV 750...anyone who knows what it is or has seen one put up their hand,it's on my avatar.

Took my rear wheel off yesterday for a tyre and saw I could do with some rear brake shoes....ring up Honda....um,uh,well...we'll ring you back on that - yeah sure,like you didn't last time.A call at a couple of bike shops - is that a Transalp...is that an Africa Twin...no,it's what I told you it was.....we have no listing on that....then the ultimate - we don't stock brake shoes anymore,we will have to get them in from the supplier.

At 5.15pm I ring Malcolm,give my name - he knows what bikes I've got - I don't know If I can do that in aftermarket,we may have to go to genuine Honda shoes...leave it with me and I'll see what I can do.

At 8.30 this morning I had a set of aftermarket brake shoes in my hand,overnight from Te Aroha - beat that!!!!!

[wari]

Impressive !

[SPman]

Well, when it comes to older Hondas, Malcom's the man. - he doesnt do 3 trips a yr to the States looking for parts for nothing , mind you. What are his prices like? Reasonable?

[Motu]

I've bought a lot of parts off Malcolm,none of his prices have been outlandish enough to upset me,even stuff he imports special - no 3 week ex Japan crap either,it's at my door in a week.

In my game I am ordering parts from auto suppliers all day - I don't care about price...I want them to say ''yes,we have that'',send it right now and be the correct part...waste my time and I won't be back.

Malcolm doesn't have a ''too hard'' basket,too hard is his game,I just wish the others up theirs.

[Lee Rusty]

I'll take up the beat that challenge.

I was in Chch when my CBX750P (only 2 in country) ran out of rear shoes. went to CHCH Honda dealer who was not even good enough to be called useless. The conversation went like this .
Hi I need some rear shoes for my CBX750p. We don't have any
Can you look to see if they are compatible with any other model.
They are not. You know that without looking. Havent got time.

So not wanting to waste their precious time I got a phone book at a coffee bar (bike shop wouldnt let me use theirs ) and rang a car brake reliners.

DO you do M/c shoes - bring it down to us and let us have a look.

I did - I took rear wheel out - the staff looked at it said yep we can do but it takes an hour for the bonding to set.
I went for coffee and had a snooze in the sun. Staff came out an hour later after skimming drum, cutting new shoes from a sheet, cleaning off old linings, bonding on new ones.
Price was a stunning $23.00 - I refitted wheel and was away.

When I got back to Auckland I priced Honda items $99.00

Im still runnning on CHCH shoes two years later.

So if your lucky enuff to live in CHCH or SI (they do mail order)
give a call to Safe R Brakes 45 Durham St CHCH Ph Fax 03 3665914

1 hour make to measure personal service is hard to beat.

[What?]

I've known Malcolm for a lot of years now, and can verify that he is a Honda NUT!. He has a huge knowledge of what fits what etc etc and can be a great source of hard-to-find bits. Ring or fax him anytime, but don't expect replies to e-mails - this is one area where he falls flat...

[Jackrat]

Dang I thought most guys had their shoes relined,I go to a place in Otahuhu,Have done for years.I will find their details and post them so you guys and use em, too.
Hey MOTU,I was riding a Trident up the northern motorway about
fifteen yr,s ago when an XLV blew me into the weeds,A most humbling experiance,,,Bloody trail bike,,mutter,mutter.

[Motu]

That would be Autostop in Otahuhu maybe - they did the front shoes on my XS1 a few years ago....I didn't get a snooze in the sun like Lee,but back the next day is nothing to moan about.Radiused to suit the drum - only way to go.

Yeah,my big trail bike is a bit deceptive - a few weeks ago a Buel and a big litre sports job thought they would toast me up Happy Valley....by the time the Buel got me he had trouble making the next corner....then when we hit the twisties I nearly pushed them off the road, and me on knobs! If your gunna ride a sports bike - at least have the guts to ride it like one!

Actualy Jack it reminds me a lot of a Trident - 60hp,450lbs and never stops reving! Only difference is I've cleaned up a Trident with one ruptured carb diaphram at the time.

[SNOman]

I gotta give a plug for Malcolm Kirkby at Econohonda,this guy is outstanding to deal with.

Yep, big thumbs up for Malcom from me also. He saved me quite a bit of time and money when I had to replace the output shaft on my 83 XR350

[wari]

Talking abut wnomen and snow women ... anyone know the difference?

Answer : - one has snow balls :spudwave:

can anyone tell I'v e been dinking?

[merv]

Dang I thought most guys had their shoes relined,I go to a place in Otahuhu,Have done for years.I will find their details and post them so you guys and use em, too.
Hey MOTU,I was riding a Trident up the northern motorway about
fifteen yr,s ago when an XLV blew me into the weeds,A most humbling experiance,,,Bloody trail bike,,mutter,mutter.

Yep when I had drum brake Hondas at the first change I bought a set of Honda shoes and then got the old ones relined and kept them as spare. Used to get them done in Napier (old home eh) at Don Agencies I think it was called.

As for Malcolm I've spoken to him a few times but bought very little (don't usually need much) but a few years ago I skidded on a hidden branch in long grass in the Waitarere forest and hit a tree with my 1983 XR tipped at an angle and it hit the headlight. All plastic it didn't break and I thought phew saved that OK, but then I picked myself up and rode off and saw the speedo needle do a twirl in front of my eyes. The damn headlight housing had been pushed back against the speedo cable and bent the guts so the needle was locked on and just spun around and wrecked the unit. Ring up Malcolm and sure enough he had one - it was a second hand one and looked like new - about half the price of a new one. Great service no doubt.

As for Christchurch, I did my Uni days down there in the 70's and Whiting and Waltho was the place to go - old Mrs Whiting looked after me like a son and was still giving me student discount years after I finished Uni. She always had the parts I needed when I was running an XL Honda. Some of my mates were still on TS Suzukis and in those days the Honda parts were about half the price of a Suz equivalent that's if they could even get the Suz parts. I don't think its like that any more.

[merv]

I have a bit of an unusual bike - 1986 Honda XLV 750...anyone who knows what it is or has seen one put up their hand,it's on my avatar.

Motu you probably know Brian that Lynda works with. He used to have an XLV and rode with us occasionally on it back around mid 90's. Couldn't find a photo of it in my collection though .

[Motu]

That's my bike,he was a fussy bugger and I've got recepts for all sorts of silly things,he kept a full service record and I've carried on with that too.Tell him I look after it like a baby,but don't spare the throttle.Also - what did he do to get the tank into that condition?....apart from dropping it on both sides.

[LB]

That's my bike,he was a fussy bugger and I've got recepts for all sorts of silly things,he kept a full service record and I've carried on with that too.Tell him I look after it like a baby,but don't spare the throttle.Also - what did he do to get the tank into that condition?....apart from dropping it on both sides.

Holy shit - you've got Brian's old bike????? I'll be at his desk first thing this mng!!!!!! Will find out re the tank for you and come back to this thread with it. He's a neat guy, he'll be rapt to know you've still got it.

[merv]

That XLV could go pretty good. On one of our e-Riders runs when Richard Scoular was the main man he always liked long fast rides so (I think it was in '95) we did Wellington, Wanganui, Raetihi, Top O The Bruce for lunch, Waiouru, Vinegar Hill, Ashurst, Saddle Road, Woodville, Wairarapa back roads and back home - over 850kms in the day and Richard was apt to crank us along at 160 - 180 when the HP didn't exist and the Brian had no problems running at those speeds.

Likewise the later Africa Twin one of our e-Riders got one of those and toured the South Island with us in 96 and 97 and I rode behind him into Omarama with around 190 - 200 on my speedo. They may only be 60hp but they can go even sitting up so tall in the wind.