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Fair question. Yet, fair warning: long answer . . . My older brother, who got me into motorcycles through his Yamaha SR500 "thumper" (led me to my first bike, at age 35: the Honda GB500 Tourist Trophy), gave me a copy of this book in college. I'm not sure I made it halfway, but put it down and read Tolkien's Hobbit and Lord of the Rings trilogy instead. Later on, I tackled the (challenging) Pirsig philosophy writings for what they were, and discovered a recognition of some of my innate "values." First, that a drive to put things right ( "quality ?") is just, and desirable. And respectable, and important. Also, that not everyone "has it." And, further, that this drive extends to things mechanical. Which bolstered my natural tendency, and lifelong intent, to fix things and push back against entropy with good repair and maintenance practices, adding order to the universe. One of Pirsig's concepts (coming around to the "why" question) delves into what he called the "Gumption Trap ." I have not read his presentation of this concept in quite some time, but we all know it. That project stalled in the shed. That missing part made of unobtanium. The failed repair that failed again. Evidently, the Zen escaped my motorcycle maintenance and the GB was damaged by a mistake I made installing the oil filter. Ten years (!) later, the mistake was revealed and a top end rebuild was made. Two years later, the head bolts pulled out of the cylinder and the head gasket failed. Because of "life", it had to sit leaking oil (very un-Honda-like!) for fourteen months while a Major Gumption Trap set in. For the last three months, I have endeavored to gather parts, and special tools, from the U.S., The Netherlands, and a Japanese gasket set from Germany. I am lucky to have some really supportive and understanding friends that have encouraged me through this Gumption Trap. Revisiting Pirsig's writing, I saw this latest article about The Smithsonian exhibit that includes his SuperHawk. That the author never revealed the motorcycle he rode has always been an enticing mystery. That his motorcycle is now in The Smithsonian is testimony that these machines, these very personal machines, are more than just nuts and bolts and gaskets. They are emblematic of the devotion and care that is the fabric our lives. I feel better about moving forward and making my first motorcycle roadworthy again; ready to bust-out of this gumption trap ! That same brother once drew a cartoon of me in a struggle with this GB500 that really says "Gumption Trap " . . . Pretty revealing that my GB looks EXACTLY like that cartoon on the lift right now . . .

My boss gave me the book when I retired 10 years ago, still never cracked it open. So far as the Superhawk, the first modern bike. A local riding buddy and restorer has all the the 305's, Scrambler, Dream and SH. According to him, for sure the Superhawk was the best of the bunch. Built with better parts like swingarm bearings but also a convertible bike that has adjustable controls, big brakes and very much a race bike that could be ridden to the track. I think Honda learned they could build a cheaper bike and still have it's famous reliability, finish and performance.

All the parts and tools have finally arrived. It's down to equal parts time and Zen . . . .

^^^^Yeah, I've never understood a TV in the shop, or listening to the radio while riding..

Long, but very interesting. I read "Zen and the art..." a couple of decades ago, and now I think I should perhaps have another look at it. What I remember most is his questioning of how someone can work in a concentrated manned on an engine with the radio going in the background. That stuck in my head, as I ask the same question myself. The concept of a "Gumption Trap" is fascinating. I'd never heard of that, but having consulted the Wiki on the subject, I realise that I am very susceptible to those. Hmmm... EDIT: thinking about it, I reckon the more one is a perfectionist, the more likely one is to be susceptible.

@KINDOY2, did you ride with this outfit? I'm currently entertaining a pipe dream. Kid is doing a tour with a school group (performing various places), flying into Milan late June, leaving Rome early July. She'll be traveling with the group the entire time; my wife will intersect with the group's itinerary for a few day, but I have other ideas: to wit, Mugello for MotoGP, then renting a Guzzi, hitting Mandello de Lario, and points north, ... then intersect.

@audiomickLooks like the fairing in your second link has an additional piece attached...maybe for additional deflection. Look at the pic where the bike is next to the van. It is pretty evident there. Those Italians have some different ideas on staging in their ads. I look at those pics and want to scream for someone to get this damn bike out of the way. Also the description "if looks could kill the Laverda would be a mass murderer" could have been rethought a bit. On that same vein though, it looks killer in red.

Hmmm . I like Classical (yes Classical ) when I am concentrating , old stuff any other time , Framptom Comes Alive is probably the best to listen to (IDK why) . After that , anything goes !

Looks original to me too but when I worked on them was a long, long time ago and my memory of such things is probably sorely lacking. I never got the idea of the fuel door and spout on the RGS? That always struck me as gimmicky and weird as @#!#$#!

Ther was this kid I grew up with and he had a 66 model CB160. He rode this a million miles w/absolutely no maintenance . The seat spring broke and he stuffed a pillow up in there to make it tolerable and the handlebars broke and we use a section of galvanized pipe for handlebars . IDK when he finally got off of it , I suppose when he started driving ? AFA Pirsig's bike , I never knew it was a Super Hawk until later in life . I just assumed H-D or a British bike . I now see how he had time for philosophy instead of vocabulary !

Ah, that's a RFVH? I was thinking of the parallel valve 500 Ascot motor. Still, if I had a hangar for storage, I'd have one.

Thanks, man! Fortunately, I sourced a cam (from Israel!) and all the other top end parts (mostly from CMS/The Netherlands). The challenge with the re-rebuild was getting a GB500 head gasket. This is, apparently, a one-off not interchangeable with the XR or the FT motors. And the GB cam has a special double decompression system that is a special extra gumption-trap challenge. Just adding order to the universe, here . . .

needle bearing cam...mmm smooth. White Brothers used to make a billet clutch basket for these, as the ears tend to crack; otherwise everyone touched a groove on the outer ends of the fingers and fixed a steel or aluminum band. Wut else... It'll swallow a 44mm carb if you don't ride much under 3000rpms. plenty room for bigger intake valves, compression up to 13:1 pistons, Falicon can do the cranks in their sleep and make them indestructible. You probably don't ride it like that tho, eh? lol I miss that engine, a lot.

I did some work on them back in the day. The one that’s for sale is an RGS which had the 120 degree crank, they were considerably smoother than the earlier SF1000’s and Jotas which used a 180 degree crank and, as you would expect, to use the words of one journalist of the time, vibrated about one and a half times as much as a Triumph Boneville! The 180’s were a beast at the time though. Fastest production model in the world and the first ‘Genuine’ 130MPH motorcycle you could buy! Terrifying at anywhere near that speed but they made a fantastic noise and if you put noisy moron pipes on them you could set off car alarms by ‘Giving them the berries’ around Clapham Common near the shop I worked at. The main source of spares for them now is, I believe, a bloke whose name eludes me, in Canada of all places. Would I want one? F@#* no! One of my customers in Bungendore has a black Jota he’s selling if anyone is interested.

I'm sure wondering about the length of that cam chain tensioner adjustment bolt. Doesn't look stock to me which leaves questions, maybe. Spares are the issue and it's the sort of bike where specialised bespoke parts were used unique to that bike. Brakes and suspension are all easy but body stuff ,instruments and engine are the question. The earlier Jota series naked bikes would be a lot easier with regards to parts. Phil

It's been fun rereading this thread after all this time. I don't see much reason to drill the pucks. As long as the pucks are not dried up and very hard, they will not have any effect on the splines. Dirt and lack of grease are what damage splines. The pucks should be lubricated with a lube that is designed for rubber to metal contact. My personal favorite is Sil-glyde. It is made for lubricating rubber parts in contact with metal in brake systems so it is waterproof, heat resistant and tends to stay put. High pressure grease preferrably with moly such as TS-60 is best for the splines.

I must've been lucky with my recent disassembly because the wheel came apart without issue. Pity I hadn't read this at the time or I'd likely have taken the opportunity to drill the rubbers. As for super sticky grease for spinny parts potentially exposed to water, I swear by Castrol Optimol Paste. It was recommended for the splines on a BMW final drive I serviced and I've been using it since on all sorts of things. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/373738695763

In Milan Italy https://www.hpmotorrad.rentals/en/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwt4a2BhD6ARIsALgH7Dq_Tq_O1IKmivOa53qO_q8JuoAfBj8x77mB1eNdt4YAm0AsMfL2yS8aAlAjEALw_wcB https://www.hertzride.com/en/locations/motorcycle-rental-milan-285

I read it a very long time ago. I think it's a great title with an acceptable book. Like Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, it could have been so much better if a good editor would have cut it by 30 percent. I might be open to a re-read. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk