Re: [2cylinderhondas] n600 as a daily driver

[friend]

Hi Kevin;
    Good subject, and one that I toy with all the time.  Back when I was restoring older cars, (50's and such) we aligned the front end with string.  And when I took my first Honda 600 over to have the alignment checked (I had already used the string) they said it was just fine.   So I got a bit more high tech and now I align my front tires with a measuring tape.  I measure the it from the back of the tire at the line (I made with a peice of chalk, make a single solid line on both tires as high up as you can while having the measuring tape stright across between the tires center tread) then roll the car and forward or backward until the line shows up in front. (Loosen tierod nut and with a 14mm wrench) turn the shaft one way or the other to make the measurement the same on both front and back for the tire.  Do this a couple of times (on both tierod ends and make sure your steering wheel is stright and get the measurement to equal at both the front and rear) to make sure the wheels are lined up right.  Tighten the nut back on the tierod and your set.  There is no camber adjustment, all you have if toe in or out and you just did that.  If you can't get them to line up, Jack up the front end and see if their is play in the bearings
by grabbing the top and bottom of the tier and try pulling the top of the tire toward you or pushing it away type motion.  If it moves then you have loose bearings and they need to be changed.
    If your steering wheel shimmies when you put on the breaks, it is most likely your front break roters or pads.
If the car seems to have bad vibration from back or front this could be from warn strut or shock.  Think of a shock or strut as a means of keeping the tire planted firmly onto the road.  If they are warn out the shock will just bounce when you hit that stone in the road.  Likewise, if the
    What problems to look for, bent tierods, tierod ends that are loose or broken, Bent struts, and pay attention to the tab on the strut that fits into the knotch on the knuckle.  Some times this tab becomes rounded, cracked or broken off in which case the strut is bad and needs to be replaced. Also look for the bolt holding the strut in place to be loose or missing.  And broken studs at the top of the strut.
If the Steering wheel moves and the wheels don't this is a problem with the rack PINION SHAFT BUSHINGS, I have a text sheet on the Files area of the group site called "Steering Rack Repair" http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/anzhonda600owners/
if you have this problem.
    Just remember, if it is warn, cracked or broken then it needs to be replaced, and look at the parts of your car with that idea in mind when doing things like, Washing it, cleaning the engine compartment.
These cars are old and people that will fix them for you want about $70.00 an hour to just look at it and ask you questions.  And, just because the Auto Repair manual does not say (Honda 600) on it, there is still valuable information that all cars have in common.
Bill

[Kevin Lister]

Hi Bill,
Thanks for the info!
I'm planning to restore the suspension and steering rack before winter is out.
Miles is going to rebuild the steering rack for me and I'll dig up or repair the shocks/struts.
It drives good but it does make a lot of noise when I hit bumps so something is very worn.
I'm almost afraid to look under the car since I had to do a bit of work under the hood to get in in good running order. But, it needs it and I'll just have to find the time to take it apart and do it. I'll most likely work on the brake system at the same time since I'll have the wheels and suspension all off of it.
kev billmyong@...
wrote:

> Hi Kevin;
>     Good subject, and one that I toy with all the time.  Back when I was restoring older cars, (50's and such) we aligned the front end with string.  And when I took my first Honda 600 over to have the alignment checked (I had already used the string) they said it was just fine.   So I got a bit more high tech and now I > align my front tires with a measuring tape.  I > measure the it from the back of the tire at the line (I made with a peice of chalk, make a single solid line on both tires as high up as you can while having the measuring tape stright across between the tires center tread) then roll the car and forward or backward until the line shows up in front. (Loosen tierod nut and with a 14mm wrench) turn the shaft one way or the other to make the measurement the same on both front and back for the tire.  Do this a couple of times (on both tierod ends and make sure your steering wheel is stright and get the measurement to equal at both the front and rear) to make sure the wheels are lined up right.  Tighten the nut back on the tierod and your set.  There is no camber adjustment, all you have if toe in or out and you just did that.  If you can't get them to line up, Jack up the front end and see if their is play in the bearings
> by grabbing the top and bottom of the tier and try pulling the top of the tire toward you or pushing it away type motion.  If it moves then you have loose bearings and they need to be changed.
>     If your steering wheel shimmies when you put on the breaks, it is most likely your front break roters or pads.  If the car seems to have bad vibration from back or front this could be from warn strut or shock.  Think of a shock or strut as a means of keeping the tire planted firmly onto the road.  If they are warn out the shock will just bounce when you hit that stone in the road.  Likewise, if the
>     What problems to look for, bent tierods, tierod ends that are loose or broken, Bent struts, and pay attention to the tab on the strut that fits into the knotch on the knuckle.  Some times this tab becomes rounded, cracked or broken off in which case the strut is bad and needs to be replaced. Also look for the bolt holding the strut in place to be loose or missing.  And broken studs at the top of the strut.   If the Steering wheel moves and the wheels don't this is a problem with the rack PINION SHAFT BUSHINGS, I have a text sheet on the Files area of the group site called "Steering Rack Repair" > http://autos. groups.yahoo. com/group/ anzhonda600owner s/ >   if you have this problem.
>     Just remember, if it is warn, cracked or broken then it needs to be replaced, and look at the parts of your car with that idea in mind when doing things like, Washing it, cleaning the engine compartment.  These cars are old and people that will fix them for you want about $70.00 an hour to just look at it and ask you questions.  And, just because the Auto Repair manual does not say (Honda 600) on it, there is still valuable information that all cars have in > common.
> Bill
> -----Original Message-----
> From:
> 2cylinderhondas@ yahoogroups. com [mailto:2cylinderho ndas@yahoogroups .com] > On Behalf Of > Kevin Lister > Sent:
> Thursday, January 24, 2008 2:41 PM
> To:
> 2cylinderhondas@ yahoogroups. com
> Subject:
> Re: [2cylinderhondas] n600 as a daily driver
> > I drive my n600 every day as long as it isn't raining or super > > hot out!
> > I drive mine over Hwy 17 and Hwy 9 here in the Santa Cruz Mountains. I'm sometimes the slowest car on the road but not all the time!
> > I love driving my 600 and drive it every chance I can. It gets 36mpg average so I love the gas saving too!
> > I am wearing one of the tires on the outside as it is out of alignment. I'll have to ask Miles to show me how to fix it. ;o)
> > kev
> > Jamie
> > wrote:
> > > Hi,
> > > I was wondering how others here feel about the idea of using their > > > n600's as daily drivers?
> > > anybody here doing it?
> > > What are your thoughts
> > > Jamie
> > Never miss a thing.
> > Make Yahoo your homepage.
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