RDO4 query.

[Wight1]

Greetings all and hopefully I can keep this short and painless as I know repetitive posts can get tedious.

The situation is that I'm going to be sourcing an RD04 as a selfish B-day present to myself this August. What I've come to realise is that some imports and especially 'fresh' imports can be in exceptional condition for their age and for what I consider good money, but, what are the pit falls with imports even if fresh, registered & MOT'd?

Thanks in advance

[Knobblywobbly]

They may have their power output restricted - easy to remove the from the inlet rubbers to derestrict.

[BobA]

I don't see any obvious problems with buying an import at all, apart from obvious ones like KM speedos, and possible lack of service history.

In theory (and I thought it myself in the past) you could even just trawl German, Italian, or French eBay and buy direct and ride it home, doing all the import stuff yourself if you felt brave enough.

Obviously, you take your chances buying an import just like you would with a UK bike, but as long as there is a UK log book, and the frame and engine numbers are noted correctly you should be OK. I say that as the numbers on my RD03 resto project (that has unfortunately ground to a halt) do not, and I think that the mistake was made because often UK bikes have matching frame/engine numbers, whereas the Euro ones don't.

Euro bikes often fare better because of warmer drier climates, so the perennial AT problem with wheel corrosion is minimized, and the rest of the bike often reflects this.

With the lack of history, be wary of any mileage shown on the bike, as that 4000 mile minter could have been round the globe twice already.
Find a good dealer/seller and make it clear you intend to check the bike thoroughly, and ask them if they'll let you, or do it themselves, remove the front sprocket cover to check the output shaft for wear. Or atleast ask them if they'll warrant this.

Make your first check a visual inspection of how tight the chain is. If it's slack, this is a good sign, but always check the output shaft anyway.
Afterwards, check the wheels, calipers, and that it's generally well cared for and lubed up. Check the rear suspension linkage is clean and lubed.
Bodywork can suffer on a bike made for off-road, and to a certain extent you should be prepared to accept a few dings, but this does give you some bargaining power!!

I think the German RD04's that are restricted have a slightly different livery, so the R-W-B ones also have a flash of green on them. Best to check engine numbers though, as fairings could always have been changed.



Go for it, they are fantastic CLASSIC bikes.




Bob

[Kjell Lindberg]

I think the German RD04's that are restricted have a slightly different livery, so the R-W-B ones also have a flash of green on them. Best to check engine numbers though, as fairings could always have been changed.

Bob

As far as I know, The RD03 (XRV650) and RD04 were both restricted in the same way, by means of a different "Carburator Insulator" (As Honda calls them in their part fiche).
The inside diamater is smaller, thats all.

Never heard that the livery correspond to the restriction.
However the RD04 in its first production did not have an Tripmaster.
This came later in production,

RD04 with Tripmaster:



Another nice example



One without Tripmaster



ONLY GERMAN MARKET MODELS:

The 50HP model:
XRV750L AFRICA TWIN 1990 G/50P.
Frame s/n: from 3000001 upto 3001203
Engine s/n: from 3000001 upto 3002245

The 58HP model:
XRV750L AFRICA TWIN 1990 G.
Frame s/n: from 2000026 upto 2004309
Engine s/n: from 2000038 upto 2004677
----------------------------------------------
The 50HP model:
XRV750M AFRICA TWIN 1991 G/50P
Frame s/n: from 3100001 upto 3101534
Engine s/n: from 3100001 upto 3101536

The 58HP model:
XRV750M AFRICA TWIN 1991 G/50P
Frame s/n: from 2100001 upto 2104115
Engine s/n: from 2100001 upto 2104244
-----------------------------------------------
The 50HP model:
XRV750N AFRICA TWIN 1992 G/50P
Frame s/n: from 3200001 upto 3201605
Engine s/n: from 3200001 upto 3201605

The 58HP model:
XRV750N AFRICA TWIN 1992 G/50P
Frame s/n: from 2201840 upto 2202703
Engine s/n: from 2201800 upto 2202763

But as there is only a difference in the rubber inlet manifold, I would not
let the fact that the one you consider buying is restricted prevent me from buying it.

The RD04 is a great choise!

[dirtyden]

Interested to know a bit about mine .
It is a 92 RD04 the log book has it as First registered in the uk .
frame number 2202710
eng 2202770

It is in an "Interesting" blue / pink / purple colour scheme , that i never seen before in the flesh .

Ant ideas ??

[Zenarchy]

I think the German RD04's that are restricted have a slightly different livery, so the R-W-B ones also have a flash of green on them. Best to check engine numbers though, as fairings could always have been changed.

The itallian ones that are unrestricted have green on the fairings (not sure if the scheme is different for any german ones with green on though). If you're buying from Italy then I think most of the RD04s are like that as the colours match the italian flag so they were sold like that to that market.

Go for it, they are fantastic CLASSIC bikes.

Very happy with mine too

[Kjell Lindberg]

As to my very limited knowledge, the RD04 only came in 7 different color options 1990-1992:

Option 1: Red/Blue/White

Option 2: Red/Blue/White (With the Greenish trim on fairing, and front fender, and the letters Honda 750 and Adventure Sports in yellow)



Option 3: Blue/Red/White (Red and Light Blue have switched places)



Option 4




Option 5: White/Silver/Black, and some red



Option 6: Red/Silver/Black with some white



Option 7








"The short arsed option"

[AlanH]

...and that one must use the radiator fan for propulsion

[dirtyden]

Yeah thats mine . Any Idea of intended market ( Germany ? ) was it restricted ?

[Wight1]

Well thank you guys indeedy, very informative. I get the tight chain output shaft trick Bob and thank you for taking the time to say all you did, as everyone who said their pennies worth.

Travelling isn't an issue as isn't inspecting one many miles away before purchase.

Again rather than drag my own posts on but instead rely on your quality replies, am I correct in thinking that an RD04 will shine as well if not better as its younger brothers and sisters would for long distance? I understand its talked of as the daddy of all the marques and probably the pinnacle of AT design robustness, but would it be the first AT to be seen on the hard shoulder at an AT run?

Please don't have a bash between each others marques because of my question. If I were to explain the way I visualise the longevity of an RD04 from all I've read, It'd not be far from travelling in an early 1980s Mercedes taxi in the sub-Sahara whilst driving past 1990's mercs being ripped apart for scrap. If that makes sense and not to ridicule?

Here's the sort of Italian thing I'm looking at: Motolife | used bikes like Africa Twin and Supertenere for sale