FOUR-ZA HONDA!

It’s not been long since we’ve been let out to play post lockdown and we have a delightful Japanese middleweight to ride and photograph before the ominous-looking clouds begin to empty.

However, we also have a very enthusiastic 50-something who wants to tell us about his bikes that “looked exactly like that but were Suzukis – or was it Yamahas?”. He’s desperately well-intentioned but hasn’t a clue about social distancing or the bikes he’s owned, so now seems like a good time to press the button and warm up the motor. The subtly muted exhaust note and breathy rasp of the air-box seem to convey the message that we’ve a job to do. He departs smiling, waving and watching.

And why wouldn’t you when you’ve just spent time absorbing this rather cute CB-1 400? They aren’t especially common now and even when they were mainly brought over from Japan as grey imports back in the 1990s, the CB1