Faults:

Suppurating corrosion over the years.

The carb needs cleaning every few months.

The smaller jet blocks very easily.

The tank is clean and I use a filter, but it still blocks.

I had to change the brakes because they were making too much noise, around 80000 km.

The engine gave out and stopped working at 260000 kilometers.

Putting those things aside, the CD200 is bulletproof. Just add fuel and there are no other issues.

General Comments:

The CD200 is a twin cylinder four stroke commuter with vague sixties styling. I was actually attracted to the bike by the peculiar chromed mock air intakes on the sidepanels and the metal fork shrouds, but I still don't know why. Mine was one of the deep maroon red ones.

Friends who rode 400s and 750s all seemed to think I should have got something larger, but I was easily pleased. I had wanted a bike for commuting, and a solid, reliable little commuter I had got.

After a while I began to use it for longer journeys. It happily buzzed along at 95 to 105 kmh with a top speed of about 120 kmh. This required a week's diet and a following wind to achieve. In retrospect, I might have been more successful with the kind of diet that produced a following wind. However, since it also required an ungainly position and snot on the speedo, my licence was always fairly safe.

Performance is not the most dynamic in the world, but the seat is broad and comfortably padded. I always consider this an important feature of a bike since nature has not endowed me with much natural padding of my own.

I occasionally use my Honda to collect pieces of wood for work. Six feet was the longest I can manage and the only other limit was whether I could straddle the wood to reach the back brake and gear levers.

I regularly use it to transport my tools to wherever I was working by strapping them on the pillion perch. The engine never complained, but the chain tended to stretch at an alarming rate.

Thinking about how marvelous the engine was, how it always started regardless of the weather and how it had never been any trouble in the 260000 km I had done. I was just getting to the point where you promise yourself that you will actually get round to changing the oil this weekend when... a loud clattering noise from the engine signified that the engine had decided that this weekend was too far away and too late.

It should be noted that the motorcycle, although it had few kilometers on it when I bought it, was in very bad condition and had little to no maintenance.

Short, the CD200 is a good, solid, reliable little bike, which if regularly serviced should last a good few kilometers. My engine lasted 260000 km and, whilst the head was irredeemable, the pistons and bores were still within tolerances and the rest of the engine has been saved for spares. They commute well, require little attention and are comfortable enough for long journeys.