Reviewing a 1965 Honda Generator

[@SilverCymbal]

Thanks for watching please LIKE & SUBSCRIBE - To see Honda's current generator: amzn.to/3icivz2

[@craigr6186]

Hey sir how are you hope all is well, cool video. The tuning fork thingy is a vibration reed tachometer. I’ve been doing industrial steam turbines for 20+ years now and we have them all over the place. You can pick them up used, the one on your Gen. reads the Hz based on rpm. Use your scope get the hz right and measure the rpms and presto you know what it’s doing. If your type in vibration reed tachometer you’ll find lots of used ones. Have a great week hope this helped

[@petersutherland5791]

Just got a wreck of a e300 off a boat yard . Going to be a complete rebuild ... love these hondas . Thanks for your content

[@61Slughi]

This guy's vocal delivery is fantastic. Very informative and gets right to the point.

[@SilverCymbal]

Very nice of you to say, thank you

[@paulschab8152]

I wish I had good speaking skills.

[@piotrkoryl2348]

Found one E300 in Poland 5 years ago and still have it. Thanks for the video

[@nathandurrence134]

Proof if you take care of something, it’ll last awhile, maybe not forever, but awhile

[@hothmandon]

A long time would be more appropriate.

[@JoshuasRecordings]

Well, stuff was made better back then too.

[@otool]

Your wife won’t be very happy you used her “massager” to try to fix the generator. 😂

[@pesomistic7656]

yup never seen that before! oh wow even back then Honda was killin it, dang its so well made, wasn't even expecting it to run or run correctly. jolly good vid man!

[@SilverCymbal]

I am amazed at how much the new ones still have in common. Just no more free spare parts inside the case.

[@chanel2018-k3z]

I still drive my 2001 Acura…..that I’m told, has a Honda engine….I’m a woman 😊 Never has broke down. 👍🏻

[@bobl78]

back then this machine was 20 years ahead of it´s time..I owned an EX650 for many years and it was awesome

[@wyattjl]

Had the opportunity to work on one of these awhile back, although it was a 70s model with automatic controlled throttle. Very cool. My uncle bought it from a yard sale, and brought it to me to get it running

[@lilietto1]

I've got the same at home, my grandfather bought it to watch TV during blackouts lol

[@rebeccabrossman2250]

This was really cool to see. Thanks for sharing

[@teunburgers1575]

great video, I have an E300 my father bought in the early 70's, in the original packaging. With the help of this video I feel more confident to prepare it for a test run.

[@mohamedfahad2364]

This silver gentleman has got an incredible talent. I hope he's aware of it: his voice delivery and eloquence is just top notch!

[@SilverCymbal]

I really appreciate it, very kind of you to say

[@sidthetoykid9615]

This video enlightened me more than I could have imagined, THANK YOU SO MUCH! My neighbor just put one on the side of the road that looks EXACTLY LIKE THIS, now I have a camping generator!

[@stuartburgess6945]

Thanks for the info on the E300, have just bought one back to life after sitting 30 years & as you said it runs outstandingly, thanks.

[@emmanuelrodriguez1043]

Love Honda and Toyota, manufactures don't care anymore nowadays and everything goes bad really quick ! Great Video 👍🏽

[@diehlpicklecafe7807]

SC- Love your channel. Most technology they talk about from the 60’s seems so archaic and makes me feel old since I was born in 1965. However, this does not because it was so cutting edge for that time. So cool, thanks for sharing! Keep the videos coming 👍🏻 ~DC

[@SilverCymbal]

Thank you so much, this one is a really cool machine!

[@kimmer6]

I was a teen in 1965. The neighbor had a parrot that we used to take care of when they went on vacation. One day the parrot got out and flew away. My dad announced that the thing was gone forever. He was so sure of it that he told me that he would buy me a trail bike if it came back. We spent hours coaxing the bird back with his favorite treats. We got him! My dad took me down to the Honda shop and bought me a new '65 Honda Trail 90 right then and there. It cost $365 out the door.

[@MRrwmac]

Amazing that started on first pull, runs and still supplies power! Reminds me of the small Japanese transistor radios we had when I was a kid.I’m sure you’re gonna keep this one and it will stay on a shelf in your shop! You think this would supply enough power to run one of today’s refrigerators!

[@jimb9303]

Just picked one up used for $125. Was bought brand new in 1965. Started first pull. Will be perfect for powering some LED lights out at hunt camp and charging our phones

[@slick41]

Very well done. Looks almost like brand new.

[@SilverCymbal]

Thank you very much! Its a fun little machine from a long time ago

[@TheDwightMamba]

I have a friend that got one of these passed down from his dad. I think the panels are beige instead of red, but just as clean as yours. He was scared to tackle it's refresh. Now I know enough to help him. Thanks.

[@alexhulinsky7954]

I'm surprised the LED light worked fine with how crazy those power numbers were. Also that is a really clean looking machine for being 60 years old!

[@chrisnash2154]

Very cool. Didn’t realize they had consumer generators back then.

[@MartinMaat]

Wow, the nostalgia. We had this exact same thing in the seventies on the boat we used to spend our holidays on (I was a child). We used it to recharge the lead batteries on board. Four stroke engine mind you! Anything Honda did back then was four stroke, unlike their competitors. Also their mopets.

[@dn1084]

Thanks for sharing your video. Very interesting haven’t seen a portable unit that old.

[@JMM7171]

Best engine company period.

[@erensevinc490]

Uzaktan görünümü nostaljik radyoya benzeyen bu jeneratörün yaşı benden büyük.ona saygı ile bakıyorum.oldukça yeni sağlam bir tane aldım,mutluyum😊

[@robs9574]

I’ve got an E400 I’d love to get running again.

[@6___________99_____________64]

Where are you based ? I could possibly help as they are really simple machines

[@robs9574]

@@6___________99_____________64 NW Oregon

[@6___________99_____________64]

@@robs9574 ah on the other side of the earth 🤣 oh well

[@thisisnothere14]

I would love to own one of these actually!

[@mcmillan1963]

I have one I would consider selling.

[@zunar_j5_933]

That is the cutest spark plug.

[@SilverCymbal]

It really is, baby yoda

[@XtraClase]

Me dió un gusto verla de nuevo! Mi padre las reparaba para la agencia que las distribuía. Pude ver en el taller muchas de ellas y otras mas grandes. En los 70s eso era una solución para nuestros aparatos en las fincas y lugares sin energía. Gracias por compartir y reparar esta E300

[@tootsie5052]

An oldie but a goodie just like my lawn tractor I've had for over 30 years and I bought it used. It's a Sears 12 HP 42 inch cut , built in 1977. Put the battery back in when it's time to mow, and it starts like you shut it off yesterday. I finally had to put on new tires all around 2 years ago.

[@Kaspurr84]

Love little Honda engines, I use a Honda EU2200i for charging drone batteries in the field. Such an epic unit

[@kevintaylor6312]

Just got given one of these. Thanks for the great video, learned a lot.

[@thelosteights9012]

Looks really nice

[@rodneybrand8521]

I can't believe it was a 4. cycle..wow !

[@vstabill36]

Or a 4 stroke for that matter...

[@rodneybrand8521]

...lol..I'm old school..

[@AJ-qn6gd]

This was built at a time when Honda were building 4cyl 50cc 5cyl 125cc and 6cyl 250cc and 300cc 4 stroke race bikes that revved to 20,000 rpm that would be an achievement today !

[@michaelbenoit248]

It might be a dinosaur, but man that thing is beautiful. It’ll probably outlive the new Honda stuff tho.

[@ramhammer10-4]

Thanks for sharing, this Generator is incredible.

[@batterynerd8779]

We also have an 20 year old honda chain-vehicle. It can sit for years and starts with the first pull! Engines back then were great!

[@JorgenRomeMojo]

Have this on my mountain cabin.. have several other modern generators, but the old Honda always work and often is the main workhorse for lighting and phone charging

[@cash2.0]

I still have an EM 500 stashed away in the garage. It has the Hz tuning fork and puts out dirty power that will make fluorescent lights flicker. The engine is petty much worn out but it will start and run. It does have those little Honda niceties and a similar build. These side valve engines were a bit noisy any prone to carbon build-up. I prefer the newer OHV inverter generators and its starting to look like lithium power stations like the Jackery may be the future.

[@mcmillan1963]

I have an E 300. It's physically the same but the controls are different. It has a voltage meter instead of a hertz indicator. The choke is in the throttle knob by pulling it outward. The air filter is under the side cover. It does have a lighted dash. It doesn't have the slide over the DC outlet. It could be a little older. It starts on the first pull and runs perfectly. I run it in Tru Fuel. The original owner used it on remote fishing expeditions. I believe there is a You Tube video on an original Japanese TV commercial showing a family using it to power up a black and white portable television. It's a cool piece of Honda history, and yes it weighs 50#s. I would consider selling it.

[@musselmanmedia5236]

We appreciate your work!! #Cymbalgang

[@SilverCymbal]

Much appreciated

[@SethMethCS]

Spectacular. I love seeing first generation power equipment from the last century. If you are taking suggestions, can you demonstrate vintage chainsaws, leaf blowers, gas powered scooters?

[@BCBueller]

Great video, I just picked one up last week and haven't even torn into it yet or tried to start it. I had planned on dumping the oil and gas first, check the air filter (hadn't considered the possibility of disintegration), and spark plug (interesting size, hopefully available locally). I agree about the power to weight ratio being low, but coolness factor is high. Manual is there as well. It's all in excellent shape and looking forward to a test run.

[@lngonza]

I have the same generator and still work. Recently we use that in a camping weekend.

[@nighthawkj30A4]

Vintage Honda Generator

[@CharredSteak]

Honda’s oem support is absolutely fantastic, even for their old stuff. Still can find parts readily for my ct70

[@RandyRandersonthefamous]

You would be a king in the 60s with that lol

[@1ronhall]

Classic, and thanks for the show-and-tell!!

[@omarr7825]

OMG is working ! Honda the best 🥰

[@tomallen6073]

Nostalgic but probably best left in the past.

[@michaelroche6298]

I have one too. Great little tool

[@mrstig8193]

hello all the way from south africa j just want to say its a realy cool little unit ,i to have the same little generatror and everything is still original and in perfect condition just looking for the little fuse holders in the front of the generator ,fantastic vid

[@6___________99_____________64]

Hi Andre. Im also in SA and looking for one to buy. Do you know of anyone selling one like this or similar ?

[@christianjorgensen249]

As alway, fascinating video Sir! 👍

[@MeiklesAndDimes]

Awesome! I have been waiting for this video.

[@BeaverSmashing]

Just picked one up at a swap meet today for $40. Still has the original never used NGK plug, tools, and extra fuses!

[@speedyjyj]

I own two of these units and a 1977 Honda EG1500 - all run very, very well but yes parts are difficult to find

[@coccoborg]

Cool! Put a little LED frequency meter in place of the shaky thingy :D

[@reginalddraper6081]

I have still got one of these.

[@pieman12345678987654]

Wow. Nice. I have a 1982 honda 1600 watt generator that still runs amazing. I got a cheap carburator for it online, because ethanol gas had ruined the original. She still runs great though.

[@TheExactlyatmidnight]

That thing is beautiful.

[@Mike-.]

Nice video

[@quarlow1215]

I have 2 of these. Not running at the moment and one was intended for parts. Might have to tackle this project soon.

[@adambatchelder4121]

Yep from then up to mid 90s they made pretty great stuff.

[@rybour465]

I’m glad there are other weird-o’s like myself that like generators lol

[@knife-wieldingspidergod5059]

Me 2

[@ktcopyguy]

Thanks! I love my burnt orange em500 ..

[@shaunhall1838]

Another top notch review!

[@SilverCymbal]

Thank you so much

[@realvanman1]

Haha, neat! I have always liked these little Hondas. Portable generators were definitely not a new thing in the '60's. The vibrating reed frequency meter is another piece of very old tech, long before the '60's.

[@vstabill36]

One thing hasn't changed. The new ones suck in degraded filter foam also. 😁

[@mac11380]

Supposed to change it before it degrades.

[@vstabill36]

🤦🤦

[@2D161]

Great video

[@bobroberts2371]

I have one of these along with a couple of 70's bent drive units.

[@cowsagainstcapitalism347]

So cool! I want one! Perhaps a music box maker could repair/time the timing fork for less than 200 bucks.

[@BH-BH]

This is a great find!

[@perseverance8]

I found a number of these early Honda generators in addition to MANY other Honda products from the early 1960's & later at a Yard Sale where the sellers had NO IDEA what they were selling seeming disinterested hosting a Yard Sale, the property was said to be their Grandparent's, after my inquiries they stated their Grandfather was employed by a marketing company through the 1960's to early 1970's after serving for several years in an unspecified branch of US services, where he had accumulated a significant number of Honda & other mostly Japanese electronics products, he had engeneering / product demonstration related items including oversized cutaway components & brochures for discrete components like early Sony / Toshiba Transistors etc., Honda "Cuby" engine kits, demo units & more, I excitedly purchased all the related items requireing several trips to get everything home.

[@JohnSmith-pl2bk]

Even if you could put up photos of the treasure....?

[@Ecksterphono]

The EX650 is a good one as well. I still have one. They improvised the air cleaner and they use a tuned governor to control the speed.

[@rickf2061]

SORRY I'm posting over a year too late!!! But what a wonderful video! Dialogue well thought out and demonstrated. and I agree with some of the other posted messages, you have a broadcast quality voice that few people have. ...and I hope Silver Cymbal that you are able to stumble across this posting this late in the game. OH yes, and THANK YOU for posting the link to the original Honda Owner's manual... Before I start, I'd like to ask a favor: MIGHT IT BE POSSIBLE for you to post the HONDA PART NUMBER for the AIR FILTER ? My best friend had one of these. We used it while camping in the mid 70's. It was fantastic. We used it mainly at 12V DC connected across a car battery - I believe the manual says you need to do this at 12v - (Pg50) "...The DC portion is designed to charge 12 volt automotive batteries only...". But mostly it was really used when we ran down our 12v camper (RV) battery. This generator then not only charged the battery back up... while we could still run the lights and a radio or TV then at the same time. Also I my friend mentioned that we should never run it very long without a load (DC or AC) and that on AC the voltage was closer to where it was supposed to be under load - it would be too high if there wasn't any load (like you found when you connected your tester). The manual also says something along the line that the AC output voltage won't be correct if you don't adjust the frequency correctly (depending on your 50-60Hz switch - (Pg34) "...when the switch is set to 50Hz and the engine speed is increased so that 60Hz is indicated on the frequency meter, the output voltage will increase by about 20%; the following problems will develop..." So adjusting the frequency is important towards getting the correct output voltage (in AC mode). I hope this helps anyone reading this so late after this video was posted. I inherited this generator from him (he passed away). It still looks great. It hasn't been fired up in over 40 years. Any suggestions beyond changing the oil and replacing the air filter before I try to start it up?

[@f270]

I'm curious what the msrp was back then?

[@28YorkshireRose12]

We have three of these! Well, the UK/Europe variant E300E, an E1000E and an E4000E, but with ours, they seem a bit finicky, especially when they get warmed up. More often than not, we run them with the covers off to keep them from vapour locking - They don't like restarting when they're hot, and with ours at least, we never found reliability to be a strong point in any but the E4000E, which is a 'V' twin diesel. It's main let down is the phenomenal oil consumption (about 2 pints for every three gallons (UK) of diesel) on a six hour run. They make good show pieces, but if we need reliable power we turn to our Lister/BKB diesel 6kVA, or Perkins/Stamford diesel 32kVA.

[@hamzabayram2545]

Bu tip jeneratörler 6 kapasitesine sahip sonra dinlenmesi gerekiyor çalışma ortamı soğuk mekan ise biraz daha fazla çalışır. Aynısı benim de var fakat profesyonel kullanmak gerekiyorsa daha büyük kapasiteli olanlardan almanız iyi olur.

[@nighthawkj30A4]

Also Honda has the Best parts stock in the world. Always makes parts for everything for many many many years.

[@nighthawkj30A4]

And they update parts too

[@RetroToonsOfficial]

Your Content Are Awesome i Mean I like It

[@SilverCymbal]

Very nice of you to say, glad you liked it

[@ziffbuhler6768]

At one point honda made a small unit like this that was strictly 12 volts . I don't recall the amperage that it would charge a battery at though .

[@jamiedykes6382]

Top notch, love seeing old equipment, do you colect or just buy them for the vids and sell them on ?

[@EEalex1067]

Hi, on the ENGINE ON/OFF knob/valve, there is a black tube that comes out of the valve. The tubing is long, maybe 7-8 inches. Do you know where this goes?

[@doradean3097]

I'll be darned! So cool 👍👀

[@arsi2856]

What is amazing: Honda made this whisper-silent motor 55 years ago. But even today, the young guys drive their mopeds so that the noise is 90 dB or higher!

[@mrjason9382]

Thanks for shareing

[@keyup2626]

That was so cool.

[@RC-fu6hg]

Fantastic video on a classic They don’t make things like that today. Every manufacturer tests their product to end of life. The problem is their idea of end of life falls short.... way short compared to older products. They call that built in obsolescence so they can sell you another to make more profit. Someone’s got to pay for the golden parachutes.

[@BB-nn9en]

Cool video

[@chanel2018-k3z]

Gave U a 👍🏻 I have this generator, in my garage. I can barely lift it. Should I try to sell on my Nextdoor app, etc. What is it worth? Thank you to anyone that responds 😊 BTW, it hasn’t been used in probably 50 years.

[@zdaza]

Hello, I have had one like it for a few years and it works perfectly, it has a broken valve or fuel tap that leads to the fuel tank outlet, could you tell me where I could find it? thank you

[@SpringVinMoto]

You meet the nicest on a Honda. Thanks!

[@jeffstrongman7889]

I actually found one these at a scrap yard in Mexico in a 55 gallon drum full of oil and water. Stolen from a tourist no doubt. I’ve got it all cleaned up, and though it doesn’t look as good as the one in the video it’s definitely going to run again one day. Parts are non existent here and the mail system is shit so I’ve always be hesitant to spend the money on parts that may very well never arrive. I’m American by the way, I hate this damn country and can’t wait to get back home. Anyway it’s a really great piece of history, I’d love to see it run again. For now it’s a decoration in my living room. You would have to have zero appreciation for engineering to just toss this thing in the trash.

[@kimtaylor2075]

Hi, great video- I just purchased one of these. I love it. But can you share with me where you were able to purchase a replacement air filter

[@scrambler350]

Very cool.

[@evaangelofdeath]

Did you get to test the DC power? Thanks for the quick review on this piece of history from a line of products that continue to be of quality and recognition.

[@SilverCymbal]

Yes, I wasn't able to check the amperage but it varied from around 9v to 13v

[@harrisonhobbies241]

This is a great review of some historic tech! Out of curiosity, what is the process for clearing an overload on this?

[@SilverCymbal]

I am not sure about that one, I haven't tested that yet. Someone else may know.

[@tazeat]

My guess is you'll be replacing that fuse on the inside.

[@JB50713]

Haha that's pretty cool. I'm surprised how small it actually is considering the era it was produced in.

[@Lenser]

Amazing.

[@SilverCymbal]

Thank you! Cheers!