New CL100 Owner

I spent an hour on the bike after work tonight. It runs OK but it's a little sloppy compared to before, most noticeably when changing throttle position at lower RPM. Any votes on which change I undo first? I was thinking I'd revert the needle clip, since it's a discreet adjustment, but it'd be easy to advance the timing, too.

iatethepeach said:

I spent an hour on the bike after work tonight. It runs OK but it's a little sloppy compared to before, most noticeably when changing throttle position at lower RPM. Any votes on which change I undo first? I was thinking I'd revert the needle clip, since it's a discreet adjustment, but it'd be easy to advance the timing, too.

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the needle clip

On Sunday I moved the needle clip back to center and took the scrambler for a ride. It ran at least as well as before I fiddled with the timing- I'd say very smoothly. Maybe I'm imagining this but it feels like it might even have a little more power when I let the clutch out in first from a standing start. Once the motor's hot it weakens a bit (I have to slip the clutch a hair in first to get it rolling), though it's perhaps less noticeable now than before I made the timing adjustment.

Today I installed a new D9EA and took a three-hour trip. I've found two stations that serve ethanol-free gasoline near my house, so on my way out of town I stopped at one and topped off with 91 octane. Sorry it's not the best shot, but here's what the #9 plug looks like now:



What do you say, grcamna5? The dipstick warped nicely back into shape when I hit it with a heat gun last week and hasn't deformed since. The ride today was on the chilly side, though (low 50's), and I think I flogged it a little less than I have in the past. Predictably, prolonged steep hills are the scrambler's nemesis. On the flats, however, it could really use an extra gear to cruise more comfortably- it has plenty of power left when it starts getting buzzy around 45 MPH.

Over the weekend I also hooked up a buck converter to power my GPS. Last week the unit's battery died on a couple of the longer rides, and now that I'm getting good at programming waypoints I want it to last the entire trip. $7 and free shipping:



I considered simply plugging my GPS into the bike's 5-to-7ish-volt power supply, since I'm not terribly fond of it, anyway, but it seemed safer to experiment on the cheapo converter. Output is very stable. I have a similar DC/DC unit from DROK that powers a 3V headphones amp in my truck. This new one on the bike worked great on its maiden voyage.

By the way, according to my GPS, the scrambler speedo is accurate to two MPH at top speed. He he.

Also, today the scrambler passed the 1000-mile mark since coming out of the shed in August. Not bad considering how little of that time it's been ridable, and what it lacks in displacement.

That plug looks like it's burning evenly and clean to me;how did it run on the E-Free 91oct. fuel ?

There are still a couple quirks but in general it's very smooth. I bought 1.5 gallons at ~$3.50/gallon. Kind of pricey but I rode for quite a while and my guess is I still haven't used half of it, ha ha.

How did your cam chain adjustments work out?
Some time at a later it may help to remove the left alt. cover and then adjust the cam chain and get a 'feel' for exactly just how much to unscrew that slotted screw until it has sufficient resistance to keep the cam chain comfortably snug but not too tight.
That's the first step in determining if you have a good cam chain.

grcamna5 said:

How did your cam chain adjustments work out?
Some time at a later it may help to remove the left alt. cover and then adjust the cam chain and get a 'feel' for exactly just how much to unscrew that slotted screw until it has sufficient resistance to keep the cam chain comfortably snug but not too tight.
That's the first step in determining if you have a good cam chain.

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I found an illustration of the tensioner in the engine section of the shop manual that helped me understand what's going on in there, and also watched a couple good videos on the subject on YouTube. I think I got it now, but at some point soon I'll take your suggestion and remove the alternator cover so I can actually see what I'm doing. In one of the videos I found the guy recommends the same thing. Thank you very much for the tip!

Still scrambling- my 1970 CL100

That little creep Punxsutawney Phil can't be trusted- it wasn't until this week that I finally found time to roll the CL out of the garage and get it ready for spring. The good news is, routine maintenance included installing the pair of Duros I bought back in September. I'm psyched to be cruising on new rubber this year.



Somehow my America!-size tire levers have gone missing, but the plastic bicycle levers that were in the toolbox at the cabin got the job done. The joys of riding a diminutive scoot! Normal levers probably would've been too big and awkward, anyway.



And if you look closely, you'll see a new accessory I picked up over the winter bolted to the back of the bike. For a paltry $49 including shipping I can now carry beer like a boss (pizzas still go on my lap). Thanks, guys, for helping me out with the model numbers!

Scuffing up the new tires this afternoon was fun and the bike still runs like a champ. I haven't investigated the timing chain, though, so that's next up.

Nice Park tire levers,they look hefty and excellent rack.

Thanks, fellas.

Not much happened with the bike this week, but I went for a spin after work this afternoon and came across an old abandoned stone house that sits down off a dirt road through the woods. Pretty creepy.



Here's a nice shot of the rack. It'd be cool to make some panniers out of fat 50 cans.

Youre absolutely right. But, I think fat 50 can is the same as 5.56. I just held up a "840 cart 5.56", It seems just a bit tall.
100 cart .50 cans may be about and inch or so shorter and fit a smidge better.

Or mod signals to fit low onto tail light bracket???

The cans would be a pretty easy to fit and really cool & functional addition.

trek97 said:

Or mod signals to fit low onto tail light bracket???

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That's what I had in mind- just drilling a couple holes in the tail-light bracket to mount the turn signals. I'd also need to make spacers to push my lenses out past the license plate, since my rear stalks are so stubby (or maybe I could switch them for a set of SL100 front stalks).

Tail light and turns on the wifes 1980 CM200 are a single unit. and 18 inches wide to outside of turns. That probably oughta work pretty nicely.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Honda-CM200-Twinstar-Taillight-Tail-Light-Mounting-Bracket-Turn-Lights-/131655524389?hash=item1ea747e025:g:42sAAOSwT4lWTNTZ&vxp=mtr

Thanks, trek, that's a good idea. After I get a box mounted and try it out on the washboards around here to make sure it's solid, I'll come up with a better plan for the signals. Making a couple PVC spacers might work, too, and I have plenty of scrap laying around.

To cut weight, you could look into plastic ammo boxes. Still real close to same dimensions and "look" of a real box. lockable and a o-ring seal for water resistance.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Plano-Ammo-Can-Field-Box/121803045679?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D36331%26meid%3Dffb68dde595a43e58a08384974b98b26%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D252135338543

I thought about getting plastic boxes and making carriers out of aluminum to save on weight. It'd be a bit more complicated. I'd definitely use plastic for a top box, though.

I scored a couple fat 50 boxes last week, and, for the most part, got them mounted over the weekend. Since the handles are redundant and they rattle a little, I want to delete them. So what's an easy way to remove the spot welds without messing up the lids? Or should I not worry about it and just patch up w/JB weld when I'm done?