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Still waiting on carb parts to come in so I can try to get her started, meanwhile I've been working on shining a few things up. Ive removed the rear shocks and plan on removing the swing arm. Once I get it all cleaned up, is there anything I should do before reinstalling it? Any tips on how I can tighten up handling before putting her back together?
Check the movement on your steering stem. If its noticeably rough or doesn't move easily, I'd recommend disassembling it, checking the balls and races for wear and either repacking it with grease and reassemble or spend the $30 and put an all balls sealed bearing kit. Made a big difference for me, but the original balls/races were full of crud on my 360.
Just be careful not to lose the balls if you plan on reusing them ;D
Just noticed you're missing the dust boots for the front piston seals (on your front shocks). I'm assuming you didn't take those off since it looks like the front end hasn't been disassembled?
The steering is actually really smooth, almost loose. Its on the jack right now and i cant even keep the wheel in on direction. Should i be worried about that?
thats a nice ole honda you inherited there granpa would probably be proud for you to be fixing it up
the oil pump clean like that is likely a sign of a leak, like tuna says clean it all up,then upon initial start up leave the cover off and spritz the area with some white powder, no not the booger sugar, some foot powder or flour the leak will show easier.
Very good idea to replace the swingarm bushings with a quality set. the thing is most dont come with a new inner sleave.that will be worn as well
anyway to check yours and any new you are fitting ,when clean and dry a slip fit that almost is too tight to go together is what you want, any slop at all is not good
the factory service manual should have the service limit specs
The steering is actually really smooth, almost loose. Its on the jack right now and i cant even keep the wheel in on direction. Should i be worried about that?
if it was fresh and adjusted right the weight of the front end will do that
it really is best to replace them with a tapered bearing set
if you were to tighten up the top ring nut now you would likely feel some notchiness the originall balls always seem to get some corrosion and the balls form detents
with the wheel off the ground you may not feel it if they are too loose
I took the bike off the stand and the steering still seems pretty nice. What improvements will a tapered bearing set show? Also I checked the swing arm, There is no play at all.It moves relatively freely up and down and there was zero side to side movement regardless of how hard I tried to move it. Does it sound like the bushings still need to be replaced?
I took the bike off the stand and the steering still seems pretty nice. What improvements will a tapered bearing set show? Also I checked the swing arm, There is no play at all.It moves relatively freely up and down and there was zero side to side movement regardless of how hard I tried to move it. Does it sound like the bushings still need to be replaced?
if the swingarm feels nice and slop free i would leave it be and get some miles on it it is a pretty easy job to do later if needed
the steering bearings sound ok as well, tapered bearings can take a lot more load but the stock ones are ok if in like new condition
what i would do is try snugging up the steering bearing till it just has resistance and feel for notchiness if it still feels smooth then run it you can always do it later
definately flush the forks and put in new seals now you don't need to remove the forks from the bike it is just extra uneeded work
Ok I will study how to do the fork fluid and seals job. Ive never done that before but I'm sure I can be "Youtube Certified" by the end of the night ;D
each slider(lower fork leg) has one socket head capscrew (allen bolt) dead center up the bottom
this is all that needs to be removed to change seals and clean out the slider
to flush the stanchion and damper rod (uppers) pull the top caps and springs
to be sure and get the lower allen bolt out easy use an impact gun
it will be either a 6 or 8mm hex key
Before you buy anything take a look at the local bike junk yard, craigs list (post a I WTB ad) you may be better off getting a set of carbs from a bike that was not sitting outside, thats a lot of damage and you might want to start with a set that just need cleaning and not a total rebuild.
Just depends on your money situation, everyone has a limit on hobby spending, I'm divorced now so I no longer have any impediments to my sailboat, speed boat, 2 motorcycles or my 2 cars
Ok well I put on the carbs and air box boots, Ill admit they arent exactly a snug fit but obviously good enough to get her going. I filled a dry bottle with gas and fed the fuel lines into it as a small makeshift gas tank for these test starts and tuning. After connecting a battery, all the lights came on but when I push the starter button, nothing happened. Not even a nudge. I wasn't too worried since I had tossed around the idea of removing the starter anyway. after a few good pumps with the kickstart she started easily. she sounded very strong so im assuming my first bench sync job wasn't a total failure.haha. My throttle lines seem very very stiff so I had trouble controlling it at first. I will be ordering new lines tonight. After i shut her off she started on every first kick i gave her with minimal effort. That was very satisfying. The engine seems to heat up very quickly and I noticed a bit of white smoke from the pipes from time to time. Im fairly certain this isn't stock exhaust and Im not sure if a rejett was done, but i plan on doing one eventually anyway when I install my super cool awesome go-fast pods.
Since i know she runs, is there any use in syncing the carbs with the airbox now or should i wait till after the pods?
Ive got some fresh spark plugs ill be throwing in tomorrow and a new chain is in the mail.
Ive read some of the threads on here by the administrators involving engine tuning and carb tuning but i think i will have to go to college to understand it. I felt like forrest gump reading curious george....tons of questions.
if you go thru the ignition now then it will be a done deal any running issues can then be related to air and fuel alone with confidence
new plugs
new plug caps (not needed imediately but do it soon)
gap points clean gently if needed replace iuf ruff
in spect the centrifugal advancer it should move freely snap back freely and not show any signs of dryness or rust dust if so diassemble clean and lightly lube
check/set timing advance at full with a light
and now is the time to make sure all wire connections are clean and tight
Anyone have any clue if a set of wheels and tires from a 72 cb450 will fit my 74 cb550? I may have found a decent deal on a set and I need tires to get this girl road worthy.
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