CB200 resurrection and caffeination

Depending how the next week or so goes, this could be epic or die a quick death.

This 1974 CB200 cost two cartons of beer a couple of weeks back through a contact at work. I did the deal without actually seeing the bike and spent the first few hours of actual ownership thinking I should have drunk the beer rather than exchanging it for a pile of rusty parts:



Just about every moving part has seized, the plastics have rotted, and the exhaust on one side has disappeared:



The seat base looks like it was constructed from fallen leaves:



And this crack goes all the way through:



There are a few positives though.

• It has drum front brakes which look way cool and usually work better than the disks of a similar vintage.
• The frame looks to be in excellent condition.
• A quick look under the engine covers shows the usual Honda excellence like it just left the factory.

So, the first steps will be to get it running and then get it re-licensed. The local authorities can be a tad strict with these sorts of bikes and in order to pass inspection, it should look like a standard item. Modifications will have to wait until after it’s back on the road.

Now, where am I going to find another seat?

Wow, you have got your work cut out for you. Down in OZ, right? Should be able to find an original seat, exhaust, stuff like that to pass any safety tests. A lot of people replace the seats with fiberglass and put the CL high pipes on these so there should be some extras around. How is the inside of that gas tank?

I did manage to find some untidy CL pipes but at least there are two of them. There are not that many spares for the 200 around here and I was hoping that some parts from other models would fit. Ebay has many parts for all the CB models except for the 200. I've yet to see a decent replacement seat anywhere.

The inside of the tank is spotless and the outside would be easy to paint but I'm not sold on the look. I'm keen to replace the tank with something a little less square and I think again, there must be other bikes with tanks that would fit. CB175? The frame looks very similar.

man you could hock that tank no problem. Theyre desirable.

Well, I've researched the hell out of this bike for the last few days and I think it's going to work. I've got a few important pieces coming from ebay and providing I don't get too pedantic about authenticity, something good should come out of this.

My only issue is the tank. I know a few of you think the CB200 tank looks cool but I just can't force myself to like it and it's going out when I find something decent to replace it with. My research tells me that this frame is very close to the late 175 frame and some parts are used on both. Does anyone know if the 175 tank would fit? Are there any other Honda tanks that wouldn't look out of place?

Strip down starts this weekend.

Good stuff man, something so damn Aussie about trading a few cases of beer for something (in my mind anyway). It looks like it should come up okay apart from that cracked headstock, which is a shame but not the end of the world.

The 200 is essentially a modified 175 engine in a modified 175 frame, so many late model 175 parts should be a fit for the engine, running gear and bodywork. If you know a local wrecker, take your tank off and down to them when you go hunting. Anything that fits will jump out at you once you look at them both upside-down.

Cheers - boingk

PS: Don't mind the look of that 900SS in the background, either

That is good news because I've had difficulties locating some parts. There are many nice parts available for the 175 that I might be able to use. I've also got my eye on a different tank which should fit although I will then have to re-evaluate what seat to use. First though, I have to get it licensed.

The first of the ebay loot arrived today and as luck would have it, it's the top yolk. I was going to start the strip down tonight but I'm totally shagged from work. I'll start fresh in the morning.

Well, I've managed to strip it down and the frame is sound but it did take me a week due to the difficult engine removal. I have a suspicion the engine is supposed to come out the right side but I manoeuvred it out the left due to the foot brake lever being seized to it's shaft. I ended up taking the frame into work and one of the lads cut the shaft behind the pivot with a one millimetre cutting disk. Shaft replacement will probably be a long bolt as I'm going to rearsets after licensing.

The carbs: No wonder the throttle wouldn't work, both slides were corroded into their respective bores. Amazingly, a squirt of CRC and a long, thin screwdriver inserted down the throat eased out both slides and left no damage. Prior to this bike being dumped, it must have ran so I'm not going to touch the carbs apart from a clean.

The engine: It has 45 thousand kilometres on it so should be okay to re-use without replacing too many parts. I haven't checked the bores yet but I'm feeling positive about the whole thing. I bet I'll be able to tap the pistons loose with a hammer handle, replace the rings, hone the bores, and have it running in no time.

First up: Experience has shown that the best way to commence any restoration is to get the rolling chassis together asap. Once you can see wheels on the thing, you'll be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Until then, it just looks like a pile of parts in the shed that can be easily forgotten. The rear shocks look acceptable so they will be staying. A slightly heavier oil in the forks should get them behaving until I can get them replaced and I'm sure the brakes will be an easy fix.

My first real hurdle is the wheels. I have a small budget that doesn't allow for many new parts so new spokes and rims are out of the question. The rims look salvageable but the spokes look crap. I'm thinking of painting them black but this means disassembling the wheels. Scary for most but I've built enough bicycle wheels in the past to know what I'm doing but is there anything I should be looking out for?

Lastly: Why do I have the one early model that is so difficult to find parts for? If this had been a 175, I would be laughing. That said, There are parts on other models that look very similar to the CB200 parts. I'm going to be posting up lots of measurements here hoping that someone has parts with the same dimensions. Those rear shocks alone look like they would fit any Honda made in the '70's.

A lot of parts on the small Honda's can be similar. If you go to www.bikebandit.com and find the part # you need, search that # on their site and it will bring up the option of "fits machines". One of the easiest ways I've found, but not the most accurate.

45,000 kilos? Sounds like a good bit to me. Might want to do a search for some rings and such just to be on the safe side.

I personally haven't done wheels (and you might know already), but if you do take them apart be sure to label the inner + outer spokes. And if you do paint them, you will have to scuff any chrome and go for appliance epoxy - strong stuff that doesn't need primer

Good luck!

Big R said:

A lot of parts on the small Honda's can be similar. If you go to www.bikebandit.com and find the part # you need, search that # on their site and it will bring up the option of "fits machines". One of the easiest ways I've found, but not the most accurate.

Click to expand...

Thanks, that's the best lead I've had so far.

Big R said:

I personally haven't done wheels (and you might know already), but if you do take them apart be sure to label the inner + outer spokes. And if you do paint them, you will have to scuff any chrome and go for appliance epoxy - strong stuff that doesn't need primer

Click to expand...

I hope they look okay in black with shiny rims and hubs. I have access to lots of black paint.

Good grief! Water in one of the forks. Both tubes are seriously rusty but the springs are still long enough. New tubes are available from Frank but I'm still in two minds about replacing them with a complete 350/450 front end.

The new seat has arrived from Thailand. I took a gamble but I really shouldn't be surprised that the CB175 seat fits the 200 frame. The rear rubber doesn't rest on the frame support so it's not perfect but at AU$48 I'm very happy. I was worried it would come with a fibreglass base but it's steel too.

That's an awfully nice hinge for that seat!

Just kidding man. How's everything else coming along? I see you got the motor pulled too.

The engine does need taking into work for the lads to look at and I'm still searching for decent forks at a price which won't blow the budget but once they're done, I'll start painting.

I also have some painting to do in the house, a carport full of junk, and a home office that looks like a burglar has rifled through everything and thrown it all over the desk and floor. There's never enough time in the day...

Hey Flash. I have the same bike as you do, but in the muskat green. It's been an issue for me to find parts as well. I'm trying to look for an aftermarket headlight unit to replace the one I have right now.

Also..I was wondering what's the best way to buff and shine the engine, or painting is the best way to go?

Flash, I'm doing a 74' 200 right now as well and can comiserate on the rarity of parts. http://dotheton.com/index.php?topic=12456.0

Seems like the 74' is the red headed stepchild. I'm looking for a condenser for it now.

I do have a line on a nice set of cl pipes for it. Complete with mufflers and heat shields. I should have those in a month or so and I will not be using them. I'm looking to resell them. If you're interested let me know. Not sure about economy of shipping to you though.

An update as I haven't been back for a couple of weeks:

The red-headed stepchild is getting hand-me-downs. In order to keep this within budget, I've been buying stuff I normally wouldn't look at. I hunted everywhere for a reasonable replacement for the rusted forks. The stanchions were too far gone to fix and I was more than concerned about the inside of the sliders. As we say here, the whole lot's rooted. Second hand replacements were ridiculously priced and mostly in the same condition. Stepping up to CB350 or 450 forks couldn't be done cheaply due to the fact that most needed shipping around the world and then rebuilding. I almost gave up but then somebody suggested that quite a few newer bikes did come with drum brakes. The more inexpensive ones even had the skinny stanchions to fit my yolks. More research (I love the interwebs) showed that some CM models were the same diameter and had the drums I was after. The CM200 looked like it used very similar parts to the old CB200 and the same with the CM250 but with slightly different internals and a rebound spring.

So... I have a set of CM250 forks on the way. They were stupidly cheap and look very clean. They should be easily adapted to the CB200 in every way but one, they're about four inches too long. No matter, the lads reckon a chop and rethread of the stanchions is a no-brainer and as the internals look suspiciously like the earlier bike, a mix and match of parts should get me close to the ballpark if not inside the main gate. Even if it doesn't work, it won't be an expensive exercise.

The exhausts have been a total drama. I had bought CL pipes from ebay but they had ended up being physically too long to post. Replacement CB200 mufflers are available but at a cost and still left me searching for headers. Hecklejk generously offered to help me out with his old headers but someone locally had said they could get me a pair of headers to fit so I declined his offer. The headers that eventually arrived ended up being a smaller diameter but they do have the right angles and do fit with a bit of packing. I'll throw on some cheap generic mufflers for licensing and throw them away after. I'm still considering CL pipes for later but without the muffler. Pass the angle-grinder, Jeeves.

Footpegs: It seems most of the Hondas from around that vintage use the same or similar front pegs. Buying a complete set of second hand CB500 pegs was cheaper than sourcing just the rubbers.

Handlebars: I've opted for the drag bar look. Clip-ons can come later but for now, anything will look better than the stock bars.

Finally. A quick look at the old stanchions. A bit too much to buff out?

You don't think those fork tubes will buff out?? ;D

Maybe if you're going for a textured look... Ouch- those are way worse than the CB200 forks that I'm working on! As deep as those are, I wonder if you're getting into the area of structural strength issues. The fork tube walls are fairly thick, but...

Another 200? Start a thread, VT. The Lord knows we need each others help with this extraordinary model.