rare Honda CL200 transformation to tracker/scrambler/bratstyle

I'm a cheapskate and use high temperature exhaust paint or BBQ paint. I even tried white Hi Temp ex paint once - never again. It looked like crap after a few miles as do white frames.

I'd suggest polishing the headers with aluminum foil and chrome polish and leave it at that.
 
Got a replacement #38 pilot jet and now the two cylinders are firing the same! Both spark plugs are nice and black!! Haha, obviously they're two rich and the bike is a total slouch, but it's a step in the right direction. I have a range of main jets to "play" with.

I'm waiting for my new fancy camera to arrive in the mail so I can take some proper glamour shots, but here is a teaser until then:

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Shortly after taking this picture...

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...I began hearing some SCARY sounds from the engine. At times it was a ticking from the head, other times a clanking from the crank area. So the engine must come out and be inspected.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIWBSc3Nesk

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Camshaft look great, rockers are good, journals are OK but good enough. Cam chain is immaculate, I thought maybe it would be broken.

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Pull the head off, and it was not pretty. VIEW DISCRETION IS ADVISED!!

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Today I ordered a used head on ebay (cheaper than having the valve seats re-cut) and new pistons. These pistons are hard to find! CMSNL has the best inventory but the highest prices. I found one +0.25mm piston+ring kit on ebay so I bought that, ordered the same piston from CMSNL, and matching rings off ebay. While I was at it, I added a bunch of oil seals the CMSNL order. It was 4am last night, I probably could have thought of a dozen more things I needed....
 
Ouch. Any idea where the nut that was ingested came from and how it got in there? Do you have filters on the carbs or did it run open for a bit? I can't see any signs of a bolt thread but the indentations look like a hex nut and been in there.
 
I have no idea what happened to it, but it certainly looks like something was in there.

Considering painting the engine, thinking VHT engine enamel in cast iron color, with the side covers polished aluminum.... not sure... to paint I would have to clean it with degreaser then put in the dishwasher, then bake in the oven to remove all oils embedded in the aluminum pours, then media blast to remove residue, then prep with metalprep 79, then VHT self-etching primer, then paint, and then finally bake in the oven...
 
mannydantyla said:
I have no idea what happened to it, but it certainly looks like something was in there.

Considering painting the engine, thinking VHT engine enamel in cast iron color, with the side covers polished aluminum.... not sure... to paint I would have to clean it with degreaser then put in the dishwasher, then bake in the oven to remove all oils embedded in the aluminum pours, then media blast to remove residue, then prep with metalprep 79, then VHT self-etching primer, then paint, and then finally bake in the over...
That seems like overkill to me. I understand why you want to bake the aluminum for oil, but if you're going to use phosphoric acid to etch anyway, then you could probably just soak the parts in a bath of diluted phosphoric etch, then run them through the dishwasher or soak them in a bath of water- even boil them. Phosphoric acid, which is what Metalprep 79 is, breaks down oil and similar carbon-based materials. It also etches the hell out of aluminum converting it into aluminum phosphate and hydrogen gas. VHT or any other etching primer usually contains phosphoric acid and zinc. I'm not sure it's necessary on aluminum, since you don't have to worry about rust. Plus, I would question if it will continue to etch the aluminum. On steel, it converts rust into ferric phosphate and water. Then the zinc prevents further rusting. You don't have to worry about that with aluminum. As far as the final baking, you could also do that on the engine, but in the oven pre-assembly will certainly make it more durable.
 
mattrod68 said:
here is what that titanium wrap looks like in real life, cl350 but should give you an idea

Perfect! I'll probably continue to wonder "what if??" but right now I can't spend another dime on this project. Pistons, rings, oil seals, etc where somewhere around $230, paying the machine shop $300 for a valve job and cylinders bored and honed and to sandblast everything, plus bought some hondabond and UNI filters to replace the emgo pods.

Thought you guys might like to see the innards.

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The first thing you may be asking yourself is, why did he remove the upper crankcase and not the lower? Well, I had it upside down to remove all the bolts. Then I broke it free but left it like that last night. While I was asleep, my friend (who does know a lot about motorcycles, but not after a dozen beers) decided he'd have a look at it. I woke up with a text message from him saying he thinks I need a new piston (duh) and with the engine now flipped right side up. I was so mad. I found a retaining ring (at first I thought it was half a piston ring) and two tiny cylinders (looks like they're for oiling the crank) at the bottom of the case. Thankfully the gasket surface doesn't look messed up.

So I just went ahead and pulled the upper crankcase off instead of the lower. BTW, I didn't need to remove the clutch, fuel pump and filter. All that needed to be done was wiggle the shifter arm out of the drum spindle thingy. It would be easier with the clutch off, especially for reassembly. I have to move gears and crank into the upper case half (after I paint it first), it would be impossible to put it back together the other way.

I also inspected the gear shifting mechanism to find out why I get the shifter stuck sometimes. The forks look good I think, but the gear selector arm (the thing with the big washer on the end) seemed a little off - the rivet was warn and the washer could sit off-axis. So I'm replacing both that and the neutral stopper arm.

You can tell from this pic that there was almost a millimeter of wiggle-room.
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no burs or flat spots in the labyrinth, and the forks where not warn looking
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Doing it right!

View the full image gallery of the engine overhaul, here: http://dannix.net/home/pictures/set/72157644033907140

Painted cylinder jugs, head, and both case halves with VHT engine enamel in the cast iron color. I think it looks great! The head and jugs where first coated with VHT self etch primer and the finish is very hard. I didn't bake in the over, either. But I didn't have the primer for the case halves, so instead a prepped with something called Alluminum Jelly, from the makers of Navel Jelly. It has phosphoric acid in it which etches the aluminum and eats away rust and organic matter (oils). The finish is pretty solid, but not likely as good as with proper primer. The case covers will all be polished aluminum.

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Time to install the pistons! They're hard to find. CMSNL has the best inventory but the highest prices. I couldn't find two matching pistons off ebay, so what I did was buy one +0.25mm and two sets of rings off ebay to save money, and one +0.25mm piston from CSMNL.

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Checked ring gap clearances first, they're good. Oiled up the rings and installed them on the piston - made sure to install in correct order and with the right-side-up indicator facing up. With the pistons somewhere after TDC (so they're coming down) and a penny wedged in the clutch/oil filter gears so they won't move, I dropped on the cylinder jugs down on them. I thought that I would have to pinch the rings with my fingers all the way (remember, this is my first time overhauling an engine) but the bottom of the cylinders sleeves are tapered I guess, so that wasn't really necessary. I just had to guide rings in (doing my best to keep them spaced 120 degrees) and give a good amount of steady forced down on the cylinders.

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Now onto the head. The only hangup I had here was getting the chain onto the sprocket. It wouldn't go on this way:

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with the chain in the middle between the sprocket and the cam flange, I couldn't get the chain onto the sprocket because the sprocket couldn't turn. I had to slip the sprocket under the chain and then I could get it on.

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Set the timing by following the FSM. Used loc-tite on the sprocket bolts and engine oil to lube the cam up (didn't use assembly oil because I didn't want anything synthetic, but I really don't know which is best). Installed the rockers next, then the timing house and tach gear house, and then bolted on the cover!

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Done. Right? Wrong. Turns out I installed the kickstarter wrong - the "friction spring" isn't in it's grove, so it doesn't, well, it doesn't kick start the engine. So I need to open the case back up. That's when I removed the side cover to find that the gasket had slipped out of position when I was tightening it down, and it was completely blocking an oil passageway! So... oops??
 
It's running! I'm going through this break-in procedure to seat the piston rings: http://www.ntnoa.org/enginebreakin.htm

I think oil flow is good. I finished putting the bike back together and was ready to check to see if oil was being pumped. I kicked it around 50 damn times and could see no oil on the tappets. I read about how others had this same issue and that the engine needs to be running before theres enough oil pressure to circulate the oil. So I turned on the ignition (took quite a few kicks, and will need to adjust the carbs to get it to idle) but it fired up and was running and then oil started squirting out the tappets! Woohoo!! The oil pretty much sprayed all over the front wheel, so I'm guess that it's good.

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sorry I haven't gotten around to posting the images until now, I've been having too much fun riding it! It's replaced my car as my daily driver for around town, and I get so many compliments wherever I go. But what matters is that I like it, and I love it! It's perfect!
 

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fantastic, bravo sir :)
it looks way too good and is actually way too well done to fit in the bratstyle category
jmoymmv
 
xb33bsa said:
fantastic, bravo sir :)
it looks way too good and is actually way too well done to fit in the bratstyle category
jmoymmv

I agree. Amazingly functional looking. I'd tear that thing up on a back country road.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Wow, such a nice bike man! Thanks for the motor rebuild page. I am going to be rebuilding my cl175 this winter, your write up will definitely help! Thank!
 
Thanks for the kind words, you guys are great!

It's just been nominated for bike of the month, looking for a nice fellow to second it ;)
 
The bike has been accepted as a nominee for bike of the month!

If you like it then please vote!! -> http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?topic=61599
 

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samsquantch said:
Very classy scrambler! Can you ride 2-up on those little guys?

Sure can!

My girlfriend loves to ride on the back (might have something to do with the vibrations :eek:) but I admit that starting up a hill from a stop with 2-up is a real challenge, and I can't claim that we're under the 300 pound weight limit ???
 
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