'71 CB175 - Cafe Project

[jonnyTHUNDERmaker]

Nice Cortez!!! I plan on doing the exact same thing to my tank, but opposite colors. White on top and black on the bottom. Great looking bike. What jet sizes are you running? Do you have a build blog on here?

[cortezthedog]

Never changed the jets from the originals.  No problems yet.  Here is my old thread.

 http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?topic=12492.msg114810#msg114810

[jonnyTHUNDERmaker]

Sweet...Thanks for the info

[teazer]

A few suggestions for your winter build program.

Weld on stubs for rear sets - you really need them with low bars
Get a decent pair of mufflers that muffle and provide some back pressure without choking it at higher revs.
Stock carbs will work fine, but you may need to raise teh main jets one or two sizes depending on how well/badly the intake and exhaust breathe.

If you still need adjusting screws or other small parts after you strip and clean both sets and build one good set, let me know, I may have some parts here for those carbs - if I didn't send them to the recycling depot.

[jonnyTHUNDERmaker]

Thanks Teazer,

The set of carbs I got from Big Rich (thanks again Rich) are currently soaking. I'll be going over them in the morning. Should have everything I need. Where would you suggest getting jets for these guys? I have bought jets for mikunis, but not these keihin's.

I'll also be on the lookout for some mufflers. I really like how short these current ones are so I am looking for some pretty short ones.

Also on the list for tomorrow is to seal up my tank. There is currently a little tiny pinhole where the front right mount bracket is welded on, so hopefully a good seal will cover that up.

[teazer]

Empty the tank and wash it out with warm soapy water and rinse that out and then flush it with acetone and dry it and then use a caswell tank liner if the metal is clean enough.

It used to be possible to buy jets from Mr Honda.  IIRC 175 jets are the later ISO thread pattern and should still be available.

[jonnyTHUNDERmaker]

Teazer,
Just saw your post...Thats exactly what I did . I heard a lot of good stuff about Caswell, and I'm glad I spent the little extra and used it. I did my tank yesterday, and tomorrow I plan on throwing it back on the bike. Everything seemed to be fine. Thanks for the info on the jets.

I also made some little air intake manifolds today for my filters, and am slowly trying repainting my tank badges. Ill try and get some pics up soon.

[theboxrules]

Keep up the work AA!  I'm enjoying this thread.

[jonnyTHUNDERmaker]

Thanks...If all goes well today I should be ripping up the streets by tonight. I only have a few more weeks to ride so getting this sucker in good running condition is taking top priority. When I get back in a few months I'll continue making it look pretty.

[cleave6]

Thanks...If all goes well today I should be ripping up the streets by tonight. I only have a few more weeks to ride so getting this sucker in good running condition is taking top priority. When I get back in a few months I'll continue making it look pretty.

yeah lucky for you, you're in texas.  we're already dipping below the freezing point here in ohio. we had a 40 degree day yesterday, and my cold blooded 175 refused to stay running without the choke   im going to have to go get some sta-bil this weekend

[jonnyTHUNDERmaker]

Well,
This little guy is on hold for a few months. I am leaving the state tomorrow early and leaving the country the 3rd of the New Year. Didn't get as far as I wanted before leaving town, but oh well.
I'll be back the end of March and I should be nice and ready for some good elbow grease. Hopefully I can order some parts so I have some shiny bits waiting for me.

I did manage to take her on a nice 25-30 mile ride through the hill country a week or so ago, but the next day things went south. I rode to work early in the morning and filled her up on the way. Later that day on the way home she died on me. Didn't have time to do anything to her other than put her in the garage. I did take a peek at her yesterday and saw that I was getting no spark. Everything else has power though...Coil finally bit the dust??? Also I heard from a local shop that where I had filled up has been known recently to have some bad gas...

Well we will see once I get back and am able to tinker with her. So I drained all her gas in the tank and carbs and unplugged the battery. So she sits for a couple months

[DSHEP]

Bike looks great. Too bad about the recent bad luck... old bikes

Hipster feather still cracks me up.

[jonnyTHUNDERmaker]

Well, I have been back in the states for a little while now. Tomorrow I plan on finally digging into her

Probably going to get a new coil for it and go from there. Bummer I am missing out on all the super nice riding weather we have been having lately. I do cruise around on my wifes Honda Elite 80 which is fun, just not as fun as a bike. I wish these old bikes were as reliable. Those Honda scooters are bullet proof.

Ill try and get some work done and pics up on this post soon.

[jonnyTHUNDERmaker]

Okay,
Finally an update with a little progress. It took me a while to get my weak spark situation fixed and luckily it didn't cost much either. My initial thought was the coils and old wiring harness. So I went through my harness and cleaned it up a bit. Took out some unused wires and replaced the ignition switch plug. It looked like it had shorted or melted a bit at one time, and had a lot of corrosion on it.





After I did that I still had a weak spark. So through a series of tests and deduction I found out I was getting enough juice all the way till the spark plug caps. Well I remembered reading a post by Teazer or Crazy PJ (sorry if i discredited the original author, but it was one of you guys on here that know your stuff)

They were talking about the different resistance in plug caps and how most of our old bike are supposed to have 0 resistance. So I took a look at mine and found that they were 5omh. Well a local shop had put them on a while back even though I mentioned specifically about them being 0 resistance (thank you local shop for screwing that up )

Anyways I ordered some 0 resistance from MikesXS for nice and cheap and slapped them on. WAAALAAA nice fat blue/white spark.    Moral of the story CHECK YOUR PLUGS CAPS FOR PROPER RESISTANCE

Now I have a good spark I am tackling the carbs again. They sat for a few months even though I drained them all they looked kind of dirty. Have them soaking right now, so hopefully they will clean up nicely.

Question? What is the hole and purpose of it in this picture. Just above where the gasket goes. This is obviously on the motor side of the carb. I realize I am holding the carb upside down, I was just cleaning it all up and snapped a picture.


Thanks for all your help guys. Hopefully this little sucker will be back on the road soon

[Big Rich]

That is an odd one.......never noticed that hole on my 68. Maybe it's just on the vertical carbs? Either way, have you tried blowing compressed air thru it?

The fact that it's on the outer edge of the oring makes me think its some type of drain though.