Hello, Folks -
After a long hiatus, I am back in the Honda Twin game. By long, I mean I haven't had one since about 1998. I restored a CL-350 in high school from a frame and 6 or 7 five-gallon buckets of parts, but I stupidly sold it to pay for college. 14+ years later, a good friend of mine whose CL-175 with ~4,000 original miles has been sitting under the stairway outside his flat for 3 years finally decided to sell it. He told me it just stopped running one day, so he parked it with the best intentions of fixing and riding it someday. I suspected dead battery or no gas right away, so I offered him $500 - he took it - and I started ordering parts.
Here it is the day I picked it up. I would have ridden it home, but it's not registered or insured yet and since I'm a safety ranger I decided to not take any chances.
After a new Shorai battery, new NGK plugs, an oil change, fresh gas, and some starter fluid, this was the result.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbNntviWOLU
I know I overspent on the battery when compared to the rest of the bike, but I really don't want to deal with the hassle of lead-acid batteries. My car (see below) has a yellow top Optima, and I figured it's worth spending a few extra bucks for reliability on this little guy as well. It runs very well, even considering there are no air filters on it at the moment. No smoke, no smells, no weird hesitations or stumbles. It shifted through all gears in my cursory test-ride up and down the block, but it does need a clutch adjustment. There are a couple of small oil leaks, and the carbs/petcock are leaking down into the crankcase so despite running great it does need some maintenance. I've ordered the following items to kick start that process:
For performance and looks, I've ordered the following:
I'm going to the Vintage Japanese MC swap meet in Auburn, CA this weekend, so I hope to grab a CB350F tank, an extra exhaust to chop up, and a new seat pan that I can modify since the plan is to eventually have a low profile Bratstyle seat. At some point I'll think about perhaps adding clipons, lower profile signals and rear light, rearsets, and perhaps some black 18" excel rims but for now I am focused on reliability and driveability.
So - the bike is now languishing behind my 2006 STi in the garage. Once I have it registered and insured, I'll probably lock it up in front of my flat, but until then it will live where it is currently situated.
I'm super stoked about having a motorcycle project. I was a bicycle mechanic for almost 10 years, but following my BS degree I am a Health and Safety professional in the semiconductor industry. What that means is that I don't get to tinker very often. Tapping away on a keyboard all day and trying to keep engineers from killing themselves with chemicals or mechanical hazards just doesn't fill that void. I aim to keep current on this, but please bear with me - I work 50+ hours a week and commute another 10 or so. Thanks for reading this novel!
After a long hiatus, I am back in the Honda Twin game. By long, I mean I haven't had one since about 1998. I restored a CL-350 in high school from a frame and 6 or 7 five-gallon buckets of parts, but I stupidly sold it to pay for college. 14+ years later, a good friend of mine whose CL-175 with ~4,000 original miles has been sitting under the stairway outside his flat for 3 years finally decided to sell it. He told me it just stopped running one day, so he parked it with the best intentions of fixing and riding it someday. I suspected dead battery or no gas right away, so I offered him $500 - he took it - and I started ordering parts.
Here it is the day I picked it up. I would have ridden it home, but it's not registered or insured yet and since I'm a safety ranger I decided to not take any chances.
After a new Shorai battery, new NGK plugs, an oil change, fresh gas, and some starter fluid, this was the result.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbNntviWOLU
I know I overspent on the battery when compared to the rest of the bike, but I really don't want to deal with the hassle of lead-acid batteries. My car (see below) has a yellow top Optima, and I figured it's worth spending a few extra bucks for reliability on this little guy as well. It runs very well, even considering there are no air filters on it at the moment. No smoke, no smells, no weird hesitations or stumbles. It shifted through all gears in my cursory test-ride up and down the block, but it does need a clutch adjustment. There are a couple of small oil leaks, and the carbs/petcock are leaking down into the crankcase so despite running great it does need some maintenance. I've ordered the following items to kick start that process:
- New OEM points and condenser - just for the sake of posterity
- Engine oil seal kit
- Engine gasket kit
- Carburetor rebuild kits + new jets to match planned pod filters and open pipes
- Petcock rebuild kit
- Shinko SR241 tires F/R in the 3.00-18 variety - I'll be removing both fenders for the time being
For performance and looks, I've ordered the following:
- Stainless engine bolt kit
- Black drag bars - the originals aren't there anyway, so I'm going to try these for the time being
- CL-200 triple trees - better adjustability for height when using...
- CM-200 fork legs - more modern design that fits the CL-200 trees
- New OEM gas cap
I'm going to the Vintage Japanese MC swap meet in Auburn, CA this weekend, so I hope to grab a CB350F tank, an extra exhaust to chop up, and a new seat pan that I can modify since the plan is to eventually have a low profile Bratstyle seat. At some point I'll think about perhaps adding clipons, lower profile signals and rear light, rearsets, and perhaps some black 18" excel rims but for now I am focused on reliability and driveability.
So - the bike is now languishing behind my 2006 STi in the garage. Once I have it registered and insured, I'll probably lock it up in front of my flat, but until then it will live where it is currently situated.
I'm super stoked about having a motorcycle project. I was a bicycle mechanic for almost 10 years, but following my BS degree I am a Health and Safety professional in the semiconductor industry. What that means is that I don't get to tinker very often. Tapping away on a keyboard all day and trying to keep engineers from killing themselves with chemicals or mechanical hazards just doesn't fill that void. I aim to keep current on this, but please bear with me - I work 50+ hours a week and commute another 10 or so. Thanks for reading this novel!