Honda CB200 crankshaft needle bearing

[BazookaFiero]

Hi all,

I tried looking this up in google and on here, but couldn't find a definitive answer. I got my cb200 engine all apart and am working on cleaning it up internally. Originally I was just going to clean it well enough to get her running (no super deep scrub, she's fairly clean inside) but when I took the crank out, I noticed one of the needle bearings was not spinning too freely when compared to the other 3. I pulled it off and found it was covered in a grease-like substance, and was somewhat gunked up.

Does this bearing get greased with something? I was under the thought that the oil pumped into it was the lubrication, but it was greasy when it came out. I want to make sure I am doing this right when I put it back together

Thanks

 

[teazer]

You are correct. There should be no grease. That sounds like a PO greased it. The oil pump supplies all the lubrication that bearing needs. Flush it clean with WD40 followed by carb cleaner and then dry it and oil it and if it's not rusty inside, you are good to go.

 

[DohcBikes]

Good to know i'm not crazy thanks teazer.

Also be sure the bearing turns SMOOTH just in case he was trying to mask a problem

 

[BazookaFiero]

You are correct. There should be no grease. That sounds like a PO greased it. The oil pump supplies all the lubrication that bearing needs. Flush it clean with WD40 followed by carb cleaner and then dry it and oil it and if it's not rusty inside, you are good to go.

That's what I thought, thanks for the quick reply. It wouldn't surprise me if it was a PO, they did a shod job of resealing the cases too.

 

[teazer]

As suspected. Take the time to clean and inspect everything. Look for gouges where the cases were separated for example and other damage or wear that the PO covered up. Please post some pics of the build and what you find.

 

[BazookaFiero]

As suspected. Take the time to clean and inspect everything. Look for gouges where the cases were separated for example and other damage or wear that the PO covered up. Please post some pics of the build and what you find.

Definitely have, when I found that bearing I decided I needed to do a much more thorough cleaning. I started a build thread in the cafe racer section, I'm gonna upload some more pictures soon. I'm new to doing full engine rebuilds, so I'm curious to see if the engine will work once I get it back together :-\

 

[teazer]

If you take your time and get it right, it will run like a top.. Or a CB200 ie not exciting but fun anyway.

You could always add big bore pistons and ported head and big carbs and Titanium valves and hot race cam and double the HP from 10 to 20, but that is an expensive way to do things. Just do it right and it will be a reward

 

[DohcBikes]

If you take your time and get it right, it will run like a top.. Or a CB200 ie not exciting but fun anyway.

You could always add big bore pistons and ported head and big carbs and Titanium valves and hot race cam and double the HP from 10 to 20, but that is an expensive way to do things. Just do it right and it will be a reward

or modify the engine mounts for a thumper :-X

 

[BazookaFiero]

If you take your time and get it right, it will run like a top.. Or a CB200 ie not exciting but fun anyway.

You could always add big bore pistons and ported head and big carbs and Titanium valves and hot race cam and double the HP from 10 to 20, but that is an expensive way to do things. Just do it right and it will be a reward

It's no biggie, I got plenty of other much bigger bikes for excitement Currently I am working on this in my apartment (moved so my shop is gone), so a smaller bike is good for now. I like how simple they are, my yamahas are crazy complicated compared to the small hondas