alec.korver
Been Around the Block
BEFORE APRIL 3RD
AFTER JUNE 8th
****March 20th 2013*****
Long time lurker here. Picked up my bike April 5th 2012. It was a good day. SORRY FOR THE HUGE POST
Well like the title says I picked up a nice 73' CB200 for myself as my platform bike. Had been looking around CL for awhile for an older honda cb of Kawasaki ect... Finally cam across this beauty in all of its glory. I went and picked up the bike for a mere $550.00, It was running, had a minor oil leak, and came with a title. So I loaded it on the trailer and took it home to my garage.
Not before long I started to play around with the bike and figure out how I can get it running better. The PO had already replaced the coil, and throttle controls. Beyond that the bike seemed to have been modified from owners before that. It was missing side covers, airboxes had been replaced with crap filters, exhaust pipes were non origional, carbs were from a cb175, kickstand bent, engine and tank rattle canned, and handlebars had been cut and welded for lower profile. I knew I was getting myself into a project.
So I started planning out how I was going to fix up this bike. I rebuilt the carbs and gave them a nice soak in carb cleaner and reattached them to the bike. After some fiddling around I had the bike riding fine, but it was still not operating like it should. Bogging down around 5/6k rpm although the acceleration was quite quick for a cb200. So I pulled the carbs again and checked the float heights. Sure enough they were off so I readjusted and ended up with setting them back to stock height. After getting nowhere in making it run smoother after 2 days or so I decided to check my compression. I had around 110psi in each cylinder. I knew it was time for a top end rebuild.
So I pulled the engine and dove in head first with my manual at my side. 7 hours later I had my engine torn apart down to the crankcase. Cylinders seemed to be in good condition, but it was obvious this engine has never seen a rebuild. So today I sent my cylinders out to get bored .25 over, and my valves out to get grinded and lapped.
Before all of this engine madness, the PO had told me that I should probably replace the brake and clutch cable on the bike. So I ordered a new brake and clutch cable, but they arrived and the threads were the wrong sizes.... Great... So I gave up on those cables and decided to build my own. I ordered braided stainless hose and 2mm braided steel wire. I cut to proper length and soldered on the boots. Reinstalled on the bike, and after about 6 hours had nice shiny new brake and clutch cables.
I also replaced the tires on the bike first thing because i knew if I were going to drive ANYWHERE I couldn't be driving with cracked tires. I put 100/90/18 on the rear and 90/90/18 on the front. In the process I also noticed the bolts for my chain/rear end tensioner were stripped, so I replaced them with some nice shiny new ones.
Now I am currently waiting on my engine to get back from the machinist, and hopefully I will have the bike rebuilt and running this weekend. Planning on doing a dry build before I do any real painting. Anything painted now will probably be sandblasted and powder coated this fall.
New Tires and cables!
Engine Pulled from frame
The Cylinders! *not bored yet*
One of the new cables *sorry for the phone quality pics*
Rest of the engine is sent off for boring/lapping
AFTER JUNE 8th
****March 20th 2013*****
Long time lurker here. Picked up my bike April 5th 2012. It was a good day. SORRY FOR THE HUGE POST
Well like the title says I picked up a nice 73' CB200 for myself as my platform bike. Had been looking around CL for awhile for an older honda cb of Kawasaki ect... Finally cam across this beauty in all of its glory. I went and picked up the bike for a mere $550.00, It was running, had a minor oil leak, and came with a title. So I loaded it on the trailer and took it home to my garage.
Not before long I started to play around with the bike and figure out how I can get it running better. The PO had already replaced the coil, and throttle controls. Beyond that the bike seemed to have been modified from owners before that. It was missing side covers, airboxes had been replaced with crap filters, exhaust pipes were non origional, carbs were from a cb175, kickstand bent, engine and tank rattle canned, and handlebars had been cut and welded for lower profile. I knew I was getting myself into a project.
So I started planning out how I was going to fix up this bike. I rebuilt the carbs and gave them a nice soak in carb cleaner and reattached them to the bike. After some fiddling around I had the bike riding fine, but it was still not operating like it should. Bogging down around 5/6k rpm although the acceleration was quite quick for a cb200. So I pulled the carbs again and checked the float heights. Sure enough they were off so I readjusted and ended up with setting them back to stock height. After getting nowhere in making it run smoother after 2 days or so I decided to check my compression. I had around 110psi in each cylinder. I knew it was time for a top end rebuild.
So I pulled the engine and dove in head first with my manual at my side. 7 hours later I had my engine torn apart down to the crankcase. Cylinders seemed to be in good condition, but it was obvious this engine has never seen a rebuild. So today I sent my cylinders out to get bored .25 over, and my valves out to get grinded and lapped.
Before all of this engine madness, the PO had told me that I should probably replace the brake and clutch cable on the bike. So I ordered a new brake and clutch cable, but they arrived and the threads were the wrong sizes.... Great... So I gave up on those cables and decided to build my own. I ordered braided stainless hose and 2mm braided steel wire. I cut to proper length and soldered on the boots. Reinstalled on the bike, and after about 6 hours had nice shiny new brake and clutch cables.
I also replaced the tires on the bike first thing because i knew if I were going to drive ANYWHERE I couldn't be driving with cracked tires. I put 100/90/18 on the rear and 90/90/18 on the front. In the process I also noticed the bolts for my chain/rear end tensioner were stripped, so I replaced them with some nice shiny new ones.
Now I am currently waiting on my engine to get back from the machinist, and hopefully I will have the bike rebuilt and running this weekend. Planning on doing a dry build before I do any real painting. Anything painted now will probably be sandblasted and powder coated this fall.
New Tires and cables!
Engine Pulled from frame
The Cylinders! *not bored yet*
One of the new cables *sorry for the phone quality pics*
Rest of the engine is sent off for boring/lapping
