Brat/rat first chop

Ok, after much debate and effort, I’ve decided it’s the coils or the carbs. Mikes xs says the stock coils for the 83 will work with their ignition system but I’m thinking these are not. Maybe. Since I’m doing that, I may as well go through the wiring again. Tried for the stock coil because they mount right up. These other coils.... I’ll have to get creative. I’ll go ahead and clean the carbs just to make me feel better, and I’m going to buy an aftermarket switch. Could just be the switch I’m using, but I tested it before installing and it was fine.
Unfortunately going to bed scratching my head on this one.
Wrecked my little shop today, but here she sets
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I actually just did that. Indeed they are wet. Also, I’m not getting any spark, which leads me to believe I’ve wired something wrong or my switch is bad


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So after much thought, and more internet debate. I am going to go with a battery set up. Battery should be in today, and I’ll be rewiring everything on Christmas Eve. Some not so exciting parts have been trickling in. New front and rear bearings. New swing arm, and tapered neck bearings. Going with bronze swing arm bushings (dime city cycles got my order wrong and only sent one ).

My new switch and handle bars came in the other day, as well as a few other nuts and bolts. And my rear drum parts.

Left to order are seat, clutch lever, front master cylinder, front caliper, and front rotor. In the mean time while I’m waiting on money and parts I’m going to shave the front forks, and paint them. The front brake parts are pricey, so I’m going to move forward with the seat and tail fabrication first.

Building a bike is proving to take much longer than I had imagined


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Battery came in the mail, and I’m stoked! It’s a lot smaller than I imagined. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to fit everything in a battery box, but this will do fine. I’m wondering if anyone has come up with a fail safe for over charging though? An explosive under my ass doesn’t sound like a good idea


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Reworked the wiring with a new switch. I’m getting fuel but no spark. I’m stumped. Everything is wired right, but I’m running kick only. Any suggestions?


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I know what I did wrong, but only after almost starting a fire. The universal switch I’m using has three prongs on the back. B, G, IS. B is obviously the battery, G I thought was ground...... (face palm). It is not. It’s the ignition circuit. IS apparently is the ac....


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I always "ring out" (check with an VOM) a new switch that I don't for sure know the interior connections. I'm surprised you ever built any voltage on the cap that way.
 
Needless to say..... my little shack is now equipped with a fire extinguisher. Here’s a shot of parts that have been trickling in. Nothing exciting, but necessary for sure. I’m not sure what these 30yo bearings look like yet, but I’m sure they need attention. I do recall a high speed death wobble on the interstate back when the bike was running. Tapered bearings for the neck, and needle bearings for the swing arm. Brass bushings to boot. Should sure things up a bit. Rebuilding the rear brakes...... front brakes...... I’m probably going to upgrade. The single piston caliper on a single rotor.... not so hot. Pandemonium makes a cheap enough bracket and spacer kit to mount a brembo and I’m leaning heavily in that direction.

Hand controls I’m stumped on. I’m just not finding the master cylinder that does it for me. I’m definitely going to have to make my own cables, so there’s that too. Still so much left.... it never ends.

I feel like if I could just hear the bike run it would be exactly what I need right now. It’s all I want for Christmas.
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The bike runs!!!! Heck yeah! Didn’t run for long, but it ran. Pretty sure I’m going to need some carburetor cleaning. The carbs have been sitting up for about 6 months.


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Brief update. I got the bike running to the point it was idling and revving. It shook the whole neighborhood..... and that puts a smile on my face. During this period I tested the charging system and it’s all good. I was afraid I toasted the coil during all the testing. But didn’t. Apparently everything is tougher than mentioned online. Finally, I’m able to move forward.

One thing that’s concerning: there seems to be an issue with back pressure. I’m assuming this because oil started seeping from several areas, and also some puffs of smoke came from the carbs. I even had a backfire through the carbs. That’s a first one for me, but I’ve heard of it. The good news is I have a whole other motor I can scrap parts from need be.

One thing I will do is swap the 76’ crank case breather for the 83’. It has a single tube that I was running a one way check valve on. It helps prevent negative crankcase pressure, and the butt dyno actually saw improvement. Beyond that I’ll be purchasing a heated ultrasonic to deal with the carbs.

The motor could definitely use some cleaning up. I don’t want to put a cruddy motor back into a freshly painted frame, so any suggestions on cleaning the motor up? I would love to do some sort of vapor blasting or something, but I need something I can do myself, for cheap


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The motor could definitely use some cleaning up. I don’t want to put a cruddy motor back into a freshly painted frame, so any suggestions on cleaning the motor up? I would love to do some sort of vapor blasting or something, but I need something I can do myself, for cheap


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I've found this grease that comes in elbows is always required. Various engine degreasers, scrub brushes, rags wrapped around sticks, screwdrivers, Simple Green, Dow Bathroom Cleaner (Scrubin' Bubbles), and finally clean water and isopropyl rinse. I don't think vapor blasting or soda blasting should be attempted before it is fully degreased. All of the bikes I've restored so far have had a good thick coat on the front and bottom and consequently I found blown fork seals. My '06 GoldWing with 121k mikes has never blown a fork seal, and her bottom only shows road grime.
 
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Brief update. I got the bike running to the point it was idling and revving. It shook the whole neighborhood..... and that puts a smile on my face. During this period I tested the charging system and it’s all good. I was afraid I toasted the coil during all the testing. But didn’t. Apparently everything is tougher than mentioned online. Finally, I’m able to move forward.

One thing that’s concerning: there seems to be an issue with back pressure. I’m assuming this because oil started seeping from several areas, and also some puffs of smoke came from the carbs. I even had a backfire through the carbs. That’s a first one for me, but I’ve heard of it. The good news is I have a whole other motor I can scrap parts from need be.

One thing I will do is swap the 76’ crank case breather for the 83’. It has a single tube that I was running a one way check valve on. It helps prevent negative crankcase pressure, and the butt dyno actually saw improvement. Beyond that I’ll be purchasing a heated ultrasonic to deal with the carbs.

The motor could definitely use some cleaning up. I don’t want to put a cruddy motor back into a freshly painted frame, so any suggestions on cleaning the motor up? I would love to do some sort of vapor blasting or something, but I need something I can do myself, for cheap


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Save your money on the ultrasound cleaner. Just strip the carbs down and use pinesol/hot water and soak overnight. a quick clean, blow through and reassembly and they'll be like new...
 
The pros use US because they work so well and save time. And they aren't that expensive these days. I just ordered a 10 liter for ~$125 to replace the old one they gave me at work - it finally died. This new one will hold two GL1000 carbs still joined by the garnish. I'm sure the old one cost the company over $1000 when they bought it in the late '90s, and it didn't have heat or a timer.

I boiled my last set of GL1000 carbs, and wasn't as pleased by the outcome as with the US cleaner. The CB750 set that I ran through my old US came out great. The little Harbor Freight cleaners are good for jets and other small parts, but just can't handle bodies.

I tried Pinsol as a cleaner in my US once, but didn't get as good results as with mild surfactants like Dawn or Simple Green. Also, the Pinsol seemed to attack the aluminum. I'd be real careful leaving parts in it for long.
 
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I used a heated ultrasonic on my cb750 carbs as well. That was over 2 years ago, and haven’t had to clean them yet.

As far as the engine goes, I’m am well prepared to use elbow grease. Just curious what others were doing. Honestly the engine could be much worse. May end up using just elbow grease on the carbs too. After ordering my seat, money is back tight again.

About to focus my efforts on the front end.


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My Carbs after a soak in Pinesol and brush with a toothbrush. They were completed covered in a oil externally and very sticky brown dried petrol residue internally... I used a can of carb cleaner to blow through all the holes after. Took a couple hours...
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I use an ultrasonic with Pine Sol. LOL. The best thing about the ultrasonic, besides the fact that they work, is that you can walk away and do other stuff while the machine does the work.

On an engine that's in frame, or complete that you're not taking apart to clean piece by piece, I use S100. Nothing in the world cleans better than that stuff. Be careful, though. It works so well, you'll get addicted to cleaning stuff with it and want to use it on everything.
 
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