1973 CB350G Canadian Noob Build (Gotta start somewhere!)

With an update on the bike, besides having small recharging issues the bike is running well. The battery is dying while riding. I took her for another test run on Saturday and she still feels sweet. The m-unit allows for the headlight to be turned off, so while riding I had it off and the battery seemed to maintain voltage after both test rips so this is making me think I have a charging system issue. Initially I thought it was my battery bc I had severely drained it once before, but it is infact recharging. This is a bit more of a pain in the butt because replacing that system is going to be a way bigger job than just doing a battery swap! Next time out I'm going to check the fuse in my reg/rec circuit, if that is still intact I'll test to make sure the charging system is operating by disconnecting it from the battery and putting a tester on the neg and pos connections to see what I get. If the fuse is intact and it's not producing power I'm going to have some bigger problems on my hands (read: more expensive). I'm nervous that my rotor may be toast. Any advice on how I would know for sure??

I still have to complete a few plug chops to make sure she's running optimally. I am still slightly concerned about the engine temp after riding, she seems to run really hot and I want to avoid blowing this engine at all costs. I'm sure it's normal to be hot but I'm not sure how hot. I bought one of those fancy laser temp readers so I'll take a few measurements on the case, check the plugs at different throttle positions and report back. I may just need to do some slight tweaks on the carbs yet.

I'm working my butt off to get her ready for a motorcycle meet in July where I can finally show her off. Planning to make a little video on that that I'll be posting.

Until next time! Also looking for some friends for BOTM votes for July once I get her in good shape! ;) ;D ;D
 
What wattage headlight are you running? 35W is about the maximum you want on a Honda twin and you should go even lower if you're running 3 Ohm coils. My recommendation is one of the 20W H4 LED bulbs we have on our website. They're very bright (55W halogen equivalent) but with even less draw than stock. Also, unless you have a specific reason to do so, I would stick with 5 Ohm coils.

As far as temps go, try to measure right at the spark plug hole. You should be around 175°C and I would definitely start to worry if you get up to 200°C. Measurements should be taken at WOT, so may be difficult to accomplish without specialized equipment.
 
Saturdays Wrench said:
............, check the plugs at different throttle positions and report back. I may just need to do some slight tweaks on the carbs yet..............

No can do. The only plug chop that actually tells you anything about jetting is WOT under load. At anything less than flat out, all you are reading is plug temperature and thinking it's a measure of jetting. It's not. At less than WOT you may well see changes in color on a plug chop but since the plugs are not at self cleaning temperature, what are they telling you? The answer, in general, is not much aout jetting that you can interpret and act upon.
 
Sonreir said:
What wattage headlight are you running? 35W is about the maximum you want on a Honda twin and you should go even lower if you're running 3 Ohm coils. My recommendation is one of the 20W H4 LED bulbs we have on our website. They're very bright (55W halogen equivalent) but with even less draw than stock. Also, unless you have a specific reason to do so, I would stick with 5 Ohm coils.

As far as temps go, try to measure right at the spark plug hole. You should be around 175°C and I would definitely start to worry if you get up to 200°C. Measurements should be taken at WOT, so may be difficult to accomplish without specialized equipment.

35w eh?! This is the headlight I purchased. "H4 60/55 watt bulb with internal running light".. oof! Now I'm a bit concerned. I'm positive I can just replace the bulb though, correct?

Thanks for the advice on temps.

teazer said:
The only plug chop that actually tells you anything about jetting is WOT under load. At anything less than flat out, all you are reading is plug temperature and thinking it's a measure of jetting. It's not. At less than WOT you may well see changes in color on a plug chop but since the plugs are not at self cleaning temperature, what are they telling you? The answer, in general, is not much aout jetting that you can interpret and act upon.

I didn't mean to say I would take a temperature reading during the plug chops, I meant I would visually look at the plugs at different throttle positions to see if running lean or rich, etc.
 
Saturdays Wrench said:
35w eh?! This is the headlight I purchased. "H4 60/55 watt bulb with internal running light".. oof! Now I'm a bit concerned. I'm positive I can just replace the bulb though, correct?

Yup. Just swap out the bulb for something with lower wattage and you should be good to. The earlier issue you were encountering was that the bike was just pulling more electricity than your alternator could produce.
 
Sonreir said:
Yup. Just swap out the bulb for something with lower wattage and you should be good to. The earlier issue you were encountering was that the bike was just pulling more electricity than your alternator could produce.

Damn, ok this makes sense. I hope that is the problem.

Can you check out this light and tell me if it's the correct bulb? it would be the 12V-35/35w one: https://fortnine.ca/en/eiko-quartz-halogen-bulb-h4-9003-p43t

Would I loose my highbeam though??

Also, I should remind you that I'm running the Rick's Electric Hot Shot charging system which states: " The kit will put out approximately 150 watts and power a 55 watt headlight if the customers rotor has not been compromised."

Thoughts???
 
teazer said:
The only plug chop that actually tells you anything about jetting is WOT under load. At anything less than flat out, all you are reading is plug temperature and thinking it's a measure of jetting. It's not. At less than WOT you may well see changes in color on a plug chop but since the plugs are not at self cleaning temperature, what are they telling you? The answer, in general, is not much about jetting that you can interpret and act upon.

You can take this to the bank. Pretty much everything else in getting your carbs to behave like you want is a trial and error process determined by how the bike drives. This is because under normal driving, you have the throttles nearly closed a lot of the time and otherwise constantly speeding up or slowing down. Even if you could get a useful reading at a partial throttle opening, it would be of only anecdotal value because in reality you are more interested in transitional performance - throttle response. Certainly it is a tricky (but hopefully fun!) task to ride your bike, try to decide where it is too lean or too rich and then figure what parts need to be swapped to effect the change you think you need, but rewarding if you persevere. Get your main jets right first, and then PLEASE leave them alone. Don't tune your bike with the mains. Never forget that your so called air cooled engine is in reality, principally liquid cooled by the liquid fuel changing into a gas before it is used as an energy source. In general this is why in practice you need more fuel than what is required for the correct theoretical air fuel ratio (among other factors).
 
Saturdays Wrench said:
Damn, ok this makes sense. I hope that is the problem.

Can you check out this light and tell me if it's the correct bulb? it would be the 12V-35/35w one: https://fortnine.ca/en/eiko-quartz-halogen-bulb-h4-9003-p43t

Would I loose my highbeam though??

Also, I should remind you that I'm running the Rick's Electric Hot Shot charging system which states: " The kit will put out approximately 150 watts and power a 55 watt headlight if the customers rotor has not been compromised."

Thoughts???

That bulb will work and so long as it's labeled as H4, you won't lose your high beam. The H4 format includes both high and low. I don't know if you'll be super thrilled with the brightness level, but it should do the trick.

As far as the rotor comment goes, at this point all of our rotors are at least a little compromised. They lose their magnetism over time. I've seen some bikes that can barely hold a charge at highway speeds and others that will charge at idle. Seems to be a bit hit and miss. Maybe try to grab a new rotor from eBay and see if that helps? Generally, the Rick's system should be good enough to run a 55W bulb without any other modifications.
 
jpmobius said:
You can take this to the bank. Pretty much everything else in getting your carbs to behave like you want is a trial and error process determined by how the bike drives. This is because under normal driving, you have the throttles nearly closed a lot of the time and otherwise constantly speeding up or slowing down. Even if you could get a useful reading at a partial throttle opening, it would be of only anecdotal value because in reality you are more interested in transitional performance - throttle response. Certainly it is a tricky (but hopefully fun!) task to ride your bike, try to decide where it is too lean or too rich and then figure what parts need to be swapped to effect the change you think you need, but rewarding if you persevere. Get your main jets right first, and then PLEASE leave them alone. Don't tune your bike with the mains. Never forget that your so called air cooled engine is in reality, principally liquid cooled by the liquid fuel changing into a gas before it is used as an energy source. In general this is why in practice you need more fuel than what is required for the correct theoretical air fuel ratio (among other factors).

You're making a lot of sense, thanks for this info.


Sonreir said:
That bulb will work and so long as it's labeled as H4, you won't lose your high beam. The H4 format includes both high and low. I don't know if you'll be super thrilled with the brightness level, but it should do the trick.

As far as the rotor comment goes, at this point all of our rotors are at least a little compromised. They lose their magnetism over time. I've seen some bikes that can barely hold a charge at highway speeds and others that will charge at idle. Seems to be a bit hit and miss. Maybe try to grab a new rotor from eBay and see if that helps? Generally, the Rick's system should be good enough to run a 55W bulb without any other modifications.

Thanks for all your help with this. I feel like my rotor may be toast bc the Hot Shot charging system is stated to handle the 55w bulb with no issues. Therefore, either my fuse coming from my reg/rec is blown, my rotor is done or the charging system is malfunctioning. I will check the fuse next time I'm in the garage, if that's intact I am going to assume the rotor is shot bc the charging system is brand new.

Sonreir, would you happen to know what size of a flywheel puller will remove that rotor from the end of the crankshaft?

Thanks again for all your responses.
 
Saturdays Wrench said:
Sonreir, would you happen to know what size of a flywheel puller will remove that rotor from the end of the crankshaft?

I think it's either M12 or M14. It's the same as the rear axle.
 
Saturdays Wrench said:
You're making a lot of sense, thanks for this info.


Thanks for all your help with this. I feel like my rotor may be toast bc the Hot Shot charging system is stated to handle the 55w bulb with no issues. Therefore, either my fuse coming from my reg/rec is blown, my rotor is done or the charging system is malfunctioning. I will check the fuse next time I'm in the garage, if that's intact I am going to assume the rotor is shot bc the charging system is brand new.

Sonreir, would you happen to know what size of a flywheel puller will remove that rotor from the end of the crankshaft?

Thanks again for all your responses.

Found your thread here, more active than HT. If your bike charged fine with your headlight off then your reg/rec fuse is fine.

I'd test with that 35w head light and then move on to testing another rotor.
 
LiamG6 said:
Found your thread here, more active than HT. If your bike charged fine with your headlight off then your reg/rec fuse is fine.

I'd test with that 35w head light and then move on to testing another rotor.

Hey Buddy, just read your other post as well on HT. Anyway, I honestly don't think it's the bulb. The manufacturer states that the Rick's Electric Hot Shot charging system is fully capable of running a 55w light. It outputs much more power than the stock stator & reg/rec. So it narrows it down to just a few factors. Heading to the garage in a few days to do some tests and will report back. Thanks for your replies.
 
Saturdays Wrench said:
Hey Buddy, just read your other post as well on HT. Anyway, I honestly don't think it's the bulb. The manufacturer states that the Rick's Electric Hot Shot charging system is fully capable of running a 55w light. It outputs much more power than the stock stator & reg/rec. So it narrows it down to just a few factors. Heading to the garage in a few days to do some tests and will report back. Thanks for your replies.

It's fully capable of running a 55w bulb if the only change is the 55w bulb and the hot shot stator and everything else is stock and in good condition, if anything else is changed on the system, then it needs to be tested. You can probably get everything sorted and be able to run the 55w bulb, but it might be harder and more costly than just switching to a 35w bulb. I would try to minimize the load on the charging system, move to LED turn signal, brake light and tail lights if you haven't already, drop to 35w HL if need be, find out if anything else is drawing a lot of current. Whats your ignition system, do you know how much current it needs?

A lithium battery needs to have 13.2v or higher to charge, if you can get your system above that point as close to idle rpm as possible then you are golden
 
irk miller said:
https://ricksmotorsportelectrics.com/New-Hot-Shot-Series-Honda-Rotor-41_100H

Now that I didn't know they made, that is great, all potential issues with other used stators aren't a factor with a newly magnetized rotor.

Between this and the hot shot stator you should be sweet!
 
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