Well, I suppose it's time to start a build thread... v.CB200

[DetroitStyle]

Picked this up earlier this spring. I was told "it ran last year" although I'm now skeptical of that. It seemed to have good compression, I thought I'd just swap the bars and seat and have myself a cheapo café beater. Well, you all know how that goes.

Arriving home!

I need a pickup... but FJ80s are pretty awesome

Starting point:
I immediately yanked off the crash bars, luggage rack, etc, etc... sold the luggage rack for $40. So that's a plus

And then I got online and ordered some bars, an ignition/key, etc.

I drained the gas, put new gas in and gave it a whirl... nothing. The factory wiring harness was pretty hacked up, so I had no idea where to start with it. So I found a harness on eBay for $30 and ordered that.

In the meantime, I started degreasing/cleaning and..... well, I got carried away.

"That's IT!" I said to myself... no further. Get it running and ride it.

Uh huh

So, really... I wasn't going to go this far and not go all the way.

That's how it sits today.

 

[DetroitStyle]

So, now I need some guidance. I don't know anything about the condition of the engine other than it does have compression.... however, if I get into rebuilding I will be WAY over my head and will delay completion a long time. So I'm probably just going to have to find a running 200 and swap it?

My plans are:
Powdercoat the frame, swingarm and some other bits (hubs?)
Viet rearsets
Scrambler exhaust (this is still a maybe, but I understand it makes rearsets easier)
Fab a seat/hump, possibly using a spare gas tank?

Note: I'm not a welder, I will have to have all of that done. I've done a BIT of painting, and will likely be building a mini paint booth in the garage.

 

[cyclefreak]

Hahaha. It is easy to get a lot deeper into a project than you originally planned. Looks like the bike is in pretty good shape. As far as getting it running start with the basics. Make sure it is getting fuel and spark. After sitting for so long the carbs are going to need a good cleaning unless they were completely run dry when it was stored. And it probably wasn't. There are several cb200 build threads here you can find that will surely be of help, and with that several have a lot of first hand knowledge of the little CB's. Have fun with it and don't be afraid to ask for help.

 

[DetroitStyle]

I have bookmarked and read all of the CB200 threads that I could find. Definitely a lot of good work!

My biggest issue, of course, is time. I am the proud father of two little boys (2.5 and 9mo) whom I watch all day... then I work all night. So, currently, I only get about 4 hours of sleep a night. My only time to work on bikes is the once a month 5 day break from work that my wife gets. So, yeah, it will take a while. That's the primary reason that I'm trying to avoid rebuilding the engine.

I will ask lots of questions. I will read lots of internetz. I'm hoping to have this done by next spring!

 

[Rich Ard]

Why would you tear down the engine?

 

[DetroitStyle]

Why would you tear down the engine?

:dunno: I didn't mean to give the impression that I was going to. I was just stating that I hope that's the one thing I can avoid doing, as it looks like everything else is going to get rebuilt/rehabbed/refreshed/etc

 

[cyclefreak]

I know what you mean about working all of the time. I work a 24 hour shift on an ambulance, leave that job and go straight to the fire dept. and work another 24 hour shift. Then I have 24 hours off and do it all over again. Not sure if you found my old build thread, or if it will help you any, but here it is. http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?topic=26300.msg282243#msg282243

 

[DeanJ]

So, now I need some guidance. I don't know anything about the condition of the engine other than it does have compression....

common fail- you should have left it together when you brought it home and sorted out any and all issues first .... then and only then, start any modifications after you have a running bike with everything working as it should.

now you have a pile of unknowns :'(

 

[Rich Ard]

Re: Re: Well, I suppose it's time to start a build thread... v.CB200

common fail- you should have left it together when you brought it home and sorted out any and all issues first .... then and only then, start any modifications after you have a running bike with everything working as it should.

now you have a pile of unknowns :'(

Yep. Were it me i would put it back together and see if it runs - and then decide how to proceed.

 

[koonendez]

GL. Would love to work on something smaller once I finish the 550. Looking forward to your progress

 

[DetroitStyle]

common fail- you should have left it together when you brought it home and sorted out any and all issues first .... then and only then, start any modifications after you have a running bike with everything working as it should.

now you have a pile of unknowns :'(

Except that the wiring harness was badly hacked up, and needed to be replaced.. and replacing the entire harness requires a lot of disassembly... So it's six of one, half a dozen of the other.

 

[DeanJ]

Except that the wiring harness was badly hacked up, and needed to be replaced.. and replacing the entire harness requires a lot of disassembly... So it's six of one, half a dozen of the other.

;D must have been a baker's dozen :

 

[DeanJ]

UPDATE, he has the harness is listed here :

http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?topic=51152.0;topicseen

 

[DetroitStyle]

I already bought a harness...

Thoughts on cutting out the rear mudguard/fender? I plan on running some sort of filter, and I don't see this being a crappy weather bike, so I think I can ditch it?

 

[DetroitStyle]

So, my shocks were pretty clapped out. One was bent, etc. I'm wondering about these things on eBay. I'm sure they are "Chinese junk"... but are they worth the risk for $80?

I did Google a bit and found some decent reviews... they aren't awesome, but then again, they aren't $400 or even $200... I'm trying to keep this entire build under $1500

 

[DeanJ]

Thoughts on cutting out the rear mudguard/fender? I plan on running some sort of filter, and I don't see this being a crappy weather bike, so I think I can ditch it?

Hi , I think you should step back and heed Rich's advice above... Put the bike back together so you may sort out the issues and get the bike running properly.. then you have a platform to start modifying it. After it is together and sorted, you have a proper pallet for mock up of fenders, seat , riding position and anything else you would like to try as you personalize the bike.

So, my shocks were pretty clapped out. One was bent, etc. I'm wondering about these things on eBay. I'm sure they are "Chinese junk"... but are they worth the risk for $80?

You don't even know if the engine will run and are looking at ebay shocks ? Those "look" cool, however they are pretty crappy... a nice used set of oem that cleans up may serve you better at a much lower price. Please get the bike sorted out and running first... and in the process, you will find out what you really need prioritize and spend your money on. Just trying to help

 

[koonendez]

Pretty hilarious how things can get way over our heads sometimes. Like the advice coming your way though. Keep up the progress

 

[Danny3zzzs]

Hi , I think you should step back and heed Rich's advice above... Put the bike back together so you may sort out the issues and get the bike running properly.. then you have a platform to start modifying it. After it is together and sorted, you have a proper pallet for mock up of fenders, seat , riding position and anything else you would like to try as you personalize the bike.

You don't even know if the engine will run and are looking at ebay shocks ? Those "look" cool, however they are pretty crappy... a nice used set of oem that cleans up may serve you better at a much lower price. Please get the bike sorted out and running first... and in the process, you will find out what you really need prioritize and spend your money on. Just trying to help

+1...

oem shocks will be much better for this build, especially on your budget. If you must have a custom look to the shocks, you could consider painting the non-spring part of the shock(sorry for lack of technical vocab.) But for now, I would definitely prioritize and come back to the shocks later... good luck, this bike has potential...

 

[DetroitStyle]

Well the time table and budget for this just took a big hit in the form of a head gasket on my Land Cruiser. :-\

 

[DetroitStyle]

Bit of progress to report. Bought another non running CB200 on the cheap, which I'm not going to touch. It will be my reference point for putting this thing back together.

I got around to doing some cutting, removed the passenger peg mounts, rear mudguard and some other jazz from the frame. Still have a bit of grinding and smoothing to do... I also found a pretty nice tank on eBay for $50, so that was a score.

Scared myself a bit when I put the tank on and stood back and looked at it. The frame looked seriously tweaked, but after some googling... it seems they all look that way when they are down to the frame?