74 CB550 Step 1 of 5000 (help)

B

Big Splash

New Member
So, there has been 3 years of my bike sitting in the garage and then, I just move back and I come home and start the teardown. I am a super begginner: I have primitive tools, that I JUST bought, and a clymer's manual. I greatly appreciate any hints/tips and will not be offended if you call me ignorant (about mechanical crud) because I am. Daddy, didn't love me.

SO, question one: I am going home to her with a new, charged up battery and see how it turns over. I plan to drain the 3 year old fuel from the tank and carb, and put in some mid-octane chevron techron fuel. Is there any other suggestions before I see where it stands? Also, I tried the throttle and it is VERY tight. Rusted maybe, but not seized. Is there anything I should be looking for?

Thanks again, fellas (and ladies)
 
Kick it over a few times to make sure it's all still free, after 3 yrs it could be stuck?
Don't waste your time trying to get it running without cleaning carbs first, the pilot jets will be blocked and you will have to clean them sooner or later, start from known good position
 
Before turning the motor over I would put some penetrating oil or wd40 in the cylinders and let it sit for a day or 2. After sitting for that long the engine may have surface rust in the cylinders. A little lubrication in the combustion chamber lessens the chance of damage to the rings. If the motor is stuck the process is to slowly turn the crank a little every day until it frees up. Lets hope it's free.

What is your goal with the engine at this point? If you just want to do a compression test you don't have to worry about fuel. If you're just checking to see if it runs drain the tank and float bowls, put some new gas in it, and try starting it. You're going to have to clean and probably rebuild the carbs anyway so it won't really matter if you burn some gunk from the tank, petcock, or fuel lines. If you're trying to get the motor in tip top running shape before teardown you've got some extra work. Clean and rebuild the carbs, adjust points, clean the inside of the tank or use makeshift one, etc.

Personally I would do a compression test, or even better a leakdown test, on it first. That will tell you how far you need to go with the engine. Honda made wonderful engines back then, as long as they still have compression they are easy to get running.
 
Gweenz said:
Before turning the motor over I would put some penetrating oil or wd40 in the cylinders and let it sit for a day or 2. After sitting for that long the engine may have surface rust in the cylinders. A little lubrication in the combustion chamber lessens the chance of damage to the rings. If the motor is stuck the process is to slowly turn the crank a little every day until it frees up. Lets hope it's free.

What is your goal with the engine at this point? If you just want to do a compression test you don't have to worry about fuel. If you're just checking to see if it runs drain the tank and float bowls, put some new gas in it, and try starting it. You're going to have to clean and probably rebuild the carbs anyway so it won't really matter if you burn some gunk from the tank, petcock, or fuel lines. If you're trying to get the motor in tip top running shape before teardown you've got some extra work. Clean and rebuild the carbs, adjust points, clean the inside of the tank or use makeshift one, etc.

Personally I would do a compression test, or even better a leakdown test, on it first. That will tell you how far you need to go with the engine. Honda made wonderful engines back then, as long as they still have compression they are easy to get running.
Click to expand...

my 350 would run with zero compression on one cylinder! tough little bugger....

as others said, PB blaster in the cylinders just in case. if it is free after the pb blaster/wd40, then run it for a couple minutes, shut her down, and drain the oil/replace with fresh stuff. clean the carbs. change the spark plugs. consider spending money on new coils/wires, it makes a huge difference.

get the SHOP manual... can be found as a PDF online. clymer doesnt have much.

rebuild carbs, adjust valves to spec, adjust the points, everything. read read read, then do. listen to everything PJ tells you. compression check is in order. if its low after valve adjustment, then its time to break into the motor. get her running as good as when she was new, then start modifying. otherwise if you dont you could have a bike with spot on fueling, but the spark isnt there, so your loosing power everywhere.
 
WOW. Thanks a lot fellas. I have quite a to-do list now. I went ahead and downloaded that shop manual and it looks vastly more informative than the Clymer's. Thanks. So, unfatunately, I didn't get these replies in time to put some PB in my cylinders, but I do have a can (Miraculous stuff). But here is a chain of events following of last night:

So, I drained the tank and cleaned 'er out. I also remembered that A) My bike has only sat for a little over 2 years and B) that I was smart enough to run the lines dry before it sat. Next, I put premium techron fuel with 2 oz. of carb cleaner in the tank. Hit the Ignition LIGHTLY once, nothing. Twice, nothing. Third time, it turned over. Fourth time, it fired up. HALELUJAH! That's a good thing right? I then let it rest, and repeated about 3 times. I would like to mention that It only runs with the choke all the way closed and with a minimum of 1/3 throttle. Hence, I assume there is a fuel mix/carb issue that's there. It sounds like dog dick, too (Though my exaust is off, and it makes it sound like brutal popcorn popping).

Here is what I was thinking as far as a step 2 of 5000, thanks to you righteous dudes. New plugs and coil/wires. Then, I plan on cleaning/rebuilding the carb either way, but since it runs, Should I build carbs then run the leakdown test, or the other way around. I found the test in the shop guide. Where can I find the best idiots guide to carb rebuild/tuning and honing?

As far as what I want out of the engine, I want it good as new and am willing to put in the necessary money and time. There is a mild oil leak and it's messy and ugly. So, I am gonna do a full rebuild there too, eventually... compression or not. But yeah, any and all advise would rule. Thanks again.
 
Oh yeah, One more quick thing. When draining my tank I noticed that fuel comes out of the right (closer to the exterior) petcock 'hole' (?) more than the other (interior one). Like, no matter how I shook the fuel around and distributed inside tank. It still occasionally came out, but at like a 1:4 ratio. I assume i should teardown and clean that too, right? I imagine that is not helping my carb mix issues.
 
So, I know I keep replying to my own thread, and I admittedly like that it bumps it back up, but REALLY, I seem to have answered some of my own questions and replaced them with different ones. After reading the Carb theory 101 link provided by that awesome thread, I realize my suspicions are correct: idle issues reveal I have either pilot system (likely) or slide valve (Less likely) issues. Now, I am going to go forward with a rebuild and am going to order the set of 4 kit, but should I go so far as to order the gasket kit too? I intend on it, as of now.
As far as I can tell, engine compression is a totally unrelated matter and the carb functionality has nothing to do with doing the leak-down testing, right? I know this is sort of a duh moment, sorry, but I'm learning more and more every day. Thanks again guys!
 
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