Bike issue questions

foxtrot

foxtrot

New Member
I got myself some euro bars for my CB350 and now I'm curious about a couple things.


1. Do I have to drill a small hole in my new bars so the switches will work? By this I mean there is a small nipple inside the switch and a small hole on the stock bars that align so that the switch won't turn on the bar. Is this necessary to do on my new bars or can I just remove the little nipple inside the switch so it will sit flush with its other half?


2. Can I switch the bars out without having to cut any wires? I'd really prefer not to cut any of the wires. Is this possible?


Thanks in advance guys.
 
Re: New handlebar installation question

Grind the nipple down, just make sure you snug the bolts down good so the switch doesn't turn. You shouldn't have to cut any wires unless you have just insane amounts of loose wires, and then it would only be to clean it up. Your cables may need to be replaced though, depending on the difference in the new and old bars.
 
Re: New handlebar installation question

All my connections are soldered within the switches so it looks like I'm going to have to cut the wires and either resolder them or use butt connectors.
 
Re: New handlebar installation question

Can drill holes in the bars for the wiring or mod the switch housings and run them outside. The Wires should pull out of the old bars with some soapy water or just straight dish soap for lube and careful pulling. IF the wiring is stock then it should all come to a bunch of bullet connections in the head light shell or under the tank depending on the bike, if not then you are in for some cutting and splicing work.

IMHO I think bars LOOK better with the wiring run inside them, so much cleaner looking that way. Putting them back in is the fun part, get a piece of trimmer string or a coat hanger taped to the end and again more soap and pulling and back in they go.
 
Re: New handlebar installation question

Drill the holes for the stays... Why take the chance that they'll come loose? It takes 10 seconds.
 
Re: New handlebar installation question

Third question: While I was changing the bars, the electric start wire came loose from the solder. Will the bike run alright without it being attached or is it part of the charging system and need to remain soldered to its contact point? Just humor me here.
 
Re: New handlebar installation question

No it doesn't need the E-Start wire if you don't plan to use it. I have knocked mine off at least 3 times and use my cheapo radio shack soldering iron and stick the damn thing back on.

Tape it up if you don't use it though it works by grounding the switch to the bars which it can do stuffed inside that housing and run the starter when you don't want it to.

There are no stupid questions, just stupid people. ;) Damn my humor is horrible tonight. :o
 
Re: New handlebar installation question

Weird. I knocked the electric start wire loose, taped it up and got everything back together. I started it up, rode it about 10 miles and then it died, I restarted it, rode it another mile and it died again. Then it wouldn't restart at all. Had to truck it home last night. The bike ran awesome before I messed with it.


I tinkered with the throttle cable tension based on the new angle of the bars
The electric start wire came loose
I removed the stay pins in the switches
The blinkers won't work as long as the headlight is on but when I shut the headlight off, the blinkers work fine
My RPM's kept dropping low to where I had to blip the throttle to keep them up


Any clues?
 
Well, the dying and restarting could be a couple different things. The only interference from swapping bars would be if the kill switch is buggered. I would guess your coils are over heating, but that's just a guess right now.

You said the rpm's kept dropping- was that the entire time? Then you need to bump up the idle screw. Your throttle cable should have a little bit of play (a few mm) at idle. For the signals/headlight problem, it's definitely a wiring issue......can't even guess what though.

Wait a minute- is your battery fully charged?
 
I ran the bike hot yesterday. I got it to my parents house and it was smoking a little. I checked the oil and it needed a quart. Over heating could very well be the issue


I don't think my battery is fully charged. When I bought the bike, the electric start worked fine but after a couple days, I'd push the button and it wouldn't start the bike. I've just been kicking it over since then.
 
Another dumb question, are the bars still properly grounded to the rest of the bike? In stock configuration there is a wire that goes from the bottom of a riser bolt to the bottom of the gauge mount or to the side where your signals bolt on. With out a proper ground to the rest of the system, you will be using the clutch cable or the throttle cables for ground path and that leads to electrical not working correctly.

These bikes NEED a FULL battery to run correctly, search the forums I know there are threads for trouble shooting charging systems on 350s. The charging system is minimal at best on them and if it is not functioning then you might be getting the run and then not run symptoms. So will over heating coils. They will run about 10-15 minutes then cut out. Then when they cool off and they go back to working.

That is also indicative of a FUEL issue as well, poor flow or a clogged fuel cap.
 
I put the battery on a deep cycle charge this morning. It's only charging to 75%. It's a couple years old. I actually didn't change the handlebars. I got the switches off, looked at it and decided I couldn't cut or change anything. I did get the bars loose enough that maybe the ground cable fell out?? *shrug*
 
So I charged the battery back to 100% and resoldered the electric start wire back to its contact point. The bike starts on the first push of the button now so I'm thinking it was a heat issue. I'm hoping it'll be ok now but I have to go ride it and see if it stalls again.
 
Keep an eye on that battery, charging system doesn't really kick in until around 2500-3500 RPM so if that gives you a reason to keep rev's up then do so.
 
Took the bike out for 30 minutes yesterday evening. 100 degrees outside. It never stalled but it was still having idle issues. I just get blipping the throttle when it got down lower than 1000 rpm's.


It ran great. When I would come to a stop, the rpm's would drop a little. I had to adjust the throttle cable tension more than a few times. When I got it home, there was a little smoke rising up from underneath. Could be nothing.


Any ideas?
 
Idle should be set about 1200-1500 and the smoke from underneath is from the engine breather, some vapor from it is normal, especially on a hot day. Just make sure it is not blowing oil out of it as that is a sign of problems.
 
+1. There should be a breather hose or something hooked up to the top of the engine. That's to relieve pressure and steam from the engine.
 
Awesome. Sounds like it's running pretty much as it should. I just need to find the sweet spot on the idle and crank it down with a wrench
 
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