HarstineHonda
New Member
Hey Guys
So after Months of hanging around on this awesome site I have finally decided to post. Back in March I found a non-running 1975 Honda CB125S on Craigslist for $500. I have never owed or even ridden a motorcycle before, but I've wanted a cafe racer for years now and this had always been my bike of choice. The guy I bought it from told me the rings were shot ( I had no clue what that meant ) and said it would be an easy fix. So I bought it, cleared some space in my garage and with no knowledge what so ever tore the little bike apart. over the next months I learned a lot and for everything I learned I made 50 mistakes. When I got to the sleeve off the piston, dozens of pieces of the rings fell out and into the bottom of the engine. so I had to take everything apart and get all those little pieces out. I replaced all the gaskets and the piston rings and by the beginning of May I had the bike back together, I replaced the spark plug, cleaned out the fuel tank, added oil and tried to start it. The bike had a bad oil leak and no spark, So I went online bought a manual and took the motor apart again. The oil leak was a partially torn gasket and the no spark was from a wire I had plugged into the wrong spot. By this time it is August and I have the bike all put back together and I again try to start it. and now Im not getting any fuel, I look into it and find that the petcock was clogged up and I couldn't for the life of me clean it out. But I still wanted to see if it ran so I grabbed a turkey baster out of my kitchen filled it full of fuel and hooked it up to the fuel line. On the second kick the bike fired up and ran, I let it idle for about a half hour keeping the turkey baster full of fuel and got the carb adjusted so it was running beautifully. I then took it out for a short ride on the dirt roads around my house. I had a blast learning to ride, I kept the speed and rpms low as the manual suggested for a rebuilt motor. everything on the bike worked wonderfully and every time I killed it or the turkey baster ran empty the bike would start right up on the first kick. so after an hour or so of ridding I called it a night and went inside and ordered a new petcock. the part arrived yesterday and I installed it and tried to start the bike. It won't start!!! Not with the choke on or off, the bike has great fuel flow and good spark. I tried adjusting the carb and nothing changed, the bike won't even start with starter fluid. I have spent the last day tinkering with no luck. I am completely baffled the bike ran great a week ago and now won't start. the only thing it will do is every 12 or so kicks it will backfire.
So that is where i am at. any suggestions or advise would be much appreciated. Anybody who lives up here knows in the NW we only have a little bit more of summer, and I would love to be able to ride around for a bit before the rainy season.
So after Months of hanging around on this awesome site I have finally decided to post. Back in March I found a non-running 1975 Honda CB125S on Craigslist for $500. I have never owed or even ridden a motorcycle before, but I've wanted a cafe racer for years now and this had always been my bike of choice. The guy I bought it from told me the rings were shot ( I had no clue what that meant ) and said it would be an easy fix. So I bought it, cleared some space in my garage and with no knowledge what so ever tore the little bike apart. over the next months I learned a lot and for everything I learned I made 50 mistakes. When I got to the sleeve off the piston, dozens of pieces of the rings fell out and into the bottom of the engine. so I had to take everything apart and get all those little pieces out. I replaced all the gaskets and the piston rings and by the beginning of May I had the bike back together, I replaced the spark plug, cleaned out the fuel tank, added oil and tried to start it. The bike had a bad oil leak and no spark, So I went online bought a manual and took the motor apart again. The oil leak was a partially torn gasket and the no spark was from a wire I had plugged into the wrong spot. By this time it is August and I have the bike all put back together and I again try to start it. and now Im not getting any fuel, I look into it and find that the petcock was clogged up and I couldn't for the life of me clean it out. But I still wanted to see if it ran so I grabbed a turkey baster out of my kitchen filled it full of fuel and hooked it up to the fuel line. On the second kick the bike fired up and ran, I let it idle for about a half hour keeping the turkey baster full of fuel and got the carb adjusted so it was running beautifully. I then took it out for a short ride on the dirt roads around my house. I had a blast learning to ride, I kept the speed and rpms low as the manual suggested for a rebuilt motor. everything on the bike worked wonderfully and every time I killed it or the turkey baster ran empty the bike would start right up on the first kick. so after an hour or so of ridding I called it a night and went inside and ordered a new petcock. the part arrived yesterday and I installed it and tried to start the bike. It won't start!!! Not with the choke on or off, the bike has great fuel flow and good spark. I tried adjusting the carb and nothing changed, the bike won't even start with starter fluid. I have spent the last day tinkering with no luck. I am completely baffled the bike ran great a week ago and now won't start. the only thing it will do is every 12 or so kicks it will backfire.
So that is where i am at. any suggestions or advise would be much appreciated. Anybody who lives up here knows in the NW we only have a little bit more of summer, and I would love to be able to ride around for a bit before the rainy season.
